Cranks4fun

A-Jay, Thanks for the input. I use 832 on my Frog rod (40Lb.) and I love it too. The only drawbacks I can find for 832 are that it seems to fade in color more quickly than Power Pro and it is pricier (typically $2-$5 more for 150 yd. spool). The fading does not really bother me because I see no effect on its performance. This new ProMix is supposed to resist fading more than previous Sufix braids if that is important to some fishermen. My belief is that this stuff will replace Performance braid because I am not seeing that on shelves very often any more. I think the Sufix 832 is will continue to be produced ... I hope it is anyway.

I just purchased a new spool of 15Lb braid called Sufix ProMix Braid for a Smallmouth Finesse Rod I am setting up. I have used Sufix 832 and their Performance Braid and like them both but I bought this because the store where I found it had it on sale for $11.00 ($4.00 off reg. price). Let me add that I also use Power Pro on several spinning rods and it works fine too. From what I can find out, Sufix released ProMix mono in 2016 and this ProMix braid was just released this year (2021). This is a new ProMix line. My question is, "Has anyone had any experience with this new braid?" Any insight would be appreciated and I'll share mine after some in-the-field use.

My son has a Dobyns Fury 733c casting rod and I have two Dobyns Sierra 703sf spinning rods. He loves his Fury and I like my Sierra's but I am not sure my rods are worth $50 more than his. In addition, I am not sure I am giving you the best comparison because I am comparing Spinning and casting rods, but my Sierras seem more like moderate fast rods and his Fury seems like a fast action rod. It might be due to the difference in nature of spinning and casting rods. They are both durable and both use good components but my Sierras feel kind of heavy. I got my Sierras on a VERY GOOD sale! I probably would not buy them at regular price. Right now, if buying a casting rod, I would get a Fury Rod or a mid- upper end Daiwa rod or a St. Croix BassX. I would play with them all in the store first though. Again, the Dobyns Sierra Casting rods may be a whole different animal than the Sierra Spinning rod. I hope that provokes thought but I feel sure you will need more info. Good luck on your next rod choice.

I would say FIVE Things: 1. Never gauge your skill by a slow day or by comparing yourself to a pro on a video. Fishing is an ongoing, fun, learning experience. 2. Be smart about slinging hooks, landing fish with a mouthful of trebles, and directing your hooksets. Getting a hook in you can ruin a good day! Believe me, I have been there more than once! 3. Early on let others teach you what they about the fish on newer waters. Listen to multiple voices to get different insights. I have been fishing for bass for over 30 years and I still do this! 4. You will find that you usually fish best with baits after you have caught fish on them and have developed confidence in them. Don't be afraid to bring new lures and try new baits, but always keep a few skunk-killer confidence baits on hand. 5. Fish with and "against" your friends but never get so competitive that you cease to have fun when you fish. You can learn to enjoy losing to your buddies occasionally if you add humor to the experience. Losing occasionally also makes winning later that much more enjoyable.

I personally do not catch many smallmouth in still sloughs or real slow water in warmer summer months (water over 70 degrees) but I do keep getting them in moving water with some depth. Early and late in the day, in the summer, I even catch them in shallow moving water pulling fast baits. I have no real experience fishing for smallmouths in big deep (over 150 yards across) rivers though. Come to think of it, it does seem like I catch most of my bigger smallies in the spring, in water between 55 and 65 degrees.

Smallie Chaser, I used to live in North Judson, IN (20 years ago) and I know Kouts was very close to us. I fished Bass Lake near Knox, IN, and Lake Michigan and some canals flowing into the big lake. I was more of a largemouth, crappie, salmon, trout, guy back then but I know now that I missed lots of good smallmouth action up there. I still go back and visit occasionally but rarely get to fish. Any, Kouts and North Judson are both tiny worlds outside of the hustle and bustle of the cities. It was just interesting to see someone on the forum from there. God bless!

My smallmouth knowledge is limited to fishing in the Ozarks or Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Finding slower water or seemingly "still" water on the edge of deep current is almost always a good bet for smallmouth in creeks and rivers. Aiming behind bigger boulders or laydowns in deeper (5 ft. or more) water with visible movement/ current is a good bet too. When directly fishing in the fast water, I hit the tops and bottoms of riffles with jerkbaits and crankbaits. I have caught decent smallies by throwing a hard jerkbait so that it faces up-current and barely pulling it as though it is struggling to move up. My knowledge is limited to fishing small rivers and streams though. I have never fished for smallmouths in those big, deep, cold-water lakes up north. I hope to one day though!

Crankin4Bass makes a good point. You need to test the reel with the rod for balance. If the tackle shop allows this, the best way to get a balanced combo, in my opinion, is to put the reel on your rod and go through the casting motions. Some say to put the reel on the rod and try to balance it by resting the rod (with reel on it) on one finger just in front of the reel seat or reel foot. I like the first way better myself. Some reels are heavier than others of the same size. My 3000 Saros is heavier than my 3000 Daiwa Fuego. I have a Quantum energy Pt that is a 2500 size and it is heavier than both the Shimano and the Daiwa even though it is classed as smaller. You can fish with an imbalanced rod/ reel combo and do so successfully, but it often leads to arm fatigue (and sometimes pain at the end of the day) and it makes for less efficient and accurate casting. Congrats on the new rod and good luck in your reel hunt!

Mine was a 9 lb. 3 oz. pre-spawn female on a Rapala jointed floater (J7). I was using 6 lb. mono on a Shimano Symetre 2000 reel and a 6 ft.ML Abu Garcia B.A.S.S. spinning rod. It is a great memory.

I went to my favorite sporting goods store today and bought my second Dobyns Sierra 703 spinning rod for $43. They were regularly $169.99 but they were/ are on clearance and you get an additional 50% off the stated clearance price now. I hope these rods are as good as some say. They also had Dobyns Colts and Fury's but they were not on sale. I also bought a G Loomis e6x drop shot/ finesse rod last week for just over $70. The H2O TAC-40 baitcast (micro-guide) rods are cheap now too (usually $129). The store the one that starts with an "A" and ends with a "Y". I am not sure if I am allowed to say the name on here, but get in there while the sales are good. I will post my last receipt pic on here to prove that I am not exaggerating.

Reading magazines & internet articles, watching videos, and fishing with other fishermen were all very helpful, BUT fishing ponds full of bass where success is likely was like going to bass school for me. Even the poorly skilled fisherman is likely to have decent luck on a good 5-25-acre bass pond (called "little lakes" in the southeast ). When you your confidence increases, as it does on most good ponds, you learn to fish with expectancy. You respond better to strikes, etc. Plus, you get lots of opportunities to correct mistakes like poor hook sets and inaccurate casting techniques. If you fish a big reservoir on a slow day when you are a new fisherman, it can be discouraging. You begin to second-guess your technique and your lures. Once you know a lure or a technique works well, you will fish it with more confidence and success, in my opinion.

Michigander, What kind of "toads" do you have problems with? Are the Ribbits or Zooms or something else? Also, tell the trick to success with my Spro frogs if you know one. I love floating those frogs into holes in the pads and I usually get hits but very few catches on those things.

When I fish Spro or Booyah frogs (hollow bodied) I get lots of misses. I use 40-50 lb Sufix braid and I still don't get the hook-set timing right most of the time. Bass love to "hit and spit" those floating frogs. My fishing buddy has had better "luck" (skill) than I have with those. The Ribbit toads, on the other hand, are a far more consistent catcher for me. The only time I have had problems with the hook-up rate on Ribbit toads is when I used the special Ribbit twin hook system they sell. It was horrible! I went back to a heavy guage #5 wide-gap Gammy hook and my catch rates were very high. We love those Ribbit toads on the edges of pads a weed mats. I may miss one in ten bites on those. Just thinking about that surface bite has me longing for spring! Splash, plop, plop, plop, plop, BLAMM!!

About 20 years ago I was fishing with a friend in Virginia who only used one bass bait. I had bait casting gear and high-end Shimano spinning gear and a box full of colorful lures and he was using a Zebco 33, a cheap rod, and Zoom pumpkin/chart. curly tail worms that he fished T-rigged and weightless... and he humiliated me! He out-fished me 3 to 1 at least. He would cast out into shallow water and then pinch the line between his thumb and forefinger to feel the pick-up. Then he would let the bass take it for 5 seconds or so before setting the hook. There was a drawback. Most of the bass he caught swallowed the hook and he released (killed) lots of bleeders. I tried to discourage him from doing that but he thought I was being a sore loser, and I might have been somewhat. What made it all the worse was that he made fun of my high-dollar gear while beating me.

I have never tried a square bill in water under 50 degrees but I have caught and witnessed others catching smallmouth in water around 38 degrees with Rapala DT6's, Shad Raps, and craw-colored lipless cranks. You have to slow down and find the sweet spot. We even catch them in moving water with these sometimes. Largemouths?? I have not experimented much with cranks for them other than the shad raps. THey are cold-water staples in the crank dept. THey are also a multi-species bait in cold water. We've caught crappie, smallmouth, largemouth, and white bass using them. I have heard of guys catching big brown trout with them in cold water too.

1-2 ft. seems shallow for suspending jerkbaits which are usually used in water under 50 degrees. Then again, you might be facing some fishing circumstances I have never dealt with. Let me add two things: First, I have tons (probably 75) jerkbaits from various makers and have had the best results fishing suspenders (4-6 ft divers) using fluoro and dead sticking - crank it down and jerk, jerk, 15-30 second pause, repeat. The pause feels like an hour at first, but you get accustomed to it. I also tank tune (add/ remove weight) and test my suspenders in iced water in my kitchen around 40-45 degrees. My wife used to make fun of me for doing it. Secondly, you might want to try slow rolling an original floating Rapala jerkbait. I had a friend in Indiana who has had some BIG days doing this. They run shallow (usually under 2') but you will have to find the sweet spot in speed. If you crank it too fast, you might get the depth but not the reaction you are looking for. If you crank it too slow the bait will just "wake" at the top. In the late spring and summer, that waking technique can be killer early morning or right before dark on a windless day! Best wishes. If you learn something new with suspending those jerkbaits in the shallows, please share it!

Don't let anyone fool you. The old round Ambassadeurs are still great reels. There are LOTS of them still around from the '50's. The Calcuttas are easier to cast and they work better with light baits, but to say they they are MORE durable is a joke! There are Ambassadeur 5000's out there still being fished that were made in the '50's. I have one from the '50's that is all original that I do not use now but I easily could. I have a friend that fished both reels (actually he used Calcuttas & Abu 6500's I think) heavily for stripers on the Chesapeake Bay in saltwater. He said that the only issues he ever had with the Abus is the salt would occasionally corrode the stainless bearings over time (easy inexpensive fix). In freshwater, you would have to abuse them to destroy them. You get wear and tear issues (pawls, etc.) just like we do on our Shimanos and Daiwas (I'm a Daiwa fanboy but own lots of Shimanos too). The great thing about Swedish ABUs is that their vintage parts are still very easily acquired and there are LOTS of aftermarket parts producers. Many Japanese & American guys love the older ABUs and they collect them and pimp them up and trick them out (they have webpages and Facebook sites on this stuff). Shimano doesn't make parts available for their reels beyond a certain number of years after production ceases though you can often get early Curado and Chronarch parts on ebay and after-market bearings are readily available for them (ABEC 7's etc.). I still fish some 1990's era 4600's and 5000c's on occasion, and I have some '80's era Shimano baitcasters that I still fish occasionally too (a Bantam 10sg and Bantam 10 SGX). For the most part, however, I am more into Daiwa Zillions, Tatulas, and Tierras, etc. nowadays. The others are old technology but they are still fun to fish.

Team9nine and Scaleface are right. Rebels, the fifth one down is a Rebel Deep Wee-R. The three below it are Natural Ikes. I have caught fish on the Rebel Wee-R's but I have never caught a fish on one of the Natural Ikes (because I have hardly ever used them probably). I have never used or owned those other baitfish Rebels. They look cool, like plastic versions of the Bagley fingerling series.

I still use a 12 ft Alumacraft on small bodies of water. Heck! I have used it many times on Grand Lake (Bassmaster Classic was held there twice). When there are two of us in it, the rule is that only one can stand at a time (the other seated guy is bio-ballast ). You should always have one leg pressed hard against the bench (I also have custom-framed seats in mine). Have your rapid seating technique down for wakes and windy waters. If it is real bad (15 plus mph wind), I would not be out on OPEN BIG water in a little jon. Another big caution: be careful swinging those treble hooks around with two guys in the boat. I rammed a Shad rap into my buddy's head one day while in a canoe. It was painful for him and embarrassing for me. We plan and discuss our casting direction in small boats now.

Hey, bro! I can remember a time when I felt that way too. Spinnerbaits were only in my boxes because I got them on clearance or as gifts. For ten years or so, I think I only caught a couple of dinks on them. I hated and neglected them. Once I fished them in the right conditions (I think got desperate that first successful day) and then had a couple of good days with them, my confidence in them soared. I NEVER fish them now unless there is a very good wind. When boat control gets difficult, spinnerbaits often become gold! Try them again in wind, near weeds or wood, and in stained water. I think your opinion will change.

Occasionally, spinnerbaits are the very best option. Somebody taught me years back and I still utilize this tip. In the spring, summer, and early fall (never tried it in the winter) after the aggressive morning bite, if the winds are above 10 mph, a spinnerbait fished in stained water near weeds in water 3-10 ft. (generally) is often the bait that saves the day. Wind, stained water, and spinnerbaits can be magic. For all the KVD fanboys, KVD has echoed this fact too. I beat my buddy (a very good fisherman) 7 keepers to 1 using this tactic fishing in 20 mph winds on a very slow day. The fish just would not agree to anything else. That day I used a 1/2 oz Booyah with double colorado blades in Chartreuse. I like War Eagles and Strike KIngs too.

My favorite winter baits for water under 50 degrees are : 1) Suspending jerkbaits (pointers, bomber 14 ap, husky jerks, and Rogues), 2) Jigs, esp.when it gets below 35 degrees, 3) #5 & #7 Shad Raps, 4) Sixth Sense flat X75, and 5) wacky rigged Senkos unweighted. ***For smallmouth I also love craw-colored rat-l-traps bounced off a deep rocky bottom. In water between 50-60 degrees, I fish in spring and fall mode. I use almost everything except topwater baits. Regular crankbaits (Bandits, Squarebills, Lipless, etc.) reign supreme. Dropshot and T-rigged worms are good in the pre-spawn time too. If the wind exceeds 10 mph, try a spinnerbait. Later, when the water gets over 60 degrees, it is topwater time.

Thanks again for trying to help me, guys. I'd be afraid to use that yellow crank that Islandbass painted. I wouldn't want to get bit! Seriously though, Those do look cool. I hope you catch something on them. I have two other flat balsa baits that I was never able to identify. I'll give them all a whirl and hopefully find a sleeper that I can use to humiliate my fishing buddies! I have a couple that I already want to keep under lock and key and I only fish them with braid for fear of losing them. Last night I lost a Spro Little John MD knockoff (one of those Chinese copies with lighter rattles and solid black eye). I through it around some feeding white bass and a gar bit it shook his head and swam away with it. It was the very first cast with the thing! Gar were only created to be garden fertilizer and archery practice targets!

Thanks for taking a stab at it, guys. It could be a homemade crankbait but if so, the guy was very good. The hangers are lined up very straight and and the bait was slotted perfectly for the bill connection unlike some Poe's and Bagley's cranks you find. I think I will coat it with 2-ton clear epoxy like I do some of my Shad Raps to make them more chip resistant. It might turn out to be one of those sleeper baits I use for special situations.

Thank you guys, for trying. It is not a Poe's or an old Rapala. It is thinner than the thinnest Poe's, even the Pro RC series. I am going to look at the Stanford Cedar plugs and compare it. Thanks again. If you find any more close comparisons, please share them and I'll do a Google image search.