MSPbass

I'm a fan of Reaction Innovations' Swamp Donkey. I like the detailed bellies and it's very easy to walk once you hit open water. Most of the other frogs have skirt legs rather than the rubber legs on the SP casting frog though. So, man, if they're hitting that Snag Proof as good as you say, don't trash it too quickly. Squeezing out the water every once in a while might be annoying, but a small price to pay for consistent hits.

Wow. I don't think that was there when I registered my last rod. I know it wasn't there last year. That's...that's lame! It honestly left a sour taste in my mouth. That's a shame. BUT, I still love my rods. I guess you can always send it in and see what they say. If you did snap it during a particularly hard fought battle with a fish, it would be hard not to argue that it was somehow defective. If you break it off in your car door, or garage ceiling, it might be a little harder to pull off a replacement.

I'm not sure what these guys are doing with their brakes, but the Pfluger Trion crankin' reel (Trion LPCR) is smooth and torquey. It might not be as winch-like as the Revo, but it's solid aluminum with 6 bearings and half the price.

I've never had to utilize a Fenwick warranty, but also have never heard a bad thing about it. I thought there's a lifetime warranty on all rods over $100 though. RR has a lot more experience than I, but the one guy I know who did break his HMG, got a new rod in the mail. As for the difference, I am by no means an expert or even a tournament fisher, I'm just a weekend warrior who likes Fenwick. Here's what I know: The Techna AV the lightest and most sensitive of the 3. The "Aramid Veil" is made of Kevlar. (The bullet proof stuff.) So it's thin and light but strong and sensitive. It's very sensitive. The reel seat and guides are highest quality Fuji components Fenwick uses and offer less weight on the rod. Frames and hoods are stainless steel. I think the blank is IM8. All 3 have the "soft touch" coating though. I believe all use Fuji "concept spacing" for the guides, as well. The HMG is your average, mid-priced, good-quality rod. It was also the fist graphite bass rod. "The one everyone else imitated" is their tag line. It's a solid rod with more give than the Techna. The Carbon Veil makes it a little heavier and thicker. Guides are Fuji Hardloy. (Mine are older and have titanium inserts by Berkley. I like these.) I haven't ever worried about breaking a HMG. It's a quality rod that anyone can appreciate. I was introduced to Fenwick after I got (semi)serious about fishing and decided to upgrade from the equip. I'd been using since high school. I liked it so much, I've stayed with Fenwick ever since. I know there are better rods out there, but Fenwick has never let me down and they continue to offer innovative products. I honestly recommend the HMG to anyone looking for a quality bass rod. IMO, you can't go wrong with the HMG. But, when you hold a Techna in one hand, and an HMG in the other, you will feel the difference in rods even before you make a cast. It makes a great spinnerbait and/or crankbait specific rod though. The Cabela's World Class falls right in-between the two. I got a 7'M this year to throw buzzbaits and topwaters and I love it! When I first saw it, I thought it was going to be a supped-up HMG. It's not. It's its own rod. It's the same High Modulus Graphite, and Carbon Veil, but a stronger, thinner, blank. (Might even be the Techna blank.) Guides are Fuji Alconite. It's strong like the HMG, but lighter and uses better (Techna) components. Apparently, Cabela's likes the HMG so much, they worked with Fenwick to come up with this one. The actions and rating are HMG, but it's a nicer rod. If you can find the size you want in the Bargain Cave, don't hesitate to grab it. If you can put down the extra $, I'd get this over the HMG. Also, Amazon.com is an authorized Fenwick dealer. The regular prices are good (@ $150/Techna) but they sometimes have sales that are just fantastic. You have to jump on them though. They sell out in a day or two, but I've seen folks here snag a Techna for under $100.

I don't think you'd be disappointed with a Fenwick. I have a HMG paired with a crankin' reel and I like it; but I'm not a huge crank thrower. The Cabela's World Class, IMHO, is a great rod and for $99 it's a bargain. But, last time I looked, the sale selection was limited. This year, I used a new World Class set up more than my Technas though. The Techna's, by the way, are awesome. A little stiff, but very sensitive. That's my worm rod.

Just about everyone makes a "swimbait hook" now. I find the screw on hooks very helpful though. Obviously, more of the hook is on the outside of the bait but, for me, they're easier to rig and they swim straighter.

I heard this was coming, but I didn't think it would be this big of a change. The Pres 1 is a reel that holds its own against, well, all of them. (IMHO) I'm hoping someone pulls the trigger on a Pres 2 soon and can give a review. Even better if they could compare it to the P1! I've been planning on a Pres 1 and a new frog rod, but after a couple new Patriarchs, I was told that would have to wait.

Yeah, get a good idea of what you need to do before you start. You can easily over-do it. A little oil goes a long way. And, you only oil certain parts. Just a drop on the parts that move fast and grease on the gears. I like Quantum Hot Sauce products because it's colored red and easy to see.

I definitely wanted to know about the size of the slots too. That's great info. Thank you.

I sure expected better. Those baits were tiny! I did it a few years ago and I got a couple decent lures out of it. One walker that I still have in my box, in fact. But last year, they sent out those tiny panfish baits. I was so annoyed I wrote BPS asking what they were thinking. Never heard back from them. If anyone takes them up on this year's offer, I'd love to hear what they get.

I was wondering about that. You can't slide 2 baits into one slot then, right? It doesn't sound like it. Small cranks, maybe? I'm getting a little tired of the digging myself. I often get sidetracked while looking for a certain bait when I go "Oh yeah, this is in here, let me try that instead" and waste 30 minutes of fishing. I was looking at the big orange tackle bag, but that's really big and expensive. Now I'm looking at the 3258 or "satchel". It's the birefcase looking tackle bag. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0042907121894a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=plano&Ntk=Products&sort=all&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&_D%3Asort=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

Anyone use one? What do you think? It is over hyped, or would you recommend it?

Anyone use them? What do you think? Are they more snagless than traditional buzzbait?

That's sound advise Natural. But cart7t, you will LOVE your Patriarch.

The Devil's in the details but Flooger stigma is rampant! And I hear you fs. Those Revo STXs are also great reels. When I got my first Patriarch, it had actually come down to choosing between the two. I would probably be singing the praises of the STX had picked differently; but I went with the Patriarch because it's so shiny.

I don't remember if it says it on the box or not, but they obviously had the thing in their hands, right? That's the kind of sweet little extra that makes this reel top shelf, all the way.

Yeah, at the end, but you really need to play with it man. Set your cent. brakes and spool tension knob the way you normally would, set the mag. dial to 0 and start casting. Do it on a calm day and bump it up on each cast. You'll feel the difference by the time you hit 5. For me, if it's calm, my Patriarch's on 1. If it's windy, I start on 4-5. But you need to get your own feel for the reel. That being said, I think the TT score is a tad low. I love this reel. I'm obviously biased, but 8 for features? What do you need for a 9 or 10? The dual cast ctrl. alone should give it an 8. The 11 bearings, 6.4:1 & 7.1:1 speeds, titanium finish and soft touch knobs should only bump that up. TT gave points to other reels for things they didn't even mention on the Patriarch; like the audible drag and cast knobs. I think the ergonomics are perfect as well. It's rounder and fits in my palm perfectly. Compared to other reels, I don't even thing the price tag is that out of whack. I don't know; I guess it's perfect for me, but I won't hesitate recommending it to anyone looking for a high quality reel.

I've been experimenting with a bunch of different buzz-frogs this summer and I've found this to be a problem with all of them. Someone recently suggested sticking a nail in the rear end of the frog. I have yet to test it, but it sounds like a good idea. And for what it's worth, I think I'm going to stick with the Stanley Ribbit.

I've been looking at these things for a while now, but the price tag kept me away. Might have to give in now. Are you using the blade or the skirt?

Fishing can be so frustrating when you're not catching anything. We've all been there dude. But you seem to be keeping at it. Right on man! All this stuff will make more sense the more you learn and, more importantly, once you actually start to catch fish. For the fish part, I suggest you also pick up a package or 2 of plastic worms. They are bass catchers, pure and simple. Cranks can be hard to use from shore, but worms are hard to fish wrong. Now, worming can get complicated, don't get me wrong. Its my confidence bait but I learn new worm techniques every year. But I also think it's a great way to learn bass fishing. I suggest you pick up a bag of Senko worms to fish weightless and a bag of hooks that says Off Set Worm Hook or Wide Gap Worm and you're good to go, even with your current set up. Once you get a new rod/reel, you'll ghave a sturdier tool, plus the ability to cast further and more accurately. http://www.bassresource.com/fish/plasticworms.html

The Summit is nice. You wouldn't be disappointed with that reel. But, if you're going to be saving, check out the Patriarch too. It's not as small as the "micro" sized Summit, but when you hold both in your hands at the same time, you might decide it's worth your while to save the additional $30.

The Pflueger Patriarch only comes in one size, but they all it a "WLP" or Wide Low Profile.

Check out the Fenwick World Class at Cabelas before you get the HMG. They're on sale for $100 right now. It's nicer and lighter than the HMG.

Actually, there isn't much of a casting deck. It's not a big flat bass boat. But there is a chair up front with a little room to stand around it. Thanks for the info ssaB. Sounds like you got a great deal on that one. Tippy isn't good though. I need to climb into this thing. It looked like there was a long rod locker right down the port side of the boat.