David Cindrich

The bait above looks like Fish Thirty Acres, Victory Shad. If the picture is the Victory Shad, it has been on the market for a about a couple of years now.

I stated the wrong lure ratting on my Shadow Stalker. The model and lure rating are, SDS-C-861XH 8'6" 1 1/2 - 4 1/2

Look into the Okuma Shadow 8' 1 to 4 ounce, love it for 250's. The rating has something to do with saltwater. The rod was recommended to me for the 250's and I really enjoy it. I use this rod for baits 4 ounces and up. My Okuma GS XH was underpowered IMO and always felt I was running the risk of over loading the rod and casting off. The Okuma Shadow Stalker loads up very well on smaller fish also.

Real Prey has been one of my favorite soft baits for a few years now. Cant wait to get out fish the new Mega Shad, will do a review soon.

One important factor for me is, if sunfish are following my gill bait, I'm going to get bit. If you are new to gill baits and see sunfish following your bait, you are going to get bit. This is the time to vary your retrieve until the first fish expose themselves or you get bit. If you are working down a weed line and loose the school of sunfish, turn around and work the same area again. This works for me in all depths. If the schools of sunfish stay with the boat as I work down the shoreline it seems almost a promise I'm in for a good day. Many times I read that gill baits are more of a spring thing, but in Minnesota I always have a gill bait tied on all year, never questioning if I have the right forage. I enjoy shiner and shad forages just as much, but gill bites are the funniest. I now enjoy many different gill baits, but if you are new to them, I feel many should really get a Hard Gill, learn how to fish it and understand it then spread there wings from there.

I have been blessed to have landed what I know would have been our state record back when it was 8.4 ounces, 3 different times. I really have only shared this with a few friends or course the person who witnessed the catch with me, These fish were caught over 15 years ago and all released. Since this time I have had 4 fish that have haunted me, all I believe would had broke our current state record. One of these fish we were heading down a shore line and I could see what I believed what was a tomato stake lying horizontally in some weeds, I thought to myself how could this tomato stake be stuck perfectly horizontal under water in the weeds. Suddenly it swam away. I immediately casted in the direction I saw the bass in about 5 row. Let the bait soak and at the same time pulled the boat into about 20 fow. I could see sand pockets in the weeds down to about 9fow and that is when I saw her again, Simply the largest bass I have ever seen in Minnesota, well over 8 pounds, yes. Over 9 pounds, good chance. Over 10, will never know. I pulled the boat out to 30 fow and fished for a few minutes, then leave and return to try again. Repeated this for about 3 hours, caught about 15 fish in this one spot and felt I never got anther chance at her. I fished this small low pressured lake for about 5 years almost exclusively looking foe this one. Never even broke the 6 pound mark looking for her. This is the fish that haunts me.

The SB is the most user friendly paint for the hobbyist, it works great but take heed on the warnings. It is toxic and not good for you. It sprays well and if your run into problems Spike-it is more than helpful. The cost makes no sense for production work, but works fine for the DIY's From Spike-it website: SB Coat Soft Plastic Paint is the same as VPI but in a “ready to use†form for painting/decorating soft plastic lures. It is a pigmented coating that does not bleed or migrate like dyes. SB Coat Soft Plastic Paint can be brushed, dotted, or dipped. It is also airbrush ready and can be modified with thinner to be more versatile. Addition of retarder may be needed in warmer weather. Non-fluorescent soft plastic colors can be added to Clear SB Coat to make your own colors. Glitters and pearls work well also. SB Coat Soft Plastic Paint must be applied outside or in a room with proper ventilation, i.e. exhaust fan. Use NIOSH approved respirator (LureWorks Safety Products) and safety glasses when painting. LureWorks also offers the Paasche® Spray Booth (located in Airbrushes and Painting Accessories) for airbrushing. See Safety Data Sheet for in depth instructions. Visit Spike-It Outdoors, Inc. Facebook page for Tips & Techniques.

Are the new 175's made in China or Japan? China and Japan do not have the same economies. The price of labor in Japan is higher than the U.S.

A simple but effective way to make any swimbait a line thru comes off an old Bob King design. Take two pieces of stainless steal wire, make a hay bail loop on each. Make the rest of the stainless steal wire and make cork screws out of them and screw them into your swimbait at your desired locations. The cork screw is more than enough to hold the hay bails loops into the bait. Side note, I have never done this on a bait larger than 6".

I enjoy the 8' 6" for Deps 250. Handles the 250 very well. I was throwing the Okuma Guide Select GS-C-711-T (telescopic) for my 250's and was underpowered IMO. I also enjoy my Shadow Stalker for baits 5 ounces and up. I was concerned about getting the Shadow Stalker for MN bass fishing, but very happy with how the rod loads up.