Shadcranker

1. 8+ LM (would be PB) 2. win my club in boater division 3. make cut in Elite Series Event on KY Lake in June

dink here

They are made here in TN. They are good quality, especially the APX series. For the money though, I would go another direction. I personally like the split handle, no foregrip designs that are out there now (Powell, Kistler, Carrot Stick, Cumara by Shimano, etc.). These designs have taken a lot of the weight out of the rods, which I like. It's a personal choice. Loomis' branded rods and St. Croix Avids and lower priced St Croixs use a more traditional design with the cork foregrip and one piece handle. you'll find a lot of fans of their rods here, but I like the other design features better. SC

We fish rock all the time, and it doesn't matter much what head you're fishing, you will hang up (especially if you have chunk and larger rock). They just tend to find the cracks. On balance, though, the footblall head will do better, b/c it's wider.

My rule is keep it simple. I try to buy two basic colors in most soft plastics: Watermelon Black n blue This really simplifies things. You can cover clear to muddy water with these, and with a jar or two of dippin dye, I can always add a touch of chart or red if needed. Only exception is in shad imitating plastics, like flukes, and I use pearl white 99% of the time. Colors can be very intimidating, and you will go crazy chasing the color spectrum. With CB's buy three basic patterns: shad, craw, and chartreuse / blue. I buy the reds and craw patterns only in shallow to mid depth baits/ In rattle baits, chrome / blue and red are all you need. Spinnerbaits- white, white / chartr, and chart skirts. Good luck, and don't feel like you have to buy every variation of green plastic made.

I'd go Powell 6'6" MH and a Stradic or around $300. But, as others have said, you have a ton of options in that price range. You can go fairly high end on the rod and get a fine spinning reel for that $. Just make sure and get a larger sized spinning reel than you're use to with the UL stuff. I buy 2500 size in all my spinning tackle. the extra line capacity will help you cast further.

If they would re-package them and market them better, they could sell more IMHO. That said, i still use the 4" version on a darter head same as i would use a hard jerkbait. Dynamite on smallies and spots in the spring.

5" Fluke in Pearl color. I use it 75% of the time when trying to imitate a shad with a soft minnow bait. I throw it on 3/0 EWG Red Gammy hook and will usually put a nail style weight in the bait to get it down a bit and work it fast without the bait jumping out of the water nose first. It's my # 1 bait for fishing schooling fish in open water in Summer.

Yep - here's a diffferent one- PALOMAR (capitalized). I tie it 90% of the time, although I've heard that it is not the best with flouro, but I can't stand the way flouro handles, so not an issue.

I have "scheduled" my tackle under my homeowners' policy with $0 deductible, and depending on the values you've got, if you can afford to self-insure, and whether or not you travel with it a lot, you may consider doing the same. It is on a Sports Equipment Floater Endorsement. My insurance carrier allowed me to schedule it loosly witout a super detailed inventory list and declare the Replacment value of it all. I listed each rod and reel individually, but with the lures, boxes, accessories, etc, I just came up with an average value per type x # of lures, and determined a value for the lot. For example, 50 cranks at $6 average per bait=$250. You'd be amazed how chep it is. I don't want to admit here, how much stuff I have, but to insure the whole lot was around $140 per year with $0 deductible. At the very least, you need to inventory your stuff, and keep the list, pictures, off-site. I have a feeling a lot of claims adjusters will have a hard time believing you have $____ thousand of fishing poles and crickets.

3/8 for object fishing up river (pitching along rocks and wood) 1/2 and 3/4 for slow rolling deeper 1 oz for Summer time ledge fishing on KY and Barkley That said, I probably use a 3/8 oz mostof the time.

You could fish all day in Mud Cr if the wind is bad. it's a great creek in the Spring, and the fish move shallow up river first, so they may be stacked in there. If the wind isn't bad, you can run the river easily. bad wind is coming up or down river (N or S wind) over 12 MPH. if the wind is more W or E, you can get out of it ok.

if you can't make it down for the trip, I'd go some time b/w mid March and late April. You'll have fish in all three pahses most of the time. My favorite times there are late Feb and early March for pre-spawn brusiers (5-12 ft staging fish on grass edges) and in late April when the shad spawn is happening, and the fish first start gettingon a post spawn pattern. Best advice though is to get a guide. G'ville is big water, and you have to hunt to find the fish. You can fish for 300 yds on a grass bed and not get a bite, and then, bam 5 big fish. The fish really group up down there in specific spots, so a guide can really help narrow your search.

He must hang out at Opry Mills a lot. I live in Nashville and talked to him at the BPS store about three years ago. He was in street clothes and chasing his twin boys around the store. They were just in town messing around. Really nice guy, and from what I hear, he's a pretty decent fisherman too.

Really three different tecniques: Jiggin spoon- fish it down into schools of suspended baitfish . This is a standby pattern in the Fall and Winter in my area on highland reservoirs like Center Hill, Tims Ford, and Dale Hollow. It really works well on big spotted bass. We look for big balls of bait suspended in 15-30 ft over say 50 ft of water, and simply drop her down through the bait. The fish are usually under the school waiting for dying or struggling baitfish. Flutter Spoon- a new tecnique for many, but apparently is was developed around Lake Fork to catch ledge oriented fish and namely bigguns. It's a 4-6" spoon that weighs close to one ounce, presumably imitates a large shad, yellow bass, or white bass. Kelly Jordan made this deal public on KY Lake on Ultimate Match Fishing, filmed in May of '07. He whacked em like I've never seen out on a main lake ledge. By whacked em, I mean like probably 15 fish b/w 3-6 lbs in 9 1/2 minutes! The bait flutters down to the fish, and they eat it. Looks pretty simple to fish. I'm anxious to try it. You can Google Lake Fork Marina, and they sell the Joe Spaits "big joe", or Lake Fork tackle sells one that is almost identical. Small castng spoons (like the 1/4 oz Kastmaster)-great for fishing on Mussel beds on TN River lakes when the fish are feeding on smaller threadfin shad. you can throw this spoon on spinning tackle and pop it, swim it, flutter it, and it will trigger fish. No telling what all you will catch. Kind of like the jiggin spoon, you may have to wade through tons of white and yellow bass, but they can be fun too. Also a great bait for schooling fish.

I can say that on KY Lake and Barkley the bass definitely eat the larger gizzard shad out on the drops. I've seen them in the fishes' throats. That's one reason the "big spoon" craze has hit KY and Barkley after Kelly Jordan's sick 9 1/2 minutes on a ledge on KY Lake on Ultimate Bass Fishing. Those big 6" Spait spoons are designed to mimmick a big gizzard shad on the river, and they obviously work.

I hate to jinx it, but I'm thinking Shadcranker for big fish. Only reason I'm saying this is because I've paid my dues there, and if the fishing gods have any sense of justice, I'm due an 8+ lbr. I've got 10+ years of $$, licenses, guides, gas to and from Nashville, and I'm hoping that with four full days down there, I can snag ole Eunice. I've caught one just shy of eight and bunches of 5's and 6's there, but I've never been during "prime time" for more than one day. All that said, the real pressure is going to be guiding Riskkid for the week. He made up this crazy story that I guaranteed multiple 5+lb fish per day. Hog-wash! The potential is there for someone to catch a double digit fish. I saw a 31 lb, 5 fish bag there in a tourney last January anchored by a 10 and 11 lbr.

For jigging spoons, I like the War Eagle ones in 1/2 and 3/4 oz. As far as large wobble spoons for structure fishing (ala Kelly Jordan on Ultimate Match Fishing), the Joe Spaits Big Joe and Lake Fork Tackle spoon in 4" and 5" seem to be the ticket, but I haven't used them yet. For casting smaller spoons, I have a had a lot of luck in the past on the small Kastmasters.

Troy: Thanks for dropping in. I fished Big G with you about 5 years ago, and I learned a valuable lesson about topwater and blue bird skies. You landed a 5+ lbr on a Spittin Image in S Sauty on a nasty North wind, blue bird, post front day. Hope all is well with you. The fish in my pic came from down there last year. Guntersville is an amazing fishery for sure! Guys: Troy is a really nice person, and one heck of a guide. Even if it's tough day, you'll enjoy being on the water with him. I've been out with several guides down there, and IMHO, he and Tim Chandler are the real deal as far as knowing the lake and being professional guides.

They are a very good and specialized jig for pitching and flipping matted or near matted grass. The entire All Terrain line-up is excellent quality. Their Fotball jigs are really nice too. The Scott M jig is one of my favorites for punching a big heavy jig in grass.

I'd say for the $, The e21 is a better value. If, of course, the color doesn't bother you.

I've fished it some. My theory on color is that all the variations of shad colors are a way to hook us, the fisherman. I have had great success on the TN Shad and Gizzard Shad colors Series 5 bait on Guntersville, and I am skeptical as to whether Sexy Shad, Lavender Shad, Ghost, or any other shad pattern variation truly makes a difference. All that said, the SK baits are very good baits, especially for the $$. I will continue to use them. And, the Sexy Shad pattern is nice looking, so I do have a few of them. Color, beyond the basic hue is overrated IMHO. SC

http://e21fishing.com/

Come on in. The water is fine! Welcome to the world of quality and performance. May I suggest a Chronarch MG 50 for your pleasure???

It is a personal preference, but the main reason I use BC gear is the control I have with different casting styles. I can flip and pitch a BC presentation into a coffee cup, so if I'm pitching specific targets, I cannot use spinning tackle. Also, for horsing fish out of heavy cover and grass, I have much more power with heavy line applications so you can turn her head, and horse her out of the stuff. Finally, I like spinning tackle for light line applications like finesse worms, shaky heads, small grubs, jigs, etc. When I'm fishing a big worm or jig, I'm much more comfortable with BC equipment.