Kevin Van Dam Forums

kankakeecrazy - 27 December 2011 04:37 PM

Yeah,  I saw that.  I think I am going to stay with my set up.  I like the idea of a fiberglass rod for crankin and this way I can use the setup for my topwater and crankbaits.  It would be nice to have the money (and sponsors) to have a setup for every lure I was going to throw, but that is just not practical. I only take two rods with me when I fish because my inflatable sea eagle is small, and can get cluttered quickly.  The other set-up I have is for my senko fishing.  I have a Pflueger supreme reel matched with a St. Croix ML 6’6” eyecon spinning.  I love that combo.  The only other thing I could really see myself needing would be a heavy flipping/pitching stick for the bayous on those hot summer days, so I can get under and through those lily pads.

Have you fished the Kankakee much, Cincy?

Never fished it at all, i just started fishing again 3 years ago and only for bass 2 years ago. i’ve never had much luck fishing any river, so i don’t. Do you frog fish in the summer? Frog fishing is the most fun way to fish i have ever done.

CincySid - 28 December 2011 12:38 PM

kankakeecrazy - 27 December 2011 04:37 PM

Yeah,  I saw that.  I think I am going to stay with my set up.  I like the idea of a fiberglass rod for crankin and this way I can use the setup for my topwater and crankbaits.  It would be nice to have the money (and sponsors) to have a setup for every lure I was going to throw, but that is just not practical. I only take two rods with me when I fish because my inflatable sea eagle is small, and can get cluttered quickly.  The other set-up I have is for my senko fishing.  I have a Pflueger supreme reel matched with a St. Croix ML 6’6” eyecon spinning.  I love that combo.  The only other thing I could really see myself needing would be a heavy flipping/pitching stick for the bayous on those hot summer days, so I can get under and through those lily pads.

Have you fished the Kankakee much, Cincy?

Never fished it at all, i just started fishing again 3 years ago and only for bass 2 years ago. i’ve never had much luck fishing any river, so i don’t. Do you frog fish in the summer? Frog fishing is the most fun way to fish i have ever done.

I do a lot of frog fishing, as well as senkos.  I never really liked river fishing until I got turned on to the bayous.  There are some really great bayous you can find on the Kankakee and there are usually very few, if anybody, fishing them.  Some of these bayous are like small lakes, and I have had 30+ bass days on them.  You need a a boat to get to most of them and a boat that draws very little water, that is why they get such little fishing pressure and are great to fish.  I am upgrading my one person raft to the 2 person this spring, so if you are ever interested in checking it out let me know.

kankakeecrazy - 28 December 2011 05:11 PM

CincySid - 28 December 2011 12:38 PM

kankakeecrazy - 27 December 2011 04:37 PM

Yeah,  I saw that.  I think I am going to stay with my set up.  I like the idea of a fiberglass rod for crankin and this way I can use the setup for my topwater and crankbaits.  It would be nice to have the money (and sponsors) to have a setup for every lure I was going to throw, but that is just not practical. I only take two rods with me when I fish because my inflatable sea eagle is small, and can get cluttered quickly.  The other set-up I have is for my senko fishing.  I have a Pflueger supreme reel matched with a St. Croix ML 6’6” eyecon spinning.  I love that combo.  The only other thing I could really see myself needing would be a heavy flipping/pitching stick for the bayous on those hot summer days, so I can get under and through those lily pads.

Have you fished the Kankakee much, Cincy?

Never fished it at all, i just started fishing again 3 years ago and only for bass 2 years ago. i’ve never had much luck fishing any river, so i don’t. Do you frog fish in the summer? Frog fishing is the most fun way to fish i have ever done.

I do a lot of frog fishing, as well as senkos.  I never really liked river fishing until I got turned on to the bayous.  There are some really great bayous you can find on the Kankakee and there are usually very few, if anybody, fishing them.  Some of these bayous are like small lakes, and I have had 30+ bass days on them.  You need a a boat to get to most of them and a boat that draws very little water, that is why they get such little fishing pressure and are great to fish.  I am upgrading my one person raft to the 2 person this spring, so if you are ever interested in checking it out let me know.

Sounds great, let me know when you got the 2 man boat and we’ll hook up. Thanks. A swim jig gets through the lily pads pretty good and it acts a lot like a crank bait bouncing off a stumps and rocks. the swim jig will hit a lily pad stem and act stunned and wham you got a bite.

sent you a PM Kank

kankakeecrazy - 15 December 2011 10:17 PM

I bought the Abu Garcia Black Max last year because it was cheap and I have had nothing but issues with it.  I am looking for a baitcasting combo that I will exclusively use to throw topwater lures that weigh 1/4 - 3/8 oz.  I am pretty sure I need to go with a medium power rod or even a medium light???  Does anyone have any suggestions on a good quality reel that is reliable???  I don’t want to spend a ton of money, but I also don’t want to be cheap and make the same mistake twice.  I would be comfortable with spending up to $150 on a solid, reputable reel.  I appreciate any suggestions and help!

I recently joined the forums after lurking for a while.  The BPS cranking stick is exactly the rod I would have recommend to you.  Crankbait rods make excellent treble hooked topwater rods provided that they are balanced and light weight.  Few other presentations will wear you out like 8 hours a day of walkin’ the dog.  Luckily that BPS stick is remarkably well balanced and light weight.  Damn good rod that is.  I fish a lot of topwater in highland clear water reservoirs at post spawn to early summer.  A well balanced and light weight crankbait rod is the rod of choice IMO. 

Line?  I like braid.  14 fireline to be exact, and yes fireline is a 4 strand braid.  The casting distance and hook setting ability of that limp and zero stretch line is still my favorite deep cranking and long casting line of choice.

Reel?  Avoid the 7.X:1 retrieve ratios.  Go with a 6.X:1 or 5.X:1 ratio reel.  When walking the dog nothing is more detrimental than reeling too fast and not allowing for the proper amount of slack line to be thrown at the lure for it to walk.  Some guys reel too fast even for a 6.X:1 and need to go to a 5.X:1 while some guys can slow down and use a 6.X:1.  7.X:1 is certainly too fast IMO for walking the dog.  Avoid magnetic cast control and go centrifugal.  Centrifugal allows you to “cheat” and gain additional casting distance by backing off on your spool tension and cranking up the centrifugal.  Centrifugal reels act as a spool governor limiting peek RPM (backlashes) and afford you superior casting distance.

Shimano curado is always a good choice for a reel as it will last forever.  If that is too much $ then any aluminum framed centrifugal cast controlled reel should do the job.  BPS reels are excellent when on a budget.  Look into the NEW extreme or Nitro Tournament Z.  Quantum code would be my last and least choice.