Robin

Shimano fan for 30 years. I have tried 13 fishing and many other brands. Daiwa comes close, but I still have 20 plus year old Shimanos in my general rotation scheme. Some of them have seen extended saltwater use and they still keep running. Check out the price on an old Curado 200 E7. The good ones always seem to hold their value.

Bull Dog Spinnerbaits for sure. The Super Dog! I have one left from years ago and it still works wonders. Indiana shaped blade. Puts off vibration and flash in a relatively compact size. They come up occasionally on ebay, but usually with the willow blade.

No experience with these two, but i do have a Speedstyle 6'8'' light BFS and it is a fantastic rod. Very light and crisp. Wish I could pick up another. I use it for light Texas rigs and jerk baits. The rod feels/looks like a top of the line JDM rod for well under $200 when you can find them on Majorcraft's US website.

I have tried fluoro a number of times and it always ends up being a PITA. For moving baits I have stuck with P-Line cxx, McCoys Xtra Clear, or Big Game. These have proven to be very abrasion resistant over the years and I do not have to worry about the occasional/frequent line compromise issues that arise with fluoro. I have landed 40b+ fish in the surf on 12lb. test Big Game and can certainly attest to its strength and resilience. For bottom contact I now use braid exclusively and it has the sensitivity and low stretch qualities I need. Always fish it with a cxx leader though for the abrasion factor and it works perfectly. Not bad-mouthing fluoro, but it did not work great for me. I tried several brands including some of the premium ones. The backlashes, casting distance compromises, etc. were not worth putting up with. I also experienced several hang-ups which resulted in overstretching/weakening the line. Frequent line changes end up being a chore and the dollars start to add up.

Weightless zoom fluke in bubblegum or Watermelon seed. Slow down if needed. If they are not hitting this they are not there!

I should have one arriving today and hope to put it to use next weekend. I have had the casting 7"ML for over a year and dearly love it. Very sensitive rod like all of the Helium 3s.

Hopefully this is just a matter of them cutting back on what they sell online. I was at my local Academy yesterday and they had a fairly good stock of H2O lures on the racks with no "clearance" signs evident. Having purchased lures online from Academy in the past, I am at a loss on how they ever make money on these sales. My last purchase consisted of just enough H2O lures to get free shipping. I received six different FedEx packages over a one week period shipped from multiple Academy stores throughout the US.

Another vote for the Zoom critter craw. I actually prefer the Little Critter Craw. To me a jig is more of an oversize finesse presentation. If the bass are extremely active I have numerous other lures to throw. But when they are inactive and tight to cover, a jig with a Zoom Little Craw trailer can work wonders. I will throw this combo year around and it certainly simplifies my trailer inventory!

I tend to have higher dollar limit on rods than reels. I can definitely feel the difference between a $300 bottom contact rod vs a $150 bottom contact rod. Although there is a difference in the premium dollar reels, I tend to limit myself to $200 MSRP reels tand search for "deals". I generally do not feel that spending much over $200 on a reel gives you as much "bang for the buck". That being said, I have accumulated a few premium price reels over the years and I do certainly enjoy them.

Tackle Warehouse most of the time. I have an Academy 5 minutes from me. They have great prices, but are often out of stock on what I need. Academy is not the same store they were 10+ years ago. They seem to concentrate more on female athletic apparel being in stock than hunting and fishing gear. Hope I do not get in trouble for saying that! They do have a website that actually works now, but Tackle Warehouse is still light years ahead of them. another site is also a good resource for me. They usually have a great selection and their service is very good. Tackle Warehouse and another site accounted for about 95% of my combined purchases over the past three years.

Cannot go wrong with their square bills! They are as good or better than anyone else's and are about half the price. I have been hoarding these for the last year out of fear that they may discontinue certain colors. Every bit as good as Strike King and the other name brands.

I always use leaders when fishing braid. It took a bit of trial and error plus some practice, but I finally settled on the Alberto knot and P-Line CXX. I tried several brands of flouro but the knot strength just wasn't consistent. The CXX has not caused any knot problems and it is very abrasion resistant. Yes, it is stiff, but we are talking about a leader here and not a whole spool of line. I have not had any problems passing the knot through micro-guides either.

I have used CXX 10-12lb for spinnerbaits for years. Yes, it is a bit stiff, but it loosens up some after it gets wet. Abrasion resistance is excellent and I fish rivers with a lot of shallow limestone and granite. Knot strength is also very good. I generally tie an improved clinch knot and have no worries about failure. The line tests out a lot higher than its rating. I have pulled in countless objects on 10lb that would have probably broken a lot of 15lb test line from other manufacturers. The diameter is larger so that has a a lot to do with it. Stretch is low to moderate for a copolymer, but with spinnerbaits it is not an issue.

For small downsized spinnerbaits I usually go with the Nichols Pulsator. You can order them directly off of their website. I normally go with 1/2 oz 44 mags which have two #4 willows. This give you a smaller profile with all of the normal strength of a normal Nichol's spinnerbait. I have some going strong after 20 years!

Probably not much help, but I own and use both. I primarily use them for 1/4 to 1/2 T-Rigs and jigs. I love both of them, but would probably give the nod to the KLX in the sensitivity department. You cannot go wrong with either one though.

Green shad and Spot Remover. These along with Nichols Pulsators are the only spinnerbaits I throw.

Another vote for Academy H2O Xpress. Best deal going and they catch as many or more fish than any other squarebill I have used. Great color selection and the price cannot be beat. They make rattling and silent versions so buy some of each.

Although I have never handled an Invicta, I can attest to the durability of Castaway rods. I still have around 10 of them that date back to the 90s that I will never part with. These were some of the originals and they still see regular use for spinnerbaits and larger moving baits. Very rugged! My all time favorite though is a T700SX 7 foot Medium (short handle) Redfish Special. This was a $200 rod back in the 90s and is still my primary rod every time i make it to the Texas Coast (several times per year). This rod has handled numerous 25+ inch specs and 30+ inch redfish in the surf and bays and is still going strong. The finish is about gone and there is a lot of bare graphite showing. It probably should have failed years ago but it keeps going strong. I would buy several more of these if I could find them.

Kistler and Dobyns without a doubt. Super rods at great prices!

I have been a Shimano man for 20+ years and still have a number of old Calcuttas, Chronarchs and Curados that still see weekly duty. That being said, I also have a number of modern Lews and Daiwas that I am very impressed with. All three are currently making excellent reels but in the end, I always look to Shimano first.

Academy H2O. For $3.99 you cannot beat them. They flat out catch fish! Most colors works great.

I have fished, and currently fish, with both of these. They are both great spinnerbaits and I carry a bunch of each brand whenever I go out. The Nichols are more durable and will hold up a lot longer, but the War Eagles really catch fish too. The War Eagles have a slightly smaller profile (I use the Screaming Eagle exclusively) so I generally let the fish tell me what they are in the mood for.

m My favorite for clear water is the crystal green shad.

In clear water I will use the nickel blades or the metal flake nickel blades that Nichols offers.

Nichols makes a fantastic spinnerbait. Top quality components and they really do hold up well. I still have a large number of them that are well over 10 years old. I generally order them directly off of the Nichols website. You can even order replacement skirts and blades from them. The number of blade/skirt combos available is staggering, but my all time favorite is 1/2 oz. green crystal with 44mag double willows. The #4 willows give you a small presentation for clear water and the 1/2 oz. head lets you cast it a mile.