Hammer 4

On my small pension, I buy only what I need, and replace baits as needed. Long time ago when I was working I had more, and Expensive baits then I needed..Lesson learned in my case..

Owner cutting point hooks.

Welcome to the forums..from another So Cali guy..

I think Tom may be talking about this. https://punisherlures.com/products/tangle-free-line-dressing

I own 3 tatula XT rods, all baitcasters. Having owned shimano Camura's and curado's in the past, I can say that the XT's do not feel dead in my hands, in fact just the opposite. They are light well balanced and have good action..In their price range I also have a shimano slx rod which is the same length and power as 1 of my xt's, imho, the xt is much better. I'd say for the $$$, the xt's are a good buy, even vs the dobyn's fury.

Zoom super fluke fished weightless...

A long time ago during one of his shows, he stated that he did in fact fish out of his private lake. I was just adding this info. Not to say if you or anyone else felt that he was misleading his viewers, ect.

Pretty sure good ole Bill has his own private lake/pond, or at least he use to.

And..re: the negative reviews, you kinda have to read between the lines. Some people just have an ax to grind.

Welcome to the site youngun...haha, wish I was 58 again. BR has a wealth of info..enjoy your stay.

When I first get to the lake, I'll do the matchy, matchy trailer, if I'm not getting any bites after awhile, I'll go to a contrasting color. Nothing is guaranteed, but you'll never know, unless you try.

Tom, I think he's fishing from the shore..although I could be wrong. Still good info for him.

I have the slx 7' mh fast...I also have the Diawa Tatula XT in the same size and power. I much prefer the diawa xt, although about 20.00 more than the slx, is much lighter, has better action, and just overall fishes better than my slx. I realize that Matt and Tim on tacticalbassin recommend the slx, but you have to consider that both are shimano fanbois, and very seldom include other brands more so in the reels than rods. Don't get me wrong, I like both of these guys, but I take some of their opinions on gear with a grain of salt.

Nope..no breakoffs.

Gonna be tough at your budget. One thing I would highly suggest is to the Best rod possible. I've owned lots of different makes, both budget and the 290.00 range. So 2 rods I'm pretty impressed with is the Irod Genise II, and the Diawa Tatula XT rods. Irods are 149.99 and the Xt rods are 109.00 to 120.00. TW has a sale right now, so...The XT rods are really light, great action, but like most rods are a tad over rated for the amount of weight they will cast. I have the 7' MH and love it. You spend a bit more than the 150.00 and grab a Diawa Fuego CT reel off ebay, or if you want a right hand reel, Shimano_1 has 2 of them for sale @ 65.00 each. Happy shopping..

I'm sure I can say for all of us, that we Hope it doesn't head toward you, or anyone else. Keep us posted..

Totally agree with waymont. I have a few reels with the TWS and have had no problems, or lack of performance vs my 1 shimano reel.

I would just add to all the above. Is try to get good at detecting bites, you can't win them all, but you can tilt the odds in the bass's favor. Be a good line watcher, if you have a spinning rig, once the bait hits the water, have your index finger lightly under the line just after the spool, as bass will hit baits on the fall sometimes, and having slack line, you can't tell if you got bit or not. If something doesn't feel right, slightly lift your rod tip, if it feels heavy, set the hook. All this comes with time. You are still young yet, and by reading your post, I think you'll do just fine. Tight lines young man..

If I could only have 1 bait to fish with, it would be a 6" roboworm..

Have a great holiday to all of you folks.

Yep, got my Irod for 127.00... So, I received the 783sb rod today, I'm amazed at how light it is, and it looks Great. Just from bend test, the action looks good. Hope to get out this coming week to give a workout.

Taking Big bass..? It's the other way around, you leave the big females to breed. Taking the 15" bass is the preferred way. The smaller bass are much quicker than say a 10 to 15 lb. female, if they have to chase after food. Taking big females is stupid imho.

If you can wait a week or so, I'll post a report here. Having owned swimbait rods in the past, I'm curious to see how the Irod stacks up..

I have 3 or 4 pairs of forceps, all hospital grade, as my wife use to work at a major ***..Had them for about 30 years.

Good old fashion Spit has worked for many, many years without fail..