Champ188

Which courses are you playing? And will you use the Kirkland ball?

I think he's talking about the sheer weight of the larger reel, Dave. I had some reservations, too, when I went from the 2500 to 3000 size in the Pfleugers I bought recently. However, I quickly found that the tradeout of a little more weight for the difference in line management (almost zero twist) was more than worth the move up in size.

From what I've heard about those folks, you chose wisely, Edwin. Good to see a post from you. Hope all is well with you and the family.

Good info, Dave. Thanks.

Fished plenty myself on the Arkansas from Pine Bluff on down to Merisach, even below the last dam. It's real wilderness down there. Done some fishing on the lower White, too ... Scrubgrass and other such places in the refuge. Fun for all.

That still doesn't address the problem of weather conditions ... say your lure was a spinnerbait and you drew a sunny, calm day, you're pretty much done. Besides, you can't effectively test every lure in the world on a highland reservoir like Table Rock. Some are more suited for rivers or lowland, dirty-water lakes. More holes than a sieve in this project.

Stiffness matters.

I don't understand this premise at all because you have no choice of seasonal conditions, the weather, lake conditions, etc. That's why no matter the size boats we have, most of us have them packed full of thousands of lures. We all know that lures are tools to be utilized in certain conditions. FishinWrench doesn't pull out a sledge hammer to put new reeds in an outboard. This will prove nothing except that by squeezing the kerning very tight, you can actually fit RICHARDSON on the back of a jersey in 6-inch-tall letters.

Dave, the one in the third pic with the more rounded back and no rattles could be a Fat A, perhaps?

Oh yeah, those are definitely me. Might be a problem getting them in my size, though, so I can probably fashion my own out of a bed sheet.

Only on the internet is that possible.

Gotta have 20 sticks on board even though you only use 4 between the 2 of you. ?

Those two have been kicking butts for years all over the Ozarks and beyond. Robert was a tough cookie on the Central Pro-Am circuit for a couple of decades and Robbie went on to fish the FLW Tour for several years. I hear he's back home in Harrison now working as a guide. Couple of good guys who are all about catching fish instead of putting on a show.

I would want him fishing with whatever got him the most bites. The more bites he gets and fish he catches, the sooner he'll learn what a bite feels like. A good hound dog-style retriever will get your bait back nearly every time as long as he stops pulling on it the minute he realizes it's hung. I second the motion of having him use a soft-action rod, as should everyone when throwing crank baits. A Wart or Rock Crawler works wonderfully on a 7-0 medium power, fast action rod. You have SOME feel so you have an idea what's going on with your lure but the rod isn't so stiff that you yank the bait away from a fish when it bites. My suggestion is once you realize you're reeling on a fish, give the rod a couple of medium force sideways pulls to bury the hooks and then play the fish like you would on any other lure.

Sinks, minimal stretch and very low visibility.

Not knocking experimentation ... without it we'd have never had the first artificial lure. But I'm with Dave on this one ... the Little Guy does just fine without tinkering.

Well written and illustrated, Eric. How-to articles are the meat and potatoes of outdoor writing. Good to see you here again. Don't be a stranger.

We can put Muddy in charge of collecting cellphones at the ramp to further uphold the photo ban.

Probably sometime before joining the toughest half-conference in God's sprawling creation. Keep hearing rumors of further expansion of the SEC. Kansas is welcome to come join the West side.

You need help.

Understood, Richie. Mine wasn't a full plug either. Oh wait -- yes it was!

I'll be wrapped in, wrapped up, wrapped all over so brightly and completely in sponsor logos and indispensible pro basser attire that no one will be able to tell who I am. I might even be mistaken for Babler. You know, coz we're so similar in stature.

Very good info, Macsimus. Thanks for posting that for us Pro XS guys. I also use fully synthetic Mercury DFI oil (the brown stuff) and treat my fuel regularly with Mercury QuicKlean to combat carbon buildup. If you use ethanol-added fuels, be sure to treat every tank with Mercury QuickCare.

Stackin' that cheese, brother.

As long as we're plugging our "sponsors" ...