Big Bait Fishing

8' casting rod, 7'6"-7'8" spinning rod ,& 8'6"-9' swimbait rods ...

Best line for swimbaits is Izorline XXX co-polymer line !!! I use 20# for baits up to 5 oz. , 25# for baits 5-8 oz.,and 30# for baits up to 13 oz. XXX is very strong, limp and just the right stretch . I used P-line cxx for a bit that line is too brittle and gets kinks in it pretty easy , causing break offs through out your line. Give Izorline XXX a try , you'll love it ...

Check out tackle industries....

Try some Toray Super Hard Strong flourocarbon , hands down best flourocarbon made . Strong, very low stretch & excellent abrasion resistance.Toray is one of the only flourocarbon manufacturing company that what they advertise is what you get ...

If you want a strong very low stretch line , check out Toray Super Hard Strong flourocarbon , kinda expensive but is the best flourocarbon I've run across ! I have used the 10,12,and 16 lb.tests for leaders tied to braid and am gonna try some Toray upgrade soon . Toray is hands down the best flourocarbon line maker , what they advertise is what you get, no b.s hype .....

Yo zuri stretches big time plus has a ton of memory , still don't know how you guys like that line !!!

Abu Garcia has phenomenal customer service !!!

Izorline XXX....

What he said ^^^^^^

Try Toray Super Hard Strong, very low stretch and very strong ...

The added benefit of micro guides to me is keeping the line on a straight path plus when you use micro guides, you can add more making the action of the rod work better by the placement of another guide in the equation.

Looks killer , love the way Ardent put a new flair to the design making it standout , as long as it works good like most of their reels , I'm definitely going to buy one !!!

Why does it look gimmicky ??

This is one beautiful reel !! Gonna have to get one . It's an Ardent wire

This is one beautiful reel !! Gonna have to get one . It's an Ardent wire

I use 20,25, and 30 lb. For swimbaits and I don't get memory issues, that's why I love this line , it's strong and have the right amount of stretch for throwing big baits. But then again, I live in sunny San Diego !!!

Your welcome, hope you catch your new personal best !!!

Absolutely correct, trust me that once you get into throwing big baits that you will want to throw even bigger baits once you start catching big fish , I also think you'd prefer the fast action compared to a moderate action , with a fast action, you will get better hook sets especially on long casts !!BTW, The guide series are nice but the Citrix is a lot nicer !!

You must never have seen Nano micro guides in size 1 used before !!!

If I were you , I'd go with the Okuma Citrix 7'11" extra heavy, rated 2-10 oz. , you want to get a rod that will handle the baits you are throwing with out the rod overloading, a 8" hudd will push a Rod rated 2-6 ounces , with the heavier powered rod , you should still be able to cast lighter baits very easy. Plus the rod is only $119.99 !!!!( on TW)

Musky rods are where it's at for swimbaits !!! I don't know what musky rod you've been using !! I only use musky blanks for swimbait rods , bass swimbait rods handles are way to short and most of them are 8' and under , a good swimbait rod is preferably 8'6" or longer , plus , if you throw big baits , like musky fishermen do , you want a rod that can handle the 10-16 oz. Baits . I'm going to have a St.Croix 9' h ( Big Nasty) rod blank built , spiral wrapped with micro guides !! So make no mistake , musky rods/blanks make EXCELLENT swimbait rods !!!!

The improved clinch knot is such a basic knot but is very strong , I use for braid , flourocarbon and mono ( copolymer lines) ..

Okumu Citrix 7' medium/fast , $129.99

Check out the shimano compre drop shot rod , it's 7'2" medium powered with an extra fast tip(action) . The reel seat looks to be a size 16 , shouldn't be to thick .A little more than a hundred bucks...

For soft plastics, I like an extra fast action and good backbone.