Sherlock 60

They lost me after about 5 minutes. I tried again later and they lost me even faster. "The Bass Pros" is my favorite simply because it consistently passes on good information. And this year they dropped Rick Clunn's "The Art of Angling" segment and replaced it with an instructional segment with Stacy King called "Bass 101." Good move.

I use a C4 6600 on a 7 1/2' MH Muskie rod for larger swimbaits. Casts a mile and never a problem. I can't remember the last time I had a backlash.

For $89 you can get an Abu-Garcia C4 5600. It's a fine swimbait reel.

Be sure to get him a spool of 20# PowerPro and some 3/0 EWG hooks.

For several years I used a leader with my spinning/braid gear. But a couple of years ago my flurocarbon leader broke off so I tied the hook directly on to the braid. I could not tell any difference in the number of bites and I no longer have to worry about the leader breaking off and losing a fish. I have not used a leader since.

I am late jumping on the high speed reel bandwagon. Under what circumstances I should use a 7.1:1 reel? Your thoughts, please.

Then you must not have tried Trilene MAXX. Only line I've used that caused birds nests on spinning gear. I have used Sensation some and never noticed any problems. But, like someone else here, I only used a couple of free spools that I somehow managed to acquire.

I use 20/6 PowerPro on a spinning reel for all my soft plastics (except tubes). And I have been considing using 2# diameter PP for my ultra-light fishing.

When I was a kid we used in-line spinners on a cane pole (wish I had one of those now) and walked along the top of a railroad tie sea wall catching bluegills and white bass all day long. Sigh...

BPS website description says the PQ has a "one-piece machined aluminum frame."

I neglected to mention that I have never had any success with jigs either. The problem is that the doggone Senkos keep catching fish so I don't spend enough time with jigs.

I'm not alone after all! Does this mean I can stop feeling guilty about never getting most of my baits wet?

Ditto on the spinning gear. I use a MH spinning rod and 20# braid for all soft plastics.

How about plain old bullheads (or yellow bellies as we called them when I was a kid)? What works well for them??? I haven't caught a catfish since I was 12 (a looong time ago). It's about time I caught another.

I use a 6'6" MH Bionic Blade spinning rod for Senkos with 20# Power Pro braid. Never had a problem after catching a couple hundred bass. Very good rod for the money.

I haven't used the Ocho yet, but have used the Shimmy Sticks and they work well. I am a devout Senko user, but the Shimmy Sticks are a cheaper alternative. Not as soft as the Senko, and don't seem to get as many bites...maybe it is because they are a bit stiffer than the Senko. Profile is pretty much the same, though.

The bass spawn seems to be over in Northern Indiana. Is it time to go with deep cranks over the drop offs and deeper flats to catch some of the bigger females?

Same here. Especially effective at dusk over shallow flats.

Best??? Who knows? But my personal favorite is the Bomber Square A in Oxbow Bream (bluegill).

I fish the Barbee Chain of Lakes near Warsaw in Kosciusko County. Give them a try. Lakes Tippecanoe, Wawasee and Webster are all within a few minutes of the Barbee Chain, too.

I have two Abu C4 Reels and love them. The C4 5600 is on a 7' MH rod for jigs, frogs and swimbaits, and the C4 6600 is on a 7'6" Muskie MH rod used primarily for bucktails and larger bass swimbaits. And they outcast my other baitcasting reels.

Use what works for you.

I picked up a pack of their flippin' tubes for $2 the other day and then took a look at BassResourse and found this thread. Since TriggerX is a Rapala product you think they would be pretty good...but that certainly is not the verdict here. I will give them a try, but I would never pay $7.99 for them.

Nice article about Skeet and professional bass fishing. It appears it was written last fall after Skeet had won the Classic and was leading for Angler of the Year, so it makes sense that he was the focus. KVD was quoted, too, and their rivalry was a major angle of the story. I really don't need any more details about his disco days, however. ;D

I'm still in the numbers phase, but thinking about size more and more. I well remember the "happy to get bit" period of my life and the ribbing I used to take from my wife.