ec1

Thick line with probably american breaking strength standards vs Sunline. I'd say it performs as needed - Does everything I need as a leader. This is coming from someone that stopped using straight FC anymore.

Where did you source that now? I see it's a AU only product currently.

Glad to hear all these answers. I’m actually surprised since I like my poppers and walk the dogs all tail down but you guys seem to differ. Tight lines everyone!

Soinnerbaits and jerkbaits in white all day almost everywhere! I like white in stained waters most of the time but I don’t think I have trouble with them even in crystal clear water

Question to you guys. How do you like your poppers and walk the dogs to sit when you pause them? Do you prefer them to be vertical with tail down, 45 degrees, or to be horizontal with the water? I personally find myself liking the tail downs the most, but want to hear from others. Let’s discuss ?

Have a 2000s rarenium (Jdm ci4 fa) and a 1000 sized Stradic ci4 fa fits but not sure about the new model. I’d give it a try

734 champion here. Horny toads, and skipping baits with the soft tip. I see this rod also excelling at spinnerbaits and chatterbaits.

Only ever lucked into some before because bass are closed season up here in Ontario. They seem to be sitting on deep big boulder rock piles around 40fow (max lake depths over 100’ on the lakes I do come across them) but their bite window times seem pretty small. When they do decide to bite though, almost everything goes.

You'd be surprised to find out that the first thing that freezes on a baitcaster is the line guide on the reel. It's typically smaller than most ice rod guides. - No i haven't tried Daiwa TWS reels ice fishing. More power to you if you fish in a hut and have a snowmobile. In that case, I'd experiment with something you own already before dropping more coin. I've experimented and gone back to the good old spinning reels (IMO the TD Fuego 1500/ CI4's 1000 size is pretty good for everything). Really like the thirteen inlines with the drop lever too. @Yumeya that's a very pretty inline reel, but the price tag...

Big fan of the straight shank hook for heavy cover flipping / punching, and the dropshot hook is as good as the gamakatsu a-mart hooks IMO. Hook points roll over when snagged on rocks and wood, but worth it for how sharp it is.

Saw gussy use a tail lasso on the Cayuga tournament and thought it looked very interesting. Seems a little less intrusive to a fish but it definitely seems like a little bit of extra work. Not sure if you can grab a fish by that cull tag though

Recently, I have been finding that the Duo Realis and Jackall tailspins have been selling out very quickly at my local tackle store. I understand that they are very similar to spybaits, but these seem heavier and come with a colorado blade. At the same time, the hooks are very small so I am wondering if you are fishing it with the same 7'6ML rods that you fish a spybait with. I do want to start a discussion with people that are successful with these baits, and what kind of presentation you're making with it. I imagine it being a colder water lift drop, but are people seeing success with a constant retrieve like a spybait? Look forward to hearing what you guys have to say.

When i first discovered Varivas 2 iCasts ago, I thought that their mono's were the best thing I have ever felt. In terms of braid, they are awesome, but I don't see them at a huge advantage over the traditional brands if they are more expensive for less line. I haven't tried their casting PE, but at the same time i'm rarely looking for max casting distances. If you do want some special colored braids and markers, they are one of the few companies that have them. Very helpful for flipping and linewatching or deep dropshot. All their measurements are done in canadian though. lol. Also, buy slightly heavier line if you're not familiar with japanese lines. If you typically buy 15# braid, do not get #1.5, i'd probably bump to 2.0 or 2.5

This was something I was told about the bucktail jigs we use for walleye here. The more beat up they are, the better. How much truth there is, I really don't know. Glad you found some jigs that you really like though. I will try the bitsy's soon enough.

My fave reel for squarebills at the moment. A little slow for jerkbaits but would do well for many techniques that don’t require a super fast retrieve.

My Favorite treble. Feels really sharp, seems to stick fish well, mind you I have lost fish on them before. (Tell me someone who hasn't) Sizes are smaller. Vision 110's take 5's. For cranks I'd upsize 6 to 4, 4 to 2. The MH gauge is slightly different but I haven't caught enough fish on them to know. 1/0 for 6XD's.

It might be a great spybait rod.

If you can source it, Biovex offers a great looking hard bodied bluegill bait at a pretty good msrp http://biovexusa.com/product/joint-gill-90-ss-3/

My favourite way to fish crankbaits in grass. Make sure you balance the system with a slightly softer/moderate rod though.

When the majority of us here fish for fun and possibly a few tournament series, you should take into account the 'fun' factor of a rod. I mean it works great for KVD and having personally used the 7'4MH and caught fish, it doesn't have the 'fun' factor for me. If you're on a budget and absolutely need a cranking specific rod, there's nothing wrong with it at all.

Oops, bad reading skills that was the first sentence that it's not available in Canada. You guys better jump on this killer deal while you can!

You're pretty much using the best drop shot hook on the market IMO. These hooks do get dulled from snags etc. and by then they usually go to the trash for me. Perhaps that happened to you? Size 1 - 1/0 is my favorite. Another great alternative hook is the trokar dropshot hook but they will get dulled on rocks / wood just as easily.

Looks like the Saros is being updated this year. The Ultegra was always placed as the JDM equivalent of the Saros. Now it seems they are aligning both the USDM and JDM reel to one. It's decent looking if you ask me. I'm gonna guess that they'll come out for the bassmaster classic. On the body it says there is hagane gear, which is the same as the Nasci. If you're looking for improvements between the Nasci and other series, my next jump would probably be the stradic FK.

So far, I've had experience with a bunch of blade baits starting first with the Binsky about 5 years ago. Over time, I tried a bunch more (BPS XPS, Megabass, OSP), and they all seem to catch fish. These baits flat out catch trout, pike, smallies. I have never used the silver buddy, cicada, or the Johnson Thinfisher. I think the thing that seperates a premium blade bait from a cheaper blade bait would be 2 things: 1. The feedback (vibration) given to the angler. (Expensive doesn't mean better feedback though - You'll need to try them) 2. Color and paint jobs Double hooks and treble hooks don't make too much of a difference as long as you're aware that you can't lift half way on a slack line if you don't want the bait to tangle. Like the video says, just make sure that your front hook can't tangle with your back hook and fish the heck out of them once your water hits 50F. Take a look at this video as well! Josh Douglas Blade Bait Smallies

Perhaps what I forgot to mention is its thin wire diameter. Very thin but not easy to bend. I suppose I will have to continue sourcing these hooks in Japan.