abkeenan

Seems like everyone is hitting the river arms. Anyone hit up the dam area this week? Leaving to come down on Fri afternoon from STL. Cant wait.

Hey Bill- just got done listening to your podcast from Feb. 16th on stickbaits and it really sucks i couldnt get down there for it. A lot of great info that i will put to good use in the next month or so when i get down there. Have a question for ya. I will be using mostly McSticks and some pointers when i come down there the middle of this month. I heard you say in that podcast that you use both suspend dot/strips that you paint but mostly wrap soft lead around the middle hook to get them down. I am just wondering if you do this to every single Mcstick you have? Thanks again for sharing your expertise. -Brett PS- I heard you say that you love Beardsley Branch.........nothing to see hear folks move along. Our place is in that creek, Ive fished it 1000 times....trust me...move along....waste of time. Kinda like Techo's Aunts Creek. Nothing in there.

Had Jeff (97procraft) work on some of my unpainted blank lures and some of my older baits that needed to be repainted this last week. My camera is not that great and let me tell you that these pics do not do the lures paint jobs justice. Look much better in person believe me. He did 9 LC pointer knockoffs, 3 original pre rapala wiggle warts, 1 arbogast mudbug, 2 little minnows, 1 LC RC 2.5 knockoff, 1 megabass anthrax knockoff, 1 megabass XJ100 knockoff (tail not attached yet), 1 megabass griffon SR knockoff, 1 poe's cedar crankbait and 1 manns 20+ deep diver. Just have to add the Daiichi Death Traps and I am ready to roll. Jeff is just as nice as can be and i recommend him to any of you that might want some of your baits painted. Im just glad i got to him first before the rest of you and before he starts charging normal market rates . You wont be able to beat his rates anywhere for this kinda work. Thanks again Jeff.

emjay, im sure BPS will sell the HECK out of KVD products especially the red eye shad. BPS would probably make an extra million dollars in sales this week if they just jacked the price up 1 buck on them. Any who, if any of you are thinking about getting the KVD baitcaster......dont. Im talking about KVD signature series. When introduced they started out at $109.99, then they knocked it down to $99 after a little while and now it is on sale EVERY other week on the BPS online shopping site for $79.99. To me that means BPS is trying to dump these things any way possible. My Dad and I both bought them around this time last year on the reel trade in program and we have both returned them and got shimanos (extra $ but worth it in the long run). Reel was great for the first 5-10 trips out for me, super smooth and couldnt get backlash if you tried your hardest, then after that....terrible casting distance, backlash central and a clicking noise from the thumbar and spool on the cast. Dads had problems from the word get go. So dont spend your $100 bucks on this reel. -Brett

Just bring in an old reel that is still in working functional condition and they will give you a voucher slip at the front of the store by the greeter person. Then go pick out your reel you want to purchase and when you pay you give them the slip and they take XXX dollars off the reel. Any yes shimano of course is the only manufacturer that doesn't participate in this program. I think the value breakdown is something like this: $5 - $30-48.99 $10 - $49-74.99 $15 - $75-99.99 $20 - $100-119.99 $25 - $120-159.99 $30 - $160-199.99 $40 - $200-249.99 $50 - $250-499.99 $100 - $500 and up

Trilene 100% Fluro here. Started out with it as my first fluro and am happy with it so far.

Saw one of these the other day on TV and had a good laugh. Found a couple of other ones on youtube i thought were funny too. Enjoy. rapala prayer rapala get away rapala freedom

Man i dont think this topic generated enough input. Thanks for all the info/opinions guys. So i guess i will go to BPS dismantle a few reels taking the Okuma's drag, the smooth retrieve of the Shimano, the bail of a Daiwa, the dependability of the Pflueger and stick a Abu Quantum logo on it and give it to my Dad. But seriously with the input from all of you i will just have to put a Shimano in his hands and then a Pflueger and see which one he really likes more. Looks like you cant really go wrong with either. Again, thanks. -Brett

Like Wayne i do not specifically target them but if we are fishing for the black/bronze fish and the whites happen to boil up then we will throw to them with a small grub on a jig head or a inline spinner type lure (panther martin/little cleo/blue fox/etc.) and i personally throw a 3 inch topwater bait just because there really isnt anything more exciting that topwater explosions is there? -Brett

Hey guys. My Dad bought a Johnny Morris spinning reel last summer and isnt too impressed with it. He is too computer illiterate to find reviews and would not even know the first thing about trying to get some opinions as to what to buy. Reviews on bass pro site of the Johnny Morris arent all that great either. Dad says it gets quite a bit of line twist and he just doesnt really like it overall so he is going to take it back and get another brand instead. What spinning reel would guys recommend? I think he paid around 70-80 bucks for it so im assuming that he would replace it with another around the same price point. Saw with some reviews that people liked the Daiwa Exceler, Abu Garcia Cardinal 500 series, Pflugger President and President XT, Shimano Sahara/Sedona/Spirex/Symetre. Okuma has also had some good reviews but is not carried at BPS. Suggestions on any of these guys? Thanks in advance on you opinions and experiences. -Brett

Mr. Babler. I've taken your word for it and went ahead and ordered the Daiichi Death Traps. I also got them from the lure parts online (stamina inc) as bill p has. Seem to be the cheapest around and you can also get some of the other things you may need there like split ring, pliers, etc. Thanks for the help as usual fellas. Ill get some pics up of Jeff's (97procraft) work when i get them back from him and get the death traps on them. (That is if that is alright with him). Just want to thank everyone on this forum/site. Between the info shared by the guides, locals, weekend warriors, etc. about everything from fishing lures, hook preferences, rod/reel choices/reviews, techniques, locations, line, color and what just about anything related to fishing, this place is invaluable as a source to all fisherman in this region. Thanks to all. Much appreciated. -Brett

what size split rings would you guys pair with a wiggle wart and a pointer 100?

What treble hooks do you guys prefer when switching out/replacing/etc. on your jerkbaits/crank/etc. Also where would you buy in bulk? Say around 100? Procraft97 was nice enough to paint my blank baits and now i need to find a source to dress these lures with trebles. I found 3 sites: Barlows Tackle, Captain Hooks and Stamina tackle that offer some pretty decent prices. Dont know much about trebles so i am coming to you guys for help. I found some good deals Mustad Triple Grip and a hand full of others. Found a real good deal on on Matzuo Sickle trebles, any one know about them? Suggestions? Would like to keep it around 20 bucks for 100 or so. Thanks. Brett

For 12-15$, depending on where you get them, i am not messing around with faulty products. That much for a single lure and there are problems? Why would it be the responsibility of the consumer to fix the manufacturers error/screw ups? If it were me i would just take them back to place of purchase or send them to spro.

For those of you that throw the lucky craft RC's what color do you prefer for those shallow runners? A shad color? Bluegill? Perch? Ive never thrown them so i am clueless as to what colors would be best for this presentation. -Brett

edited the original message also and it should work now...sorry. http://www.walleyesunlimitedusa.org/documents/hook_removal_technique.pdf

Just ran across this on another site and thought it was worth posting here for others. Cant hurt and can only help right? Anything to keep the fish in the water for future enjoyment. http://www.walleyesunlimitedusa.org/documents/hook_removal_technique.pdf

procraft97 i sent you a PM about possibly having some baits done. -Brett

Question, how are you guys/gals working the grub? Working it slow like a worm? "Scrubbing" the bottom? Or swimming it just off the bottom? Might be able to make it down there for Thursday and Fri for a few hours of fishing. -Brett

Capt. Joe- Those are some great pics! For a guy that has never used sonar to locate fish and really has no clue as to what to look for on a graph and what you are actually seeing on the screen this is a huge help. I will not be able to afford the SI models but when i do end up getting some sonar this will be a good reference point when i first start out hopefully this summer/spring. Thanks for sharing. -Brett

Could be a Brook Silverside. In my opinion, thats what it look like in the pic.

Hogfan- No BPS does not carry the Mcsticks for some odd reason. They do carry other Spro products like the little john crankbait, bronzeeye frog and the hard swimbait but not the Mcstick. I think their purchasing department needs to get on the ball and get them on the shelves. -Brett -By the way....Anyone use the Spro little john crankbait? Looks similar to a fat free shad....

Dont want to split hairs but this is a fishing forum and there is another forum dedicated to hunting. Not that i really care and if you dont care about the topic dont click to read it, just saying. You both are correct. Now shake hands and be nice.

Thanks for the info guys. I bought 6 mcsticks from buyfishingstuff.com. They were as cheap as you are going to find at 8.99 on sale a piece. Shipping was a flat 6.99 no matter how much or little you buy and there is no tax if you live outside of Michigan. So shipping included in the price per lure was $10 bucks. You arent going to be able to find them cheaper. Buying them at Cabelas is 14.99 and you can find them around 12 if you search around the internet. I ordered them on Wed. morning and had them in my mailbox on Friday. Just thought i would tell you guys to get them from there if you're going to order. -Brett

Opinions on which you like better and why?