+1 on the Curado 300 and switch to 20-25 lb. mono in lieu of the braid Billy......you will thank us later

I need 1 more, but I feel like Kay will do better with the 200 right now (smaller) we'll experiment more after the 20-th..


Thank you JP, that's awesome.. I'll try to swing by y'alls place Friday or Saturday, I'll bring something to swap ya.... It's gonna be hard to leave my crappie bite, but well worth it.. I will be down all next week as well..

I need a new truck- can't let Ken win all the big stuff...LOL

We call them (braid) "cast-offs".....that's when you pop the braid and watch helplessly as a $100 sinking lure sails into oblivion. He's correct that mono is a great way to go as it is more forgiving and less likely to pop. You might wonder why I buy 20#/25# line by the 3000 yard spool? I find the Luna 253 capacity too small for my liking. I have 25# copolymer on a Luna 300 that I can cast with ease. Line-out on long casts doesn't go so deep into the wider spool, so there's less line-slinky and you keep more of the IPT of the gear ratio that way.

A couple of parting tidbits drilled into me by a well-known big bait angler (who had the opportunity to influence me to buy more lures from him but didn't): 1) Fish slow, then slower. 2) Action matters far more than color. He said you need a dark one and a light one, basically "The gamut of colors is to catch fishermen, not fish". He had lures that hardly had any paint left on them, but their action was the trick...

Billy Dyson! You won enough money off me to furnish the Forktress!!

You're off to a great start Billy! Perfect rod too. I second the Curado 300 votes. I love it. However, I use it for bigger baits. The Convict and headsmashers are actually in the medium sized category when it comes to swimbaits and regular reels do fine. No need to spend any more than necessary!

Now when you start dropping $300 on Hinkle shads and original deps 250s youll look back and laugh at the days of cringing over a $20 bait. Trust me, I never thought I would spend that on a bait either

I held a Hinkle, I think at LFR's grand opening. It was a $ 300 dollar bait I remember that, it was purdee.
Thanks Andrew..
I don't understand one thing completely yet, ? Why mono or copoly over braid, I'm kind of addicted to braid, I have never had it snap a lure off, maybe pop a flowcarb leader a few times, yes.. But why mono and get all that stretch while trying to drive a big diameter hook into a fish's jaw bone ??

I came back from Cali after fishing two days with Mickey Ellis with a sack of baits about the size of a McDonald's Happy Meal that cost me $1300!!!

RedSkeeter,
Seems like a good package to start with. My only reccomendations would be to go with some 20 or 25# fluorocarbon (my favorite is 22# sunline shooter fluorocarbon..pricey but by far the best), and a higher speed reel. A lot of people will say to go with the 5:1 speed, but I would use a 6:4:1 minimum, I actually use a 7:1. My reasoning behind this is to catch up with fish that eat the bait and swim directly at you, which happens a lot.. especially throwing that big convict bait through the slop. I'd compare it to a frog or swim jig bite on steroids.
You can always make yourself slow your reel handle down on your retrieve, it's hard to catch up with a low gear ratio reel though.
I've got a few more tricks I like to use on that convict that really makes it come alive... come find me at fork some time we will chat

That's awesome Jay, I will.. I'll give you shout this week or next..

Seems like Flowcarb or mono would not take the abuse fork can dish out like braid, camo color braid I believe it's that 832 stuff..

Billy, I was throwing the big 3:16 last weekend on a 5:1 reel and it was a pita. Go with a higher speed reel. I also throw them on 20# fluoro.

I think the Shimano 200's I have are 7:1 not 100% sure I know the 300 is a 6.1 :1. Andrew was saying regular reels would carry the baits I'm throwing.. Heck I don't know, we'll find out this weekend, I got all my stuff and they'll be letting water out like crazy I betcha.. Neighbor just called, said the little two man took off headed down the lake, he managed to get it back to his dock.. Lucky deal there, I had it pulled way up on the bank, I guess not far enough..

Nope. Allie said the lake is up and the gates are open. Thunderstorms forecast through Saturday. Gonna mess it up for awhile.

Fringe Tackle makes some sweet swimbaits. I have em and throw them on a 7'11" rod. Take Aleve in the morning and night...



http://www.fringetackle.net/index.html

how do you rig these? are they line thru or what?

Owner Beast hooks...