RSBreth

I didn't get one. MDC is probably tired of getting an ear-full from me all the time anyway...

You can get graphite in any action you'd like, if you look around and try some stuff. Lower modulus (IM6) is closer to glass in many ways, but weighs half as much. The only fiberglass spinning rods I see these days are the Eagle Claw ones. (They're bright yellow) I have one old 9' one with the stainless wire guides, a heavily used older one that's 7'6" with the same guides, and a newer one that's the same 7'6" but with ceramic guides. I prefer the newer Bass Pro Micro Lite's ( IM6graphite) to those old bombers any day, but I completely understand the personal preference thing. I used to use glass for cranking also.

That's a pretty good deal on that 'Yak! The easiest way to go solo is to paddle up, and float back - I do it all the time. You paddle up on the inside bend of the river (slower water), and float back down on the outside (faster water). You can fish the whole river this way, basically.

Was that a Fibrax spinner I saw there?

This is what is at the intersection of Greenbridge and McCracken: Not sure what you can do if you drive around it and up to the bridge.

I haven't been over there this week but I could check tonight. With the bridge being closed it may be a good way to get a parking ticket.

Another one is the Berkley Cherrywood rods. They aren't as slow as the glass rods. http://www.amazon.com/Berkley-Cherrywood-Piece-Guide-Line/dp/B000E73MKY

I've fished plenty of "pocket water" like Al describes, because no one else does. I don't know how many times I've fished Eleven Mile Canyon in Colorado, catching some really nice fish. No one else there, except kayakers.

Yeah, there's the 40 hp limit at Fellows, but no limit at Stockton, Table Rock, or Taney! (Or the park here in Ozark, which is silly.)

I've been using a "cheap" Browning (Actually Bass Pro) 7' spinning travel rod for most of my shallow to medium cranking the past couple of years, and the past three it's had Stren Superbraid (4/14) on it. I think it retails for about 100.00 and I did break the top on it, but that was from closing a garage door on it, then also dropping it tip-first on a rock. But I do crank a lot. Hours of it on some trips, especially in the Summer. It was one that I couldn't get the top two sections apart after on long morning of cranking. The old tip was fine before I crunched it. My Spinnerbait rod has had 10/40 Stren Superbraid on it for 6 years (I think) - same thing, I'm very hard on it -it's a spinnerbait rod. No grooving so far. I'm using an old Pro Qualifier 4000 spinning reel on the cranking rod, that reel has had nothing but Fireline or braid since I first bought it, maybe 8 years ago. No problems so far, either. Not too shabby for a 80.00$ reel. One thing you do have to remember if you do use braid for a set up you usually have to step down in the rod's power or action from what you were using with mono or fluoro - something has to give, and it's not going to be the line. Maybe the knot, maybe the rod tip's ceramic guide, but something. I do use a fluoro leader on the end of the braid, and it provides just a tiny bit of stretch, but doesn't effect sensitivity as far as I can tell. I can still feel if I get a leaf or bit of moss on the crank during the retrieve. I use medium or med/light rod power, too, so I'm probably not as hard on the reel or rod as you. I just wondered because I usually hear the "braid cuts your guides" thing from people but when you ask to see the rod it's not ever actually them, it's the "friend of my brother's friend's girlfriend's Dad" type thing. I wasn't trying to call you out on it or anything like that, I just really want to see a rod tip grooved by braid, and I just haven't seen it yet. Now that I say that some guy's probably going to take a file to one of his old rods.... I'm going to have to do another article about this, get responses from Shimano, St. Croix, everyone I can. See what they say about using superlines on their tackle. I bet I'm going to get a lot of "...Although we don't recommend using braided line on or rods/reels some pro fishermen have been trying this hot new technique the past year... bla bla bla." Basically a non-answer answer. And I'm sorry we hi-jacked your thread Drew. I still don't know jack about Vicious line.

Thanks for the reminder - I don't hit "The Fork" enough. AWESOME VIDEO.

No modern guides should be effected by superlines. Nothing even as common as Fuji Alconites, and those only cost about 1.00$ per guide, retail. By the 10,000 lot rod maker's get there's in they probably cost pennies. I have several rods over ten years old that have had nothing but superlines used on them with nothing happening to the guides. So I'm curious, what make/model rod have had the guides grooved by braid, and which reels?

I find them on the streams almost every other trip. Unmarked? Fish let go and line itself cut into several pieces. Follow the law. It's not that hard to put your name on a piece of paper in a water bottle.

I thought you meant spinning, but I'm not knocking spin cast reels - they do have their place, especially for kids or anyone who isn't a regular fisherman. I have a couple of the Diawa trigger-spins for the kiddo and the Mrs. and they work really good on light Bass/Panfish/Trout. Really good for folks in cold weather - gloves make using regular spinning gear hard for some folks. The most manageable hybrid on spinning gear I've used was the P-Line FluoroClear, but I don't really know if it's any upgrade from a nice mono like Tectan or Maxima. Since I spooled superlines on every spinning reel I own I'm not up with what new stuff is out there as a main line. I read about what Bass Pro's are using or who likes what on the forums, but that's not the same as first hand experience. I did spool up some XPS Fluoro a couple of years ago because I was using it as leader material and wanted to why KVD supposedly liked it (besides BPS being his sponsor), but after one trip stripped it off and put Stren Superbraid on that reel. Much more manageable.

Yeah, one of my brothers loves those and the "Crickhopper" cranks, too. He does catch fish on them, so it goes to show you the fish either aren't that smart, or they are that hungry!

If you're fishing during the middle of the week it should be pretty easy, I have thought of hiring a guide on weekends to just play blocker and run people off so I could find a spot! Seriously, you should do fine in the upper part nearest the Dam. Like Trav said, there's boatload of stocker trout up there that aren't super picky. I've taken newbies there and had them catching dozens of trout the first time with the scud/indicator rig. Simple.

I've used both Yo-Zuri Hybrid ultrasoft and P=Line Fluoroclear, Both are pretty good on spinning reels. When you say spin cast do you mean spinning, or push the button spin cast reels? You know, like this?Zebco If it's the latter then every time you push the button to cast the spool moves forward and pinches the line. You have to change the line on spin cast's all the time. What a pain in the behind. That's one reason I went to PowerPro on my kid's spincast rigs - I don't have to change the line all the time.

Both Vicious and Berkley must be understating the break strength of those lines. I use 3/8 Fireline and either 4X or 3X Orvis Mirage as a leader for Panfish/ultralight Trout, and the Mirage lists it's strength for the 4X (.007) at 7-pounds, and the 3X (.008) at 9.2-pounds. Maybe that's why you don't break off, it's actually 8-pound test? They wouldn't be the first to understate the actual break strength. I usually go by diameter more than rated strength anyway just because of that. How does that Vicious handle on spinning gear? I haven't heard. Are you using it on a tiny tiny reel (like 1000 size) or 2500?

You can use masking tape to hold the guides, reel seat, and grip in place to gently cast it. When building a rod I tape guides in place to check where I want them exactly. the reel seat and grip(s) can be held in place by making tape bushings that friction fit from the inside. Easy to remove when done. I usually know what I want ahead of time, but I have had several "almost but not quite" builds that I use anyway, or have given away. I once made a 9-weight All Star fly rod that when I ordered it I thought from the description the blank was med-fast to fast, but as it turned out it was VERY fast action, and more like a 10-weight! Oh well, it's great as a Striper/Pike/Musky rod! It happens in rod building. Some people can simply wiggle a blank, bend it a little, and tel if it's what they want. You have to fiddle with thousands of rods to get to that point. Have you found rodbuilding.org?

That's a nice one. There's some nice Bass in that lake, but there's so much cover, and different types of water that it's hard to pin down any one pattern sometimes.

I've used Velcro to keep stuff tied down, but the way I do it won't really work in a tandem. My sarcastic answer is "don't tip over", but I know when you take folks who don't know what they're doing in the tandem it's a reality you sometimes face.

When I've been in very remote places I've had a few run-ins with weird folks, but lately I've had more problems with very aggressive semi-feral dogs. Either reason is a good one for responsible CCW. Another option in the less-than-lethal scheme of things is something my wife has carried for years before the concealed carry was passed, this: A little big for carrying around during everyday activities, but in a fly vest it might come in handy. I know it works on big, stupid dogs, and bears. Not sure about meth fiends.

I remember seeing the first few posts, the layout, all of the Ozarks waters having their separate section - I signed up immediately.

That will help get a little deeper due to the thinner diameter, this year I've been using 4/10 Fireline or 4/14 Stren Superbraid, both with thin fluoro leaders 6' to 8' long to go deeper, it does make most cranks run a foot or two deeper (especially on a long cast), but it won't instantly make a medium diver into a deep diver. I think the wide wobbling action of a shallower crank gives more resistance and limits how deep it can dive. Lure designers would have to help me out on this one, but as diving depth increases it seems that lures have a tighter wobble. I'm not saying they don't have "thump" or don't displace water as much as shallower models (one of the old jokes about the Norman DD22 is that it's easier to reel in when a fish is hooked to it!) but in general deeper dive = less wobble. So if I'm reading your original post correctly, I'm not sure if you'll find a crank that'll tick the 15' mark with the same wobble as say a Wiggle Wart, which won't run any deeper than 8' - 10' on any average cast. I have a batch of Manns 15+ cranks I like for the lakes, but again, they don't really have the same action as two of my best shallower cranks, the Bomber 4A or Rapala DT4. Much, much tighter. The one reason I mentioned the new XRap Shad is you can get it diving down and bumping rocks in the 8' range on a long cast, then twitch it along like a jerkbait at that depth, which doesn't really work so well for other cranks. That's something fish haven't seen, either. I like the idea you have, maybe you'll find something new we haven't heard about, and then I'll get in on it, too!

Pretty cool. I've shot plenty of ducks out of my solo with it done up in a similar way.