Hooligan

Good is subjective. It's a 1970's era Ugly Stick in terms of both technology and function. Not what my first choice would be, even in a $20 rod.

The Type R is a different beast altogether. I think that for the money, it's going to be a very good reel in terms of both function and value. The bearings are supposed to be the same as those used in the Steez, and the braking is supposed to be much more relaxed. While I've spent very little time with the reel. I'm impressed with it thus far.

The reels, just ok. The Tatula rod? Unbelievable for the price.

Common? Very. It's a very, very successful pattern at several lakes in CA and many of the Highland Reservoirs in the South. Lake for flutter spoons, Hopkins, and Bomber slabs are my most used baits for it.

As much time as I spend on the water in fall, winter, and spring I finally upgraded to Clam Ice Armor. The Blue suit is bomb proof. I used to wear my 100mph and layer under it, but the blue suit is so much better. It's incredible for cold weather fishing. Better movement, completely wind proof, very warm with little insulation. It fits extremely well with several layers, or you can back off the layering and fish only the suit comfortably through early April. Easily the best money I've spent on outerwear, fishing related.

Worst example in the world. Two reasons, if you honestly think there isn't great benefit to a mod action rod with treble hook baits, I'm not sure what to think. Secondly the difference between those two sticks is like apples to cabbage. If you had said a 7-3 MH XFAST compared to a 7-1 MH fast, it might be in the ballpark. But that example isn't even legitimately able to be considered as reference.

In most American style bass fishing, there is very little call for short rods. There is two notable exceptions- vertical dropshot and jerkbait fishing. Sometimes, short rods are very nice for pin-point spinnerbait fishing but there isn't much beyond that that I like them for. I believe that Francho is right, to a degree. We will see a few more short sticks return to favor for some of the techniques being used.

The only reels I refuse to use are gen 3 revos. Other than that I have reels from Shimano, Lews, Daiwa, Ardent, and a couple others. Rods- almost entirely Loomis/Shimano. There are exceptions, but very few. Of those, the vast majority are Dobyns and a couple ***, with the oddball Megabass and evergreen thrown in.

No, they're not the same. They are all different alloys. Some qualities like weight, rigidity, and corrosion resistance are altered in each different alloy.

River 2Sea Rover.

I disagree. Try fishing a prop bait on 12 pound braid and let it sit a little bit. It will drag the bait down. The same will happen with a rapala, the same happens with jerkbaits. This is in regard to a fluorocarbon with relatively high cross section, high density resin. You cannot convince me otherwise as I've seen it not only on the water but in controlled conditions. End of story on that one. Lower density fluoros may not have as dramatic an effect, however the effect is still there. As far as a super line floating the bait, that's not the problem. The problem is tht the line bellies and you do not get the full performance of the bait in terms of depth or action.

Agree with David. One of the most excellent walk the dog baits, ever. Period. End of story. I can make a rover do things that no other bait will do. I can walk it slow or fast, get it to move very slowly forward while walking very wide. I can get the rover to turn 180 degrees on itself. That applies to both sizes. The bigger bait walks easier, but it certainly doesn't walk any better.

I...uh... Yeah. Francho pretty well covered it. Hard jerkbaits are probably the single most proliferous category of baits in fishing. There is more variety here than in almost anything else. From size to color, depth to stance and action. The variable are virtually limitless. To call it narrow is ridiculous.

Bit of untruth there. With fluorocarbon line, you don't need a right line because of the density of the line. That's the distinct advantage of pairing a high quality rod with good fluoro line. You catch a lot of those fish that would otherwise be missed. Necessity, no. But as I stated previously greatly advantageous.

You're generally backwards in your thought process for the majority of jerkbait anglers. An XFAST rod recovers quickly allowing the bait to remain stationary for greater periods, compared to a moderate that loads the rod much more and sweeps the bait further. You simply do not have as much control. An XF rod in almost every case is the perfect rod to fish jerkbaits with. Light taps to strong pulls can be executed with much greater consistency. Line- mono. Braid gets far too much a belly in it, and hinders the action of the baits. I know several pros, now, that use a less dense fluorocarbon for their jerkbaits, or a copolymer line. I'm using all three right now to see which I like better.

Very good recommendation for the general use tab. While the technique and rod may vary from person to person, as may the length, the general power and taper is right on.Medium XFAST rods are extremely versatile. Let's take a 6-8 MXF avid casting. A perfect rod to fish jerkbaits, top waters, senkos, light finesse jigs, small swim jigs and small spinnerbaits. Also a super rod for flukes, light Texas rigs in open water, even for a heavier drop shot. The name doesn't necessarily mean a lot- the length, action, and taper are the most important. A 7-1 or 7-2 MH XFAST is a super jig rod, and will fish almost all of your Texas rigs and other plastics. Don't get caught upon technique specific rods. One of the best "jig rods" ever made is also a phenomenal rod for heavy TX rigs and big spinnerbaits. Oh, and I have a spinnerbait rod that is the most excellent jerkbait and top water rod...

P-line fluoroclear is one of the lowest tensile strength lines out there. It has terrible reviews from a wide variety of sources and it has never been well received on the main. Part of the problem, I'm sure, is pilot error. As has been stated already, lube your knots. Try to avoid lifting a fish with your hand on the line. It can add a lot of shock to the line in a hurry.

Meh... I'm not a fan of the "crack" colors in the Pointer, really. The only one I really like is the T-Rock. I don't see the finish and the scaling is much advantage. Sure they're nice colors and they have some good quality paint schemes but it that dramatic a difference. I've caught fish on them, but no more than the regular colors.

Necessary, no. Not at all. Advantageous? Absolutely. I am an avid proponent of higher end gear for those that want it to up their game. It will do that. That said, it isn't going to be an overnight things. It takes time and experience to learn what you're feeling, how to delineate those signals, if you will. A good example is moving from an IMX rod to an NRX. Huge difference between the two, and it may take some time to tell the difference between them. The other thing, many, many anglers will never be able to tell the difference between their ugly stick and the NRX. They simply don't possess the feel and understanding to do anything other than know the weight is different between them. Many people just won't ever be able to really feel the difference, and that's fine, too.

Braid sucks, fish fluorocarbon. So there.

That's not a 6" trailer. That's a standard split tail spinnerbait trailer that is virtually universal. I know lots an lots of folks that use that style of trailer.

The Katsuage hooks are fragile, of that there's no doubt, but they also are phenomenal for sticking fish.It's odd that you say that you've had better luck with the STX suspending. I literally sent 144 baits back that sank straight away, not slow sink, but like a rock, or that were floaters to the point of needing 1/4 ounce or more lead. Of the 196 baits I had, 144 were sent back and another dozen broke writhing hours of use. I maintain that if you get a good one, they're great. The problem has been, and continues to be, inconsistency.

Hey, hey, hey. There no reason to Bring DR into the conversation here. Nothing to talk about, just keep moving. The P10 is a really fantastic bait. I got to spend enough time with it this spring that I gained a load of confidence with it.

MM, Mutilator, Aaron's R&B, Bold Bluegill, Flash, I don't think there's a "bad" color in the bunch. They all work under certain conditions.

In some situations, yes, they will. But there are things that the more expensive baits do without fail, that many people will not be able to get a lesser quality bait to do. Many, many of the STX baits do not suspend at all, no matter how they are tuned. It can take an expert jerkbait angler quite a bit of time to get them to run right and catch fish. An inexperienced angler would almost never be able to get them sorted. Don't get me wrong, I don't disagree that they catch fish, because they do. I use them a lot under certain situations as they excel at certain aspects of presentation when compare to a 110 or a McStick. There are things that a 110 does better than the other two, and a Pointer or a Staysee are in a totally different class.