kickerfish1

12# Tatsu

I like them for the most part. They have a JDM look and IMO are pretty sensitive among competing similarly priced rod lines. The only complaints would be the are light in overall weight but the balance of my Recon is average at best. Also the hook keeper is in a bad spot and broke easily within a few months. Still a good rod for the money and the UMBX rods in the "classic" version look stunning. I would like to get my hands on a K2 production rod at some point when they are released though building on the blank would be very tempting.

A bait moving at a "normal clip" and then all of a sudden "moving fast" creates the illusion of prey fleeing. A fish has a moments notice to attack it before it gets away. Essentially it triggers their natural instints as a predator. Doing what you did wont always work nor will it always result in bigger fish. It may have been the right presentation for that given day and time. On the contrary some of my best fish have came while the bait was at rest and sitting for 10-15 seconds. I fish my jigs like this during this time of year through ice up.

I have more jig rods than I care to admit. Everyone is rigged with 12# Tatsu.

Outstanding. I didnt realize you serviced reels and dabbled with rod building. Sounds like a busy offseason. Post a few photos of your builds if you can, would love to see them.

Nice clean build Mike. The rod and reel pair nicely with the black and red theme.

Nice post! A very nice list of "tools".

Nice catch. The jig color combination is one of my favorites.

Mike gives a 10% discount to BR members...just include your user name in your correspondence with him. He would able to get you an appropriate quote just mention what you want done. Professional clean, part inspection, and reassemble, plus say supertuning, carbontex drag, and upgraded bearings. Am I reading your post correctly...you bought all those reels for $55? The TDZ series was the predecessor to the Steeze. Very nice reels.

I had 4 now I just have one rod left in the L & T series. A decent rod that is now reserved for ponds and friends to use. Great technology for its day but now they are very average. Overall a pretty decent rod.

Loved buying the bulk spools to use as backing. Very disappointing...

Bill Dance invented it!

Call, email, or send a pm to Mike. He will get back to you fast and can suggest what is popular as well as what may work in your local waters. Super nice guy to boot!

A jig or a drop shot but probably a jig if I had to pick just one.

No running for this guy. Bad knees and shin splints. I do some short distance sprinting, light plyos, and 3-4 days of gym workouts a week, plus 1-2 days of some sort of sport.

Your a bad man Goose! So many nice reels in such good shape. And maybe its just me but the cork on the rods look prestine and almost unused. If it wasn't for the reports and stories I would swear you were a collector only. By this time in the year most of the cork handles on my rods have some degree of soiling before they are cleaned during the winter.

The T3 isn't a reel I would pick for any cranking given its frame composition especially for mid to deep divers. I would get an aluminum frame reel personally...

The big uglies, the offensive line of the fish community! Nice catches fellas!

Looks like a nice slice of heaven!

Good stuff! The bottom 2 on the left look good and buggy, very tempting for a smallie and no trailer needed!

For a larger trailer I really like beaver style baits as whole like the SK rodent or RI beaver. These trailers create a bigger profile and also add more weight to the jig. Typically a brush or flipping style jig with an alien head is what I like them on. They also are much more aerodynamic resulting in much better casting distance. The only downside is the action isn't as lively as say a rage craw or paca craw.

You should have stayed on the ground longer and faked an injury or loss of breath. Chances are one of them was a nurse or CPR certified.

A very fair assessment!

In my hands and in the hands of many guys that fish the Champion Extremes and the Orochi XX rods the sensitivity is better on the Orochi XX rods. How much better I couldn't tell you but it is noticeable using 12# tatsu and a jig on the same bottom composition. Problem is everyone senses things differently so there will be variation among all 3 rod series in question. Until someone comes with a cut and dry weigh to measure sensitivity like say horsepower it will always vary among users.

I dont own the Phenix rod you are considering just a Recon 714 which doesnt help much. I do however own the Orochi XX EMTF and the shakey head spinning rod. The sensitivity of both are very good at the price point. Build quality is great and the filler issue isnt as bad as some make it out to be. I think the shakey head rod is outstanding for drop shot rigs and finesse presentations where the drop shot rod would be more of a one trick pony. My shakey head rod fishes a touch slower than most 3 powered spinning rods. I have heard nothing but good things about Phenix UMBX rods and sure they are terrific. The Megabass would allow you the opportunity to get your feet wet in the lower end exotic market without paying a fortune. Performance wise I am sure they would be close.