webertime

Stiff and not that great.

I fish the 4.8 a lot. I've used a lot of rods, reels and lines over the years with these baits and have a pretty dialed system at this point. (For me... But I let guys use it sometimes and they love it) Rods I've used: Phenix Recon 715, St Croix Avid 70MHF, Daiwa Tatula 7'2" HF before settling in on the Daiwa Tatula 7'2" MHR. The Avid and Heavy Tatula work, but you pull the bait away on hook sets. The Recon was nice, but broke twice. The MHR Tatula is NOT a crankbait rod its actually fairly similar to a Dobyns rod. Feels like a 734.5 (if they made one.) Reels I've used: Citica E, Zillion HSLA, Fuego HL, and TD-Z. All work... I currently use a TD-Z with the 5.7 ratio as I slow roll the bait a lot and use Owner Flashy Swimmers as well. The slower retrieve helps negate the lift they cause. Line: either Sunline Sniper 16lb or 30lb Braid with a Flouro leader. Keitech footballs with tiny fats= Smallie Crack... Use a fast rod.

Go longer on that rod, the 6'10" one. Go with 8 or 10 of the same line. The Ike jerk bait rod by Abu is nice too.

Deep husky jerk or deep smithwick rogue.

Top Gear Re-Runs Trying to get into Grand Tour on Amazon, but it's not as good.

Sinks slower. Tentacles do the opposite of an Ika, they flair out on the fall vs bunch up. Softer than an Ika. I like Ikas more, but Hydras do catch fish

I am not if favor of the ban for a few reasons. Number 1 is that they are a Migratory Bird... Bird eats a Lead Sinker in Georgia and dies in NY, it's NY's fault? That's irrational. It has to be an all or nothing sort of ban, this state by state stuff does no good. Lead sinker in a solid stable state sitting on the bottom (or snag) leach a miniscule amount of lead into the environment (FAR less than what gets washed into the rivers from eroding river banks). There are probably tens of millions of lead sinkers in the waters we fish collectively. So we ban lead NOW... there are still tens of millions of lead sinkers in the water... That's more than enough to poison all the loons. Lead is used in the paint on our baits too, that's not going away. Tungsten availability is expanding and the marketing of it is what makes it noticeable on shelves. Fishing is the only "hobby" that I can think of where you are constantly buying replacements, we even have the Tackle Monkey. What other "hobby" does that to the same extent? What I would be interested in knowing more about is more of a holistic view on the lead vs tungsten debate. Tungsten is a VERY hard material, how much energy is used to Melt and form them into weights? How is it gathered from the environment? (effects of mining it and the energy used) I think that a comparison of that vs Lead would show that on the whole Tungsten Weights aren't significantly better for the Earth than lead is. An example of this is Aluminum vs Steel in trucks. It's lighter and pretty strong, you get better mileage due to the lighter weight!!!! Less gas burned! Then go Google Aluminum Smelting. The amount of energy used (waste produced) to make Aluminum for the truck beds/frames is greater than the reduced waste created by having the Aluminum components in the truck.

I have that rod, my favorite one for: Keitechs Chatter baits Cranks Pointer 128's Big Spinner Baits

Big Hammers on Jig heads

Speedshad aren't nearly as soft and don't have the same slow shimmy. Good on a scrounger or chatterbait.

So this might not be taken seriously, but try it. The usual jerk is in a downward motion. Try across (side ways) or upwards as well. Same bait will behave slightly different based on the jerk. Had days where you had to do the upwards sweep to get bit. Try it sometimes.

http://cedarrunoutdoors.com/cro-025-pointer/ http://www.getbitcustombaits.com/unpainteid-baits Check the tackle building forums too, but this is a good start.

I throw them a ton. My favorite shallow set up is: Owner Flashy Swimmer 5/0, 1/4oz with a Keitech 4.8 (3.8 Keitechs get the 3/0, 3/16oz) I throw them on a 7'2"MHR Daiwa Tatula with a TDZ and 30lb braid with Fluoro leader. Slow ratio helps with keeping them down. Flashy swimmer is d**n close to weedless.

There are a whole bunch of lure blanks that are based off the Pointer. The blanks are .60-$2. You could build one for under $3 each and paint with nail polish.

Any Daiwa TDZ variant with a Tatula Rod (or Zillion).

Tonight only. Keitechusa has 40% off. Until midnight.

I'd go 7'3" Heavy for those techniques.

The Fury guides are from Sea Guide.

If the oscillations (how far the spool moves back and forth) is the same between reels AND The portion where the line is spooled is the same width between reels. (Gap) AND The gap mentioned above is the same distance from the tip. AND The drag set up is the same thickness and location within the spool. (Catching breath) For example; I have a Shimano Sahara FD that can use (has used) spools from the same era Saros and Stratic. It can also use the spool from the Orange Sonora model, but I need to use the knob from the Sonora because the drag is different.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Morris-Products-100-Pack-15-625-in-L-Nylon-Mounting-Cable-Ties/4618376 Hook keepers...

Mag Heavy is just 2 words printed on a rod. I would call a Dobyns MAG HEAVY less powerful than say a HEAVY St. Croix and not a very noticeable amount more powerful than a Lamiglas Excel 735, which has MEDIUM HEAVY as it's labeled power (with the same weight range as the FURY.) I have a Fury 735 and it will do what you are asking.

Phish with Santana opening in Stowe, VT 1992. Bobby Weir last Winter at the Flynn Theater was really good too.

What's the coolest/best show you've ever been to?

46' with doors on either side. Drive straight in and park/un hitch and go straight out the back door. One can dream can't he?

Braid on any bait that helicopters or doesn't cast "cleanly" is a pain as far as braid getting wrapped in hooks, blades, hangers, etc. That being said BB86 has it right with reeling into the fish when fishing TW and braid.