Hooligan

I believe the blanks are made at Loomis' New facility, North Fork Composites. I'll try to get the information on that pulled up. I think it was on TackleTour a short while back.

Haven't fished the reel, but have handled it. My initial reaction was that the fit and finish was much nicer than the Luna. That said, I've only got one 200 Size Luna. I have five 300's on my muskie rods.

I stand corrected. Thought that it was odd that it would be just the glass, so it is the lower end IE: Triumph and Mojo that are made outside the US?

Most of their lower end rods are made overseas or in Mexico now. I believe that it starts @ the Avid they're made in the US. (As well, some of the lower end Glass rods are still US made to my understanding.) Just walked over and checked my Premier Glass and it's made in the USA.

I build all my own jerkbait leaders out of #11 wire for muskies, I use the same wire for bucktails, and crankbaits for pike. The difference is that instead of a 12"-18" leader for muskies, I'm using about a 6" leader for pike. I've never had a problem with it. Two years ago we starting using titanium as bite tippet, I was skeptical of it as leader material for pike and muskies on conventional tackle. Two trips last fall, and one this spring have changed my mind about that. We ended up with 2 50" class fish in those trips and it changed my mind about the ability of the material to handle the stresses.

I don't disagree with you that I'd rather fish wire. I've just lost far too many fish on fluoro leaders. I have zero confidence in them in small diameter. I've used everything from Seguar to Maxima. My chosen method of "toothy critter" bite tippet now, though is titanium wire in small diameters. It works much better than with a snap, you can work lighter baits with it without robbing the action, you have greater flexibility in length of leader, it casts very well, and it's far more "lively" due to the fact that you can use smaller diameters. When it comes to materials to use, I have more faith in Mason Hard Nylon than in fluoro.

The lightest I'd go for pike in floruo is 100. I've had fish bite through 75.

Sounds like, though, the rod will do what I'm asking of it. Rattle baits, and smaller spinnerbaits should be fine on it for the ascribed purpose. Thanks for the input guys. Much appreciated.

When you say overpower it do you mean that they'll load it down to where there's nothing left in the blank for a hookset? Or do you mean that on the cast the rod feels like it's over-loading?

The info from Muskies Inc deals with anatomy in general, it's a page referenced pretty heavily regardless of species. You're correct about some of the others, it sort of got off on a tangent about handling in general, including delayed mortality due to inadequate dissolved O2, again, dealing with overall handling of the fish. (The three that you referenced are part of that tangent.) The Florida Fish and Wildlife page is an annotated bibliography sporting tremendous amounts of information on handling. (as well as other subjects.) The ShareLunker page is another that has various links including video of TFW's recommendations for handling fish. It happens that you choose three that were on the subject but a different topic. For the record, though the anatomy between muskies and bass are different, the end results are the same.

You know, the way I look at it is this, if one person changes the way they handle fish, or if one person even thinks of it, then it's worth the effort. I'm not trying to sway the masses, I'm not trying to make anyone angry, I'm not trying to call anyone an idiot or otherwise. Heck, I'm not trying to do anything but to get people to think about it. That's all. I'm just as guilty as the next guy about not being perfect. If I recall correctly, and I'm pretty sure I do, there's only been one of those guys in history, and it isn't KVD.

Last year is the only experience I've had with them We fished Chequamegon Bay and rigged them on drop shots and on the Northland Slurp head.

Any chance he fishes Gulp Alive? I've seen similar results when another piece of plastic gets laid together with it.

I was thinking that, but I want the accuracy of the 6'6" for smaller baits. At least that's the direction it's going in my head.

I lol'd.

No, quite the opposite. There was no factual basis there, unlike in the represented articles. I also know a fisheries biologist or ten, some are close friends. Every, single one of them would tell you that a vertical hold is incorrect. Every one of them would recommend a horizontal hold with support for the front and belly. In regards the the physics of why it's unnatural; a fish has different gravity in water than in air. More pressure is placed on internal structures when held vertically than when they swim "vertically" the water is a great deal of the way in which the form is supported. Take away the water, and everything changes.

It's extremely easy to get into a he said, he said. I'm not going to do that here.

That's sort of the point. Correct handling. support the jaw, the lower body, and you have a correct hold that's far less likely to cause damage and undue additional stress. Also, in regards to not seeing belly floaters, there are many mentions of those fish that suffer from delayed mortality as being "sinkers." It's referenced in one of the previous links. Lastly, some of the mortality isn't immediate delay. In cases it's a month or more.

No, see, both of those holds are prone to cause a problem. Simple physics would state that a vertical hold is placing the fish in a position that is unnatural in regards to anatomy. They don't have anything to support internal organs in that manner. A horizontal hold, as in the first picture, is prone to cause damage to the jaw and spinal column. The fish is wholly unsupported in the rear of the body and belly. Move the hand that isn't on the fish to the belly, support it and take weight off the jaw and you've got a correct hold.

Anyone fish the 6'6" variety in this one? (PGC66MMF) I'm looking at it as being a rod that would be good for throwing traps and spinner baits in grass. I'm looking at the Premier because the rod isn't going to be one that I'd use day in and day out, but at the same time it's still quality. I'd really like to justify the Cumara, but I can't for this application.

I definitely agree that it is ALL of our jobs here to take care of our resources- be it the fish, the water, or the surrounding lands, etc. But, this statement needs some clarification or documentation. Statements without proof are just elevator music or background noise and do nothing to help the cause. Research and solid numbers such as these? http://www.state.tn.us/twra/fish/Reservoir/blackbass/livebass2.pdf https://www.tntech.edu/fish/bass/ http://www.sdafs.org/tcafs/meetings/96meet/gillilan.htm In each of these, the delayed mortality is related directly to situations in which the fish were mishandled. I'm sure that one could say it was any number of things that added to the overall stress. Yet, what remains at the heart of the matter, and the heart of the matter in regards to overall handling, is that ig we can do anything to reduce that number, shouldn't we? I'm not trying to be a stick in the mud, or arguing with anyone about it. It's something that I really feel should be brought to light and we should all strive to get a better grasp on. There are those that are 100% confident that they've released a live fish with no damage every time, and there's nothing anyone will say or do to change that. Then, there are biologists that tell us that what we've been doing for years isn't the way we should be doing it. The angler's that listen to the biologists or do their own research become greater stewards for that fact alone. Clear as mud? There are any number of ways that a fish can be damaged when we're landing and releasing them. Again, I ask, why not make every effort to minimize that chance. I'm going to try to get this link to work again, as there's a tremendous amount of information that is valid in the bass world, as well as fishing in general. http://myfwc.com/docs/Newsroom/PhotoGuidelines_notes.pdf

Man I love that bait. I fished it pretty extensively last weekend in KS and it produced fish. (Thanks for the tip on the Rooster, too, RW. We caught quite a few fish on that as well.)

Now you're just being modest.

Explain to me how nurturing a resource, in any manner capable, and reducing the overall mortality is silly? It's not an argument, really, it's a suggestion about the way we anglers handle fish. (Yeah, that's right, I said we pot & kettle, you see...) If tournament anglers are the sports representatives, then we're the ones that need to pressure them into being more cautious of the way they're handling fish during the weigh ins. (Which, btw, has changed, in some places dramatically see here: http://www.kwcbass.com/kwc_bass_con_weighin.htm ) I refuse to see any issue that affects the overall conservation of our sport as "silly", particularly one in which it is directly impacted by conscientious anglers and participants at the very grass roots. There's a preponderance of information out there about utilizing O2 aeration, for instance. In the same sentences that these biologists are talking about reducing overall mortality, they're saying proper handling of those fish. Fred Harris, Mark Olliver, Phil Durocher, for instance, are all proponents of proper handling. Texas Sharelunker, for instance: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/visitorcenters/tffc/sharelunker/handle/ "Hold the fish vertically by the lower lip while it is in the water so that the total weight of the fish doesn't rest on the lower jaw." Notice that "in the water" part so that "the total weight of the fish doesn't rest on the lower jaw." I mean, hey, if there's a biologist from TX that manages the single greatest reproductive genetics program in the US saying even that it might be remotely harmful to fish, why wouldn't you listen to them? Why not take EVERY measure to make certain that fish is going to live to be caught again and again.

My four year old cleaned house on me today. We were fishing a local pond with stocker trout in it and he flat waxed me. I'd be happy t have him continue doing that for the next 60 years if it means he's still fishing with me.