hi_steel_basser

You are in a win-win situation. I have reels from each brand and they are equal IMHO.

Finally got my Shimano Scorpion Mg from the post office... It's been there a cuple of weeks, but I haven't had time to go get it... I got it home and put it on a G Loomis 782c IMX, spooled it with 12-lb Flouroclear, and tied on a 1/4 oz weight with brass and glass, a 1/0 Mustad and went to the lake to try it out. This combo cast a 1/4 oz like it was a c-rig... I see a new fave combo in my future. The rod is soft enough to throw pointer 78's, but sensitive enough for shaky heads and light jigs. SUH-WEEEET!!!!

One more thing... A 2 lb spotted bass could pull a 2 lb LMB upstream.

I usually catch 3-4 fish, a limit day is good for me. I'm not talkin' about the days when everything goes perfect, or the bad days when nothing works, just the average trip.

Aaron Martens will take 2nd again this year, losing to a federation guy. ;D I'd really like to see him win this time, but he is the eternal bridesmaid.

Only 1 rig for eternity? My bait monkey would go INSANE!!!But if I had to choose, my Johnny Morris spinning combo, 7' MH rod, with a 3/16 oz spot remover jighead and a green pumpkin zoom finesse worm. When all else fails, this is my go-to.

I use several different sizes and styles, dependind on what the rod is going to be used for. For open water, I like 8-12 lb test P-Line flouroclear. Cranbaits usually go on 10-lb or 8-lb. Topwaters get 14 or17 lb Sensation. For flipping, I use either 20-25 lb mono or 30+ braid. I have a hard time detecting jig bites on the fall when I use braid, so I only use it in grass.

What he said. Also, I recall reelmech recently said that PT reels were the only ones worth having. (from quantum, better clarify that before I start a riot ) The others are far cheaper in design, although my first baitcaster was a KVD model, and it survived several years of hard use.

On Allatoona, my favorite spots are at the mouth of Stamp Creek, or McKaskey Creek. Also the bluffs at Bartow Carver park, close to Illinois Creek. As for Carters Lake, I haven't had many bad days there at all, and IMO it is the most beautiful place on earth. Fish are everywhere in it, if you know spotted bass fishing you can do ok-good there. As for Lanier, I'm skeered to put my lil' bitty 14fter in a lake with 3' waves, ESP. trying to fish the main lake points that are so productive in the summertime. : I only go there in the late fall, and I haven't been enough to call myself anything close to good on it. Allatoona gets beat up in the summertime, too, but I know where to go and when to stay out of trouble. There are other guys on here that fish around here alot, and they can probably give you more info than I can.

In Fisherman is the best all-species read around. For strictly bass, Bassmaster is turning to pure fluff so fast it turns my stomach. I just picked up a copy of Bassin at walmart, and it looks like a very good publication.

I would have to say that alot of the basics I learned were through magazines and books. But there is no substitute for time on the water. :-?

Welcomr aboard. But if you move to Cherokee (I'm in Bartow), that largemouth only slogan will change. The lakes up thisaway is notorious for spotted bass. Think Lanier, Allatoona, Carters...

I'm in the same boat with Cabela's. They have been promissing to build one about 15 miles away, and bass pro is about an hour drive, unless you decide to try it in rush hour traffic. That's a mistake I won't make again.

If you want to try something different, try Quantum reels. For the money, they cast smoother but don't last as long IMO. The new PT series hasn't been out long enough to really test durability, but so far, so good. Shimano is as good as any. I have yet to try Diawa, Ardent, or Okuma. I have never been pleased with a Shakespeare product.

Hey, Boondocks, I see what you are trying to say. The pros DO have better equipment than we do. They got that equipment because they were better fishermen than others were when they had less equipment. If they took 20 pros and 20 amateurs and put them all in jonboats with 5-hp motors, 55-lb thrust trolling motors, and a livewell, for a 1-day tourny, the pros in general would outfish the amateurs. Some of the pros would be in the bootom 10, some of the amateurs would be in the top 10, but on average there would be more pros in the top 20, more ams. in the bottom 20. Why? Because there is no substitute for time on the water.

I use flukes as my go-to search bait in the pre-spawn and post-spawn. In the fall, spooks and buzzers are more effective for me than at any other time of year. I'm not really very good at topwaters, though. :-[

I'M ALL 4 IT!! While you're at it, will somebody PLEEZ stock some Bluebacks in this lake already!!? IMHO, that would be the single greatest thing DNR or ACE could do for this lake.

So what do YOU do when fishing is slow?

IMO rat-l-trap style baits are best in two situations. First is around schooling fish. In this situation you cant fish it wrong. Reel it back fast or slow, jerk it, pause or stop it. Second is in the prespawn, over submerged vegetation. In this situation, rip it and let it settle back to the grass. This is the best way to cover water in the prespawn, and a guaranteed fish-getter.

SWEET! This is almost as good as building them yourself. I'll have to check them out later, my bait monkey has been very bad lately and is currently on punishment. ;D

OK, Thanks. I'll just have to see how I like what comes standard. I read somewhere that they only had about 3-4 lbs of drag standard. Of course, this was after I bought it. I'm planning on using it for a finesse reel anyway, but that little amount of drag is laughable at best. My spinning reels do better.

Hey, ReelMech, how much does the drag system cost? This thread is of special interest to me, as I have a scorpion 50mg in the mail (my first). I didn't know I would have to spend even more on it after I got it to make it right. >

Lucky Craft and Zoom. But I'd hate to pick one.

Put a lizard on a jighead this spring. Fish it around rocks and beds.

JIG AND PIG. The all-time greatest. Second would be a suspending jerkbait, esp. for spotted bass.