Shadcranker

on the Curado, it really depends on what you're going to use it for. The 7:1 reel is more specialized in my view (great for buzzbaits, burning traps). I tend to use the 6:1 version (100 size) more, plus the 100 is considerably lighter and smaller, which matters when fishing all day. Like Risk Kid said, go get your hands on them, and see what you like best. You can't go wrong with a Curado. It's a workhorse of a reel.

My personal thought is only to use rattles in three situations: 1. dingy water 2. flippin thick grass 3. flippin other thick cover (buck brush, stump rows, thick lay downs) My idea is that if the fish have a hard time finding the bait visually (above situations) the rattle is necessary. In clear water, open water, pressured water it can actually be a turn off for the fish. Your opinions???

Good trolling rod. That's about it.

Baitcaster: P Line CX Premium 12-20 lb. (tough. fairly stiff, strong) Spinning: McCoy Mean Green 6-10 lb. (limp, little if any memory, very good strength) Very different properties, but perfect for what i use them for.

Another factor, beyond just trying to simplify boat stareage, purchasing decisions, etc is the big C word- confidence. if you are more confident on the water with most every kind of color combination in your boat, then go for it. For me, having a gazillion colors on hand just makes it too confusing to make decisions on the water (not to mention the storage issue). I have confidence in my go to colors, and that's what matters to me personally. if someone in the boat with me catches them better on a different shade, etc, then I may have to adjust and get some of that color. JMHO- you have to do what works for you, and for me, having a basic set of colors by bait type works. And yes, I agree it is funny that I said I try to "simplify" things, but yet I have a bunch of different colors depending on bait type. But, basically in soft plastics, I carry watermelon, green pumpkin, black n blue, and junebug (plus the shad colors when trying to imitate a bait fish). I really feel that those will work in 90% of the situations I find.

My issue with using a 7:1 reel with lipped CB's is not that it wears you out. It is that you tend to overwork the bait (move it too fast). I saw a demonstration a few years ago in a bass tank at a fishing show, and the pro doing the demo showed how crazy fast the bait goes by at a "semi quick" retrieve rate. It looked like a blur in the tank. That was a normal to fast retrieve with a 6:1 reel. I think the theory of slowing down is really tough if you are used to a certain retrieve speed. You get lulled into a normal retrieve speed when making hundreds of casts per day. If you ever see a bait in a tank or pool, you will want to slow it down. Just my opinon.

If you do not have a guide, I would strongly suggest covering water with a Rattle trap, jerkbait, crankbait until you locate them. The jig and creatues, etc are great if you find them, but the fish are still fairly scattered at Big G now, and you need to move around a good bit, then slow down once you find them. If no guide, PM me, and I will give you some places to try (I was down there 3 weeks ago and located some fish). SC

Depends what you mean by numbers. On my home lake when it's hot, you can catch 30-40 fish, but you're lucky to catch 3-4 keepers. The most skilled anglers on my home lake don't catch 30-40 per day. they go looking for 5-10 quality keeper bites. From that perspective, it takes more skill to locate the "right" fish. Really depends on the body of water. Guntersville, for instance, if you have 5 "keeper" fish, you won't cash a check. You may get points if it's a circuit event. To cash down there, you'd better have a four pound average, so locating the right group is key. On the Ohio River, from what I've heard, you just go try to catch a limit of keepers.

Powell 683 C Rod with "new" model Shimano 100D. Very light rod, small reel.

Depends what level you are talking about. If you talking the Weekend series (Bass's ABA or FLW's BFL), then the choice is clear- go with the BFL's. The new ABA format is a joke IMO (no regional and 250+ boats in their national event). BASS made it clear that they are not interested in the weekend angler by off-loading the weekend series. FLW on the other hand is commited to the BFLs, Federation, and the All American is as good as it gets for a weekend angler. I made it to the BASS National weekend series championship this year (for 06 season), and it was ok, but ask anyone who's attended th All American and BASS event, and they'll tell you what's nicer. Only appeal to the ABA deal is to make the Classic, and your odds are miniscule. I've switched to BFL's this year and will not look back. If you want to make it in big time Bass fishing and be on TV on the biggest stage, then BASS is the track. ESPN's involvement makes it the premier trail at the Elite level. Think of the biggets names in the sport, and you think Elite Series. Think biggest title, and it's still the Classic. Other than that, stay with FLW (BFL, Stren, The Series, etc.). Other consideration is your boat brand. Perks are lined up Ranger vs. Triron. Money is much better in FLW with Ranger, etc.

My personal favorite is McCoy Mean Green. It's extremely limp and has very little memory. Most standard mono / copoly is far too stiff and tends to twist and loop off the reel. Any other tips on avoiding those blasted loops and twists?

I use a Norman DD22, but it really only runs about 15-16 ft on 10 lb line on a long cast. I don't know of any lures that really hit the 20 ft mark other than the 30+. I know that Lucky Craft claims their 20 bait will go there, but I don't have the $ or nerve to root one of those down that deep where I structure fish. The DD22 is a great bait. They are usually tuned right out of the package, and the colors are great.

I've developed a "system" of sorts for basic colors that work in almost all conditions, so as to keep the bait monkey at bay. It's very intimitating trying to have every possible shade of color in every type of bait (much less figure out a way to pack and store all the crap in your boat). Here's what I do. Please share your ideas too: Crankbaits: Craw colors -in Winter / Spring time shallow and med deep models (shad raps, bandit 200's, etc.) Shad patterns -(just go for TN shad looking most of the time)- own it in every size and depth range (this should be the staple of your cranking arsenal). Chartreuse baits- own very few in smaller winter / spring baits. Own several in DD 14 and DD 22, for offshore summer time ledge fishing. Go to color is chart w/ blue back. Jerkbaits / topwaters: 2 basic colors- shad or bone and a chart pattern Rattle traps: 2 colors- red and chrome and blue Spinnerbaits / buzzbaits: Buy 95 % white or chart and white. Then have a small supply of spare blades and skirts to change on the lake if needed. Only other colors I buy are chart, and wh/chart/blue (except for night fishing, and that's another issue all together). Soft Plastics: basicaly just trying ot have a dark and light color in each type. Only "third" color class would be pearl or shad color, used primarily in flukes, swimming worms, and senkos. Also, buy a jar of chart dippin dye to customize as needed. Grubs: Buy three basic colors- smoke, watrmelon green, and chart. This covers it all. Tubes: two primary colors- green (watermelon or green pumpkin) and one dark (usually black n blue or junebug). Worms: Two basic colors- red (red shad or red bug) and purple. Only exception would be trick worms, where you'd want some white, green, and bright colors. Craws: One light (green) and one dark (black based) Jig trailers: 3 basic colors- watermelon, green pumpkin, and black / blue Senkos: 3 basic colors: white, watermelon, junebug or one dark Creatures: two colors- one green based and one dark (junebug) Toads: 2 colors-white and green/black of some sort (my go to color is Catapila) Finesse Worms: 3 basic colors- watermelon, green pumpkin, and junebug Sweet Beavers: 2 colors- Watermelon and black n blue Lizards: Two basic colors- watermelon and pumpkin pepper You should pick your own go to color in each basic color group (white, chart, green, and dark). Mine for instance are: white= pearl chart cranks= chart and blue shad cranks= TN shad green= watermelon dark=junebug What I've found is that now when the monkey grabs me, I end up buying two of the bait instead of four or five. Saves $$, confusion, and space in the boat. With those basic colors, I feel like I could fish on any lake I need to and do fine.

Red on flukes and white or shad clored baits. Black nickel on all other palstics when not trying to represent a shad. This keeps it simple.

7:1 is too fast for a crankbait. Good Buzzbait / rattletrap reel.

Top filippin baits: 1. 4" Gambler Craw 2. Lunker Lure Rattleback Monster grass jig w/ Zoom chunk 3. 6" Zoom lizard 4. 4" Prowlwer Flippin tube 5. Sweet beaver

"back- up" was just a good natured jab at a buddy of mine who bought a Steez recently. On a serious note, I don't see that any reel could be better than the Chronarch, and I certainly don't see that the highest end Shimano (Calais I think), Steez or any other is worth the extra $200-400. Basically, the $200 reels are about all I really "need"- Curado is my personal choice. Chronarch is just a step up, and for an extra $60 bucks may be worth the $???

The polls are closed, and CNN is ready to declare Shimano the winner in a landslide in the reel category. The polls just opened in the great rod debate of 2007. Let your voice be heard. Write in votes are welcomed. I'm sure I left some off, such as Browning, but I tried to list the higher end products that I own or would consider buying. My picks, in order: 1. Powell 2. Loomis 3. St. Croix

Shimino Chronarch 100DSV 6:1 I'd take the $200 I saved by not buying a Steez, and get a Curado just for back-up.

10 lb P-Line CXX Premium (green). Very abrasion resistant, casts well, and the 10 seems to have the strength of 14 of other brands.

Finesse tubes- 3" prowler tube- I fish on 8lb McCoy lineo n a 6'8" MH fast tip spinning rod- a custom rod (using a 3/16 or 1/4 oz tube head - BPS Gammie WG XPS head). I use this rig when targeting fish on flats or in open water, especially for smallies and spots. I also have a 6'6" Shimano Crucial MH action spinning rod that works well with these tubes. Flippin Tubes - 4" Prowler flippin model- I fish on a Powell 683C Baitcaster with 14 lb P-line. The rod is a fast action, MH 6'8" general purpose rod. TX Rig the tube using a Gammie EWG 3/0 hook; and usually a 3/8 or 1/2 oz weight (use this to flip the bushes, laydowns on KY / Barkley)

I dont' see the need for a floater. I like the original Ribbit just fine. It can be worked at a decent speed and still stay on top, plus as stated above, the heavier bait is easier to cast.

Cavitron- slowest bait around,

It's an awesome tecnique when fish are suspended in cold clear water. The key, as with most smallie fishing in clear highland reservoirs is the barometric pressure, clouds, and wind. On Dale Hollow or Center Hill if the pressure is high, bright skies, and little or no wind (if clear, you can see down 30 ft), you can throw dynamite and not find them. If you get some cloud cover and moderate chop on the water, the fish will feed. And there are really only a handful of ways to catch fish suspended over 50 ft of water- float n fly over their head, live minnows on a split shot, or a silver buddy or tail spinner worked slowly through the zone. I don't think McClintock fishes the fly much at all. But most of the guides on the lake fish it all winter. Fred fishes jerkbaits and aggressive baits most of the year, but the float n fly will outproduce any other tecnique most days when the water temp is below 48 and the fish are suspended. If you fish clear, rocky, highland reservoirs where the fish suspend over deep water in the winter, it is an important thing to know how to do.

I like the nail style weights, the grooved ones, so you can break off to the right length. You can change where you insert the nail to change the action. They work great to really work the bait fast, but keep it from jumping out of the water nose first. I bought some of the keel weighted hooks to try-will give them a shot this year.