RichF

Their jigs are pretty nice. Not much of a bait barb which bothers me a bit but nothin a little glue wont fix. For the price, well worth it.

All warranties really only cover defects. What I like about St. Croix is their replacement and upgrade plans. You can pretty much use those programs for as long as you have the rod. Shimano only allows you to replace once. Still not a terrible plan though. 1/4 oz T-rigs would work fine. I often use a 3/16 weight and speed worm with my 7'2. There really isn't any difference between the two rods (except for the obvious length). I find Shimano and St Croix rods to be on the stiffer side of medium heavy, which I like.

I have both of the Zodias models you listed and the 7'4 Heavy Avid X. Both lines are awesome. The Zodias is lighter and definitely prettier with the x wrapped blank. Both are plenty sensitive but I think I'd give the slight edge to the Zodias. St Croix has the better warranty but Shimano does have a one time replacement program where you can get a brand new rod at 50% the cost.

Hollow body frog and a 3/4 oz jig. Big fish baits.

50lb sunline fx2. Best braid I've used. I've cashed more tournament checks with this line and a 3/4oz jig than anything else...by far.

I don't see an issue criticizing a product that's aimed directly at us as bass anglers.

Sunline FX2 is the best braid I've used.

Seriously, is anyone else irritated by the commentators obsession with anglers "breaking records" in these events?? The BPT has been around for 5 dang events and all you hear is "so and so just broke the record for most fish caught in a knockout round, blah, blah." Like, these "records" have been around for what...3 months??

I just do both;)

I've had some braids get caught on dry skin on my fingers and pull apart like that when handling it. None of them were Smackdown but hat's definitely a thing that can happen.

If any mods wanna give out sample spools, I'd certainly give it a try;) That pricetag is just outrageous. I don't have any issues with Trilene 100%, Pline Tactical, or Sniper. Those suckers are always bogo or half off in the spring which seals the deal for me.

Finally had a decent day out there last saturday. Put 18 in the boat with the 5 biggest pushing 17lbs. Pretty much everything came shallow. No electronics force me beat the bank. Looks like they are starting to spawn.

Not technically a purchase or even tackle, but still pretty freakin cool! A close friend of my wife has a brother in law that works for CBS. He gets all kind of gifts and swag from different shows. His wife sent me some crazy stuff from MLF! Signed jersey and hat from KVD and a signed hat from Edwin Evers! Fantastic mancave additions!

Bibs come up higher on the body and basically eliminate the gap between your jacket and pants, keeping rain out of your britches. Like @fishballer06 says, be prepared to drop some coin if you want a really nice pair. 3-Layer with the Gore-Tex membrane will give you the best of both worlds but come with a hefty pricetag. Just know, there isn't a set of rain gear that will keep you cool in temps over 80, no matter how much you spend. While the most comfortable rain jacket I've ever owned, I'll still sweat in my Simms Pro Dry when the temp gets that high.

No prob. The smallies will be more plentiful in the rivers. I don't think I caught a single smallie in the main lake.

I like big line. 99.9% of my 4+ lb largemouth come on 17-20lb fluoro or 40-60 lb braid.

I sadly did not commit

They catch more bass because 99.9% of anglers use them 99.9% of the time.

I noticed that about the other color. Yeah it seems too good to pass up.

I'm doing the same thing with the 3 Waters Big Fish 105 yak. $480 seems too good to pass up but I just don't know if I'll like yak fishing enough..

Nice write up. Always like hearing actual, real life experience with products.

The Ardito is really nice. I brought my 7' mh down to Okeechobee back in Feb and caught a ton of bass pitchin a 1/2 oz jig. Not once did the pieces shift or get loose. I'm actually trying to talk myself outta getting the medium right now!

You ain't kidding. I moved to NOVA 3.5 years ago from the 1000 Islands area of NY. I have to drive 8 hrs back home to catch any real bass. I won an ABA tourney on Cross last year fishing docks and lay downs in the main lake. It was at the beginning of July. All my fish were caught in <5ft. Word of caution...that lake gets BUSY with leisure boaters.

Shimano SLX rods 40% off at Scheels. https://www.scheels.com/p/shimano-slx-casting--rod/22255-SLXCX.html?cgid=fishing#prefn1=Class&sz=24&start=28&prefv1=2300|2301|2302 They also have HDS 9 Gen 3's for $1100!

Late fall tube dragging for giant great lakes smallies.