papajoe222

For me, it's much easier to work many top-waters with a shorter rod, but I'm not you. Will it work? Yes. Will you feel confident in using it is the question and the only way to answer that is to try it. How much deep crankin' do plan to do compared to top-water? If you plan on using a rod for both applications, get one for what you do the most and try it out for the other.

Havoc Bottom Hopper Trick Worm Shakey Snake (PowerBait)

The last few years, I've gone more to using Fas-Snaps on the majority of my hard baits, including topwaters. With poppers, I'll sometimes tie directly with a Palomar knot if I want it to spit more. If you do decide to use a snap, make sure it's a cross-lock as the cheaper type will fail you given the chance (read; Loose Big Fish). The other thing I recommend is to retie frequently. They make it easier to change lures quickly, but they also make it easier to forego checking your line and knot.

I really don't want to know how many combos I own, but I rarely take more than six and more often than not five will cover the techniques I want to use/try on any given day. If it's an overnighter, or multi day trip, I may bring more, but only take what I feel I'll need. Most of my combos are 7ft. or longer and my rod locker isn't designed for longer rods, so they sit out on the deck when I'm fishing.

I think most beginners would benefit more from a braking system than a magnetic one for the main reason most of their backlashes are the result of the initial overspin of the spool. Beginners have a tendency to snap their wrist in an attempt to get distance on their cast, which causes the overspin. A reel similar to the Lew's LaserPro Speed Spool with both systems is a great entry level reel for beginners as it can help eliminate the two most common causes of backlashes and, once their skill level increases, transitions well to little or no control on either system.

Heddon Zara Spook Rapala X-Rap (4in.) Red Eye Shad Norman Deep Little N KVD 1.5 Squarebill

One of two presentations should render some results. Mojo (split shot) rig and a crank that will get down to and deflect off the rip rap. With the clear water and lack of other cover, you want to get down into those rocks. Start with the crank and follow up with the mojo rig. I'm assuming that you're shore bound, so casts parallel to the shoreline are out, biut you can still angle your casts to the right and left. Work the area as if it were a clock from 10:00 to 2:00 then move down the bank you can add a spinnerbait or topwater to the mix under low light conditions and like F-O-M night fishing eliminates your concern regarding water clarity.

Once you've located a point, look at the shoreline on both sides of it. That shoreline will give you clues to how quickly and where the sides of the point drop off to deeper water. Those are the areas to target. Working your way from the the shallow (top) section of the point toward deeper water with some type of slow moving, bottom contact bait like a Texas or C-Rig will allow you to locate areas of structural change and cover. Work your way deeper and repeat. This will help you form a mental picture of where the drop begins and ends and what cover or changes are there. Then you can go back and cover the prime spots with either the same presentation, or something to trigger strikes from neutral fish like a crank or spinner.

Cabela's has their tourney trail rods on sale for Father's Day for under $50 The 705 is a M/H Mod.Fast. May be worth looking at.

The difference in running depth depends on the difference in line diameter. I'd venture a guess of 1ft. Less for .02 increase in line diameter. In regards to your original post, your KVD rod may not be loading up sufficiently to make longer casts an you are trying to compensate for it by casting 'harder.' Do you have a rod with a Mod, or Mod/Fast action. If so, try casting with it even if the lure you're using doesn't fall within its rating. Deep Cranks, because of their shape and bill length, are going to tumble. Helicoptering is completely different and is usually the result of too much effort on the'follow through' (don't know how else to describe it) of your casting motion. If you've ever fly fished, you'll understand what I mean.

You may need to experiment a little with rigging, but Carolina and Texas are my most productive ways. Experiment with dragging, lift drop and swimming the T-rig and I've found that they can show a profound preference for one over the others. I like an offset worm hook to start with, but will switch to an EWG threaded a couple of inches into the worm if I feel they're short striking.

I've fished a ton of quarries and strip pits here in Illinois and found that if the fish aren't up shallow and active, they're likely suspended. The problem was always figuring out depth at which they were suspending and water clarity always figured into where. The easiest way to determine light penetration for me was to drop a line with something white tied to it (I used my white coffee mug as it was handy) overboard until I couldn't see it. I could normally find the suspending fish within a foot or two of that depth. I would target them one of two ways. The first was with a small bodied crank, either a suspending model or one I'd added weight to. Crank it down to running depth and pause it frequently. The second was using a hair jig coupled with a 4in. plastic worm suspended under a slip float. Cast it out and let it sink until the float sits upright, slowly reel a little and let it settle again. You can make quick adjustments to depth with that float and you could use a wacky worm or any number of soft plastics under it

Without a doubt, I catch more bass on topwater at night. I catch bigger fish during mid-day, but the bites are few. For someone just starting out with them, I'd recommend low light conditions. Dusk, dawn and overcast or rainy days. Surface conditions dictate the type of bait I choose. The more ripple or chop there is on the water, the more commotion I want the bait to make. It doesn't have to move quickly, just get their attention. More so than most baits, IMO, you need to determine the speed which the fish prefer the bait. Some anglers will fish a bait one way and put it down if it isn't producing. Always try speeding up, slowing down and pausing the bait occasionally before switching to something else. Lastly, pick areas that have a high probability of holding fish. Some topwaters will draw fish from a good distance under prime conditions, but that is rarely the case. Switch to topwater after you've caught a few on something else, regardless of the time of day. You've eliminated finding fish, it's just a matter of catching them on something different.

Is the release bar/button in the up position? If it isn't, there is likely a spring that likely popped loose and the the gearing isn't re-engaging.

I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned mono. With the short length of line used in flipping, the stretch and sensitivity aren't a factor. If it gets nicked and that goes unnoticed, it still retains a good portion of its strength and Visibility is minimal. For flipping, I don't feel the type of line is as important as it is with other presentations.

I prefer cork, either straight or split handle. Long handle for cranks and pistol grip for most top waters.

I'm not familiar with the HMG series, but you may be able to answer your own question based solely on the lure weight recommendations. What weights do you normally fish with your soft plastics? Add that to the weight of the bait itself and the rod where that combined weight falls somewhere in the middle of its recommendations will suit you best. Then look at the action of the rods. A mod/fast will make casting a bit easier, but for single hook baits a faster tip will give you better hook sets.

Here you go. http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=1931262&categoryId=0&parentCategoryId=0&subCategoryId=0&indexId=0&itemGUID=571249daac10845944bc41b1654531e4 The 665 and 705 are both lightweight and sensitive and available in both 1 and 2pc. versions, Plus they have cork grips

Three lures for summer casting....Single willow blade bucktail, Depth Raider and Top Raider. Best bass lures... Mepps Giant Killer, #13 Husky Jerk and a Whopper Plopper For trolling, I like a 1-1.5oz Saftey pin spinnerbait, a Swim Whizz (or Believer), Five of Diamonds spoon and I forget the name, but it's a larger version of a Lazy Ike.

I prefer standard gauge wire hooks for topwater as they don't alter the action of the bait by adding weight and not as much force is needed for the lighter wire to penetrate on hooksets with mono. If I want to upsize I go with http://www.basspro.com/Mustad-UltraPoint-KVD-Elite-Triple-Grip-1X-Treble-Hook-2X-Short-Shank/product/10205312/#desc-tab otherwise it's http://www.basspro.com/Mustad-UltraPoint-KVD-Elite-Triple-Grip-1X-Treble-Hook-Standard-Shank/product/2233696/

I don't ever recall using anything other than a Texas rig with larger worms (10in.+). I work the larger worms slower than I do the 6-7in. ones and in order to get action out of the tail on most, calls for either working the worm with your reel, or having enough weight at the nose to activate the tail movement as the bait falls. Hook choice depends entirely on you and the conditions you are fishing, whatever you have confidence in. I throw mainly thinner worms like Mann's and Culprit and opt for a 3/0 to 5/0 hook. If I feel I'm getting short pick-ups, I'll thread the worm up past the knot a couple of inches as I find it hard for me to wait when setting the hook. (I really can't say that it helps, but I think it does) You can get a similar action to a shaky head by pegging the weight and working it like one.

The first thing to look at is the recommended lure weight range of the rod. Both rods you mention are MH Fast action and aren't ideal choices for lighter fare. The second thing to look at is; what are you comparing your casting distance to, or who (whom?). Although casting distances with baitcasters can approach those of spinning rods in the hands of an experienced caster, accuracy is one of the main reasons many of us use them. Third, practice.......practice.........practice. You'll likely be practicing undoing backlashes, but that is also a lesson in what not to do, so try to learn from that also.

. It's called a topography map, or topo map for sort. The ones he shows appear to be Fishing Hot Spots. Each line on the map indicates a change of depth the amount of which is shown in the 'legend'. The closer the lines are together, the faster the depth increases. You can do a web search for whatever lake you're interested in and likely view a map of it online. The actual maps can also be purchased online and at some of the local tackle or bait shops. One thing I'm going to mention here and it may be obvious to many here, is he is highlighting potential spawning areas. You always need to take seasonal movements into consideration when looking at maps. For instance, the areas he highlighted aren't areas you would be looking fo during the winter.

Catt, What is WOT? As for graphs, I turn down the brightness also, but I also tilt the displaly down. If I'm anchored, I'll turn it off.

I fish them two ways. I'll use a very light jig and a floating worm and work the tops of the weeds with subtle hops. When working the bottom, I like to use enough weight to be able to maintain contact with the bottom. I'll drag it a foot or two, pause and try to twitch it without moving it. If I feel it bump anything, I'll do the shaking and if I don't get bit, give it a short hop and just dead stick it for 20-30 seconds. I'll shake it again before continuing with the drag and pause/twitch. If I'm working an area quickly, I opt for a worm with some salt, but if I need to slow down to get bit I opt for a floater dipped in scent.