KeepinItReelFishing

The bottom hook variant is a super slow sink....combined with the lift of the paddle tail it rides very high in the water column. Perfect for bringing over grass when you only have a foot or two of headroom. Great as a soft bodied "wake" bait using a high rod tip and a mod-fast retrieve speed. I love doing this with my 8" model. The top hook variant is weighted heavier and is meant to be fished deeper. Still, with the lift of the paddle tail I wouldn't call it a bottom bouncer as the speed required to keep bottom contact is also just about the stall speed of the tail. IMO in its stock state the top hook is perfect for mid water column. **NOTE: There is plenty of room to insert tungsten nail weights around the black plastic insert on the lures. If you want to get a bottom hook variant and run it a bit deeper, insert a couple nail weights. If you want to keep the top hook model even deeper, with a moderate retrieve speed, likewise.....add a few tungsten nail weights in there. Carl

Thank you! I just checked it out.

Thank you! I'll give it a listen.

I see no mention on the LDC site regarding the SI's taper. I prefer more parabolic rods. I own a White Label XH, and have used White Labels in the ML and H variants. For the longest time the White Labels were listed as slow taper as part of their product description. Starting last year the description now states they are moderate. I don't now whats up with that, but it concerns me as that slow taper was highly unique in the market. Once you have chosen the power rating you need, IMO taper is everything, followed very distantly by balance. So, I'm eager to know what the taper characteristics are of these SI units. For anyone who has already ordered one, when you receive it can you compare it to whatever else you have so as to paint some sort of picture of the dynamics of the rod? Thank you! -Carl

Great stuff Conner. The changing temperament of fish in the course of a 24 hour period......heck, a 8 hour period can be maddening. I'd be curious if you can recreate that stellar bite in similar conditions in the future, or if was attributable to one of those holy grail active feeding periods.

Always love the storytelling and play by play. Coupled to the beautiful pics (and sweet lures!). It was indeed a stupid warm week, but I always wonder if the fish are balancing water temp with measured daylight. Because, we all know the weather can get wild, but the sun don't lie as to time of year. Is there appreciably deeper water at these places? The only options are they females by and large aren't fooled and are still staging deeper, or......it's just statistics. You can fish for a week straight and get nothing but dinks, and the next guy fishes a half a day and gets a few over 5. Such is the draw sometimes.

Butch Brown has stated in interviews he uses 12lb for the Slide Swimmer 175.

In

Guys....there is a LOT of power in fishing these slow. Bring it near the boat and reel it super slow. Observe the rate of stall speed. Count down that slow sink a few seconds and then give it one hard blip so you can feel the thump....also triggering any fish watching it on the initial descent as well sending out a ton of thump/sound to call fish in the area as you start your retrieve. From there, crawl it that speed just above the rate of stall, every one in a while give it that quick blip again (like one complete fast rotation of the reel ..that's it, you figure one rotation of most reels is about 28-34 inches....that's a lot of movement down there). I can't emphasize the slow part enough though. No slow sinks will come up if your fishing it as slow as I'm suggesting. Heck, my extra slow sinks almost never come up.

Butch swears by that moon-not-present approach. And, facts are facts....he's THE guru. But, other facts outweigh even the mighty Butch Brown, and thats you fish when you are able to. Your new PB is a testament to the fact that the best moon phase, is the one where you can be out there on the water fishing....regardless. -Carl

Congrats Anthony. That's a solid fish for sure. The Hudd 68 is one of the best to ever do it. The quintessential #'s as well as size lure. -Carl

Christmas comes late. I come bearing your final gift......the winder doldrum be-goner! I know many of you are in places where the season is over. While old man winter may be getting comfortable, perhaps YOU can find comfort in this video from spring that I finally edited. You want warmth? You got it! You can almost smell the pollen as you are enveloped with the songs of various spring birds. It was a great day despite only catching three fish. The smallmouth matches my PB at 5lbs 3oz and came on the amazing Real Prey 6.5" bluegill. Later on I coaxed a topwater bite from an impressively built 5lbs 1oz largemouth on the rare and beautiful Red Top Worms (Bob Suddarth) waking gill. Enjoy! Carl / Keepin'IT REEL Fishing

I'll recommend two things. First, a product. Seaguar Abrazx. I had nightmare experiences with various fluorocarbons for years, and almost swore them off completely as a main line, until Abrazx. Invizx is even easier to manage, but Abrazx has better 'big fish' properties. And, it bears worth mentioning that if the GOAT Mr. Butch Brown runs it exclusively, IMO thats all anyone needs to know. Second....reel type. Use a reel with a non-disengaging levelwind. This makes a tangible difference. Having the levelwind always in lock step in line with the exiting line means the line never has to cut a hard angle, as is the case with disengaging levelwinds. The stiffer properties of fluoro don't take kindly to even a moment of line stalling on a cast due to friction angles. In the reel world I did not get many backlashes using my disengaging reels, but I would always get a few through the year (and sometimes costing me valuable lures). With the non-disengaging its extremely rare....maybe 2 in the past two years. Best of luck! -Carl

Copy that....thanks. I went with Bryan of anglerschoicefishmounts.com and it was an even 24 months.

That's REALLY nice work! Getting an exception mount is hard. When I looked into mine it seemed every artist who did exemplary work, also wasn't taking on any new work. What was turnaround time from placing order to receiving it? -Carl

The little guy looks right at home. Nice catch man, always means more when the kid(s) can experience it as well.

Your a monster, Mike! Back to back 5+'s the stuff of dreams.

Congrats on the new PB! That's a beaut of a fish....what a build. Great paint job on the PG....who did it?

Absolutely gorgeous fish! (and that crankdown is a beaut). That is definitely a solid fish man. Congrats on the payoff of putting in the work and finally getting to hold that class of fish.

I recently got the Bailey Swim and am very pleased with it. For comparison I have a Savage Gear Browser XH and a LDC White Label XH. I know Paul (Bailey) bills the rod as a do everything big bait rod. So far I have used it only with soft baits in the 5oz range (8" Hudd, 7.75" Real Prey) and I feel it handles that weight beautifully. I intend to throw my Deps 250 on it, but have yet to do so. The rods balance is good for a production rod (the LDC has better balance). The LDC being more parabolic is easier to cast as the rod more readily stores energy and does the work, having said that I'm pretty sure I get better overall distance though with the iRod. It requirew a little more effort, but it seems to me gets a bit more distance. I really have to measure with my line counter. If it matters the iRod is modular. The entire handle assembly separates from the blank. But, assembled there is no perceivable difference in performance to me between it and my single piece rods. -Carl

I just received them in size 3 and 4. The lb test rating seem to defy physics (SU size 4 = 100lb, where as Owner Hyper Wire size 4 = 50lb). I have no way to quantitatively measure their claims. I'm very interested as to who the actual manufacturing party is. I thought it might say in fine print on the package somewhere, but it is not present. Its a very small, but intriguing product. If someone out there actually puts them on a tensile strength type device to get a numeric failure rating I would be curious to see the results. For SU to absurdly overstate (double that of Owner) the rating would be to really cheapen the brand as "claiming anything for the sale". But, its one, small, inexpensive product in their vast line of clothing and other collaborations which make up all their business. I guess there is a part of me wondering if they partnered with a terminal tackle company and perhaps are employing some of the newer 'hybrid' alloys along the lines of Owner's Zero Wire line of thinner yet stronger hooks. If the ratings are true, even if they are 75% of their stated value it would be a groundbreaking product.

Yeah Conner! Very nice fish my man. I'm really liking your chartreuse treatment on the tail...looks great!

I got you. I have actually been collecting footage for a video on this. The WCZ travel board is great for what it is, but the fact that it isn't rigid can throw off the perceived measurement unless you lay it on something absolutely flat. I also have the wooden board from the very first release. I love it for style and panache. Mike saw the opportunity for taking something mundane, and made it cool. I mean, since when has a measuring board been so desirable? My two gripes with the WCZ board are that eventually the clear coat/finish will wear off and then the color bleeds like a mutha. Perhaps they have a more formidable coating on them now, like I said mine was the original, but I have heard from other people the same....the stain bleeds bad once that coating wears. More importantly than the aesthetic is the functionality. As we should always wet a board before putting a fish on it, fish really tend to slide on the WCZ. This is due to the lack of a bump board for them to rest against as well as the relatively flat design. It is slightly concave, but not functionally so (see third image below). Many times I had put a fish on, and by the time I stood and framed the picture, the fishes nose had slid, either + or - from zero. Frustrating for you, but worse on the fish to keep them out of water longer to reposition and get an accurate image. As you stated, a bump board is desirable. Depending on your camera and distance distortion is a very real thing. Without a bump board it may look like the nose of the fish is either past zero to the left (losing length) or the right (adding length) even if it is truly on zero. A bump board guarantees your image, regardless of distortion, represents the accurate length of the catch. (hence the reason all length based tournaments require such a board). Having said all that may I recommend the Yak Gear (Fish Stik) measure board. -It is wide and functionally concave so as to cradle fish -Bump board with line pass through -Folds! Goes in any backpack without sticking out. Rigid mechanism does not flex once latched, ensuring accurate measurement. -Floats I hope this helps. I plan to get that video up pretty soon as this is a niche, but important topic in the world of pursuing giant fish in both weight AND length. Carl / Keepin' It REEL Fishing

Come for the largemouth catch....stay for all the awesome other species. Congrats Conner on the nice largemouth! That fish really has some profile both in hand and on the board. Excellent images of all the other fish....each species is its own beautiful little gem. Really loving the golden shiner. For as many waters as I know they swim in by me, I have never actually caught/seen one.

Your definitely putting in the work Jim. Perseverance pays as they say. That 4lb7oz is finally some reward for you. Looking forward to seeing some giants from you in the next month. Like you said, things are a few weeks behind with these repeated cold fronts.