Big Rick

Popcorn in hand!! Let's rumble....?

The hook screws/eyelets would be my issue! This bait is a HAWG hunter and needs that part of the hardware to be a tad overkill, not loose and sketchy. I'm sure the issue can be resolved in short order.

Online ordering is your friend! Joking aside, the Speed Shad is a great bait. It's not quite as soft as the Fat Impact yet it maintains 90% of the movement and action. I good tradeoff, especially when using it as a trailer or on a jig head of some sort.

That man don't need a rod, he needs TIRES and BRAKES! Drive down and I'll let you test one of mine...

I can tell you don't fish poppers and walking baits very often. Or, maybe you fish a rod that is a wet spaghetti noodle with some 20# braid. Because flouro SINKS and braid will bend out EVERY hook on a smaller topwater bait upon hooks. IMO, mono is the best of both worlds in most topwater applications. Tough, floats, and yet has enough stretch to keep you from bending hooks and missing fish.

BPS Speed Shad is a lesser expensive alternative that works great as a trailer.

Scottsboro Tackle Co. Swimbaits. They come in lengths from 3" to 8" and have excellent movement at a crawl. That's where they shine. Comes with a shallow hook pocket as well to assist rigging and hookups.

You, sir, summed it up as good as it can be totaled. Well said.

Score!! My TW order came in! The Black Friday email came a little before 10PM CST and in less than 10 minutes I had placed my order. I STILL had an item that showed available be put on backorder! Man, that place is popular!! Anyway, Got my Hydrowave and already mounted it!! Can't wait to get on the water! Trying Defier for the first time. Hope it's worth the price. First time trying Big Hammer Swimbaits too. @AJ conned me into getting the Spro Aruku Shad in Old Glory... You guys are bad for my wallet. Thanks!!

My Dad got me addicted at a very young age. One of my earliest memories is looking at a 6 pounder he had mounted and wanting one myself. It took me until I was 15 to catch that 6.25 pound beauty from the bank in some backwater. It took me a bit longer to work odd jobs to save up the money to get her mounted. It was a priceless moment to me to put it on the wall close to Dad's. My favorite memories are fishing with Dad in a John boat as he sculled around some ox bows off the Pearl river. We would have to drive down nasty, muddy roads across private property to access these jewels. He always gave me a hand-poured, flat tail worm on weedless hook attached to a Zebco 33. I'd cast to my hearts content. He's been gone nearly two years now and I never get in my boat that I don't think about him. The deck of my boat is where I reconnect with Dad and the good memories flow. So, while my addiction to bass fishing is all about figuring out the puzzle, it goes way deeper than that. And, I'm proud to say, I'm passing the love for fishing on to my kids. The addiction continues.

I'll second on the Azuma Shaker Z. I found some in a bargain bin in a small bait shop. Gave $3 for them and promptly caught my 2 biggest fish of the year (6+lb) on my next trip. The rattles are very different and the bait itself has a very different material that sounds very unique.

Ha! True that. Probably will do him no good since his las visit here was December 16, 2010. But, we can all glean from it.

Agree with this 100%. I was very pleased with my first Fury.

Often this is the result of light baits with little to no resistance in the water to cause tension on the line and spool while reeling. Texas rigs are a famous culprit since they're often used with fluorocarbon line that is inherently stiffer than a comparable diameter mono. And the line is a higher test pound which also results in a stiff line that won't lay smoothly. I recommend some line conditioner as a start. Soak your spool the night before you go fishing. Also, if you're using heavier line, right before you fish hook your bait on something, pull out about 20-30 yards of line and put considerable tension for about 5 seconds. When you give it slack it should lay straight. If not, repeat the process. This will eliminate any memory for the duration of your trip and make your spool lay much smoother.

12 years....oldest resurrected single post thread?

Oh, I took it in the spirit you meant it. I liked Cabela's as well. The hunting side of Cabela's was far superior to BPS. The biggest issue I had with Cabela's is there were no stores in the south. It was all mail order for us. I never traveled far enough to the north to actually set foot in a Cabela's store.

Well, he's either way more intelligent than it seems or early in his business life he surrounded himself with intelligent people because it seems everything he touches turns to gold. Dude is very successful. Then again, maybe he's so intelligent he surrounded himself with more intelligent people...?

After reading this I am SO educated beyond my intelligence. ?

Sage advice. You can much easier adapt to the strengths and weaknesses of a certain reel when it just FITS..... I find I often compensate for a reel/rod because of how well it fits my hands, movements, and actions.

There are a ton of options in your price range that have MUCH better track records. I bought Lew combo's for my boys with Speed Sticks as the rod. They haul them around in pickups and cars with NO problems or breakage. Lew's makes a great entry point rod, IMO.

Berkley Big Game Green is as cheap as it gets for bulk line and is highly rated throughout this forum. It's readily available in big box stores as well..

The several Academy stores I frequent in my travels are loaded to the gills with H20 product with no discounts or signage indicative of them being discontinued.

As the owner of a '09 G8 GT 6.0, '15Camaro SS 6.2, and '15Chevy SS Sedan LS3, all with serious mods, this pic hurt so good..... Tough choice to make... Beautiful car. I can tell she was your baby. Here's the two SS's... OP, sorry to derail...well, maybe not really..

You're a brave man! No way am I wrapping a tow rope around my $2,400 Ultrex.... I'd have a conniption if I damaged it by using it as a tow hook.

Google Float-N-Fly. It's a deadly way to catch fish. and big ones as well. At first look it appears to be a dink slayer, but it's known to catch monsters because it's so unassuming and a SLOW presentation.