Laurentino

I've also had good results from the Timber Tiger. They are great at not getting hung in the bushes.

I can comment on the He66MC for use with small baits. I have one paired with a Daiwa Pixy which I frequent use with small spinner baits and small topwater baits in the 1/8 to 3/8 range. The rod loads fine and is excellent for this application. I prefer the 6 1/2 foot rod over the longer rods for tip-down manipulating a topwater bait. This is a nice combo!

Now that they have announced new prices, the Powell rods at around $140 are certainly a good buy. Take a look at them.

Try the Slim Beauty knot. It's very small in diameter, strong and has worked very well for me to connect braid and mono or FC.

I'm using PowerPro 15 regularly on spinning gear. I really like it. I took Gary Yamamoto's advice and starting using 15 to 25 feet of FC leader. I use the slim beauty knot to tie it on and have little problem. This way the knot is on the reel when you are trying to land the fish which takes pressure off the knot. The long leader also keeps the braid away from the rocks. The added sensitivity of braid is a real plus for me. By using leader lighter than the braid it also breaks off in the leader rather than the braid when you get hung.

I have a rod built by David Green on the St Croix Mag Cranker that I use entirely for deep cranking. It fits my needs very well. I highly recommend it.

Are there any good sources on the web for bulk purchases of name brand hooks such as Owner or Gamakatsu? Thanks.

Have to be a toss-up between a jig and a Senko for me.

RW, are you rigging your Fat Ika backwards? Thanks for the good information.

I'd like to chime in on the Pixy also. I have three. Two are the Pixilla version, the third has just the bearing and drag upgrade (yes, D.R. did the work, he's great!). These are very much at home with 1/16 oz stuff. I tried a couple of them stock before they got the Pixilla treatment and they did fine with 1/16. With the drag upgrade these little reels are amazingly versatile. The handle normal bass size baits just as well as they do the little guys.

I use a St Croix Avid spinning rod (AVS59MXF) for skipping baits under docks or bushes. It's only 5'9" but really well suited for this application. I highly recommend it!

I like to put about 15-20 feet of flurocarbon "leader" on top of my 20 pound braid. This is a suggestion from Gary Yamamoto. It's a really good way to add a little more power than you you have with straight flurocarbon or mono and still have the small diameter line. Putting on a long leader allows you to have the line to leader knot on the reel when you are trying to land a nice fish. A uni-to-uni or a slim beauty knot goes through standard spinning rod guides on the cast or retrieve without any problems.

I'm using a custom rod built by Reel Mechanic on a St Croix Legend Tournament Bass Magnum Cranker blank. This is a 7'10" rod rated for 1[ch8260]2 - 1 3[ch8260]8 oz. baits and 12-25 pound line. This is a great deep crank rod! The new split grip version as it comes from the factory is very nice but Reel Mechanic's custom is fabulous.

Gentlemen, I have several old Bomber lures that come from my younger days. We used them extensively and with very good result. These are wood but they are not in anything near collectable condition. Paint is cracked and chipped with some of the metal bills, hooks and hardware rusted. I'm wondering if it is possible to refinish, repaint and otherwise put these lures back to use. Any recommendations? Thanks.

Look at the Core. It's avery nice reel!