The Next KVD

I use a generic beaver called the Yo Mamma . Very good price $15 for 50 of the 4" beavers and $15 for 100 3" beavers. Works just as good as the name brands. 8-)

Back when they first introduced the Frenzy lineup they where awesome! I don't care for any of the new hardbaits. The Frenzy Lipless Crank was the BOMB!!!! Now the Rattler is eh, upgrade to Rattletraps.

In my mind you don't lose sensetivity with a telescopic rod. It is your line that is trasfering what the lure is doing back to your hands. A telescopic rod is a little bit heavier than a one piece rod. The only fisherman/women that I see with a one piece flipping stick are the ones running boats that have a 8' rod locker. Mine is a 7' rod locker so a telescopic is a must for me. Don't be worried about breaking one though, only in rare cases due to manufacturing or improper use. All of them lock in pretty tight so they won't fall back into the rod while fishing.

I have 2 or 3 of these that I'm willing to part with if you really like them.

X3, that or Perfect Line is what I initally thought it stood for.

I picked these up at a sportshow and thought they were nothing special. I'm pretty sure I'd just pay an extra $30-$80 depending on the model for an St. Croix Avid.

On second thought though, Made in China doesn't really appeal to me.

10 to 20 feet down a 1/4oz. is my mainstay unless the wind is blowing than I step it up to 3/8 oz. shallower than 10 ft. gets the call for an 1/8oz.

My next rod is going to be the 7'6" H/f. I held it at Cabela's over the weekend and tested the power and loved it. Lightest flipping stick I've ever had the honor of holding, can't wait to own one!! I love the orange color, and i don't even own one yet. None of my friends own one and I can't wait till they get a look at that bad boy orange.

unless your a rod builder who is getting a discount from one of their distributors or on their staff, your best chance is ebay or the flea market.

Power Pro all the way baby! but i took a good look at the new Fireline Braid (Berkley finally made it an actual braid!!!) took it out of the box and was impressed. I'm going to give it a try this year.

Texas Rigs, Carolina Rigs, dropshots, football jigs, swimbaits, 3/4 to 2oz spinnerbaits, Rapala DT 16

KVD and yes

Synthetic oil reduces wear alot better than conventional two stroke oil. This as a result helps the motor have a longer lifespan. Less smoke is a nice benefit.

The Tender Toad sucks! The plastic is way harder than any other frog I've used. The harder plastic doesn't collapse as easily and you end up losing alot of fish. Just my experience though.

Depends on water clarity Clear to slightly stained water: 1/4-3/8oz Grn. Pumpkin colored jig with a camo colored trailer. Stained to muddy water: 1/4-1/2oz. Black/Blue colored jig with a Blue trailer

X2. Both really good reels. I will admit the Curado is a bit smoother, but I just got a awesome deal on the Citica's that I couldn't pass them up. Depends on how much you want to spend.

I personally don't use a spinnerbait trailer. A spinnerbait is more of a reaction type bait that goes through the water colum fast enough that a fish doesn't get a very good look at it. Just my 2cents.

My personal favorite is the Scum Frog! Throw it on a flipping stick, a good quality reel spooled with 50lb Power Pro Braid. After you make a cast, lower the rod tip and continusly twitch the rod tip while slowly taking up slack line. This causes the frog to twitch slowly along the surface. When you get a bite, wait until you feel the weight of the fish. Otherwise you'll pull the frog away from the fish. Frog fishing is ADDICTING!! If you find the Scum Frog to light to cast, try the Spro Bronzeye. it weighs a 1/2oz vs Scum Frog's 1/4oz. Alot of people like the Bronzeye, but I can't get a fish to look at it. I'll stick with my Scum Frog. Hope this helps.

Sorry I havent found such a place other than ebay. I'm sure someone else has though. You can alwayz find bulk generic soft plastic baits in bulk though.

I havent had much luck fishing spinnerbaits right after a cold front. High blue bird skies just don't work. Also, I find it hard to catch fish on a spinnerbait when the water is calm during the midday. Dawn to about 9 am is awesome time to wake a spinnerbait when the water is calm and same thing goes for later in the day usually 6pm to dusk is killer!

For plastics good colors for stained water are: Green Pumpkin and Junebug You might want to pick up some shallow running cranks like bandits, bagelys, or the original Big O (not the plastic version). Good colors include: Chartruese w/ a Black Back, Red Craw, Firetiger. Also don't forget about jigs. A 3/8 to 1/2oz jig in Black/Blue w/ a Blue trailer is dynamite in stained to muddy water. Good Luck!

Congrats!!!!

Most people use the power fishing baits such as rattletraps, cranks, and spinnerbaits first because they are actually searching for fish. Once they've caught a few aggressive fish in a short stretch, they know that there is fish in that particular area for a reason, so in order to catch bigger fish they'll slow down and fish the area slower looking for that spot on the spot that'll attract the bigger fish. Hope this helps.

Yes, you can use the synthetic oil. However, just to be safe, drain as much as the old oil out and then put the synthetic in. Some oils don't mix well especially if you switch from a mineral base to synthetic. QuickSilver also makes their oil ( QuickSilver is made by Mercury) in a synthetic version. Also, make sure your not using the DFI OPTIMAX oil in it, this oil is for use in Direct Fuel Injection motors only. Mercury does make the Premium blend which is a synthetic and mineral base blended together which can be used in any outboard. If you have any doubt ask your local marine dealer.