mnbassman23

Great read!

Hey Rockchalk congrats on the new setup! The next setup better have an Abu strapped on it though lol!

I'll play devils advocate here 7'6" MH F Personally if i'm fishing open water c-rigs or deep jigs I look at length as my friend. You pick up more line/slack if the fish is swimming towards you and also create more leverage on your hooksets for those long casts. On that note you can cast your lure farther with a longer rod as well. I also prefer flipping with a slightly longer rod even if it's not to a lot of cover. If you pitch more than flip than it probably does not matter, but if you flip a fair amount the longer rod will allow you to cover a greater distance. Also if you do get into some moderate to heavy cover from time to time the 7'6" will give you more leverage to get them out of the junk..

Agreed. Based on owning both the Gen1 and Gen2 rods, in the same models, I really don't think the Gen 2 rods are any faster. This is just my opinion though...

I have also fished the Recons a fair amount (715 and 796) both casting models and they are top notch in terms of sensitivity for what you pay. I would make sure if you are buying a new one that they are the Generation 2 models. I had the Gen. 1 models and broke the 715 after 2 month of use and the 796 on my 4th trip out. Neither of them had seen extensive use, but I believe they addressed these breakages issues with the Gen. 2 rods. Time will tell, but so far i have had no problems with my replacements rod. Also know that the Recons tend to be slightly more parabolic in action and fish a half to full power below their ratings (my H fishes more like a MH) IMO. I have not used a M1 so I cannot say for sure how they fish, but from what i've read they are faster in action compared to the recons.

Yes that would be a great choice. I have the 68mxf Avid that i use for 1/4-3/8oz jigs and its perfect. The ML should work great for the weights you listed.

I'll be grabbing some of those Beat Shads for sure. I like the grass pigs, but if these have action like the keitech's they will produce big time!

They do make larger trap style baits.. You just need to look in the muskie section lol (i'll send you a pm so I don't hijack this thread) As for me, I doubt i'd buy any of these new cranks for my waters, but i could see were they would have their place

Very well said! I choose my rods very similar to what K_Mac has stated in his first paragraph. He also made a great point that rod ratings do vary between different companies. For example, most rod companies that use a JDM style blank are going to be more parabolic and not as fast in action. It really does come down to trial and error until you find the right rod.

I really like this line. I used 20lb for pitching 3/8-3/4oz jigs and t-rigs last year and never had any real issues. Great knot strength, decent abrasion resistance, no line breakage issues, but it does have some memory once its been on the reel for any period of time... than again most fluoros in 20lb test will

X2 I use the same rod, same hook set, and the same jig. I will slow roll a swim jig out in deep weeds as well, but most often i'm in 5ft or less. Just remember if your using a light wire hook, which is preferred, to set your drag correctly so your not bending or straightening the hook.

Last trip of the season this year up here in MN.. a fellow member and I were fishing a lake with water temps between 36-38 degrees and we caught 4 fish on smaller 4" hard bodied swimbait worked slowly as a topwater. It was one of the last things we tried with the water temp being so cold, but fish were breaking the surface chasing bluegills and it worked...

Awesome post I literally was LOL Sadly I cannot help you, when i want something I tell myself the same things: I don't smoke, I drink very little (rarely go to bars), I do have a woman though (but she loves fishing and supports my fishing addiction)... I guess step one to an addiction is admitting you have a problem right??.. You're on the right track my man!

x2, rig in on a baitcaster and fish the nastiest cover you can find.

really depends on the fishes mood and time of year. My top three would be a 5" single tail grub, berkley havoc subwoofer, and a 5" soft swimbait (berkley havoc grass pig and RI skinny dipper).

I'm also a fan of Sunline Sniper. Their Super is pretty good as well at 10$ cheaper per spool, but it is stiffer and harder to cast.

X2 well said, this is why I use a high speed reel when pitching

I do not own either, but have read a lot about each rod. For the purposes your looking for I'd say the 795 would be a better pick, especially if your doing any punching. The extra length of the 795 will give you added leverage for getting those fish out of the heavy cover. Also it will give you a bit more range for flipping since the rods longer. I'm sure someone with more experience with each rod will chime in shortly

You have a good list going and people have brought up some good advice on what else to purchase. One thing i'll throw out there is depending on the cover you fish you may want to consider different types of Jigs. Flipping Jigs- Fishing around grass, cattails, reeds, boat docks, and wood. Football Jigs- Rocks, gravel, boulders, and sand. Hair Jigs- Great in cold water and also a great river smallmouth bait. Swim Jigs- Any place you'd fish a spinnerbait; really excels around any kind of weeds or grass. Not saying you have to get some of each, but depending on the types of cover your fishing I would purchase the jigs that excel in that cover. Color wise, match the forage and you are good to go!

It comes down to personal preference. Any reel with a strong drag will work. I usually use a Revo S or SX, both of which have 20lb+ drag system if I remember correctly.

One of my fishing partners tried a spool this past summer and did not like it. Maybe he got a bad spool, but it had significant memory and seemed to break off considerably more than other brands of fluoros with similar line diameters. He has now switched to Sunline (this is what I use as well) and for us it is considerably better. On a side note, I use to use Vicious copoly in the 15-20lb range and loved the stuff for pitching jigs and t-rigs. Than I ran into a few bad spools and was breaking off on a regular basis like there were weak spots throughout the spool. Thats why I say maybe he received a bad batch of the Elite Fluoro...

I use a 7'1" HF action rod with 30lb braid. This particular rod fishes more like a MHMF action rod though. I personally like a bit more parabolic action in my spinnerbait rod.

Usually i'm pitching moderate grass, pencil reeds, docks, or wood and in those circumstances I texas rig them with a 3/8-1/2 oz weight. If the cover is sparse i'll drop down to 3/16-1/4 oz. In heavy cover i'll bump up to a 3/4-1.25oz weight and peg it using a bobber stop. Hook wise I like a 4/0 straight shank hook.

X2, great all around info right here. Have a couple different trailers to try until the fish tell you what they want. It can/will vary everyday depending on the mood of the fish.

I just had a similar experience as well. I was given an Abu vendetta as a gift 2 years ago so I had no receipt. It broke this past July and I never even bothered to contact them. 2 weeks ago i decided what the heck might as well try and they were awesome to deal with over the phone. I sent them a picture of the broken rod on friday, called the ref number that they provided and by the following Wednesday the rod was at my door. A few years ago I also sent in a revo S that was a year past the warranty period and notified them to send me a bill/reference number and I would pay the charges via credit card. They fixed it no questions asked and for no cost to me. No doubt Abu has great customer service!