MOsmallies

Very sorry for your loss Al... I've always enjoyed reading your reports from the trips you and your Dad took together. What a wonderful write-up. You sure have a lot of good memories of your Dad and that is priceless!

I can't believe this hasn't sold yet... If I didn't already own a Coosa that I'm under-utilizing, I'd be all over this!

Daryk - Do yourself a favor and don't go too cheap on a rod. It does make a world of difference. I prefer a 6'6" to 7'0" spinning rod. I'm 6'1" and that just feels the most comfortable to me. Get a 1 piece rod unless there's no way to fit it in your car. M Power is the perfect all around rod. You can catch small to medium sized catfish, smallmouth, largemouth, bluegill, crappie, and trout with a M Power rod. And you can throw a variety of baits. Lots of good brands out there but here would be my two suggestions. Not too expensive and they are pretty nice quality. The Shimano has an over the counter lifetime warranty and the Falcon also has a Limited Lifetime Warranty... 6'8" M Shimano Compre http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Shimano_Compre_Spinning_Rods/descpage-SCSS.html 6'6" M Falcon BuCoo http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Falcon_BuCoo_Spinning_Rods/descpage-FBCS.html As for line... Go with 8lb Copolymer or Mono. My suggestions would be... P-Line CX Premium (Moss Green) http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/P-Line_CX_Premium_Moss_Green/descpage-PLCXP.html Yo-Zuri Hybrid http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yo-Zuri_Hybrid_Fishing_Line_Clear/descpage-YZHFLC.html Paul MOsmallies

You'll probably get more responses if you post this on the Table Rock section of the forum, but here's my 2 cents. I've always liked the smaller Jr. versions of the A-Rigs out there. And I prefer them to have blades. Here are my favorites... http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Picasso_School_E_Rig_Bait_Ball_Jr/descpage-PSRBBJR.html http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yum_Yumbrella_Flash_Mob_Jr/descpage-YYBFLJ.html http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Eco_Pro_Tungsten_Roll_Tide_Rig/descpage-EPRT.html You'll get a lot more bites and still catch some nice ones if you throw 3" or 3.5" baits as opposed to 5" and bigger. I prefer swimbaits to grubs. Don't forget to make your top two baits hookless dummies here in Missouri. Good luck

Man did I read this wrong!!! Hahaha

Nice one Matt... Smallies are notorious for scaring the crap out of you when you least expect it. I had an 18+" crush a topwater about 5 feet from me last year. Can't believe I landed it.

C&R... I would definitely suggest the Coosa as well for a river boat. Tons of storage, stable, turns quick, comfortable seat. Here's a write I did on all the mod possibilities a couple years ago. I love my Coosa! Paul MOsmallies

Impressive... That thing has a broom for a tail!

SOLD... Thanks!

Possible sale pending with teamsam

I have 3 Lots of baits for sale... Crankbaits/Jerkbaits, Topwaters, and Buzzbait/Spinnerbaits. These are great for someone just getting into Bass fishing or wanting to fill their tackle box with new baits to try for a cheap price. If you are interested in any or all Lots, please reply in this thread to save your spot and then PM me to work out the payment and shipping details, First dibs will go in order of who replies first to this thread... Lot 1 - Crankbaits/Jerkbaits 1. Storm Wiggle Wart (Large Deep Diving Version) in the Silver Blue Shad color (13'-18' depth)... Brand New in Box 2. Storm Wiggle Wart (Large Deep Diving Version) in the Silver Shad color (13'-18' depth)... Brand New in Box 3. Bomber Fat free Shad in a Shad color (10'-12' depth)... Used 4. Norman Deep Lil N in a Fire Tiger color... Used 5. Cotton Cordell Jointed Crankbait in a Crawfish color (4'-6' depth)... Brand New 6. Strike King Diamond Shad in a Rayburn Red Craw color (1/2 oz)... Fished Once 7. Rapala Shallow Shad Rap in the Shad color... Fished Once 8. Bomber Fat A in a Baby Bass color (2'-4' depth)... Used 9. Rebel Crickhopper in the Summer Hopper color... Fished Once 10. Smithwick Super Rogue (Suspending) in a Black Back, Gold Side, Orange Belly color... Brand New 11. Smithwick Super Rogue (Suspending) in a Blue Back, Silver Side, Orange Belly color... Brand New ...Buy the whole Lot for $25 http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/uploads/monthly_02_2014/msg-830-0-29230000-1392176891.jpg http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/uploads/monthly_02_2014/msg-830-0-93747300-1392176905.jpg http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/uploads/monthly_02_2014/msg-830-0-95086500-1392176917.jpg Lot 2 - Topwaters 1. Tru Tungsten Mad Maxx Frog in a Green Frog color... Fished Once 2. Lucky Craft Wake Tail 85 in the Chartreuse Shad color... Fished Once 3. Heddon Zara Puppy in the G-Finish Shad color... Slightly Used 4. Heddon Zara Pooch in the Frog color... Brand New ...Buy the whole Lot for $15 http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/uploads/monthly_02_2014/msg-830-0-96682300-1392177317.jpg Lot 3 - Buzzbait and Spinnerbaits 1. Hart Buzzbait in a Black and Red color (3/8 oz.)... Fished Once 2. Spinnerbait in Chartreuse color (1/4 oz.)... Brand New 3. Spinnerbait in White/Chartreuse color (1/4 oz.)... Brand New 4. Spinnerbait in White color (1/4 oz.)... Brand New 5. Strike King Spinnerbait in White/Red color (1/4 oz.)... Slightly Used ...Buy the whole Lot for $5 http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/uploads/monthly_02_2014/msg-830-0-67441400-1392177851.jpg I'd be willing to sell all 3 Lots for $40... Thanks for looking... Paul MOsmallies

And we complain about giggers .... This is absolutely nuts!

That's probably true... My 71 year old father-in-law still fishes with the same equipment he fished with back in the 80's and early 90's. I don't think he understands why I buy so much new equipment and upgrade it every few years but it's an addiction for me.

Old Plug - You gotta start realizing that a lot of guys on here really enjoy the minute details and aspects of fishing. And we really enjoy discussing them and hearing what others use. There's a lot of people who enjoy using the best equipment they possibly can and don't mind paying the money for it... even if it's for one specific bait. I can tell you that I fish decent (but not nearly top end) equipment and if someone handed me something cheap, I wouldn't be able to effectively use it or enjoy using it nearly as much. Call me a gear snob, but I know I'm not the only one here I personally use a 7'0" MH Shimano Compre TC4 Crankbait Rod with a 6.3:1 Shimano Curado and 10 to 12 lb P-Line CX Premium.... I haven't thrown the Wart to much in recent years, but I'm hoping to fish the early spring more this year and plan to give it a good work out on LOZ.

Jerkbait and A-Rigs for bass... Report back and let us know how it goes

Nice!... If these were the smaller deep diving ones, you know I would have bought them

I definitely plan on doing nice split grips once I start progressing and building with higher quality materials. Doing a cheap $50 kit is my first step to get a feel for the basic process. I can see this turning into an addiction as well.

Good to note!

Great info from everyone so far... Exactly what I was looking to hear. I always thought Rainshadow was one of the top ones, so I'm glad to hear an opinion that their talk and quality don't necessarily equate. I'd love to hear some more opinions, so keep em coming. Right now my projected progression looks like Basic Kit --> MHX --> St. Croix or Phenix Thanks again!

Awesome write up.... You have a very cool job kjackson. One that makes me very envious. Those are some amazingly large fish! Thanks for the info on the new Curado. I'm in the market for a couple new reels and they were definitely on my list.

To branch off Mitch's original question of quality guides for custom rod building.... I wanted to get some thoughts on quality blanks for Casting and Spinning rods. I'm wanting to try my hand at building a rod this year so I'm trying to gather as much information as possible. I plan on buying a simple kit for my first build to gain some practice while not ruining quality materials. Eventually I'd like to build some spinning rods in the 6'6", 6'9", 7'0" range and casting rods from 6'3" up to 7'2" range. As far as stock goes, I've really enjoyed the Falcon Cara and Shimano Compre rods. I'd be looking for comparable quality blanks. I really have no idea how blanks are priced, so at this point price is not an issue. Any and all suggestions welcomed. Paul MOsmallies

I experimented adding a feathered treble to several walking baits last year and I liked it on some but not others. I need to give it more of a try out this year. I wouldn't fish a popper without a feathered treble, but I'm still not fully sold on walking baits, and prop baits. More testing will be done this year. Never have tried it on a crankbait or jerkbait (Besides the X-Rap). I also couldn't find a stock feathered treble that I like, so I started tying my own.

I bought a custom painted Bull Shad this winter and can't wait to give it a work out on LOZ

Awesome report... What a nice pickerel... Beautiful, fat fish!!

Agreed!!! Agreed!!!