Kentucky Lake Monkey Review

walkeraviator · 04-02-11, 10:07 AM

Well I am fresh back from Kentucky Lake where the fishing was about the slowest I have ever seen it. BUt I did get a chance to use some of my new gear and thought I would give some thoughts.

BPS Crankin Stick.
Great Rod. Real light and balanced well with the PQ i had on it. Love the owerhump grip. Only complaint is a lack of sensativity, but was expected being a composite rod. Will buy a few more. And this rod and an older BPS rod have me happy enough to swicth my cheaper rods over to carbonlites soon.

BPS Pro Qualifier 5.2:1
Best Reel I own by light years. I know that isnt saying much based on the reels I already own, but this thing is light, smooth, and the braking system is absolutely amazing. I plan to replace every reel in my arsenal with a Pro Qualifier in the future.

Suffix Elite
I liked the line. It was low on memory, casted well, and seemed to be really abrasion resistent for 10lb mono. However, I did lose a spinnerbait to a line brake on a cast. I assume it was from a kink in the line from a backlash earlier in the day. Gonna keep using it til i get a better opinion.

BPS XPS Fourocarbon
Best Flouro I have tried to date. Was a 15lb test line. It has incredible sensitivity, amazing abrasion resistence (pulled a nice three pounder out of a tree top without so much as a scuff on teh line), and almost no memory (may have something to do with teh line conditioner). I did have yet another break off because of a line kink, but this time took me setting the hook on a log with all the strength i had to pop it. Gonna give this stuff the rest of teh season to see if it keeps making me happy and may consider switching some other rods to smaller diameter versions of this line.

KVD Squarebill.
Great crankbait. He isnt kidding when he says the action is erattic. This thing hunts a lot. The rattles are a little subdued compared to bigger strike king lures. It was the only crankbait that produced for me this week. And I threw my old faithfuls (shadrap, wiggle wart). The hooks are super sharp and strong, not one fish got off all week. The only downside is that a drum knocked the eye off my gizzard shad colored one. The bill definitely does its job of bouncing off cover. Will buy more.

Terminator T-1 Spinnerbaits.
Bought some on sale at the BPS shindig. I can actually see me spending $8 for one now that I have used one. Best spinnerbaits I have ever used. Had a 10-12 pound drum hit one and thought it was a gonner. But I popped the fish off, and started throing it again. Straight as an arrow. The skirt is the best action skirt I have ever seen, and fished it without a trailer all week with great success. The blades had great thumping action as slow as i could roll it which i think is what made it my most productive lure all week.

So I would say the mokey did me right this year. Seems I bought a lot of very good gear that I am completely satisfied with. I am also trying KVD Line and Lure conditioner for the first time ever. So far I like it. But since i switched to ne wline at teh same time, i cant say whether it really is helping or not.

Sorry about the long post.

keithdog · 04-02-11, 11:45 AM

Sounds like a very interresting fishing trip walker. I do concure on some of your points. The PQ's are amazing reels, especially for the price! I have two of them and if I needed another reel I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. I do love my new Carbon Black casting reel too. This will make the second year now that I've used 12 pound Suffix Elite mono for my crankbaits. I use 15 pound for my shallow water cranking because I work it around lots of cover and like that little bit of extra reasurance when trying to work a bass out of trouble fast. This will be the first year for me really working a KVD square bill crank. I bought two last fall but didn't get much time to work it before winter set in. But what litle time I did use them they do show a lot of promise in how they run. I really like the new Excaliber square bills too! I havn't used the T-1 Terminator spinnerbaits, but I have some of the other models and I agree they are amoung the best of the best when it comes to spinnerbaits. Just a tip, get a couple of the Strike King KVD spinnerbaits with the magic tails to try out as well. THATS my favorite spinnerbait by a mile right now. Thanks for the great post.

lilmule · 04-02-11, 12:01 PM

The squarebill is an excellent bait here on ky lake both pre and post spawn
And a 3 lber is better than what most did here last year many in 3 days didnt boat a keeper,like aba nationals
One of the reasons last year was some org treated the grass,chemically,not just high water.

rrw4258 · 04-02-11, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkeraviator

BPS Pro Qualifier 5.2:1
I plan to replace every reel in my arsenal with a Pro Qualifier in the future.

Good Choice! That's all I use is PQ reels! Also, the KVD Squarebills you talked about are KILLER! Good luck with all of the new tackle!!

Ryan

04-02-11, 10:07 AM	#1
walkeraviator BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 1,119	Kentucky Lake Monkey Review Well I am fresh back from Kentucky Lake where the fishing was about the slowest I have ever seen it. BUt I did get a chance to use some of my new gear and thought I would give some thoughts. BPS Crankin Stick. Great Rod. Real light and balanced well with the PQ i had on it. Love the owerhump grip. Only complaint is a lack of sensativity, but was expected being a composite rod. Will buy a few more. And this rod and an older BPS rod have me happy enough to swicth my cheaper rods over to carbonlites soon. BPS Pro Qualifier 5.2:1 Best Reel I own by light years. I know that isnt saying much based on the reels I already own, but this thing is light, smooth, and the braking system is absolutely amazing. I plan to replace every reel in my arsenal with a Pro Qualifier in the future. Suffix Elite I liked the line. It was low on memory, casted well, and seemed to be really abrasion resistent for 10lb mono. However, I did lose a spinnerbait to a line brake on a cast. I assume it was from a kink in the line from a backlash earlier in the day. Gonna keep using it til i get a better opinion. BPS XPS Fourocarbon Best Flouro I have tried to date. Was a 15lb test line. It has incredible sensitivity, amazing abrasion resistence (pulled a nice three pounder out of a tree top without so much as a scuff on teh line), and almost no memory (may have something to do with teh line conditioner). I did have yet another break off because of a line kink, but this time took me setting the hook on a log with all the strength i had to pop it. Gonna give this stuff the rest of teh season to see if it keeps making me happy and may consider switching some other rods to smaller diameter versions of this line. KVD Squarebill. Great crankbait. He isnt kidding when he says the action is erattic. This thing hunts a lot. The rattles are a little subdued compared to bigger strike king lures. It was the only crankbait that produced for me this week. And I threw my old faithfuls (shadrap, wiggle wart). The hooks are super sharp and strong, not one fish got off all week. The only downside is that a drum knocked the eye off my gizzard shad colored one. The bill definitely does its job of bouncing off cover. Will buy more. Terminator T-1 Spinnerbaits. Bought some on sale at the BPS shindig. I can actually see me spending $8 for one now that I have used one. Best spinnerbaits I have ever used. Had a 10-12 pound drum hit one and thought it was a gonner. But I popped the fish off, and started throing it again. Straight as an arrow. The skirt is the best action skirt I have ever seen, and fished it without a trailer all week with great success. The blades had great thumping action as slow as i could roll it which i think is what made it my most productive lure all week. So I would say the mokey did me right this year. Seems I bought a lot of very good gear that I am completely satisfied with. I am also trying KVD Line and Lure conditioner for the first time ever. So far I like it. But since i switched to ne wline at teh same time, i cant say whether it really is helping or not. Sorry about the long post.

04-02-11, 11:45 AM	#2
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	Sounds like a very interresting fishing trip walker. I do concure on some of your points. The PQ's are amazing reels, especially for the price! I have two of them and if I needed another reel I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. I do love my new Carbon Black casting reel too. This will make the second year now that I've used 12 pound Suffix Elite mono for my crankbaits. I use 15 pound for my shallow water cranking because I work it around lots of cover and like that little bit of extra reasurance when trying to work a bass out of trouble fast. This will be the first year for me really working a KVD square bill crank. I bought two last fall but didn't get much time to work it before winter set in. But what litle time I did use them they do show a lot of promise in how they run. I really like the new Excaliber square bills too! I havn't used the T-1 Terminator spinnerbaits, but I have some of the other models and I agree they are amoung the best of the best when it comes to spinnerbaits. Just a tip, get a couple of the Strike King KVD spinnerbaits with the magic tails to try out as well. THATS my favorite spinnerbait by a mile right now. Thanks for the great post. __________________ Just one more cast, and then some!

04-02-11, 12:01 PM	#3
lilmule BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Buchanan,Tn Posts: 2,685	The squarebill is an excellent bait here on ky lake both pre and post spawn And a 3 lber is better than what most did here last year many in 3 days didnt boat a keeper,like aba nationals One of the reasons last year was some org treated the grass,chemically,not just high water. Last edited by lilmule; 04-02-11 at 12:06 PM.

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