NJBasstard

I still use my Curado 50E and Scorpion XT 1000. The Curado I use for squarebills. I also have Curado 70 and SLX MGL, but the 50E/XT and Core/Alde frame is still my favorite of the smaller Shimanos.

I dont know of any chatterbait with that style keeper but I do have some swim jigs that do. I always just fold the tail end of the plastic so that it clears the hook point while I thread it on. Kind of tricky with the thicker plastics like a paddletail. Getting them on isn't bad. I use a lighter to apply some heat to the screw lock before threading it on. Goes in easy and stays put. Removing them is a bit of a chore at times.

We had light rain and 15mph winds yesterday but I got out for a few hours anyway. Water was 69 degrees and muddy. Started out slow but I ended up dropping anchor on a little grass flat yoyoing a Jackhammer. Ripping it up and out of the vegetation was triggering bites and got me 8 bass.

If you don't have prime than Harbor Freight sells a smaller plastic welding kit for around $20.

The Scorpion MGL is built in the Curado K frame. The Curado 150 MGL is a new platform and has no JDM version that I know of. I really like the Curado MGL but if I was paying full price I'd spend the little extra and get a Met from Japan.

Chevy/Shimano guy here. Thanks for the laugh ? As for the OP's question.. I think some people just like to be different and try things that aren't necessarily popular. Worst case scenario they're out some cash and best case they find a low cost gem. I've taken a gamble on things that have paid off for me. I've also purchased things and soon felt like I'd thrown my money away. Either way I learn something. That being said.. If someone who is just getting started, or someone on a budget asks me about buying a reel, I'd give them a list simular to what you posted. Why? Because they're proven quality products at their price and I feel are low risk compared to Piscifun and others out there.

Thanks! Yeah it was a fun catch and certainly one of the bigger ones I've got recently. The pickerel seam to love that Bahama Milk Pearl color in the waters near me.

Was able to get out at sunrise for a few hours this morning. We had rain yesterday which had the lake turned up pretty good, so I knew ahead of time it'd be a tough bite. Caught bass but nothing picture worthy. I'm normally not to thrilled when catching pickerel but it was just nice getting bit. Here's the biggest one, caught on a Megabass Popmax.

Thanks for the replies. I put a couple of baits in a open Plano so we'll see if there's any issue. The reason I asked this question was because I'd met someone on the water who saw me throwing a Trace and warned me that his had melted in a box. This was the first time I'd heard of that happening. I'll report back to this thread if I have any issues. EDIT - I haven't noticed anything wrong with the Trace being in a plano box or touching other hard baits.. BUT.. I placed a soft plastic on a Trace tail to see what would happen and it was starting to melt when I checked on it 12 hours later. Just wanted to update and give a heads up to anyone who may be asking this question in the future.

Can these baits be stored in a regular Plano box or will the tails melt like Elaztech?

Not my most versatile, but certainly my favorite combo..

Had a few hours to spare and won't get out again til next week so I hit the lake again. Tough bite but managed to get 4 bass and 2 snakeheads. Jig, Dogma 100 & Trace all got bit. Here's my last one of the day..

Not a fan of DSG but the buy 3 get 3 free is hard to pass up. The 5" are a gift for my buddy, but the slow and fast sink have done well for me. Curious how the floating will produce.

I have 30lb on 2 different casting combos and had this issue a few times myself. Each came off of a different spool that I purchased from two different locations, so I'm not sure if I got a bad batch or not. I've had 10lb and 15lb on my spinning reels and never had a problem. I actually prefer Power Pro on my casting reels partly for this reason. Smackdown is the best I've had on spinning though, with J Braid X8 a close second.

Got out from 6pm-10:30pm last night and got 7 bass & 2 snakehead. Jig, Spro Rat 40 and Trace. Pic is my last bass of the night on a 3/8 Siebert Outdoors jig. Last was the first thing I caught when I got on the water ?

Not sure about the others, but I have tried a friend's Teton Pro 116 and was surprised how well it performed. Have you considered shopping for something used? You can often get more for your $ if you shop around a bit.

My list would look identical to @ChrisD46 but I'd also add the Jackall Kaera. It's not quite as soft as the Pad Crasher Jr but it cast better and walks well for its size.

Got out for a few hours tonight and got 8 of them. Two pictured were on a 6" Trace swimbait and a Wacky rig. The rest were caught on a Siebert arky jig with a paca chunk trailer.

I've been throwing them on a Fury 705cb. I have a Sierra 704c I use for 3/8-1/2 jackhammer but it feels like too much rod for the mini max. If I was buying a rod specifically for the 1/4-3/8 mini max I'd get a Sierra 703c. It will throw them better than the 704c and would be better for ripping through grass than the 705cb.

I've been doing a lot of night fishing lately so I decided to switch it up and go early. I arrived at my local lake around 5am and broke the transducer mount off my kayak while unloading, which meant I didn't have a graph to use for the day. Saw bass blowing up on bait balls in 2 FOW so decided to throw a white walking bait and stuck my first 5 fish within minutes of my getting there. That bite stayed on until about 6:30am and afterwards I decided to venture out into 8-10 FOW and fish a 6th Sense Trace along grass line that was just barely visible. That bait got hammered every few minutes for the next 2 hours. This South Jersey lake is normally tough but I managed to pull multiple 20" fish today and also lost quite a few. Once that bite died down I moved out into the main lake and began fishing a 3/8 Dirty Jigs with a Craw trailer against the shade lines near the bank and managed to catch 4 more for the next hour. I've fished this lake for years and can't recall any days where I pulled so many quality size fish from it. This is also probably one of the best 5 fish days I've had in South Jersey. I haven't looked through all my pictures yet but here are a couple I got on the Trace.

I have the Sierra 704 and upgraded my Champ 704 for a Extreme 704 recently. The Sierra is the slowest action of the three. I mostly use it for single hook moving baits and sometimes topwaters. The Champ is faster and I believe more versatile. I used it mostly for 1/4oz texas rigs and 3/8 jigs. The Extreme is faster and replaced the Champ. I'd suggest you also look at the Kaden line. My 715 is one of my favorite rods.

All good info but you forgot flipping is it's own category as well. A Sierra 735c is labeled Mag Heavy but the Champion 735c is labeled Medium Heavy. Both are 5 power with the same lure weight rating, but one is standard and the other is under the flipping category.

I think my thumb is making light contact the entire time while pitching. Raising the rod tip at the end of the cast just before re-engaging the spool also helps stop that little bit of overrun. I apply those same two things to skipping also.

Broke my DC704c a few weeks back. I got some advice from the folks at Dobyns and others on here who commented on my thread. I decided to upgrade to the DX704c which showed up yesterday.

Wether its a hassle or not depends on what you have. Do you have paperwork for the boat or trailer? Did the previous owner ever register the boat in NJ before? If the boat has no title but has been previously registered by the current owner than a notarized bill of sale signed by both buyer and seller could suffice. Even with that it will depend entirely on who your dealing with at DMV. If the boat is 12' or longer with no title than you have to go through the State Police Marine Buraeu for a hull inspection. They assign a new hull ID and the boat is titled as home-made. HOWEVER, as of a couple years ago you are required to show receipts for all materials used to build the boat. It's exactly the same for trailers..the days of picking up a $100 untitled trailer and easily registering it as home made are over. My opinion as someone who has bought a couple untitled jon boats and was only successful with one in NJ (before the material receipt requirement).. don't buy a boat in NJ without paperwork.