Ali

I second the Production H. It has a nice tip for throwing 1 - 5 oz baits but a lot of backbone for pulling on bigger fish. One key to these rods is the long handle. They are key for swimbaits and no other rod manufacturer makes a handle that long. Well, Dobyns makes the 806ML but at $250, the LDC is a much better deal at $200 with a better blank. The long handle is nice for launching baits and it tucks nicely under your arm for when cranking. When it comesto hook sets, it provides extra leverage to rive the point home. Not sure why the other manufacturers don't get this; obviously Mike Long does. Next, spiral wrap. Once you get used to these rods, all other rods seem awkward in comparison. Again, without the reel constantly wanting to torque over in your hands, you reduce fatigue and have are more effective throughout the day. Once fighting a fish, the rod stays steady (like a spinning rod) and you crank harder and faster to get the fish in. As you can tell, I am a huge fan of these rods. I used to fish a couple of Megabass swimbait sticks that are now collecting dust as "collector items". I am also a huge fan of the guy making the rods; one of the nicest guys in the biz. -Ali

While fishing today, my reel (Conquest 401TE) started to make a coffee grinder sound as I would crank. I ignored it thinking I'd take a look when I got home. After about an hour I noticed grease all over the handle side of the reel. I got home and took the reel apart and this is what I saw: Main (roller) bearing had blown apart. Maintenance is key, especially with these state of the art reels. Get your gear to Geoff at Animal House pronto if it is due or overdue for maintenance. Primetime is almost upon us. You don't want disaster to strike when the fish of a lifetime is at the other end. Tight lines, -Ali

Here is one I caught while fly fishing for carp. Thought it was a koy but turned out to be a 8lb. Goldfish. BTW - I know what you are thinking: "Fly fishing? Carp???" In my defense, I had no idea how much of a "nancy" I was back then. -Ali

Before you could buy the Slide Swimmers, I used to buy the Silent Killers and modify/tune them to be Slide Simmers. With very little weight added or subtracted, you can make that bait behave very differently. The BB Trouts behave lighter than the regular trout. It noses up and has a tighter glide. 6.3 oz (178g) sounds about right since I liked my baits at 185g (6.5 oz) without realizing that the Slide Swimmers come from the factory at that weight. The ride level with a nice glide. In the hands of a capable angler, these baits do great. Although now that everyone is throwing one, I suspect that will end soon. -Ali

A pleasure to deal with and bait was shipped very quickly. Kept me informed every step which I really appreciated -Ali

I bought the RAM D111-uc but the full sized version I believe is the B111 I like these mounts and they are flexible if you want to ever go bigger (or smaller) -Ali

That is a beautiful boat Marbles. At 40MPH, that is plenty fast to get bugs in your teeth as you smile from ear to ear -Ali

Hey Marbles, just saw this. I can network my Gen1 HDS 8 and Gen2 HDS 7 Touch so I am sure they will work. The software is all the same between these. Congrats on the boat. You're in for a lot of fun rigging that thing. -Ali

My HDS-5 (front) started to fail at the SU Clear Lake trip. Within a week it was completely dead. I thought to myself: "I don't need a graph up front. I can save some money". Boy, was I wrong! I am a creature of habit and I look at that thing for everything from ToD, depth, water temp, structure, where the bait is suspended, bottom contour, weed edges, etc... Funny thing is that when I fish from a friends boat I never look at the graph. I trust the guy running the boat to be doing the right thing and my mind is at ease. I recently purchased the HDS-7 Touch to replace my Gen1 HDS-5. That thing is super sick! Edge to edge graph and built-in SS (no separate module needed). It is also way faster to boot up and react than the Gen1 HDS. I guess if I had either a good memory or good eyesight, I'd just have one finder in the back. But I always forget what the contour of the lake looks like (specially since they play with water levels a lot in CA) and since I am nearsighted, the back graph is a pain to see. I vote you get both. And if you're going to get just one unit, splurge and get the HDS touch. You'll love what the graph can do for you. -Ali

I was just about to post this. Great footage! -Ali

You decide: http://vimeo.com/54860841 -Ali

That is awesome Dave! The crazy part is that after your first DD, the rest are a lot easier Congrats! You've been fishing hard and this is very well deserved. -Ali

Nice lobster -Ali

Wow, nice! Thanks for sharing. BTW- all those of you who are lefties (handed; not politically), the Cacutta D in 301 & 401 are out at TW -Ali

I don't know what you think of me but I didn't start swimbaiting two years ago when this site got started. I knew of Don from a long time ago from TT and other bass fishing sites. He was one of the few talking big baits back then. Although ggr, and Butch are all great anglers, they don't share info and give tips the same way Don does. And I understand because swimbaiting, as a culture, is very secretive. Urban (Steve) has done a lot to share info and tips and I really appreciate that. He fishes a lot of the same waters I do so I take what he says to the bank. The same goes for Randal (HighPowerSwimbaits). I love Butch's videos (if I can get to them before he deletes them) but other than "I am the greatest swimbaiter on video OFF ALL TIME", there isn't much in valuable info in them other than Butch fishes slow. Very slow. Even that is more helpful than Mike's "Time on the water is key to catching giant bass" article. I spent a lot of time on the water before I caught my first DD. A LOT OF TIME! I was nowhere even close to getting one over 7. And then one day one of the guys who consistently catches giant bass was kind enough to take me out and showed me the ropes. I didn't catch a giant that day but I got a few nice fish and had renewed confidence. Two days later I got my first DD with the info given to me that day. Now that is worth way more than: "Just go out and you may get lucky and get a big one". Remember, practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. You have to be doing everything right all the time and then you may get lucky and catch a giant bass. Mike makes his money through his sponsors. He has a fiduciary responsibility to hock their products no matter how crappy they may be. I have an issue with that. You think Rob and Nico are hocking cheap baits? Is Oliver fishing Rago or TT because he gets paid to do so? No! They fish what works best for them because they want to catch giant bass. Period! They have no need to sell you baits and as a matter of fact they try to hide their baits (check out Nico's last post). I consider Mike Long to be the Michael Jordan of big bass fishing. I bet Jordan could dunk a ball from the freethrow line wearing a pair of Manolo Blahniks (look it up). But that doesn't make them ideal basketball shoes. I hope you get what I am saying. I am not comparing Mike Long to Don as far as accomplishments go. What I am saying is one guy is genuinely trying to give you tips while the other guy is trying to do the same while also selling you something. In my book, those two are not the same. -Ali

Mike is a good guy but some of those articles are ridiculous. The big secret to catching giant fish: "Time on the water". Thanks Mike! How about: "Fish lakes that have big fish in them"? Go read Don's post on fishing freestyle baits and when and where to use use hard baits vs. soft. There is the real secret to catching not only good numbers but also giant fish. Anyhow, you know who pays Mike's bills: Cheap junky bait manufacturers. Never trust a man who puts his wallet ahead of his integrity. -Ali

God willing I'd love to be there. End of February is my daughter's birthday. Anytime other than that and I am good to go. -Ali

That is awesome! Way to break into the Underground. -Ali

An absolutely great guy to work with. Bought two baits that were shipped lightning fast and updates and tracking #'s were sent promptly. Would do business with again in a heartbeat. -Ali

Awesome fish and I loved the story Dave. Stopping at one last spot ended up being a momentous decision. Love the pics too Congrats, -Ali

Sweet! Congrats Luke. -Ali

My buddy is a sheriff deputy and he mentioned that this time of year there are a lot of cars that get broken into so stuff can be sold for holiday funds. Sorry to hear that happened to you too Ben. -Ali