J Francho

Good job, young guns!

I prefer the open hook version of this bait.

I have a few Dobyns, DX series. Very light, well balanced, and nicely made. They have the best thread knob in the biz.

Techniques, rigs, tackle, etc. gets borrowed, recombibulated and eventually evolved into a specific thing. Drop Shot and Carolina -Rig are two very good examples of live bait rigs that were adapted to presenting artificial baits. The Float 'n Fly is another good example. It's all born from basic problem solving. Each rig solves a common set of problems in bass fishing - probably similar to its forebearer.

Delivery can take 6-8 weeks, lol.

Kill you say? I found the game and console in five minutes for around $65. Where do send the list? ;P

If by hot you mean sexy, then yes.

I use plutonium weights. They're very small.

I can assure you my ProMax powered Bullet 21XDC runs ok (not at top performance, lol) without some of the skeg. Nothing bad, just not as fast.

The tape measure weighs 7.2 oz. Beautiful fish!

My jika punch rigs use lead.

Spotting and catching smallies on my graph.

No, sesitivity would be the same, like you said it's only a few feet. Depending on the diameter, the way the bait sinks is a little different. It's faster with a hard, fluoro leader. At least faster than a P-Line CXX leader, and that's less boyant than nylon mono.

They're just leaving the door open for excuses when you beat them. Then it's all, "if I had a $1000 rod and I reel I could have beat him," blah blah blah, lol. Fish what you want. Let the scales prove who is better and only you can judge how fun it was.

Looks like a bait and switch deal. Lol.

They do the same here. Makes for a heck of a post spawn pike fishery, lol.

This is real important, and simple physices. The only thing absorbing that shock on a cast is the line. Your rod should be pointed at your target on the follow through, so it's not absorbing anything.

Just pick a program you'll finish.

The 7' MHF is not my favorite stick, but it sees a lot of service. Baits just a bit below its range are out of the question. The 7' MF is a much more versatile stick. Baird above its range are handled just fine. I prefer the over feel of this rod as well.

Dwight, all "rainbows" and "steelhead" we're merged into O. mykiss in 1988. Genetic testing revealed their DNA to be identical. The difference is a physiological change called smoltification, meaning they leave the streams to persue a pelagic lifestyle, only to return to spawn. The OP's fish sea a bit small to be a steelhead, but it's really hard to tell with the kype jaw. My dad always told me that in order for a rainbow to be a steelhead, it had to be over 30", lol.

I have four DS rigs. Two each of exactly the same combos. I hate tying when I'm catching, lol.

I use 60# -100# fluoro leaders or I flip to titanium. Another option is Cortland Toothy Critter in 20 or 30#. It's a tie-able leader you get in the fly dept. both swimbait rods have 20# CXX as mainline. No braid for me.

JDM prices are falling. The dollar is gaining strength over the yen. Take advantage of it!

I'm a software engineer. My schooling background was in fish farming, lol.

All steelhead are rainbows. Some rainbows become steelhead. That fish looks around 5 lbs. To me, I'd call it a big rainbow.