franklinfishfinder

I perfer baitcasters but probally catch more fish on my spinning rod. my favorite ways to fish is shakey heading and throwing weightless flukes which is easier to do with a spinning rod.

I have one of the cabelas bags. it holds 12 3700 boxes and 2 3600 boxes on each side. plus i carry a spinnerbait/buzzbait box seperate and a small shimano tackle bag just for soft plastics. only downside it probally weighs over 80 pounds.

after trying to stick with quantums for the past few years i've finally had to just get rid of them all. i had dealer who could always get a me good deals on them and i liked them but i always tried to over look the little things wrong with them. but after using a brand new code i only paid 60 bucks for in a tournament a few weeks ago i'm done with anything quantum. i lost the tournament because of a drag that didn't work. i was using 50 pound braid throwing a sammy to schooling spots. had a 5 pounder drill it and lost the fish because of a drag that didn't work. i had spooled it that morning and just set the drag almost all the way down. didn't test it really which was my fault but still didn't think twice about it. knowing that most fish on 50 pound braid was going to be pulled right into the boat. well i set the hook and it was like the drag never was there. as soon as i started to reel it was like the drag was as loose as it gets lost the fish and it cost me and my partner the tournament. after that i gave the reel to a guy at the weigh in and then gave all my quantums away. back to shimano and nothing else from now on.

I have fished both the crucial and the magnesium and i liked both. if i had to pick one i would go with the magnesium. the 6'6" or the 7' all-purpose rods are awsome. i also use the 6'8" heavy cover fish snatcher i even throw 5/16 oz shakey heads on it when i'm fishing deep brush. awsome rods and i can throw that shakey head a long ways even with the heavy action rod.

I have fished both the accurist cx and the extreme. and ownestly if i had to choose it would just be a toss up. both reels are good reals for the price. but if i had to get a new reel now. i would try to find one the accurist pts on sale for around the same price if possible. they are better then both the cx and the extremes imo. try cabelas or ebay to find one cheap. quantum discontinued them for 09 so they should be dirt cheap.

Yeah I caught the last 2 including the 5-11 just shaking it around sunken christmas trees in about 12 feet of water.

Just wanted to pass along how awsome theese jigs are. I threw both the 1/2 oz and 3/4 oz ones today in watermelon red and texas craw only caught 6 but they were all 3 plus with the biggest right under 6 and over here in western north carolina 15 pounds will put in the money in most tournaments. i can't wait till it gets cold and the jig bite picks up. nothing beats the cold then puttin a 5 pounder in the boat in december.

i have a 6'9" ml dropshot rod from kistler and i throw alot of light shakey heads on it plus weightless finesse worms

I own the kistler magnesium 6'9" drop shot rod ( spinning ) awsome rod can't say enough about it. and for $175 i feel like it is an awsome rod for the money. plus with the 2009 models coming out and being only $150 the 2008 models should go on sell and be dirt cheap if you can wait till around november.

I own 6 Kistler Magneisum's and 1 LTX and by the start of next spring it will be up to at least 12 total kistlers. i'm switching all my rods over to them if that tells you anything.

if you are not in a hurry wait for the new quantum catalyst baitcasters to come out late next month. i know you said the accurist felt good and that is a quantum reel. i know alot of people bash quantum and that is fine but they make pretty good reels and that is coming from someone who has fished shimano stellas. it's alot about what feels right to you that is the main thing before brand and looks. i have a buddy who still fishes with the old style mitchell spinning reels. he has brand new everything but when it comes to spinning reels he loves those. and the dude can put them in the boat with it.

yeah grubs and topwaters like that work great. also tubes and finesse worms and i bet you there is a few big ones. plus another great time to catch the bigger ones is when it rains and the water rises and has some color to it. not like choclate milk muddy but you know dingy. when it's like that try fishing close to shore. most creek smallies are just like big brown trout when it comes to eating whatever gets washed in when it rains. i hope that might work for ya bud. let me know how it goes.

I grew up fishing the back fork of the elk river in west virgina. it was a small clear trout stream. it was actually catch and release. but there was smallies in it. and growing up and watching bill dance all those guys catch bass all day long i wanted to catch them. i learned that fishing grubs and small crankbaits worked great for number but for bigger fish try fishing jerkbaits like a pointer 95 or a zoom fluke. i learned to catch the bigger fish it meant getting up at day break and going after them before they could see you. if the water is really really clear then you have to almost stalk the bigger ones. but nothing beats watching a 3 + pound smallie turn and kill a fluke. gets my heart beatin everytime. i hope those few tips work for you. and good luck catching those awsome creek smallies. p.s. look for big rocks were fish can get under for cover. you never know whats up under those rocks

I used one for a few years. still have the rod and now use for trout fishing bigger rivers. i like them alot. alot of people bash then about the weight and sensitvity but i will be ownest i'm more into how my reel feels then my rod. plus if you put a super light reel like a stella or a steez on a rod like that it will feel heavy. it won't be no where near balanced. for exapmple why do you think steez makes super lite rods for there reels. cause most rods seem heavey when trying to balance a reel as light as the steez. but for 70 bucks or so the triumphs are nice rods.

If you can hold off until october the new quantum tour editions come out. the blue ones last year were awsome and the new look ones with the sweet lookin red knob on the handle should be a little better then last years.

I might be the only one. But I'm excited for the new quantum reels coming out in october. The tour editions in both the baitcast and spinning look awsome. Glad I didn't buy one the tour edition spinning reels that came out last year. I can't wait, probally will pick up at least 2 of the baitcasters and 1 spinning. Hope to put them all on the new legend extreme's that st. croix is going to be putting out.

Quantum is redesigning all there reels for 2009. The new tour editions coming out in October look sweet. Plan on getting a few of the baitcast and spinning reels.

I got it over at Dick's in ashville. I know you can get it there or at a bass pro or cabelas. I've never seen it at wal-mart or anything like that.

Try P-Line Evolution. I've used it some this year and I'm very impressed by it. Plus it floats and will work well with topwaters. And its under $10 a spool.

I finally got out and had a chance to fish with my new stella today for a little while. realized that the drag on it makes very little noise to none at all. i'm just wonderin if it is supose to be like that. because most reels have a pretty loud drag on them. it seems to catch but it just sounds like there is nothing going on. i know a few of you guys have the same reel and i hope you guys can tell me if yours is like that or not.

Finally got my new Stella 1000FB in today. I know its the older model but after talking to a few people that own both and messin around with both. The FB feels the same as the new model. But anyway for $350.00, which is still alot for a reel it is worth every penny. Awsome reel backed with a lifetime warrenty. Have it on a 6'6" ml st. croix avid. Feels like an awsome setup. Hope to soon put it on a st. croix legend tournament.

I'm a big Sluggo fan. but they are some what hard to find. I can get them at Dick's around here. But my favorite soft jerkbait is the tiny fluke by zoom. Peferct size for the lakes around here.

Quantum makes nice reels but I've had problems with them. I've never fished the tour edition baitcaster but i've fished alot of the other reels and they seem to tear up or come out of the box messed up. Thats why I've switched to shimano reels. Alot of pros use them but they also sponsor alot of pros. Shimano doesn't sponsor any besides a few of the Jap. pros. I think if shimano did then you would see alot of pros start fishing shimano.

Sammy's are good baits. But the Gunfish is also a awsome topwater lure they make. Plus if you can find the Splashtail, it to is a good topwater. I think the Splashtails are discontinued but you might be able to find them still at lucky craft dealers or on the net.

I just started using P-line CX and I have it on a few spinning reels and I've been very impressed with it.