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eBay has some good deals on Tatsu from time to time that rival the TW sales. Plus I like purchasing from eBay sellers whenever it's reasonable because they're like the modern version of the Mom-and-Pop sporting goods store.

The 3-power is a medium to me, but I think the techniques specified are more suited to a 734.

Dobyns Champion 736c is my favorite frogging rod. I like having that extra bit of backbone over the 735c. Now my two 735 are used for swim jigs by my dad and I. They excel at that.

It lasts a lot longer than other fluoros before needing to be respool, as well. Best fluoro I've ever used.

Between my dad and I, we own at least 15 Dobyns rods, mostly Champion and Champion Extreme, some as old as about 7 years. We have never had any guide rings pop out, and to be perfectly honest, I'm kinda clumsy with them at times, banging them off the boat and stuffing layers of them into a single rod locker (with sleeves on, of course).

Welcome! Keep coming back. It's a fantastic resource.

Welcome! How far are you from Mille Lacs?

Welcome! IDO is pretty useless when it comes to bass fishing. Glad you found us. Where are you in Minnesota?

There's an nvasive species of weed found in many Minnesota lakes and rivers called curly leaf pondweed. It's lifespan begins very early in the season, often growing into fairly think clumps under the ice in February and early March, which attract large numbers of fish during late ice. By the time May and June come around and the water temps are in the 70's, the curly leaf is well into the process of dying and decaying heavily, thereby depleting the water of it's oxygen, sometimes leading to fish-kills. It's decay also releases a ton of dissolved nutrients back into the lake, fueling the mid-summer algae blooms that turn many lakes pea soup green. Curly leaf pondweed, the oxygen-depleting scourge of Minnesota lakes, is the only weed I've ever seen that actually repels fish in the summer instead of attracting them.

Still looking?

Pretty hard to beat a Zoom Swimming Chunk or Berkley Havoc Grass Pig for the price.

For $4-500, I don't think it could possibly be worth it. I would probably lose it to a northern the first time I fished with it! I was unaware that there were swimbaits in that price range. Thanks for sharing.

Any idea on what the prices will be?

I'd be scared to try Vanish again after all the lures that inexplicably 'vanished' back into the lake with my lure in it's mouth. It was the first fluorocarbon line I tried, and I had in on about 4 rods with some different weights. For the life of me, I don't know how that stuff made it through the testing process and onto the market, but it did.

About 7 years ago, I found an excellent bass boat on eBay after searching hard for about 9 months. It had been listed multiple times. It was a repo from Tennessee that was owned by a dealer in Arkansas. Everyone was lowballing and trying to jack the dealers around, so the auction never met it's reserve. I really wanted this boat and didn't feel like playing games on eBay, so I called the dealer and convinced them I was a real buyer with financing in place. Not surprisingly, they were receptive. They closed the auction at my request, and then surprised me with the amount of flexibility they had in the price. Quite a bit less than market value. Two days later the boat was being backed into my driveway by an old retiree with a southern drawl. That cost me $400 cash. It was in even better condition than I expected. It's a buyer's markets still, and boats are a dime-a-dozen, so don't settle. Let the seller know you won't settle, and you may be surprised at what sort of deals are out there. $7-10,000 is a lot of money that can buy a lot of boat if you shop smart and stay patient.

I'm getting flamed a lot here, but I'm sticking by what I said 100%.

Seaguar Red Label is the 'value' fluorocarbon. It's on the low end, price-wise, but it's a solid, middle-of-the-road line.

If I were you, I would wait until the usual 15-20% off Memorial Day sales from online retailers and get TWO Dobyns Fury for about $175 shipped.

The swimbaits are ultra soft, which makes them swim at an extremely slow speed, but also gives them poor durability. All in all, they're great baits with a lot of hype surrounding them. It's pretty much a double whammy!

Personally, I'd leave them unless it becomes apparent that you're missing fish that you feel could have been caught with lighter-wire hooks. I don't think that will happen. I use LC Pointers on medium-power, fast-action spinning sticks and can easily sink the hooks into a fish. However, if you choose to swap them out, I bet you'd be able to sell the unused LC hooks for about what you paid for the Gammys. Just about anything LC sells out in a jiffy in this Flea Market.

Honestly, it's hard to go wrong with anything resembling bluegill or perch around here, in general, for any moving bait.

That's a solid line and one of my favorite fluorocarbons. Probably my second favorite. However, it's not nearly as good as Tatsu, which is far more manageable and durable and a little more sensitive. Two seasons ago, I did a side-by-side jigging experiment comparing the two lines over the course of an entire season. I used 20 lb. Tatsu on a Dobyns 745 jigging rod, and 15 lb. Red Label on a Dobyns 744 jigging rod. Both have the same reel. The heavier line proved to be much more manageable, feeling more like mono than fluoro after a break in period. That's saying something. The Red Label also needed to be replaced halfway through the season because of how beat up it was getting. I proceeded to get another season and a half from the Tatsu, thus offsetting the cost difference of the two lines. Red Label is good line at a bargain price, you're right. I have a lot of it left over than I use for leaders.

Berkley Pitboss.

I've owned the Minn Kota Maxxum Pro 80 since 2009 on a 18' fiberglass bass boat. It's worked flawlessly since day one. I'm honestly surprised at what a workhorse it's been. I mean, I work it hard. I once had to make it back about 4 miles into a 5-10mph wind in the dark and mosquitos after my outboard failed. Frankly, part of me wants it to crap out so I have the excuse I need to splurge on a new Minn Kota system with iPilot and Spotlock, but this Maxxum just keeps chugging away!