Big Bait Fishing

you guys talk about St. Croix rods being tip heavy ? try a St.Croix 9' legend tournament musky !!! i don't sweat it as i use it for tip down presentations only ( swimbaits )

i would stick with cylinderical weights ( tungsten bullet weight ) 1 - 2.5 oz.

try a salt water set up with the rod's lure rating in what you are want to pitch of flip

quit hating on Bill Dance , that usaul place he fishes is actually quite big , your reference is pretty foolish comparing it to shooting deer in a pen , come on now ... his buddy and another fishing show show host Jimmy Houston was filming his show at sugar lake at the same time (i forgot who) was filming also and they said jimmy houston was slaying them , my point is , bill dance can catch them all over , not just in private ponds , believe that . like a lot of people said , those shows are educational videos .

go to a sporting goods store , grab some Plano boxes you use and take a look at their backpacks and test fit the plano's in different backpacks to find what suita your need , i did this at Wal mart and found a great backpack that is well built and fits all the boxes i need to bring . i put in it a Plano 370 deep , a browning large size worm binder , and a Falcon terminal tackle box , and the other pockets store my pliers , knife , reel wrench (10 mm) screw driver combo , scents , line , etc.... you should be able to find something that works , to make it foolproof , bring to the store what your gonna want to be carrying ... by the way , i've had this same backpack for 7 years and it's still without any rips , tears , or broken zippers ..

try getting a rod blank from St.Croix , they sent my Big Nasty in a 4''diameter cardboard tube that is really sturdy , had all kinds of foam sheeting wrapped around the blank , was in it's own sleeping bag , St. Croix knows how to ship rod blanks !!!

exactly ! i will never buy a stock rod to fish , only way i would buy a store bought rod is for a friend to use as a loaner ( i get way to OCDish when someone even gets near my custom rods !!!)

if you want the nylon bristles , it's called fiberguard , they sell it at Mudhole .com http://www.mudhole.com/Lure-Building/Do-it-Mold-Inserts/Fiberguards

i can't stress enough how valueable customer service is ....

the placement , ring size , and more importantly , the ring height ( the height of the guide off the blank ) that's where the line is begining it's path down the guide train , making the loops off your reel contained to go through your guides , take a look at the video demontration of the Micro Wave line control system , you will get an idea of how the stripper guide and choke guides work , their whole system is to bring the line loops off the reel down to virtually no loops within 2 guides there for creating less friction on the guides giving you longer casts . the straighter your line will go through your guides the less friction there is being caused by line loops coming off the reel .

line slap will happen with the stripper guide , the first guide from the reel , a choke guide is a transion guide to the running guides , usaully 3 or 4 guides down , and will not have anything to do with line slap ...

Owner J hook in size 4/0

St. Croix has the best customer service , period .....

it's not like your palming it , the stem thickness is the same as most any reel wether it be a 1000 size or a 40 size , saying you can't get your hand around it and that it's too bulky don't make sense to me but it's what you want and like ...

deviating from optimal choke guide sizing will very minimally affect casting distance if any , i used a 20,12,8, then (8) 3.5's to the tip on a 7'8'' M/XF spinning rod with a 16'' handle (SK2 split reel seat) , this is with a Pflueger Patriarch magnesium size 40 reel , the rod builder didn't approve of the guide sizes but did it with my persuasion , the rod casts extremely well and is very light . here's a picture of the guide train .

pretty much any 7' & up heavy powered / fast action rod would work .

could be interesting as i'm very curious as to the philosiphies of rod blanks ...

i'm going to go with a Phenix blank , looking at a couple in their line ups ...

that will work , thanks

mine still is !!!

TW's black friday sale !!!!! :eyebrows:

x2

mudhole has phenominal customer service , very ,very helpful !!!

Abu Garcia has an outstanding customer service , they really back up their products , that said , i've said it before and i'll say it again , going with companies like Abu Garcia , St. Croix , Phenix , Lew's, etc... are such a pleasure to deal with , making me feel confident that when i invest hundreds of dollars in gear , i will be taken care of when i need their customer service ....