mnbassman23

With spinning tackle you will be fine with either line size, I usually do 20lb braid on mine. As for muskies, regardless of those 2 line sizes you are going to lose baits. I get bite off by northern and skis all the time with 50-65lb braid. Just part of the game.

Really comes down to personal preference both of those lengths will work. If you enjoy fishing longer rods then grab the 7'6". No downside to the 7'6" if your comfortable fishing it imo.

X2 It is naive to think it won't be broken at some point in time. I see it happening in my life time.

I have used the Fx2, 832, and SS8. Out of them I like Fx2 the most, then 832, and lastly SS8. If you added regular PP to the mix I would put it in second behind Fx2. You can't expect the Samurai to get many votes because not to many people use it on here due to the price.

Fishing jigs

Thanks Mark. I seen they were 36 on R2S but with the price jump thought maybe they were sold cheaper elsewhere. Guess I'll keep my eye out for some reviews and water testing this spring. Hopefully they have similar action to some of the higher $ larger baits. Even at 36 that's way better than 100+. Wouldn't feel so bad if/when that snot rocket bit me off.

Just got one before ice up. Stoked to throw it this spring. I've read a lot of good things about it.

How much did the S-wavers 200 cost? I must have been living in a hole when they were released. And does anyone know someone who has fished one?

Hudd 68 would be a great option. I am a big jig guy and actually enjoy fishing my 68. Mattlures U2 gill isn't a big bait, but would be another option. We have a lot of gills around here and I did well on the U2 last year. I'm really excited to fish the U2 this spring around the spawn.

Congrats on the wicked combo buddy!

Agreed. Any type of shallow cover and deep weed edges.

7'3" and 7'6"

x2 This is the only reason I haven't bought any more. No complaints on the hook itself. The non flippin version makes a good fluke/senko hook.

"There is no such thing, but your looking at it" No finer words have been spoken. The fact that comments have been disabled on the video is never a good sign.

It sure looks like the same bass in both pics to me as well. That was no small cat for sure. Matt might have to come out with a 12-15" catfish swimbait now . I bet one of his bullhead baits would do well in our area.

Found a video comparing the swimming action of the Savage gear glide swimmer, R2S s-waver, and a Gan Craft joint claw.

All those pics are awesome, but choking that kitty and pinning the trout was an A++

Yup usually around Memorial Day.

Tom- I am a straight braid kind of guy 90% of the time and my fishing partner is 100% braid. I fish mostly heavily weeded lakes and more times than not visibility is in the .5-3 foot range. Personally I am unsure and undecided on my stance of this topic. There are numerous dimensions of line that could cause a fish to become line shy. Lake type and confidence has me fishing mostly braid. I have a feeling that you have more insight to line shy bass than just the line I bolded in your statement above. You have a wealth of bass knowledge and if you would further your opinion i think a lot of us would appreciate it. You have posed a great question but not much of your thoughts on the matter. How many anglers on your lakes do you think run straight braid setups? If it is not that many than do these bass realize what braid is? How does it affect them? Why does it affect them? Is it the color/visibility issue? Is it the action it imparts on the lure by floating vs sinking of fluorocarbon? Does any type of heavier line vs lighter line cause bass to become more line shy, even if its Fluoro? If so what is the factor causing them to become line shy? Is it due to visibility, can they feel the line itself, is it the difference in lure action, rate of fall, etc etc etc. Every fish is different, every body of water is different, and peoples opinion differ. It's easy to say that bass are line shy, wether thats fact or marketing I'm not sure.

Lots of good recommendations so far. Couple other baits would be R2S S-waver, Bull Shad, Decoy Hydra tail, Savage gear glide swimmer, and Black Dog g2 shellcracker. The BD g2 shellcracker is only 4" but is a good bluegill profile wake bait if you fish lakes were bluegill are prevalent. Those baits range from 12-50 $.

x2

Fish them stock with no treble. That bait is small and the bass will inhale it.

If you read the fine print under the photo it says "Caught on April 1st".

I have this same problem with Drum, talk about a buzz kill. You got a good fight out of him at least.

Since it's a frozen tundra up here I will be watching the superbowl. If there was open water I'd be on the lake.