Jason Penn

seems like most of pro-staff uses prototype rods a lot......

i have no way of measuring stretch in line, but it seems that the "no stretch" thing with fc has been disproven. the reason i like using fc is because i feel it keeps me in contact with the bait better. i think it essentially does for me what everyone else feels with braid. everytime i read people talking about how sensitive braid is i think "what is wrong with me?" on slack line lures, braid feels dead to me, but fc transmits everything. i've come to the conclusion that i just fish too slow, and fc makes up the difference. i tried to fish braid with crankbait 1 time. it was on an old green handle daiwa tds composite rod, and it bout rattled me teeth out of my head!!

i love catching big fish, but i don't fish tournaments (or ever go fishing with another person) so for me it's about numbers. maybe i'm more addicted to the anticipation of what the next bite might be.

i've been looking for something like that for spinnerbaits & squarebills. thanks for the heads up!

i'm gonna have to bite the bullet & try tatsu. i've tried braid on spinning multiple times, and i just don't care for it

make sure you like the reel seats on the levante. i've got a new perfect pitch that is now a wall hanger due to seat not being comfortable to me. i only fished it one day. other than that, they are very nice rods.

i have an old 6'9 mh (more like a m+) daiwa ballistic that i use for spinnerbaits, and it just seems to the perfect length. i feel like it can be used in tight spots more like 6'6, but the extra distance you can get in open areas is more like a 7'. if i can ever talk myself into getting into building, i would probably have a few more 6'9 rods. i would think it would be great for squarebills for the same reasons above. i also think it would make a great frog & topwater rod length. i don't fish much grass, so i dont need a 7'3-7'4 broomstick to drag frog fish out of mats.

i've got the new model perfect pitch, and it's a pretty nice rod. balance & weight are good, and it looks fantastic. i'm not comfortable with the reel seat though. in its defense, my favorite reel seats are the older daiwas with none or not much exposed blank. if there's too much exposed, it hurts my hand during a days time fishing.

i would think the expert is the replacement for the cara. when the cara first came out (early 2000's?) the experts were probably $40-50 more than the cara. then the experts were discontinued, and the cara became top tier.

man that's a pretty fish!!

the whole mid-south keeps getting hammered. im pretty sure it'll be fall before the river gets down lol

im pretty sure the reason why bass is paying the way they are this year is because all of those guys left and went bpt

i have a couple of tat sv reels, but i enjoy using the doyo carbonlite 2 reels more

im pretty sure i caught way more fish when all i took was 2 rods. i threw a spinnerbait on 1, and a shallow-medium diving crankbait on the other. those were both 6'6 bps rods and the 1st gen rick clunn reels. i couldn't afford the quantum reels at the time.

maybe that's why david dudley seems to be pro mlf in his videos. on a related note, i didnt care much for that cat from interviews i had seen over the years, but after watching some of his youtube he seems like a pretty alright dude.

no answer for you, but i'm in ne ar and would like to know someone just in case.

i'm always in the minority on steez rods...i've never had a problem with sensitivity with them, and absolutely love the airbeam seat. i've got a couple of the steez xt's now, and have been trying to find more. i'm pretty sure i'm gonna have to bite the bullet and spring for an ags model to round out what i need though. if the past couple of years have shown the direction daiwa's headed with their rods, i'm almost sure there will be a steez update in the near future, and the reel seats will probably be changed to a more ecsm-style.

15# fc is generally the same diameter as 12# mono. that's not always the case though. i'm with the other folks that have posted, fc does stretch. i use it because of the sink rate, i feel i stay in contact with the bait better.

i always liked the look of the tricksters (and the sob baits) but everyone of the tricksters i've ever had didn't work very well. maybe there's a trick to them?

i got the perfect pitch in last, but havent fished it yet. ive got a carbonlite 2.0 on it and balances just in front of the lockdown. it seems just a tad bit heavier than a 7'1 h steez xt that also has a 2.0 on it. the levante seems to be a stiffer h power than the steez, which is exactly what i was looking for.

sensitivity is important to me for bottom contact rods, comfort is just as important. i have a couple of rods that have split reel seats on them that are a tad more sensitive than the steez xt rods i primarily use, but the daiwa reel seats are just my favorite, so i stick with them.

i've got a 7' ml casting rod with an abu garcia alx on it, and using it for 3/16-1/4oz shakey heads. i was really surprised at how well it balances with such a light reel. i've only got to fish the rod once,but i stuck a couple of nice fish with it

just got home from work, and watched brandon p's vid on youtube. while listening to him talk about growing the sport (just like all the other announcement vids i've watched) i realized "hey they just opened up 80 slots on the other tours for new anglers!" so they ain't just runnin off at the head...they are truly growing the sport

I have tried the braid/leader thing now multiple times, and just doesnt work for me. Straight fc is just more sensitive to me the way I fish. I do believe braid is more sensitive on tight line, but I dont seem to fish that fast with bottom bouncing lures. I had a few years where I was unable to fish due to financial reasons. Prior to that, I used 8# fc on a 2000-sized Daiwa without much problems at all. Now I cant seem to get a high priced fc to work well on a 3000-sized reel!!! Not sure what Im doing different now.

I would think east ok would be pretty good, or nw ar. Lots goin on in the fayetteville/rogers/springdale area