smalljaw67

The HMG is impressive by itself and when you take the price point in consideration it is that much more impressive!!! I have the 7'2" M-MF, it is my big square bill and rattle trap rod, it is rated 3/8oz - 1oz but they call it a medium as the rod has nice flex but it is stiff enough to rip traps of grass and square bills through cover. I have casting and spinning in the Fenwick Smallmouth series and in the Aetos series and I have a casting rod in the HMG series, if I needed another spinning rod I'd have no problem grabbing the HMG and save some cash. The HMG isn't as light as the other two but it is still light weigh, far from heavy and it is balanced really well. I love the fact that I can feel the bottom with a light rod that has power to spare, my rod is a medium with medium heavy power and ratings but it truly feels like a medium rod, I didn't think the lure ratings were accurate until I tried it, very, very impressed with it. For the spinning rod I'd go with the 6'9" or the 7' ML-F, they are rated 1/8oz to 5/8oz so they are closer to a medium in backbone but the tip responsiveness is in line with a medium light, it should be perfect for finesse plastics or swimming a grub on a darter head. For a casting rod for jig and worm, there aren't a ton of choices, you got the 6'6" MH-F , 7' MH-F and the 7'6" MH-XF and for me the 7'6" is too long for anything other than a flipping stick. The 7' would make a good jig and worm rod with enough versatility to throw spinnerbaits on but I like the Fuji SK2 reel seat, a lot of blank exposed and no exposed thread for your fingers to touch and that makes it good for bottom contact. I hope this helps, I really like the Fenwick actions and sensitivity, I was a G.Loomis guy until I got sick and my income dropped as I can't do the same kind of work anymore. When that happened I thought I'd be stuck with value rods and then Fenwic just was coming out with the smallmouth series so I got one as an early Christmas present, it had to come direct from Fenwick as they weren't in stores yet and when I got it I couldn't believe how it felt in hand and when I got to fish with it I was super happy, I found a rod that I can afford and it had more performance than I could imagine, I really couldn't believe I could get a rod of that quality for that price. The same thing with the HMG, but the truth is every manufacturer is putting out some excellent stuff at lower price points but I loved the Fenwick action so much I decided to try a higher end series and a lower end in the HMG and the next time I need a spinning it will be a Fenwick HMG.

I jumped on that myself!!!! I was going to just wait and see if the XT was going to go a little lower in price but when the MGX went to $60 that was it, I had to act!!

All new hooks are sharp, the problem with a lot of stock trebles is they are made of light wire so they bend easily and break or they use a bronze hook that will rust faster than black nickel. Now, when it comes to jerkbaits with light wire hooks, you need to replace with a light wire if it is a suspending bait but a good quality hook will be a bit stronger. The KVD 1.5 square bill has sharp stock hooks but they don't hold up but if you aren't burning them through nasty cover and you keep your line down to 10lb and play the fish out, then the stock hooks will be fine for awhile.

He used a Do-it horse head or pony head that was made with a sampo ball bearing swivel and a size 3.5 willow blade and it had a 4/0 hook. In order to make that the mold had to be modified as it was pretty compact so I'm guessing a wire loop or brass eyelet was placed in the mold and poured and the eyelet or wire loop was used to attach the ball bearing swivel to. Based on that, and I make my own tackle, it isn't something anyone can just do, and him and his father have been doing it for a long time so I'm not seeing homemade stuff being used as it doesn't pay the bills. He also uses a jig from a small manufacturer, shooter lures or something like that but what I wanted to say is that these guys need sponsorship to pay the bills, so most, even if they used homemade stuff, are going to tell you it came from a paying sponsor.

If you're like me there is a big difference, the weight! I have a friend that had a TP, he liked it so much he got his son a regular speed spool for his B-Day. Well he asks me to go fishing with him to set the reel up for his son and after a day he says he is taking the TP back and buying 2 more speed spools for himself. He told me the performance was the same and he didn't mind that the speed spool was heavier, he said it was better with his rod. For me, the weight can't be overlooked now, I started with the Abu Garcia Revo Premier 2nd generation, and then it was a Smoke and finally a TP. Now that I've been using all sub 7oz reels, I can tell when a reel is over 7, when the hit 8 they feel like a brick.

Do you have a large bobbin to hold that spool or do you transfer it to a smaller spool?

I got a Rapala lock and weigh that was on close out for 20 bucks that is incredibly accurate. Another one I like is the Berkley lip grip with digital scale, I had one until I dropped overboard in 30' of water. The Berkley was very accurate as well, it too was 1oz light meaning if I weighed a fish and it is 4lbs 15oz it actually is 5lbs.

It is a surface Dingbat made by Creek Chub, really nice vintage bait, I wouldn't fish with it as it looks like it is great shape.

Moderate action rods are great for crankbaits but with topwaters it is a bit difficult because sometimes the flex doesn't allow you to work the bait consistently, this also applies to jerkbaits. In order to have full control over the bait you need a fast action rod but then that isn't the best to fight a fish once it is hooked so what do you do? Well you can go with a medium heavy, moderate fast rod, that will have enough backbone that it doesn't flex too much allowing you to work the bait and fight a fish when it is hooked. The problem though is that kind of rod tends to overpower smaller 1/4oz baits so as long as the bait is 3/8oz or heavier you'll be fine with that. You can also do the "great compromise", a medium power rod with a fast action, this rod will give you total control over the bait and the medium power is forgiving enough that it will let you fight a fish hooked on treble hooks without yanking them free from the fish. The downside to that is you are pretty much limited to 1/4 to 1/2oz baits and it still isn't as good as a moderate action. Basically when it comes to those baits you are going to either compromise on the control or the bait, or control of the fish and when you focus on control of the fish, you may not be getting as many strikes, and focusing on control of the bait means you might not be landing all of the fish that hit, so pick your poison, for me it is the medium power, fast action rod.

What line size are you using? Those are very sensitive and need to fished on light line with a spinning rod, no more than 8lb mono. Check the blade by blowing on it or flicking it with your finger to see if it will move freely.

I was really interested in that too but I haven't heard any news of a release date yet.

Go to Eye Surrender, $50 and $60 bucks depending on which one and you get a great pair, they are light and the lenses really cut glare without making everything dark. They have a nice selection of lens choices and the frames are TR-90 which are light, in fact they are that light and comfortable I forget I'm wearing them and only realize it when I'm in the house and everything seems a bit dark.

I never thought I'd ever see the inside of a Cabela's or a Bass Pro Shops and then within 2 years I had both close to me. I don't get overwhelmed when I go in but my wife worries when she is with me. She told me I'm fine until I get 10 steps away from the fishing department, then she said my eye get glassy and almost glazed over and at that point my hearing goes away and I remind here of a mindless zombie. I told here I wouldn't be a mindless zombie if the fine folks at Cabela's and Bass Pro would be so kind as to not keep moving everything around each week!! I swear, I spen an hour and make a mental note of where everything is at and then I go back 5 days later, not months or weeks but just 5 days later and everything I knew is gone, I sometimes think they do it to drive me insane and watch me stroll from isle to isle talking to myself and wondering who's job is it to arrange the baits because that person doesn't have clue about fishing and lures. You see, just thinking about it gets me a little squirrelly.

That is how I found it!!

If you haven't got to see the new Reel N Shad from Mann's I suggest you take a look at it on you tube. I think this is a game changer, it is a fluke with a forked tail that swims like a swim bait but no boot tail, it looks even better than a fluke on a scrounger head. Now, the design is cool but I can see these getting tore up easily but it is a pretty neat design, check it out!

Thanks for the picture of the Bud color, I was interested by it but I wasn't sure if it was going to be too bright and now I know I'm getting that color!!! I'm also getting the Ghost, Albino, and Moss Back Shiner patterns, these are going to be really good.

No, Lews is a good reel but stay away from the Laser anything from them. The Lew Laser is on a graphite frame, get one with an aluminum frame. The new Lews LFS Speed Spool is $99.99, for $30 more you'll have a reel that will last a lot longer and will perform better, graphite framed reel can flex a little and once it happens the gears never line up right again and that is when the grinding starts and the reel begins to break down. Save up the extra cash and get the better reel, you'll thank yourself later on.

It depends on the thickness, I use flat waxed nylon from Danville in 210 denier, that has 3lbs breaking strength so you can cinch down pretty good, 140 is also good but that is when I get close to breaking thread, 70 and below I don't recommend for a bass jig. If you plan to tie hair then use a waxed thread, regular nylon is of for silicone bass skirts but when it comes to hair I think a waxed thread grips the material better. I also agree with Cadman, if you are going to something other than a flat waxed nylon then get upholstery thread, it is strong so no problem with breaking it.

If the braid works for then by all means use it because you are using a moderate action rod but if you weren't the braid would be a no-no.

Jerkbaits!!

I think the HMG would be better than the HMX because the HMG is the same money as the Mojo. If your finesse isn't going to take you over 1/2oz in weight, I'd give a strong look at the Fenwick HMG 6'9" ML-F or the 7'ML-F, both will work well for you but it depends on which length you like better.

I make a mushroom jig head and then I use a Slide-off weed guard. http://www.slideoffweedguard.com/

Tackle Tour website in the forums there is a custom rod section.

That can happen to any rod if the blank gets nicked or damaged somehow, I never judge a rod brand by a few videos or reviews about breakage. The only time I pay attention to that is if there is an overwhelming number or breakage problems and I haven't saw but just a few reports, the same thing with the original Duckett rods.

My pitching rod is a Fenwick Aetos 7'2" MH-XF, the extra fast is awesome to pitch with as long as you aren't using braid. Why is an extra fast action that is really stiff good for pitching? It works because the rod loads up very quick and it is only a small section that is loading so it makes for easy control but it is too stiff for braid. You would have to actually check the rod out if it an extra fast because there are extra fast tips that are softer but normally most worm and jig rods that are MH or H in power with an extra fast action are pretty stiff.