QUIENYO

I get that this guy broke the law. Please fine him, heck jail him if that makes everyone feel better. But to declare a new record to be null and void over not having paid the State for permission seems a little like cutting off your nose to spite your face. I hope I don't get too much grief for not towing the company line.

That's a great looking fish. The best I can do at my local pond is about a two pounder. I'll take what I can get. This one fell victim to a 1/2 oz. Jig.

I hear you. That is the hardest part for me when using a Jig. After the tick, I have to make a concerted effort to lower the rod tip to reel in any slack in the line, then give it the old heave-ho hook set. I used to lose fish once and a while because I was so excited I had one, I wouldn't reel in the slack before setting the hook. It still happens once and a while.

That's a nice looking bass! I wish the local golf course ponds in Tucson had three pounders.

That makes me a happy man. Now I can stock up on Jigs for the rest of the year. I'm with you on the braid; 50# PLine on both my Jig rods. One is a 7'6" Heavy, Jig only set-up with an old Ambassador round reel. The other is a more all around 7' MH with a Curado 51e. They both do great for me. I can't wait to get up to Roosevelt and work some Jigs up there. Hopefully sometime this summer.

I'm a simple newbie, but I try to match the trailer to not just the skirt, but also to the water and surrounding foliage. At this juncture, I only use Reaction Innovation's Sweet Beaver simply because that's all I have. Currently, I'm using the green pumpkin as it matches the murky water color. As my last post praising the jig makes clear, I'm having tremendous success right now.

As a weekend warrior, I'm pretty new to dedicated bass fishing. Even now I may only get in four to six hours a week. Up until a month ago, I'd never thrown a Jig with any success. Now, its my only go-to lure to catch Bass here in southern AZ. It makes no difference, 1/4 oz, 3/8 or 1/2, they deliver. I can't wait to order some Northstar's and Siebert's to step up my game. All the video and articles posted on Bassresource on how to use the Jig have completely made me a believer. What a tremendous source of knowledge and wisdom this place is. Someone please tell me the "tick, tick.....BOOM" lasts all year round. I've read about their effectiveness in cooler temps, and experienced it. My fear is after I stock up on quality jigs and the weather hits triple digits, the Bass will be off the Jig. Anybody able to shed light on the effect of temp. change on the Jig? Thanks, Nathan

Check out Cabela's.com. They still have the Stradic FI 2500 for $119. I bought one last week and am loving it. Pretty good sale price too. Good luck.

Again, thanks for all the feedback. I went out and exchanged the 6'6" LR for a 7' LR Shock. Set the Stradic up this morning with 14lb Fireline and hit the pond. I couldn't be happier with the feel of the rod and my perceived accuracy with it. As many of you have said, it may not be much, but it's an upgrade for me. I think I will be happy with the rod for a year or two. On a side note, I bagged a nice 2.5lb LM (good for the ponds I fish) with my Jig set up. As always, I had been striking out with everything as I worked my way around the pond. As I was heading back to the car, I threw in one last time in a cove I've had luck with in the past. Wham! My four year old son got so excited, I had to grab him by the back of his shirt to keep him from falling in. The LM had someone's 2/0 Gamakatsu SWG still hooked in the top of its mouth. Made for a nice outing with my boys. Thanks, Nathan

Wow, thanks guys. I think maybe I'll hang-on to the LR. I appreciate all the feedback. My main question of durability has been answered. I'm curious to check out the difference in feel with the six line guides on the LR. Now that I'm keeping the LR, I bought the 6'6", full handle one as opposed to the 7', split grip one. I believe both rods were rated the same, main difference was length and grip. Is it a preference thing, or do I want a specific length for my intended usage of soft plastics and treble hook lures? I thought I had read on BR about a 6'6" rod being ideal for such use. Thanks again, Nathan

Ok, so I got a new Shimano Stradic FI 2500 I ordered from Cabela's in the mail today and wanted to get a rod for it. I currently have a 6'6", Cabela's ML two piece spinning rod that I use with my old Spirex 1000 reel. That rod is a bit too whippy for me. This new rod reel combo will be my spinning set up. Mostly soft plastics with a few light treble lures. I took a cue from the Walmart threads here on BR and spent some time there. I was torn between the 6'6" Berkley Lightning Rod M and the 7' Falcon BoCoo MM, open hook rods. The Bocoo is more than twice the price of the Lightning Rod. As one would expect, there was an obvious difference in the appearance of quality between the two. From the fit and finish to the number of guides, to the guide coatings, to the handle construction, etc. The whole time I was looking, I kept thinking of a recent thread here about how great someone thought the Lightning Rod was. The other thing was the voice of my wife in my head yelling about dropping $100 plus on more fishing gear. So I did the "right thing" and walked out with the Lightning Rod. I got home, all proud of my thriftiness and slid the new reel onto its new rod. My heart sank. I'm currently fishing at least three days a week, and as summer comes around, I expect that number to grow. I don't know if I'm just a pretentious ***, but I found myself thinking that there is no way the Lightning Rod would last through the summer. So now, I have the new rod (now reel-less) sitting in the garage with the receipt ready for return in the morning. My question is, am I better off holding out for a pay check or two and buying the more expensive rod, or should I keep the $40 Lightning Rod and use the heck out of it? I know this isn't a GLoomis with a Stella, but for me, I want to be sure I'm getting the most bang for my buck. The other question I have is, if it's only a case of appearances and if the Lightning Rod is just as durable as the Bocoo? Thanks for any advice or insight, Nathan

Thanks Jeff. I went ahead and ordered it from Cabela's. After the shipping and taxes it came to $142. I wish the sale was through Tackle Warehouse but oh well, still seems like a good price.

I saw a Shimano Stradic FI Spinning Reel 2500 for $119. Is this a deal worth getting excited about? Or is this just unloading old stock? I've been looking at spending $79 on the Sahara and came across this reel. I am looking for an upgrade from a ten year old Spirex 1000 with anti-reverse issues. Thanks

The only app that I use when fishing is Knot Wars. It’s a nice reference tool if my memory fails.

The price is still good, you just need to call the order in.. She told me they were back ordered, but would still honor the advertised price over the phone.

So, yeah, I'm more than likely thinking the distances are longer than they are. I'm just not getting the distance out of my casting rods compared to my spinning set-up and think it should be the other way around. I definitely need to work on wrist motion in my casting. That is the nice thing about Arizona; I can work on the motions year round. I feel your pain NBR, I went to high school in the lakes region of NH. Those are some long winters. I'm in Arizona now and don't fish when it drops into the 40's. I'm getting soft.

I did the same last week. Mine is set up for plastics and light jigs. It is on a Shimano vct70mh fast (I know, an antique). I have 50# Pline braid on it, but may try floro in the near future. I mainly shore fish for largemouth.

Thanks fellas. Sounds like I need to beat up some weights in the back yard. I will set two more brakes and start practice casting. I feel like like I need greater distance since I'm shore casting. There are some spots that are accessible only by 40 or 50 yard casts. I don't have too much trouble reaching with the spinning set-up, but the accuracy leaves something to be desired. Merry Christmas-

So, this is my first post here. I've been lurking for a while and trying to glean as much as I could from the forums and articles. What a tremendous resource this site is. I live in Tucson, AZ and fish from shore on ponds and rivers mostly. In the summer months (six month out of the year), I hit a bunch of small ponds and catch a bunch of 12-24 oz bass. I'm relatively new to fishing and have the fever. My current set-ups are; Spinning- Shimano Spirex 1000FD with a 6'6" Cabela's Fish Eagle II rod with Berkley Fireline Crystal #14 Casting- Abu Garcia 5501C3 with a 6' Quantum CXC60M with Pline #50 braid (Brand new)Shimano Curado 51e with Allstar 7' MH fast with Pline #50 braid Rods- Allstar 7'6" H fast Shimano vtc7' MH fast I had been using some cheap mono, but was tired of the memory causing the reels to puke every week. I bought some Berkley fused fireline and a spool of #50 Pline braid. So recently I bought the Shimano 51e (TW $109) and bought three rods via Craigslist. the two old Allstar Platinums, one 7' m/h f and the other 7'6" h,f. The third was the old Shimano vtc70m/h f. From what I've read, the 7'6" A.S. is best used as a flippin stick and the other two seem interchangeable for jigs, soft bait and TX rigged worm set-ups. This sounds perfect, since TX rigged senkos and soft baits are what I mainly use. The problem is that I'm terrible with the casting reels. I have the settings correct, but am getting frustrated with my casting abilities. No real backlash problems, but casing for distance will be the death of me. Maybe 30-40 yards. I know both the casting reels are capable of much more. Everything I read on the 51e says it is a great casting reel. The Abu is supposed to be some kind of a distance wonder reel. Not for me. I don't know if the line choice is slowing me down or what, but I'm pretty sure its operator error. I've decided to commit myself to become more comfortable with these casing reels. My question is, given the rods, reels and lines listed, which would provide the best set-up for casting and flippin TX rigged baits and 3/8 jigs? All feed back is welcomed. Thanks for any help.