Jeff H

Same here. The Widegap has been a great all around jig!!

I lack precise control when I have to crank deep weeds. I get frustrated to easy and give up.

To us or the fish? We hope it's the fish, but they don't come right out and say "the action of this bait is why I hit it". Fact is, we don't know this for sure. It would seem to me that rigging T-style weightless "pins" the front half of the bait, also distorting true action a bit. I would think "wacky" would allow more towards true built in potential. As for profile vs action..... how do we know for sure just which one is the reason the bass slam these things. Because the T-style rigging potentially restricts some action, profile begins to factor in. In any case, bass love these things. I have caught just as many wacky rigging as I have T-style weightless so I'm torn on the action vs profile aspect. I have yet to add a bullet and fish them deep, but you can bet I'm gonna try it this year. Since the bass seem to love these things (for whatever reason) I'm not going to restrict their potential without a good try.

Favorite....Denny Brauer Least....David Fritts

Yep. HEAVY man. Heavy jigs, rods, line....yes. Look for deep rocks. The rock/weed pattern is killer on this lake.

Actually, it is necessary with jigs and T-rigs (IMO). They can clamp down hard enough that if you don't move that bait and drive the hook on the set they need only open their mouth and let it go. On horizontal presentations, not such a big deal. We can all choose to do what we want, but like Denny Brauer says "I whack 'em!!". My favorite bite is the deep, jig/worm bite.

When I saw you were from Mpls, I pretty much knew it was Tonka. Other area lakes are infested with milfoil but Tonka's got it real bad and it's just not something we are used to up here. It's kind of a jaw dropping encounter. Consult your map, pay attention to structures covered by the milfoil. That's kind of the trick....don't fish the milfoil, fish whats under it. Know what I mean?? That lake is a love/hate situation for me. Such fantastic fishing but so many hurdles involved. Oh, and stay out of that crap. I have seen guys hopelessly stuck in that stuff.

Isn't the Curly leaf more of a hard bottom weed compared to Broad leaf? I see a lot of both in the lakes I fish (pretty clear water) in northern MN. I located this fantastic isolated little hump on one lake that crowns at about 6'-8' and sits in about 26' of water. The curly was all around the south end at the base with coontail and also some isolated patches further out on the same end. The crown is covered in broadleaf, coontail and whatever else. Where I was taking the best fish was on that south end but more to the west side I guess where there was a distinct 12" drop around the 20' zone. When I'd hook them you know they were tearing through the Curly because it would come floating up, along with some coontail. It's also mixed in with other weeds along our shoreline and we have a lot of bass using this area, especially early in the season. So, what I'm getting at is, if it's mixed in with other weeds like this, how bad is it? I haven't been turned off by this stuff yet, but I don't experience it in lush beds of it's own. I need to pay more attention to this stuff, it's fascinating.

Thats how they tell you to do it. Used to be printed right on the back of the package, illustrations and all. I think Culprit did the same with their worms at one time?? I rig mine tail down, anything with a curl to it. BassMaster mag did a article about this a LOOONG time ago. I think I still have that issue but the end result said rig tail down. Seems to me one can do it however they please. I don't think I've ever seen any curly tails rigged tail up on pre rigged grubs.

Heavy jig is my favorite for milfoil. You aren't talking about "Tonka" are you??

Maybe check out the Cabela's Fish Eagle Tournament II for $50. I don't own one but I've heard as a "cheaper" reel it's not bad (appears to be a Daiwa Strikeforce, which is a composite framed Exceler). Cabela's also has their Tournament ZX baitcaster on sale for $49.99. Otherwise, I agree with Burley. A decent BC'er for under $50 is a huge gamble and a tough hunt.

Well. when that does happen we should see a dramatic drop in the price, right?? :

Cabela's also has some super slashed prices this weekend. I picked up a XML spinning rod last night for $69.99 (50% off!!). They have some really good prices on some reels right now too. I need a new tent, so I guess I'll be going back

I liked the Quick Fire trigger and my Spirex was one of the best reels I've ever had. I had no problems with the quick fire on my Spirex but I did have an older RX that gave me some problems.

you are probably getting the line nicked up in the rocks... in addition to whatever you do, start checking and retying more often. That will probably solve most of your trouble. The other thing is to be sure your knots are tied correctly. I've been using XT since about 1985. I try a new lines or two each year and keep going back to XT. It has its drawbacks (memory, if you don't respool very often) but there isn't a stronger, more abrasion resistant mono to try... I use a couple other for certain applications but as an all around- it's still XT. Ah man...what he said!! My story is exactly the same except the only other lines I've tried in the last 20 yrs is Trilene 100% Flouro and Big Game. I'm stuck on XT Clear and stayin' right here!!!

I want 3 of these for my Revo's.....I don't want to buy from BPS but maybe this once I'll have to.

I think it's good, if he does it. What can it hurt?? He's creating jobs in a time when they are really needed.

Go on out and start shakin' a bunch, you'll find one you like. Maybe check some Ugly Sticks.

Well, I have a boat but this seems like a really fun alternative. just somthing different, ya know? We do a bit of wading on our shoreline but the tubes would expand this a bit.

I am going to look at this rod this week. It is also on sale right now for $69.99. I am looking for a new finesse stick in this exact length that is a tad firmer than your average finesse action. Sounds like this one is worth looking at, especially at this price. Thanks for the heads up ghost.

I am hoping to get a nice float tube sometime this summer. Sure looks like a lot of fun and a great way to fish small lakes. Actually, I'll have to get 2 of them, one that will fit my young son too. Gotta be good leg exercise too I bet.

Holy #%&@.....What happened to the YZ US?? Guys, I tried Berkley 100% (6lb) on one of my spinning reels last year and had some problems with it. I'm going to try it this year again on a reel with a larger spool but....is it always going to jump off the spool of a spinning reel like this?? I had to take a LOT off for it to work reasonably decent. Do you guys mainly use it on castng reels or whats the secret ???

spinnerbait and 5" stick and Rapala #7 Fat Rap (perch)

Me too

Sounds like you should start looking at Musky rods.