PondHunter

Spoons and a Flourescent Orange jighead with a 4 or 5 inch chub.

My favorite rod for Pike is a St Croix Steelhead rod in the Wild River series. Its a spinning rod that is 8'6" Heavy/Fast rod that is rated for 1/2-2oz lures. It has alot of power to handle Pike and is excellent at throwing Pike sized lures like larger spoons and bucktails. The same rod is available for baitcasting gear as well. IMHO, Pike fight much harder than Bass.

Empty gatorade bottle? :-/

I didn't really have anybody else to introduce me to fishing. I have just always been drawn to it. When I was a kid, I would have a terrible time trying to catch anything and quite frankly, I'm surprised that my lack of success didn't run me off! I like to go with other people, but usually go by myself which is fine because I can go at my own pace. I enjoy being outdoors and relaxing a bit as much as anything else.

My favorites are the Jitterbug and Storm rattlin' chug bug in frog patterns. The Zara Spook in a frog pattern, and a black buzzbait.

I have a Gander Mountain UL rod that is 7" long and has a really good action to it. I have caught some good sized Bass on it. It is not one of the typical "buggy whip" rods either. I have a Mitchell Avocet reel on it, but I would look into one of the U.S. Reel Co. spinning reels, as their spools are large diameter and help keep the line from coiling up and casting better.

Just use the flouro as a leader on your mono main line.

I have resorted to using a flouro leader on everything, whether the line is mono or braid. Even on the Neon Tangerine thats on my Pitchin rod!

Not necessarily. Depends on several factors. The rod's weight rating, the rod's action, the line being used. So you're saying it's easier to cast light lures with a MH rod. : I'm saying exactly what I said above. : : I didn't think that I would have to spell out that a Medium rod is usually designed for lighter line and lure weights, and is more suitable for casting lighter lures. So now, it's spelled out. jeez

Not necessarily. Depends on several factors. The rod's weight rating, the rod's action, the line being used. So you're saying it's easier to cast light lures with a MH rod. :

Those lighter lures would be easier to cast on a Medium rod instead of Medium Heavy.

I didn't lose any fish because of the snap, but I caught alot more fish without them. I tie direct, and use a loop knot if I want more action, a uni-knot if I want a tighter wobble.

Mojo rods are heavy? C'mon. :

The problem I had with backlash was from trying to cast farther by force. Now, I just turn the spool tension knob all the way back and control the distance with my thumb. Casting like your trying to crack a whip will backlash instantly. None of my reels use the tension knob anymore and its even easier to switch between reels since I dont rely on them to control the cast.

I have a 6" 6' Medium Extra Fast casting rod and Like it just as well as my St Croix Premier rods.

Thanks J Francho! I just didnt want to break something getting it apart.

So how do you get to that screw?

I have an ISP10 that I am trying to service, but I can't remove the sideplate. I can remove the handle, spool tension cap, and all of the screws, the sideplate won't come off though. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Watermelon

I simplify my tackle as much as possible. I take some 1/0 EWG hooks, and use worms, tubes, and slug-go's on them. Add a small split shot to get deeper or retrieve faster. All three lures on the same hook. I also bring some 1/8th oz black jigheads and put a smoke or pumpkinseed grub on it. All of this will fit in a small box and will cover many situations.

I prefer the ML rod because you dont have to horse a fish in to keep a bend in the rod so the fish doesnt get any slack line.

I have Mitchell Avocets on mine and like them.

I have 2 setups that use 4lb. test line. The first is a 7" UL spinning rod with a Mitchell Avocet reel. The second is a St. Croix ML 7" rod with a Shimano Symetre reel. I use Stren Clear Mono for both. I have some 4lb flouro, but not sure if it helps since the line is so small to start with. If it's clear water and sunny, it might be the answer though. I really like both of these rigs. They don't give a fish any slack line, and the rods aren't powerful enough to snap the line. You can double the rod over and the line will still hold. It has really helped me to land more fish. I lost alot of small ones because the rig was too heavy and the fish would always get some slack line. You can lead a fish around all day on one of these rigs and stay hooked up. Use a 1/8th oz. black/yellow eye jighead tipped with a minnow or worm and you will catch plenty of fish. Its almost too easy. One last thing i do is to tie a 18 inch leader of the same line and tie my lure to it. The reason is because of what is called the "light piping" effect. Sunlight on your line brightens it up under water. With the blood knot connection above the lure, the light traveling through the line stops at the knot and doesnt brighten the line and makes it less visible.

Mustad Triple Grips

I use a 1/8th oz. jig with a smoke/fleck, or pumpkinseed grub trailer combo. The slow fall and translucent lure seems to work well.