Ima Bass Ninja

Although i like the carbonlite rods they are not eva grips. They have a poly foam grip. Basically it a rubber skin with foam inside ( kinda like the expanding foam to seal leaks around the house) The abu rods mentioned are great rods.

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Yes they will differ in size. Learned this the hard way when I switched hook manufactures.

4'6" ul. Shortest bass rod i use is 6'6"

I'll be the first to say Abu Garcia. The true test of a companies quality is if you never have to use their customer service

I use a 6'6" mh f rod when casting to targets and if I need to get a little extra distance I switch to 7' Eventually I will probably just get a 6'9" one just like my spinner bait setup

Generally a lighter spool will be better for lighter baits. I can throw unweighted fluke with a regular pro qualifier. Often overlooked and just as important is a rod that will load up with lighter baits.

I always leave the lures tied on. Never know when I might get a few minutes to make some cast and I dont want to have to search for lures when I do just grab and go.

Rick clunns cranking rods are blue also

Yep exactly where i got mine. I like it cause its a shorter profile than other walk the dog bait like a spook, or sammy.. Not sure if it actually looking like a frog has any benefit as far as catchability goes, but does look cool in the water.

That's true although McClelland did throw the A rig for a bit as well as used a spinnerbait. Also one other thing to note is that according to bass rankings an flw guy is number 1 in the world. Even though luck does play a part in umf you would think that at least one elite guy would win and in the case of mlf Ehler was the only one from flw. That's a 4% vs 96% chance that flw guy would win. Man I wish I would have bet on that

I have always had a preconceived notion that the Bassmaster Elite series was the premier trail with the best anglers on the planet. However after watching the UMF series that had FLW and Elites series pros and the Major league fishing show i'm starting to think that maybe the best anglers are on the FLW tour. I know some flip flop between the two but allot are either Elite anglers or FLW anglers. In UMF i don't recall any of the Elites series guys beating the FLW guys. And now to add to it, the only FLW guy to be in MLF..... WON!. He had a 1 in 24 chance with all other guys being mainly Elite series. Is this coincidence or has the bassmaster people just done a better job of promoting there anglers as the best?

I have 2. Both Rick Clunn PQ's. One's the old blue one and the other the purple version. The purple one does my topwater duties and the other is currently on my Bama rig setup.

Glad to see him win...not sure if he's "back" yet though. He'll need a few more wins and a major or two before he is back to dominating the way he used to. The great thing about watching him play is not his winning, but the incredible shots he hits while he's winning. That's what separates him and a few others as fan favorites. No one wants to see someone win who just idles there way through the back nine by aiming at the middle of greens and making 2 putt pars.

Awesome man!! Nothing like catchin bass on a topwater

Here's a pic of a new rod with foam grip, a rod with foam grip that's been used for about 2 years so you can see the difference. It doesn't smell or anything just a little dirty. I can't really tell a difference in grip between the 2. I also threw in the rod I put a golf grip on as retired bosn mentioned. I did this on my crank bait rods cause the cork grips were to big to hold comfortably. The golf grip have worked outstanding and above my expectations and since I've been holding a golf club for 30 years of my life it was real easy to get use to. I probably wouldn't use it for techniques where you need to feel bites but for cranks it works well.

Yes it will. Don't put allot of emphasis on the rod rating. It's just a number and not a very good one since it will vary from mfg to mfg. it's also used to covey sensitivity more than strength.

Match the forage and if it is clear water try a clear spook. You'll want the bass to hone in on the action of the bait without getting a good look at the bait

Those Academy bait are sweet! Not only does the braid float but with its sensitivity and no stretch I can feel the bait move much better. I would try some braid, throw a clip on it, and practice reeling in a little less. Trust me my man I'm all thumbs and if I can do it any one can . Also remember at first to watch your bait.you should be able to tell which way the nose is pointing if it ever points straight forward then you've reeled in to much line or just pulled instead of snapped the rod.

The rod I was using when we went out was a 6'6" with a 7.1:1 gear ratio. I think the shorter rod really helps me control the bait and I like the faster reel to make the bait walk faster when I need it. I also use braid which seems to help along with a duo lock clip. I like the clip for two reasons 1 I think it allows the bait to move more freely and also makes changing the baits a breeze especially using braid. As with all techniques the key is practice practice practice. It sounds like you are are Reeling a little to much and bringing in to much line between snaps causing the bait to straighten out before the next snap of the rod and continually going left. You want to have some slack in the line before you snp AND after you snap the rod. The trick is to pull in only enough Line so that you don't have to little or to much slack. When I do it it feels like I turn the handle about a 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn in between snaps of the rod. Hope this helps man!!

I usually take care of any grooming needs before the wife has a chance to say anything. The way i learned this is by actually letting her pluck 1 eyebrow hair. that was enough for me to not let it happen again. If i slip she'll give a friendly reminder by saying "you want me to get that hair for you" in which case i run, not walk, to take care of it myself.

I have a sebile magic swimmer that i use. Caught a couple of fish on it. the detail and swimming action are great but i have found other swimbaits that work equally as well for me for 1/3 the price.

Vendetta is a great rod. I currently have 3 of them. Will probably get more in the future. Do not have any resevations in this rod, it will treat you well

Haha yep first thing in the morning on the first cast I believe? I give you mad props for tearing that reel all the way down in low light and gettin it all back together. You certainly handled it better than I would have

From what you have described lt sounds as if you have a drag problem. For some reason either not enough pressure is being put on the washers or the washers themselves are slipping. You didn't get any grease on the drag washers by chance did you?