smalljaw67

When you say something doesn't feel "right" are you sure it isn't the weight difference? I ask this as my first light weight casting reel was an Abu Garcia Revo Premier and I remember putting it on my custom rod and it felt really strange, but after using for a few trips I liked it, I've since added a Quantum Smoke 100 and 150 along with a Lews TP and I';m loving it to the point that when I try to use my Daiwa TD-X103HVA I can't, it is too heavy and just doesn't feel right, I'm so use to the lighter weights that 8 ounce reels now make me feel like I have a lead weight on the butt of my rod, I'm ruined. Try them out for a bit and see if they begin to fit better for you, if they don't you can always go to something else but give the lighter reels a try, you may end up like others who now have to have a light weight reel.

They are the original fluke bait, it is a copy of the Slug-O from Lunker City, these are the baits that started the soft jerkbait craze in the mid 80's. The reason companies that make fluke style baits also make a slug is because the behave differently, I have flukes and slug-o baits , to me they are almost entirely different in action, the fluke has more glide to it were the slug is a little more erratic, when you jerk a slug it will dart hard and almost stop and then slowly sink with a slight glide were as a fluke will sort of glide to one side or the other and slowly come to a stop as it sinks. On days the fish look at flukes or follow without hitting try the slug-o, I find that almost every time I have followers with a fluke the fish will end up taking a slug type bait as it looks more frantic when you work it.

You guys know better and that is why I felt it was right to post it and I'm also glad my friend stopped by. He is getting a new rod as it had a lifetime warranty and he explained to them what he did and they still covered it but told him the same thing I did. He called me and said he watched it on T.V. and figured that the more expensive the rod the lighter and stronger it was, up until now he used only ugly sticks. He did say that he could not believe how light the rod was, it took him over a dozen casts before he was able to stop over throwing his target but he didn't know that swinging in a fish would over bend the tip and cause it to break. If he didn't stop by what would have happened is it would end up on a website as a bad review of a rod that broke the first good fish caught on it and it is why, when I see reviews about rods being broke I often wonder if it wasn't someone trying to swing land a fish or if someone didn't high stick a fish, either way it does happen so the next time you feel the need to swing a fish to save 5 extra seconds and the rod suddenly fails, don't go to TW and write a scathing review of the rod because of your own actions. Just to be honest I've swung fish into the boat myself.

Most of us that have been fishing for a long time have experienced rods breaking, some from actual defects but most from user error and here is one that I think people see but don't realize is wrong but just an hour ago my friend stopped by and what happened is something I think all should know. My friend's birthday just came about and he decided he wanted to try a higher end rod so his wife asked me what would be a good rod and after bouncing around on the internet while discussing price, she decided to get him an I-Rod AIR casting rod because it was something not many around my area have and I told her they have a pretty good reputation. Well just a little over an hour ago my friend stops in and starts ranting about going back to tried and true ugly sticks screaming about how his rod broke and I felt bad but then a mutual friend that was with him had the event recorded on his smart phone so I took a look to see what happened. After watching the 2 minute video I started laughing and he looked ready to kill me as he asked what is so funny and I told him the rod broke because of his stupidity and he didn't understand so I explained it to him. What he did was catch a nice 3lb and change largemouth that he got to the side of the boat and the next thing he does is what caused the break, can you guess what he did??? If you said he used the rod to swing the fish in the boat you would be correct but he didn't just swing it in, he never held the mid section of the rod, he simply kept his hands at the handle and lifted the fish straight out of the water while the butt of the rod was around his waist. For those that see nothing wrong with this I'm going to tell you that while you can swing a fish into the boat, it isn't advisable as the rod blanks really aren't made for that. Yes, there are rods that are heavy powered that can swing car batteries but not anything in a medium power and an iRod MH is only rated to 3/8oz so it is a medium powered stick and he tried to swing a 3lb+ largemouth into the boat with it. The most important thing is that swinging a fish into the boat with any rod really is wrong, I have talked to custom builders as well as the fine folks at St. Croix and they told me that swinging fish of the side of the boat is one of the top 5 reasons for rod breakage and it is why blank designers try to design hoop strength into the rod blank because they know that while it is wrong you are still going to have guys do it, it is part of the sport and while they can make rods capable to do that they end up being heavy and less sensitive so you have to almost compromise strength for weight. I put this up here so the next time you swing even a 2 lb fish in the boat and the rod breaks at the tip, it wasn't the rods fault, it was never meant to do that and by doing it the rod flexed hard at a point in the blank that wasn't meant to be bent too far and it failed.

I fish rivers for smallmouth and the tiny torpedo along with the baby and the big torpedo all have legendary status among river smallie guys. They are a cross between a jump bait and a prop bait, the difference is you can do some neat stuff with the torpedo. After you make the cast give the bait a rip forward but not by pulling the rod overhead but off to the side like a sweep, then the next rip you sweep the rod to the other side, this make for a slow change of direction, sweep, pick up the slack and then sweep again, that is what works best for me. I have seen guys walk the bigger ones but the small ones all get ripped the same way you would a Dying Flutter. The Dying Flutter is a must have prop bait, a finesse Devils horse basically, the difference is it is round instead of oval and the sound is more like that of the torpedo, if I'm getting small ones on the torpedo I switch to the Dying Flutter and it usually works at getting the bigger fish to hit it.

I'm a huge fan of the new Fenwick elite Tech Smallmouth and Aetos rods, I own a couple of custom rods as well as some other high end rods but I can no longer afford to get high end rods and still have money left for other tackle. This money situation was killing me and I didn't know if I could ever find an affordable rod that performed like I wanted, well that was until the Elite Tech smallmouth series came out. I got the spinning rod, 6'9" M-XF first, I got it directly from Fenwick as it still wasn't available from retailers but if I waited the waters would be iced over and I would have had to wait a few months so I paid a little more but I wasn't disappointed. The first trip with the spinning rod blew me away, it was late October and we were catching light biters on a finesse shaky head in 26 feet of water using Silver Thread AN40 line in 8lb test and I had no problem feeling light bite or bottom...With mono yet. I then got the 6'10"MH-MF casting rod, this was going to be used for shallow cranks, maybe some mid depth stuff but once I had it on the water I just couldn't get over the action, here was a rod that had a fast tip, it was basically a fast action rod but as soon as I hooked up I was getting the fish near the side of the boat and it turned to make a run, I figured the hooks were going to pull but the rod gave up a little more than I thought it would and kept the fish pinned. That rod has replaced my G.Loomis JBR752C, and that isn't a knock on that rod, in fact I didn't think there was a finer jerkbait rod than that Loomis until I used the Fenwick. What makes it great is you have total control over the bait your fishing, to me it is important, especially with jerkbaits, I tried fishing them on cranking style rods and it was hard as I felt I had to wait on the rod before I could make another jerk and it would throw off my cadence but not this rod, it has the backbone and tip of a fast action rod but it has more forgiveness but not really parabolic, it is a true moderate fast. I had to get a 2nd one as I haven't found a better rod for lipless cranks, topwaters and square bills plus my favorite, jerkbaits!! I just got my Aetos casting rod, 7'2" MH-XF, the first time out I was pitching 5/16oz finesse jigs I make, thin Eakins type jigs, I was putting these jigs in little spots with ease and once again, excellent sensitivity as I was using 16lb copoly line and I was able to tell whether I was on wood or rock, I truly am happy, I seriously doubt you can get any better for less than $200 and just wait, the HMG was just redone with the SK2 reel seat along with a redesigned lighter blank and a lifetime warranty at $99.00, I'm going to grab one as a spinnerbait rod!!

I never considered the EXO just because the Smoke reels I have are just plain great, I consider them to be the best reel Quantum ever made but I haven't used an EXO so I can't tell you one way or another but based on the Smoke performance I wouldn't be afraid to try it.

I fish the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers a good bit, what you discovered is what happens a lot in rivers and that is the fish tend to move a lot. I was on the Juniata 2 weeks ago and we only managed 12 fish but most were over 14" with 2 other them over the 20" mark. Check your weather and find the NOAA website and look to see if you can find the stream gauge for the water you fish, look to see if the water is falling, rising, or holding steady, you will be able to tell as a solid line represents what the water was and currently is at followed by a dotted line showing the prediction, you can usually tell what the river is going to do 4 to 5 days in advance. If the water was falling and the weather is hot look for the fish to move away from slack or slow moving water and into deeper riffles, the riffles are important this time of year in shallow rivers as that is where the most oxygenated water is going to be, also look to deeper pools but only the ones with an eddy forming directly above or below as there has to be an area where food will get brought in but still have a place for the fish to lay without fighting current. If the water is rising due to rains look toward the deep cut banks, and where shallow meets deep with any type of current break such as a boulder, deadfall, or eddy but most times they will move to the bank. I hope this helps, good luck.

Oh do I feel the pain!!!!!!!!!!!! Try having a bait monkey that has a tackle making addiction........That thing can't even be caged and when he bites it is deep and does it bleed but it feels oh so good!!!!

Kistler knows how to build a rod, the big problem they had was once they got a taste of success they tried to go for big money and make a $300+ rod with a $30 dollar rod blank and it not only didn't make them money but the company is still feeling the affects of that decision 10 years later. The KLX should sell for a lot more, I don't own any Kistler rods but I'm friends with a few guys that have them and I have had a KLX in my hands, very nice rod indeed but the 1 year warranty isn't as scary to me as those that had warranty claims and the nightmare they had resolving them. I think the KLX would be priced at around $225 -$240 if Kistler was still a trusted brand but they had to keep the price low to get a lot of these rods out in peoples hands to spread the word about the great build and the excellent blank. The only problem I fear is Kistler will once again try to use cheap blanks, the original Helium LTA rods that were built on Batson blanks were awesome rods, went they went to the cheap blanks they began having tons of warranty claims as rods were breaking left and right and to slow the bleeding they kind of quit honoring the claims, they did it be not answering emails, and phone calls and when they did they dismissed a lot of claims that were legit just to keep from paying out and it cost them a ton of customers, my friend and fishing partner went through this to the point of even threatening legal action but it wasn't worth the cost but there is a customer who will never buy a Kistler again and he spends at least a thousand dollars a year on rods alone. I hope the KLX is what Kistler is about now, great blanks, great product, and great price along with great service and if that stays in place they will make new customers to replace all those they lost.

Rapala has been my favorite balsa bait for my entire fishing life but my recent success on the Bagleys Bang-O-Lure has made them a must have in my box now.

I make my own but the best pattern by a mile so far this season has been what I call "green gill" , the head is made using steel blue with watermelon on the top and the skirt colors are molting craw living image and a simple watermelon with blue flake.

Most of those in the southern U.S. will not have a use for that technique because it is a clear water technique only. I look at it as a super finesse type of jerkbait approach but even jerkbaits have more vibration and sound so while it does require clear water it doesn't have to be crystal clear like this seems to require. If you saw the lures used for that in videos it is quickly realized why the clear water is essential to it, sort or reminds me of the "I-motion" thing Jackall brought over here that hasn't taken off as it too requires clear water the likes of which we don't often and when we do other techniques like suspending jerkbaits, work much better. In places like Minnesota, Vermont, Maine, and North Dakota it will be something to use but for a lot of us our waters are too stained, I'm betting the spy-baiting technique would be killer in the Great Lakes.

I think a lot of bad spools of Tatsu were released, they same issue of frayed line has come up time and time again and don't take my word for it, go to Tackle Warehouse and take a look, it is the only line constanly offered on sale in every lb test they carry, the reason is the stuff has a reputation of having every 2nd or 3rd spool some gets as being really bad. A guy in our club swore by it until he got 4 spools that were giving him fits, there is something wrong somewhere but it is true, very good line when it is right but really bad when it isn't but by the looks of things you really take a chance on buying it.

You be better off to get a pack of Gene Larew sweet swimmers, or Keitech Easy Shiners or even the new Strike King KVD Swimmin Shiner. That is because the mighty bite is basically a soft plastic swimbait like the ones I mentioned except it has a marketing gimmick of a bite taken out that the fish will see as an easy meal. sorry but it is a gimmick. Fish, bass especially, feed on a combination of instinct and opportunity, does it see the bite mark??? We really don't know but bass inhale their prey and swallow, so it rarely sees this type of bite mark, instead an action that suggest wounded makes for a better presentation and the list of baits I gave you are different enough from a live baitfish that they produce a feeding response from fish extremely well with no gimmick just action and that is what you look for.

You found my secret weapon!!! I use the flash minnow in the early summer/late spring but right now it is the ARB series Rattlin' Rogue in clown, the Rapala Flat Rap, and the Bagleys Bang-O-Lure that I just started using this year and it has been impressive, in fact it is producing bigger fish than the rogue. Congrats on the 100th fish, what you are doing has sort of gone away in favor of deep cranking, crawling football jigs, and flipping and pitching but the shallow diving floating minnow is killer during the summer months. I only use the flash minnow as a sub surface jerkbait but the others I'll often fish ontop when conditions allow for it or the fish want it that way but floating minnows over gravel flats or weed beds can be deadly.

Lifetime warranty, Fenwick is good to deal with, the number for warranty claims is on the tag. How did you break the tip? I only want to know as I have 2 of the 6'10" MH-MF, I loved my first one so much that I needed a 2nd because I use that rod for square bills and topwaters and during the summer I have a square bill and topwater tied on at all times.

The old Mitchell reels were built like tanks, all you needed was a supply of bail springs for when they wore out and you were good to go. I have a Mitchell 300X Gold and it has a great drag system and to be honest it works fantastic, it is the reel my grandson uses on his Cabelas tourney trail rod for small spinnerbaits. The new 300 pro would be a Mitchell reel I would buy now to use for myself, I don't like to spend a ton on spinning reels as I only use them for fines techniques but I do like having something decent. My spinning reels right now are a Daiwa Tierra in the form of a Cabelas Tournament ZX, great buy when Daiwa was making their reels, and an Okuma Inspira, I got that reel on a steal as TW was blowing them out for $40, but normally $110 and a great performer but the new Mitchell looks like it would be a good buy.

If you wait another month you'll be in prime flipping season and ICAST products will be starting to show up and big discounts will be coming on older models. If you like the long rod to pitch which will also be a flipping stick the old model Fenwick HMG 7'6" H-F will be available right at the $100 dollar price point, it is a telescopic that reduced to around 7' but it feels great, you won't find many lifetime Warranty sticks for that. The Savvy is over priced anymore, most manufacturers off better components with better blanks at better prices, it is a good rod but others havce caught up and Dobyns makes you pay premium for name even though it is made over seas. The good thing is you have a lot of good sticks to choose from in your price range, 10 years ago you would have to pay $150 - $175 to get what is now being offered for sub $100. The Powell Diesel is a good rod too but if you prefer the Warranty you can get a Daiwa Procyon for like $70, it is pretty decent and carries a 5 year warranty and most of the rods that I would say you could pitch and flip with have extra fast actions.

I really like all the new Fenwick rods out right now, if you are in the price range of the Avid and Pinnacle I suggest you take a look at the Fenwick Aetos in a 6'8" MH-F, it is rated 1/4-3/4 lure weights so it is right in the sweet spot of what you are using. I have a 7'2" MH-XF Aetos and it is my new jig rod, incredibly light and sensitive for $180 but the best part is Fish USA has them on sale with free shipping for $139.99, a killer deal for a rod of that caliber. With that being said you really can't make a bad decision here as all the rods you mention are good ones, the only thing I would say is that if you want the Pinnacle, hold on for a bit because the new DHC7 is coming out so if you wait you are going to get a really good deal on the DHC5. Good luck on your choice.

First of all let me commend you on actually comparing the rods and making comments based on observation rather than speculation, great job. The only problem is you are comparing apples to oranges as the 3" difference in length is going to make a difference in casting difference and in other areas. The 6'8" M-MF out cast everything because the medium fast action, the rod loaded twice as much as the fast action which gave it more velocity so that test is out. The Prodigy is in its own right a pretty good rod for the price point, in fact I think Cabela's has high specs than other store brands for their rods as most of the Cabelas branded rods are pretty good. The only thing you need to worry about is what rod fits best for you and it isn't always going to be the most popular or even the most expensive. I passed on a G.Loomis IMX SJR722 and instead got the same rod in a GL3 and it wasn't because the GL3 was cheaper, it was because the reel seat on the GL3 was better and to me the slight difference in blank composition wasn't noticeable at all, I could not feel any more with the higher rated rod than I could with the less expensive model, it all comes down to what is best for you regardless of price or popularity.

Yep, Cabelas is 20 minutes from me and BPS is like 40 minutes and I drove to the BPS only to find a better selection at Cabelas, normally it isn't like that but in PA the Cabelas has a large selection or rods.

I agree with lmbfisherman, I've been on the bandwagon of these rods since they were released, in fact I wanted to try it so bad I got my first one direct from Fenwick as the retailers wouldn't have them before it was too cold to fish. Ever since that first one I was hooked, I have 2 spinning and 2 casting models and you aren't going to find a better rod for the price and you can get them for $99.99 shipped to your door from a few different online retailers. The reason for me liking the rod is that I own a few custom rods as well as some higher end rods and I could not believe the sensitivity and the crisp blank on a rod at this price point so get yourself a 6'9" M-XF and you'll be on your way.

After all your imput it would seem that after the jig hits the bottom you are getting hit, so there are 2 things that could be happening. The first thing that could be happening is something I call soft bottom response, this will happen with any head type even those that are stand up heads and what happens is the jig falls into soft sediment and with the 30 degree hook the line tie and knot actually get covered a bit by the sediment. When that occurs the fish inhales but because the jig is in soft muck it doesn't come straight up but gets turned sideways so you end up skin hooking the fish, it happens a lot with the EWG hook for some reason but it will happen with a round bend if the bottom is soft, a sideways hook set or reel set as Zona does with a football head will help. The other thing is the trailer itself, what happens a lot especially with paddle tail swim baits is the fish eats just the trailer leaving the head outside the mouth, when you set the hook you will get just a bit of skin on the lip, and it will happen with any 30 degree hook because the pull point is very straight. This is one of the reasons 60 degree hooks are now starting to show up on the swim jig scene as more and more anglers are using it with swim baits but I still prefer the 30 degree hook. Try this, when you let the bait drop do so on a semi slack line so that you have some tension and as soon as it hits bottom lift the rod tip up and begin the retrieve again, that will keep the head from getting in any muck and it will force the fish to move while trying to eat the bait which may help in him getting it deeper. Good luck.

I have 2 questions that will help you out, the first question is about the hook, is the hook a regular round bend or is it the EWG Mustad? The reason I ask is I make the same jig and I have some guys that love the EWG style hook and others that hate it so I use a round bend for those people. The guys that don't like it complain about losing fish like you are and the reason is the hookset. The thing about the poison tail is that it uses a 30 degree hook so you can swim it effectively but it also has a rocker head design so it is right at home on the bottom, but with the EWG style hook you want more of a sweep set, not directly vertical but off to the side. What happen with the EWG hook is the fish is hitting the trailer, when it inhales the jig it almost always rolls to the side so over the shoulder pull it out of the mouth with the hook eith skin hooking the corner of the mouth or coming out clean, just try the sideways sweep hookset and see if it helps.