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I'm extremely late to the conversation, but no one on here has mentioned technical fleece. I discovered it last year, and realized that it is actually some very good stuff if it's not raining hard. (I would wear it down to the (5C) 40's, but have done a few ice fishing trips with it where it wasn't too windy. Instead of being a loud synthetic material you get out of goretex, you get a light and soft material that's about 80% as good as goretex in terms of windproof-ness, some water resistance, breathable and relatively warm. You can also continue to layer one or two more layers underneath. At the end of the day though, the technical fleece can not be a substitute to goretex. It can only be a luxury to being able to leave the goretex in the rod locker until it starts to get too cold / wet.

I own a 7' MH Falcon Bucoo - Actually when I compared it to all my other rods, it's 80% similar to my Dobyns Champion 705CB Glass. Beats me as to why it is, because the Falcon is sold for texas rigs, spinnerbaits etc. (It is a great spinnerbait rod but I can tell isn't as sensitive as other rods because I can barely feel willow blades compared to my other rods) If it were me, I'd take a leap of faith for the ***. But seeing as you've tried it, why not get another

You're asking a top of the line reel to do something that most reels can do. Don't worry! On another note, the core looks very beautiful on a DX rod. Both the rod and reel has a very nice metallic flake paint finish, although not the same colour match wonderfully.

Jerkbaits that are more expensive also probably has a lot more R&D behind it. I don't know what makes it happen, but have you seen the quiver of a pointer at the end of a rip? Or perhaps how some jerkbaits suspend head down tail up? We're honestly at a time where there's so many good baits out there that you have to pick and choose ones you really like, gain a ton of confidence in them and just go out fishing.

Very interesting concepts here! I can see them working very well in so many different situations.

Don't know what line you are using, but it is very important that you moisten the line with some saliva when cinching everything down. In terms of knots, I like a uni knot with 2 loops into the eye of the hook. From what I've understood from over the years, any knot where the line goes through the eye of the hook twice is stronger.

Went up to a cottage with a few buddies over the weekend, and boy were the smallies chasing jerkbaits! Duo Realis Jerkbait 100 did most of my damage - but they were more than willing to bite senkos and swing impacts for my buddies as well! Here's a quick vid of the small guys I caught, and probably a 4# that I lost from not setting the drag properly

Hey guys! Just got me a Dobyns 705cb glass for jerkbaits, and am definitely going to try to learn how to crank. Growing up fishing from shore at dams with cranks, braid was always the line of choice versus mono or fluoro (For fish landing purposes as you sometimes had to crane a fish up to 15 feet). I do think that it will also transmit what the crank is doing much better. I've also heard from guys that don't want to feel anything when they're cranking other than when a fish is on the line. I'm sure there's gotta be someone else out there doing it on braid. Any tips you guys have? Or anyone want to talk me out of this idea?

Wow, all these different hooksets. Guys that don't snap set, you've got to try it a few times!

When fishing Jigs and T-Rigs, how are you guys setting the hook? My ideal situation would be to feel or watch the line jump, give it about a fraction of a second, drop the tip and make a big snap set. Many of my friends claim that I have the most exaggerated hookset, and I don't think I'm the best fisherman out there - so there might just be a better way to do it. Let's hear how you guys do it.

Brace yourselves ladies and gents! Looks like the smallies in your local fishery are just about ready to turn on for their fall pattern! Be prepared for followers of the fish you caught, schooled up fish on specific spots, and them crushing jerkbaits, and topwaters! I was out myself yesterday, had a few of them beginning to move and congregate outside creek mouths and chasing the fish that you have hooked. Saw a pretty cool sight yesterday where there was a smallie follower behind a largemouth! Let the best time for smallies begin!

Being of Asian descent, and having a grandmother that religiously follows the lunar calendar, I can say that fall is coming. Basically a week ago, we had a day that the lunar calendar claims that summer isn't over, but fall is slowly but surely creeping in. I am going to make a guess that I will have another 2 weeks in Southern Ontario that I can go into shallow heavy cover before the fish begin to make their way out to deeper haunts. I'm sure there will always be shallow fish, but the numbers definitely won't be there in a couple of weeks.

I can only say that the trokars have definitely landed a bunch of fish that I would have lost with other hooks. I find that with the trokars, I can lean in onto a fish and be able to land fish while when I do that with other hooks, I lose fish more often.

To me it really is that thrill of the goods and the bads. I feel like I get better with every trip, but you can still go home with a big fat skunk. If fishing was 100% all of the time I definitely wouldn't be doing it at least once a week.

To be honest, save yourself some money and go for nothing less than gore-tex. Do the other brands work? Yes - but for a couple years and you will find yourself one day soaked to the bone. Some will repel water for a few hours and then you will find yourself soaked as well too! In September or so, Cabelas will blow out their goretex gear for about $120 per piece and get yourself a jacket and bibs. They'll last you 10 years easy.

Or get a white braid. You'll never lose color

For me, I like to leave the swivel outside of my guides when casting - so from swivel to weight it is between 3-5'. (Depending on how many times I've broken off that day) if you're dealing with super clear water, ill tie a joining knot for another 10' of fc, then swivel, then the hook and sinker

I think 3/16 is the sweet spot for dropshot weights up to about 25fow. And once you think you're on bottom, just fish it like it is. Confidence thing that you'll get in a few trips. What line are you using? I truly believe that braid with a leader is the best you can use for dropshotting. 10# braid should also help with keeping the fall rate relatively fast

Zona and Mercer need a show together for an entire season. I loved watching that Christmas bass show where neither of them could take their fishing seriously. The serious shows that go from hookset to hookset are rather . Most anglers today all know how to fish (far better than I'd like them to know) - but watching people have a good time and enjoying their friends while fishing? Freakin' awesome! They seem to have similar sponsors anyways. Could only make arrangements easier.

You can use one practically anytime you would use a texas rig. No real differences in terms of weedlessness. Honestly though, I am not 100% sure that it makes things horizontal when resting. From what I saw, plastics still point upwards - just like a texas rig. I just have a hard time believing that a fish that would have bit a jika rig won't bite a texas rig.

Well, I think it's somewhere along the lines of 2 weeks until iCast. Your call. Gear ratios for spinnerbaits and buzzbaits depends on what you plan on doing with these baits. I find 7:1 it's quite easy to keep baits up on the surface, but if you plan on slow rolling a spinnerbait across the bottom, I prefer a slower reel. Burning spinnerbaits works on the good days, and a 7:1 will make it easier, but slowing down I find pretty hard. With a 6:1 gear ratio it's not bad to slow roll baits, but speeding it up on a day where they are chasing becomes quite tiring. In other words, both works - it just depends what you're more comfortable with. Good luck in your search.

When do you need the reel by? If you're not in a huge rush for them, I'd wait to see what new reels icast has to offer before jumping onto anything. The recommendations made to you are fine, but it's always nice to see what other new options you have!

If you can see the rod in person, and the rod has enough of a tip - you don't have to worry about being too heavy at all. Of course, you'll get to the point where if you're using a H powered rod that catches fish averaging 1lb or so, you won't have much fight from them. Don't worry about power especially if you're fishing in a lot of weeds. The more power then, the better. If you fish that one lake exclusively, and had no problems with an MH rod, go for that again. I rarely ever find myself on the same lake twice in a row, so I prefer to have one thats MH, and another that's H. Plus, you can eventually dedicate one rod to frogs or jigs, and the other for a lighter job.

I ran into the same situation as you (Fishing deeper smallies in the fall) There are mounts for transducers that attach to the back of the boat with a clamp. I don't own one of these. I have a Humminbird 345C with an ice transducer that I use for ice fishing and I just throw it off the side of the canoe whenever needed. Of course, the transducer will not be 100% vertical whenever you're moving but it gives a general idea of how deep the water is, and whether there is a fish that I should drop straight down to.

The aluminum on the rod seems kind of gimmicky. (And will suck when fishing in the cold weather up north) Unless they use the metal down below to better balance the rods. Otherwise, all of the other components on the rod does spark some interest!