smalljaw67

The lures there brought back some memories, the first spinnerbait in the picture is an old Strike King models with ribbed blades, it originally had a rubber skirt, that was the bait that got me hooked on using spinnerbaits to the point I began building them myself. Spinnerbaits will work anytime but are best between spring and fall with water temps from the mid 50's on up. All you need to spruce them up is a new skirt and hone the hook and you'll be good to go. The buzzbait is a warm water deal, 60 degrees on up, mid to late spring right through the summer. Throw the jig away, it looks to be an early model with the first generation of imitation buck tail of some sort.

I agree with your review for the most part, I don't have the EXO but I do have 2 Smokes. I have a 2nd generation Revo Premier and when they introduced the 3rd generation I had the same feeling you did, it was like the made the reel from really good and solid to cheap, I won't buy a Gen 3 model. The Tatula is a reel I wanted to like but after using my Premier and then the 2 Smoke reels for so long it just feels like a brick to me, it also feel really wide but this is do to the way I palm a reel. I guess those that palm a reel in a way that the bulge from the ACS brakes on Quantum reels bothers them have no problem with the Tatula but those, like myself, who don't mind that bulge, have a hard time as it seems we hold the reel right where the Tatula gets wide on the top to accommodate the TWS. I don't think what you felt was gears grinding in the Revo and the EXO, what you felt was the same thing you feel in the Okuma reels, well at least the ones that had the elliptical gear deal going on, the reels were smooth but they had a "geared" feeling, I actually know anglers that like that.

If you go to Fishingskirts.com, Lure parts online, Barlows tackle, or Janns Netcraft you will see a lot of different colors. The best way to by is in 100 counts, you get the price down and don't just settle for 1 vendor, Lure parts online has a product called bio-silk that looks, feels, and acts like living rubber in the water but it is silicone so it won't melt but you can only get it there and the living image skirts, well fishing skirts has the best selection and price.

Bladed jig (chatterbait) slow rolled and the spinnerbait slow rolled are good ideas, the lipless crank was a good pick and the fact that you got bit tells you something but not all golf course ponds have fish, at least not a lot and if it is a pond that gets fished heavy it means many of the fish have been caught before and therefore, tough fishing. When the moving baits didn't produce I would have moved to either a finesse jig or a shaky head, one of those would get bit in pressured water.

Lews has the answer to your problem, their spinnerbait rod is getting a lot of use as a topwater rod, 6'10" MH-F with a soft tip.

I make my own jigs and pour several different head style using regular (vertical) and flay eye (horizontal) line tie and there is a reason for both. The reason you liked the Arky style jig is because the cover your fishing is exactly what it was designed for, flat eye hooks are often seen on football heads as well as other jigs designed to be used around rocks. The normal angle for flat eye hooks is around 45 to 60 degrees and what that does is it allows the jig to be dragged across the bottom and over rock and wood while keeping the knot up and away from the bottom and on football jigs it makes a great pivot point to allow the jig to be pulled into an upright position. I like an Arky jig for just about everything except thick weeds, my favorite flat eye jigs are a round head Eakins style jig, football jig, and I also like my shaky heads to incorporate a flat eye hook.

I'd go between a 2000 or 2500, the 3000 is ok if you plan on using 10 lb line regularly but 2500 is what I'd be looking at.

If you go to Captain Hooks discount Warehouse, you can get the Eagle Claw L2798BP for less than 11 cents if you buy 1000. That isn't the ordinary Eagle Claw, it is the laser sharp black platinum hook which I began using 2 years ago as they cost less and are actually better than the Mustads and they make just about all the styles for Do-it Molds. Now, shipping on that will be a little bit but it will only push the price to 13 cents, if that, I didn't calculate it but I based it off my last hook order. You aren't going to get any cheaper than that without a tax I.D. number.

I use my spinnerbait rod for chatterbaits too, I know there is a few anglers that use a moderate fast for chatterbaits and you can use that too but I don't have any hooking problems with a fast action so use what you have for the spinnerbait and don't worry unless you miss a lot of fish.

The number 1 reason for rod breakage while fishing is boat flipping fish. I made a post like this awhile back, I know a guy that was breaking rods and thought a better rod was what he needed and when that broke he couldn't figure it out. So, he gets a new rod and makes a video and sure enough the rod breaks and I told him the reason why. He caught a nice fish and he boat flipped it and the rod broke, when I told him it was wrong he said he watches the pros on T.V. do it all the time and there is the problem. Yes, with proper technique you can boat flip a fish with any rod but I will not do it, not even on small fish, so remember the next time you boat flip a 4 pounder and the rod snaps 6" below the tip, don't blame the rod, it wasn't designed to do that.

Are you talking about a spinnerbait? And you have a Do-it 1/2oz mold, which one???

The best is yet to come!!!! Good going on your catch and a few more will end up making you a spinnerbait freak like myself!! When the fish are done spawning and the beds have been empty for 2 weeks or so another spinnerbait technique comes into play, burning!!! When you burn a spinnerbait you reel it very fast, most baits will come up close to the surface but try to keep it down without having to stop, the burning technique seems to generate more violent strikes and bigger fish on average, and that is the stike that gets you hooked. Keep throwing that spinnerbait, that will work for the rest of the summer and long into the fall!!!

I have some older Cabelas rods that I really liked, I have an older XML that I used for throwing floating jerkbaits and smaller 1/4oz spinnerbaits, it is a 6'3" medium power with a fast action and it is still a really good rod. If you can wait until the XML goes on sale I'd grab one, I'm not sure how the newer ones differ with the blank but if the blank is even close to my older model you will have a pretty good rod.

Spinnerbaits are almost like jerkbaits when it comes to rod selection, the difference is instead of being an even split, most prefer the fast action rod. I bought a glass rod brand new with plastic on the cork, tags and even the bar code from the store, it was advertised as a "crank and spinnerbait" rod, way to soft for spinnerbaits but some anglers like a soft rod for those. I have a MH-MF rod that I have used to throw spinnerbaits with and while it worked I didn't like it and I'm guessing that the Denali will be ok, you just need to get used to using a softer rod.

I meant me, I sound like a broken record because I fell in love with the rods when they came out and I sound like a broken record for recommending this series all the time. I like to use better tackle and to make a long story short I ended up with cancer and as a result I'm now on a fixed income so I was really worried that I would end up sacrificing a lot of performance to be able to afford new rods unless I would limit my purchases. Around the time I was in the market I noticed Fenwick was marketing this Elite Tech series of rods and when they came out I decided the price was right and that at least the warranty was decent should it be a lousy rod. What happened was I found a rod that had an action that fits my style of fishing and it was also the first sub $200 rod that was really light, in fact it was lighter than my IMX and about that time I began to worry about the strength. My first trip out made my fears go away and it lead to me buying more and even upgrading to an Aetos, Fenwick actually made a rod that was better than the price point. I also had a Vendetta from abu Garcia and I like it, the rod fished beyond price point as well but it just isn't the same as the Elite Tech series. Sorry for the ramble.

Amazon is funny, you aren't getting a counterfit reel so don't worry about that. What I find funny is you will often get 1 day sales with great prices but then they are gone, and another little quirk I found is if you look at a specific product while signed in to your account everyday , you'll begin seeing sale prices on that item. For a month I was looking at a new T.V., a 3D Smart T.V., everyday for a month I checked Amazon for prices and I was getting emails which I would open and check out the price, the trick is being signed in, and one day I get a price I couldn't turn down, $110 off the normal. The same deal with a Fenwick Elite Tech rod, my 3rd one I got shipped for $77.49 but you have to look while signed in.

I agree 100% with crestliner, I'm in PA but same thing here, soft plastic jerkbaits aren't even thought about until you get close to 60 degrees and higher especially with largemouth. The other thing I noticed is that early on you need some clear water, the warmer it gets the less this becomes a factor as you can work it more aggressively. Stick with hard plastic, suspending jerkbaits until you get to 60 degrees, then try the fluke.

If I was using the heavier heads with beefier hooks then I would but most of my shaky head fishing is done with 1/16oz to 3/16oz heads with light wire hooks.

They don't make a 6'10" spinning rod in any power on the smallmouth series.

Broken record here again, an all purpose spinning rod in your price range screams Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth, 6'9" M-XF. I got it for shaky heads and light jigs and tubes and it has really done a great job and I found that flukes and senkos are easy to fish as well as drop shots, it really can do it all. I would also like to tell you to not be afraid of the extra fast action, it is that action which actually makes the rod so good because the medium power allows small baits to load the rod so you can really make good casts and it is one of the more sensitive sticks you'll find in the price range. I use mine when the water temps are low to throw Rapala Shad Raps and it does that quite well, and the build quality is spot on, something Fenwick seems to care about as all their sticks look really good.

I will often use both of those when fishing for river smallmouth but to me, they aren't even close to the same category. A grub is the original swim bait, is is a moving bait, basically a finesse reaction bait until you get into the larger sizes but you either cast and retrieve or you hop. The tube is a way different animal, you rig them Texas style or with an exposed jig head or an inside jig head and what you do depends on how it is rigged. The Texas rig you are either pitching, flipping, or casting to cover and employing a lift and drop, hop, or drag and the same deal for other rigging options only the places you throw them change, I never use a tube with a steady retrieve like I do with a grub. So for me I'm not deciding on which one I want to use but which one I NEED to use because I really can't use the grub to replace a tube in most situations that a tube would be the best choice.

There is one rod that I use and I've said it was the best reaction bait rod I ever used, it is the Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth casting rod, 6'10" MH-MF, it is exactly what you are looking for. I was disappointed when I first got it because I was hoping for a cranking rod but after I used it I fell in love with it to the point of needing two of them. I have 1 as my dedicated jerkbait rod and then I have one for fishing square bills, lipless cranks, and topwaters and it fishes them all fantastically!!! I even used it for spinnerbaits and chatterbaits and it that good as well but I do prefer a rod that is a little more stiff for those baits. What makes this rod so good is that it gives you control of the lure like a fast action rod and it is a medium heavy so it is stout but when you are fighting a fish, the rod will flex further down the blank almost like a medium power rod enabling you to land the fish instead of having the hooks pull out. I always used to use a medium power, fast action rod for those techniques and I would just go over the recommended lure weight but this rod is a medium heavy, it is light, if I round up it is 3.8oz and it allows me to rip lipless out of the weeds yet fight the fish and when the fish surges at the boat, all of a sudden the rod gives when you didn't think it would, like I said, it is the best reaction bait rod I ever used, and the best way I can describe it is that the rod is a medium heavy with a moderate fast action that makes it behave like a medium power, fast action rod, this is what you need. The only problem is some don't like the short grip behind the reel seat, to me it wasn't a problem and I like how the rod feels in hand but not everyone is the same but if you don't think it will bother you then it is in your budget, $129.99 but may be found for less, this rod should sell for $200+ but that is just my opinion.

The ML Tatula is a cranking rod, while it doesn't seem to be too much different from the medium on paper but in reality there is a lot of difference. From what I learned from others is that the medium and medium light are cranking rods with the medium light being a little softer with a full grip. Most medium light casting rods are fast action and can be used for various techniques and are rated at light 1/6oz to 3/8oz or 1/8oz to 5/16oz or along those lines and like DVT already stated, to get a casting reel to match a medium light casting rod it usually cost big bucks unless you are content at using the rod for baits that are at the upper end of the range but then why not just get the medium.

I like buying the finesse swim baits like the River Rock Striker or the Keitech Easy Shiner but I have 4 packs of the Storm Swim Shads, two packs of pearl and two packs of shad and let me tell you that they catch fish, period. The 3" will get numbers and is great for slow rolling around rip rap banks in 4' to 6' of water, the 4" is heavier, almost 1/2oz and this is the real killer. I take the 4" version and slow roll it in 10' to 12' of water on points or channel bends but a good way to get a reaction strike during the summer is to take that bait and burn it next to pads or weed beds, it is heavy enough to keep it down, these are cheap and very versatile and the hooks are pretty decent too, try them.

These are really good on suspended fish, I found that out 4 years ago when I didn't have a swarming hornet minnow spin head, we found fish suspending at 10' of 27' and 28' and the only thing they were hitting was my buddy's fluke on the swarming hornet head. The only thing I had was some 1/4oz scroungers and so I rigged a scrounger up with my fluke and it was game on, it worked very well for suspended fish, not as well as the hornet but good enough that I keep them in my bag during the summer.