TNBassin'

I say save up and get a Mettle from Academy. There are a few guys on here that love them, and reviews all around the internet have been impressive. Don't buy something to just buy something. Get the most for your money. If you buy a used reel, and it craps out or needs parts, then you have to go through the hassle of buying and installing those, when you could've just used that money to get a decent one right off the bat.

Tried to set the hook and forgot to reel in the slack first lol?? I went fishing with some buddies yesterday, and one of them did this twice and nearly did a back flip into the water both times times. I nearly peed my pants laughing and fell off my self.

I would use that Veritas for all plastics/jigs, and use the Jupiter for spinner baits, and maybe that Vendetta for lipless/mid diving cranks. The Veritas is very stiff for a MH, so jigs and tx rigs work pretty well on that. I'm assuming the Jupiter is more of a true MH so you could pretty throw whatever you wanted on that rod. The Vendetta being a medium and being an Abu rod, is a little stiffer than rated as well, but IMO would be a perfect lipless crank bait rod/square bill/mid depth rod. My advice would be to experiment and see what YOU like the feel of the best.

If you would have asked me a month ago, Abu. Now, I don't own any Revos after buying one Chronarch. The Chronarch must be a Gremlin, because I got one wet and that Chronarch turned into 3 Chronarchs. So for me, Shimano. Either way you can't go wrong though.

I've owned all of the Revos in the Gen 3 lineup except the Premier, and the STX was by far the best of the bunch. You can actually get that reel in an 8:0:1 if you want something even faster than a 7:1:1. The Infini Brake system on the STX also allows you to fine tune the reel to the lure weight, or wind conditions much better than the SX which is mag only. If you are just gonna use it frogging and you are comfortable with using a mag brake only reel, then I guess going with the SX would save you some money. Go over to Americanlegacyfishing.com and sign up for their newsletter, and they will send you a $25 off coupon via email so you could snag a new STX for $174.99 which is a steal.

Every fish feels like a 7 pounder lol.

Yes lol. We've been catching a bunch on lipless cranks here. Now I just gotta get used to that rod bending in half when I hook up lol.

I only have 3 swim jigs and I was gonna do a North Star order anyway, so I thought maybe I could have them make me some. I did make one already though but didn't throw it tonight. The crank bait bite was on.

Thanks for the suggestions on the Compre, but I'm really only looking at the Clarus. I'm going back to BPS in the morning and I'm gonna take my reel with to see how it balances out. If I don't like the feel, I guess I will pick up a 3rd Crucial.

Even though I had issues with the S, it was an awesome little reel. The STX is neck and neck with the Chronarch IMO.

I used to be a Revo man as well, then I bought a Chronarch lol.

Is it at least as sensitive as a Veritas? I'm not sure how 30 Ton graphite compares to IM8 graphite.

I have 2 Crucials, but I'm looking for another rod for my 3rd Chronarch and I don't really wanna shell out that kind of money for a Crucial again. I found a killer deal on a Clarus, but besides RockChalk, I haven't heard any feed back from those with this rod. I fondled one in BPS the other day which was a 7'2 MH XF and found it to be much tip heavier than a Crucial, but I'm sure it will balance out decently with the reel attached. Can I get some feedback from those with this rod so I can make my decision? Thanks.

You can rig the swim jig with a willow leaf blade. It's called the "switch blade jig", and it looks like I will be trying this soon.

I got some killer deals on AmericanLegacyFishing.com. Everything was on sale, including Shimano gear.

I have a lot of different brands, but if you crack open my worm binder I have more Rage Tail baits than anything. I have a ton of Zoom and Yum baits as well.

The Dick's in Knoxville has 2 things: Jack and Crap. If I go anywhere else besides BPS, it's Academy or Gander.

Stumbled upon this on a different site, and it seems like it would work pretty darn good. For those that don't know what it is, it's just a swim jig with with a willow leaf blade attached to the hook the same way you'd rig a trailer hook on a spinner bait. I think I'm gonna order a few of North Star's swim jigs and try this out. Or does anyone know if they sell their swim jigs with this option?

I'd go with a lipless crank, or a spinner bait. Love a spinner bait when it's windy with a little chop on the water.

Me and my wife watch a ton of fishing shows(yeah keeper right?)and she noticed that the pros sponsored by Abu still use the Gen 2 models. I think we spotted Ike using an STX in MLF when they were on Chataqua, but that's it. Seem to me like Abu would want these guys using the new gear to further promote the Revo line. How does sponsorship work when it comes to stuff like this? Do the companies give them leeway on what they wanna use?

Never used them, but that EXO looks sweet.

That's ok. I left my whole Abu family yesterday.

I would go with the Daiwa. I've heard those Clunn rods are pretty heavy but I've never held either one to compare. That ballistic looks sweet.

Not having a RES on your boat? Can't imagine.

I've got a buddy that has 10 Omens and has had no issues out of any of them. I have one and so far so good.