Hooligan

I've been tossing inlines and other soft swimbaits on my 7-11 XF. I'm rather fond of it for that, as well as throwing big spinnerbaits.

Love the sub walk. You can make it work really fast, you can work it slow, you can work it very erratic. It's a great bait with a tremendous variety.

If you're solely targeting black bass, either the Largemouth or Smallmouth "Bass" rods from Sage are the way to go, bar none. They're the most accurate sticks for casting big bugs and provide a lot more leverage than the typical 9' rod. They cast hair, foam, and big bugs much more efficiently than any other rod I've ever cast. They're not distance tools, a 70' cast is about the limit; as a point of reference I can shoot my 10Wt with a Triangle Taper the entire line and about 15-20 feet of backing for something like 130-140 feet of cast. The Bass rods are really stellar rods, a much nicer rod than the Avid. The finish is better, the components are higher quality, the warranty is better, and the service from Sage is second to none. You're going to drop $175-$200 more for the Sage, but it's worth every penny to me. They cast easier, are less tiresome, and more accurate.

More expensive rods are typically higher modulus, more sensitive, and of greater overall quality. What this translates to is that the user needs to be a lot more careful with the rod, they're not something that you can abuse and get away with like a cheaper rod. With almost every rod I've broken has come the realization that it wasn't the rod or blank's fault; it was my own. You don't leave a Diana Grade Superposed sitting in the duck blind all season and expect it to perform flawlessly, just like you don't leave an NRX sitting on the deck of the boat an entire season and expect it not to have issues. You take care of them, they typically last longer and will be worth the money in the long run. If you're going to abuse it, much like Ike, quick drop and grab another, slapping the deck with it, high-sticking hooksets and the like, well...expect the same durability that he's seeing out of his gear.

I have fished with a few guys down there, but the two that I'd recommend are fly tackle only. I know some others but I couldn't, in good conscience, recommend them to you. PM me if you'd like, I'd rather not say anything in public about my experiences with them.

True, but I prefer them to run in an arc, so to speak. Don't ask me how they get that way, if I could figure it out, every single one I own would run that way. My big inline baits for muskies are the best for being erratic.

I catch more fish on buzzbaits that don't track true than a "true" bait. for that matter, when's the last time that you saw a baitfish swim in a straight line? a little left, a little right, a little of both; that's what I want my buzzbaits to do.

Usually I'm using 3/16. If the wind is heavy, I'll bump to 1/4. If it's really deep and the wind is heavy, I'll go as high as 3/8.

Tatsu is without a doubt the most versatile, best made, most sensitive fluorocarbon currently on the market. I've had zero issue with it in regards to stretch, knot strength, or abrasion resistance.

Owner Wacky, Tru Tungsten weighted.

Bottom is the old style Lindy Little Shadling methinks.

I'm throwing a lot of a local handpour. It's been a good bait for me thus far. Throwing them on a 6/0 Beast weighted, or 8/0 weighted. I'm using Tatsu Fluorocarbon in 20lb and love the rig. The other bait that I'm throwing a TON on some of the Western waters I fish is the Suzy Sucker from Shack Attack http://www.shackattacklures.com/acatalog/6_Inch_Suzy_Suzy_Sucker.html It's one of the most productive muskie baits I fish in Spring, and it's been incredibly productive for me this year with fish over the 7lb mark.

CUS72M It's the best shakey rod in their lineup.

Great bait to use in transition zones. I've fished the Thug pretty extensively this year with really good results. It works very well in vegetation, ripping out of it really well, as well as on hard bottoms and bouncing off rock. LIke the bait a lot.

FS is a Fenwick Spinning designation. It isn't a casting rod. It's a glass spinning rod.

Uh, shouldn't ever be seeing anything during the registration process, as far as rod models. All that is required is for you to put the rod SKU in. Sure you're at the right product registration screen?

I have 3x 7-0 MH, 2x 7-0 H Xfast, and 1 flipping stick. They're one of the best "bang for your buck" rods out there. While I'd now be much more inclined to buy an Avid or a Cumara, the Crucial is no less a great rod. I'll fish mine until they're dead.

then ;D Nice rods huh? a Cumara CUC69M took its place............wait, what kind of rods were we talking about???????? That's like going from a K-car to a Mercedes, man.

I own one rod, it's the 7'6" Carolina rod. It's actually not a rod that I would fish a C-rig on, but it performs nicely as a mid depth crankbait rod, as well as throwing larger shallow squarebills. I've fished a couple of the others and they're all too soft for my taste, really, in regards to their intended actions. Reels- no clue, I'd say they're likely too new.

I was actually going to write something up here, based on my most recent experience with the Phenix rods. I'm not entirely fond of them, they lack in sensitivity as well as having a very strange fit to my hand. I didn't like the way the grip on the spinning rod was formed at all. The two casting rods that I pawned off on a friend of mine aren't seeing use in his boat, either. In terms of the MBX and the BCR, the BCR has the edge in overall rod action. The MBX has a stiffer tip in the two rods "comparable" rods that I fished, I'll use a the 7' MH and the 854. Those two rods are probably the closest that I would come in my arsenal, and in reality they aren't far off in terms of action. (To me.) The thing that the Loomis has is finish, fit, and better balance. The weight of the Loomis seems to be a much better fit with a Curado than the Phenix, for comparison's sake. In terms of casting accuracy, the Loomis has it over the Phenix as well. It could be the Phenix has enough different action that I'm just not used to it, but I didn't feel like that was the case. It just didn't perform as well for me. In terms of senstivity, the Looms blows the Phenix out of the water. The Phenix felt very "dull" on light pickups, where the Loomis is much more responsive to the light bite sort of feel. IMO that has more to do with the balance of the rod as much as anything. Lastly, the way the rod loads with a 3/16oz jig and trailer is vastly different. with the phenix there seemed like there was a very short "range" that the rod really wanted to load. It seemed like you had to really power the rod to get it to cast effectively. It just didn't want to load, where it should have been loading with no problem. The spinning rod that I fished was Ultra MBX 7' Medium. A total and complete dog in my book. It didn't have any of the responsive action or sensitivity of even the Shimano Cumara. The tip was fairly week, almost to the point that I felt like I was going to find it in three pieces from casting a 1/8oz shakey head. It was definitely not a rod that I wanted to keep, and am glad that I was simply borrowing it on a three strikes sort of rule. The other thing that I really, really, really didn't like about the rod is the on the handle. It adds unnecessary weight, and it adds slick spots on the handle. Not to mention the transitions on the handle from cork to wood were sharb, enough so that it caught my had in a couple spots and ended up with almost paper-cuts on my palm. No blood drawn, but it sort of adds to the overall fit and finish of the rod. That's my take on them. I wouldn't spend any money on them, regardless of the warranty, the Loomis is a far better rod across the board.

I've been dropshotting a Roboworm 4.5" Fat in Aaron's lately. The other that I've been fond of is the RI Flirt.

I'll assume you don't mean big game as in Marlin, Tuna, Swords; but big game is an Stripers, Yellowtail, reds, and small shark. A great "crossover rod" is the Shimano Calcutta inshore if you can find them. As well, there are quite a few in the Okuma EVX line that are worthy of a look.

I haven't had good luck with them in weeds, no. They hang a lot more than a football or ball head. On another note, I fished the Owner Shakey head this weekend, and really like the way it fishes with a smaller worm. I had a really good hook-up rate with that head, as good or better than my usual head. The owner shakey head is good in the heavy weeds also? I wasn't in what I'd call super heavy weeds, but there was some salad and the Owner head worked just fine. Minimal hangups through the day.

LOL, can't help but agree.

I'm fishing 30lb Masterbraid on two jig rods and have had zero problems with it digging. I'll never buy another brand of braid after fishing Masterbraid. It lays flatter on the spool without the stacking and shifting. I like it a lot better than Samurai, it's quiet going through Recoil guides, and it doesn't sling water nearly as bad. (Plus, the dye, at this point, seems relatively stable. No pink hands and cork like Samurai.)