T-Billy

Thanks Katie!! The fish ain't bad lookin either!!! ???

Cat.

My Lew's Pro SP and Okuma Hakai are great in this scenario. Both are tough, heavy cover capable reels with light spools that start fast and help compensate for a rod that doesn't have the tip for light baits. Not ideal maybe, but they help, and it beats going in there with an underpowered rod and getting your heart broke by a biggun you couldn't control.

I just bought a Scorpion 70 from Digitaka for $148 and change, free shipping. Arrived in three days. Outstanding casting distance with the weights you mentioned and even a bit lighter. JDM is the way to fly right now with the exchange rates.

I was just checking out a used crucial at my local tackle store about a month ago. I forget the model, but it was either a 6-8 or 6-10 MH. Picked it up just because I hadn't seen one in a while. I had forgot how nice they were. I may pick up a used one one of these days just for nostalgia's sake. They were above my budget when they were in production.

I also make most of what I use. Torn up baits go into a container to be re-melted. Rigged baits stay rigged on my rods. I don't use salt in my baits so rusting hooks is not an issue. The factory baits that I do use get pitched after they get torn up.

Well... I just bought my 3rd Ark Invoker Pro 7'4" H MF casting rod. Lack of a full handle is the only thing that keeps it from being the perfect chatterbait rod IMO. I'm also liking it very well for spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and paddletail swimbaits. Just an excellent blank for single hook moving baits. The split grip really isn't a big deal as it's a large diameter blank, but I do prefer a full grip on my chucking and winding rods. My Ark Tharp "King Cobra" would also be replaced immediately with another if broken. Great heavy cover pitchin rod. It's light, sensitive, and very well balanced for a rod of it's length and power. I spend a lot of time with it in hand, and rarely pitch cover with anything else anymore. I've muscled a 5+ LM from deep in the cattails, and two 3' musky out of bushy laydown tops just in the last couple weeks with it. Day after day it gets the job done in the jungle.

3 - 3.5 work well for me. If you pour your own, the Do-It Ripper is great on both chatterbaits and spinnerbaits. The tail thumps hard and keeps time with the blades well.

I'll go with this one. Biggest so far this year at 5-4, and just a beautiful specimen. Fat, healthy, and beautifully colored.

I'm a minimalist. I only carry 10-12 rods on the deck. ? The fact that I fish from a 1648 without a rod locker MIGHT have something to do with that. You're lucky. He usually twists my nipples. I hate purple nurples and submit to him everytime. It's a truly sad state of affairs.

No. Do-It molds paddletail swimmer. Here's a pic of one on a chatterbait. The 3.5 is an awesome chatterbait trailer. They're hard thumpers. I've found that those times they're short striking and just don't want to commit to the chatterbait, they'll often choke one of these on a jighead. That was the case the other night.

Good info. Thanks.

Map of their native range.

Ha! No, I got 'em around 4:30am. Took the pic later in the morning. Hit that flat I was finding them on back in July hoping they'd be using it again. Fished it with a chatterbait and caught one dink LM. Picked up the Ripper and had these two in about 5min. I was stoked. Figured I'd have a limit in short order, but those two and another dink LM were it. Water's down to 69. Forecast is 60's and 40's, so if they're gonna move back onto it to feed in numbers it should happen soon. Fingers crossed. These are Saugeye. Hybrid between a walleye and a sauger. ODNR stocks them in our lakes. They vary, but are generally colored like these, more like a sauger. Darn good eating.

Train. Practice. Don't play with the d**n thing like it's a toy.

Looking like the night bite is pretty well dead for the bass this year, but I picked up a pair of twin 3.5# eyes on a Do-It 3.5 Ripper. Yum. As the morning wore on I got into some LM pitching laydowns. Nothing Pic worthy, but for the 2nd trip in a row to this lake, a musky decided to maul my Sweet Craw. Also saw a couple more cruising. The cooling water and dying grass has them moving shallow into the wood.

Same here, but the big ones that got away, I remember even more clearly. Two 7#+ LM, two 30"+ Saugeye, 50 something inch musky, 40#+ flathead. All lost at boatside. Being so close, yet so far from all those PB's just adds fuel to the obsession, but man what a deflating feeling when it happens. 2:49am, 54 degress out and heading for mid 40's, I'm getting ready to go chasing after another.

^^^ Nailed It ^^^

Not a fan of the music but, cool video.

I was thinking along the same lines when I purchased those Yum Finesse rigs. Seems to me 5 swimmers should have plenty of drawing power and look more natural than a bladed rig. I could be wrong though, it happened once before. ? I think I'll pick up a couple of those Flash Mob Jr's and give 'em a spin on windy days.

These are on my short list. I haven't thrown a rig with blades yet. Last spring was the first time I really spent time throwing one and gave it a fair shot. I'll be looking to improve my game with it this fall. @A-Jay and @roadwarrior, what are your criteria for whether you want blades or not?

I can attest to the toughness of the Yum Finesse rig. I've caught several musky in the 3' range and pulled free of a bunch of snags and haven't broken one yet. I like the size of this rig, and the wires are flexible enough to get that breathing action while still being plenty strong. The price is right too.

The A-rig will snag on anything within 10' of it, or so it seems. I've cleaned a lot of old line from the bottom of my lakes with it. I throw it on 40# braid. I can straighten hooks out or pull up big snags and get my rig back this way. The 7'10" Shimano SLX H MF works well with it and won't break the bank. I throw it on the 7'11" Ark Tharp "Guntersville Special". The long handle on these rods makes a big difference over the course of the day vs a 7'6" or shorter. They wear on ya, but once you start catching fish, it's hard to put down.

^THIS^, and they are VERY comfortable in hand.