Jeff H

I have a GL3 CR724 and some here may remember me whining about it being a waste of money. I originally thought it was not very sensitive for a $160 rod. I have to retract my stupid remarks, I actually like it now after fishing it a lot more this summer and I feel it's worth what I paid for it. Maybe it's not one to get real excited about, but it's a decent stick for what I use it for.

At this point I'd take a Revo over anything else. Mine (SX and 2 SC's) have been fantastic performers so far.

No reason it should, sticks are entirely different and are not a worm.

My choice would be a 7" Powerworm in Blue Fleck. But....if you have never fished a Producto 4" Tournament worm on a 1/8 oz Snagless Slider you are missing out on something big. For you Slider fans, DO try this rig. The action on the fall is simply stunning. When the fish are on outside weedline and neutral in mood at best, this will pick them off. I've tried lots of other worms on the Slider and nothing comes close to these Producto's. The Snagless Slider and Producto 4" Tournament worm is a match made in heaven!

I have 2 now, with a 3rd arriving this week. I don't know where it will stop! ;D I am certainly enjoying the "spiral wrap" builds and wish ALL my rods were such. Definitely BETTER in my opinion.

One should never grow out of the shooting fun afforded by BB guns. The Revo's are sure nice reels, no matter their poposed lack of originality. I don't care who copies who as long as I get a quality product.

I'm lucky, my sis is a professional groomer. I've tried my hand at it before and have done a passable job but there is much to be said for a professionals "hands on" in this situation.

You are ready! Time to let the fish do the worryin' now!

I sometimes fish them on a 3/32 oz Gopher mushroom head and throw at points, slots or inside corners on weedlines and just let them drop slow.

I think the only Crucial models with split grips are the drop shot rods. I would go with the Crucial and those are real good prices!!

I was really surprised how sensitive the Crucials are. I have the CRCX66M, CRCX66MH, and CRS60MH. Those casting models with X-Fast actions are "hyper-sensitive" to me. First fish that hit on those actually startled me. I'm getting used to it now. Great rods for the price!!!

Split shotting is, to me, a scaled down finesse version of carolina rigging, except I don't "search" with it. I mainly fish it shallow but have taken bass down to 22' on this rig. 1/0 hook max, or smaller. Prefer round shot, not the removeable shot with the "ears". Or, sometimes I use a rattling brass bullet pegged with a rubber peg. Favorite worms have been Producto 4" Tournament worms and Kalins Western worms. Like any other finesse method, it's fun fishing. I use spinning rigs with 6lb XT and Medium/Fast or Medium/X-fast rods. I use short "pops" on the retrieve to get the worm up off the bottom then let it settle and shake it a bit before the next pop. I've never done any good dragging a split shot rig.

Micro, Are you using the Widegap Spiders with the black nickel hooks or the Classic Spiders. The original Spiders have very lightwire hooks. The Classic slightly heavier and the black nickels are standard worm hook thickness. Anybody interested in Slider fishing should visit their site, http://www.fishingworld.com/Slider/ order their catalog and consider their $6.50 book with your first order. I love their stuff and those little vibratail grubs are killer post front producers. Buy lots because panfish will rip the tails off them.

Seen plenty of people fishing panfish with HUGE bobbers that even a 2lb bull gill wouldn't be able to get half submerged.

LOL....in my case that is true. I only have 64 hrs on the water this year starting June 12th. Grad parties and stuff get in the way. I'll put in another 24 hrs next weekend if I can get Friday off (3days)

I usually have all mine set to zero brakes unless I'm casting into the wind. The only one I have left on all the time is my newest Castaic (2 pins). I just use the spool tension adjustment and my thumb. It takes about 15-20 mph wind before I start turning my brakes on.

This should be interesting. My vote goes to abject failure if they try to market under the Rapala name.....unless they try to sell it really cheap.

Shimano Compre are good rods in that price range. Do you have a length preference? They have 6'6", 6'10" and 7' all in MH/X-fast builds.

Never say never, especially if you are young!

I am a big Producto fan! I have used their Products since about 1993. I use and really like just about all their stuff. I especially like how soft their plastics are.

It IS a good reel, even with the extra 7 lbs. Mine has been beat to heck, and back, and is still perfectly useable (although pretty worn) 15 yrs later.

http://www.rod-crafting.com/index.html

I like these reels. I have a 153HST and a Cabela's Prodigy (which is a tuned 150H) and they fit my hand really nice. The Prodigy is actually slightly better on the cast than the 153HST (which has more bearings) but they feel the same otherwise. They are very tight reels and feel solid all the way through. The Tierra is also a TD-A framed reel (but get the Prodigy for the $20 savings and bling swept handle) I do not own, but have checked out, the new HSTA's and those are really nice. I think they are the bargain of the year. Daiwa continues to impress me.

heavy cover pitching DG Custom Avid 6'6" heavy/fast Spiraled with split grip/no fore grip Shimano Castaic spooled with 17lb XT Open water/weedline Shimano Crucial 6'6" MH/X-fast ABU Revo SX spooled with 14 lb XT Jig....GMAN Widegap 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 Color....black w/green flake or some other dark color usually Producto Craws, Berkley Power Craws or Uncle Josh #11 pig. Sometimes Kalins grubs (even the Mogambo) Producto Junebug/blue claw is my killer. I prefer the deep bite and love finding productive humps and saddles. I could fish all summer with jigs and t-rig worms.

I've never bought the more expensive models of spinning reels before, mainly because I don't use them as much. Last winter I bought a Cabela's Prodigy (by Daiwa, Exceler I think) and I am blown away how freakin' smooth it is. It became my favorite from the first cast this spring. I consider it a bargain for the $65 I paid for it. So, I still have not entered the upper branches of spinning reels but with performance like this I don't think I ever will. My vote went to Daiwa on the poll!