Teal

I really like both the standard and the Fat. I use the skinny ones most on the back of a jig or a spinnerbait. I like the Fat on a 4/0 weighted hook with a slow steady retrieve. Both baits are good on the arig. Tried them on scrounger heads and didn't produce as much as with a more conventional small swim trailer.

Rotflmbo. I love it. Somebody take the arch nemesis and Photoshop a ladel in his hand!

What is your budget

I'm a Lews guys, but in my opinion, the curado has set the bar industry wide for durable work horse reels that perform well. No frills and bells just flat out performance where it counts. I've had a couple of the Bs and I still have one .. right now with the sales on them. It would be a good reel to have. Can't go wrong with Shimano. Especially when Curado is available for 100 or less.

Abu Garcia Volitile. They have a few that will fit the bill, 100 bucks.

20 bucks says Sam mentions the Dogwoods blooming.

For what you do, it looks fine. That's a pretty versatile three rod set up

Wow...an elitist beer thread. Now I know what discrimination feels like. My taste in beer is not refined enough. Just picking, yall have a fun thread. I'm taking my budlight and going home.

The amount of drag doesn't really matter. If your reel is set correctly its going to be set between 3 and 5 lbs, unless u lock it down for the exception of super thick cover, punching or froggin. Either gear ratio is fine ..(6 or 7)

If your gonna use stickers, stick it on the reel seat and then mount the reel. Only take a second to rake the reel off. Use the little round price sticlers, you can find them in wal mart for a buck. I don't do that any more... Kinda flying by memory now

I would love to, unfortunately May and June are impossible months for me to get away from work. The wife was all for it, but my boss was not. Too much going on in the Vegetation and Tree Management world in those months.

I ordered this combo when they were both 25% off several weeks ago. It is really my first step into the high end gear arena after fish the last few years with more modest gear, like the Lews TP and Powell Endurance rods. I am a jig guy so I wanted my first shot at highly touted stuff to be in an all around jig rod. First impression- The Shimano Core 100 mg is light and it is smooth! It weighs about the same as a Team Lews Pro that I have. The core has a silkiness to the retrieve. It is a lot smoother is action than my several Lews TPs and has a slight edge on the Team Pro. (Not making this a reel competitionnbut I did want to reference to something). The DX is an absolutely stunning rod. I love the finish. The rod is noticeably lighter than the Powell's I own. I really like the tip of this rod just messing around in the shop. I spooled the reel with 14lb Sniper and paired the two. The combo is pretty darn light. They balance perfectly. The balance point was just above the reel seat. On to the fishing! I've been out on several short or half day trips with it and I was able to see what all the fuss was about. I went to an area I fish a lot with some deeper boat docks and I was able to fish this rod and my other jig rod a Powell 714/ Lews TP. On both rods I used both 3/8 and 1/2 jigs with typical rage craw trailers I was impressed with how well the core casts on the DX. I was able to roll cast and skip the lighter jigs under the docks with ease. Ok now to the fun part,....was it sensitive, it the 704 strong enough to fish 1/2oz jigs, ? Yes and yes! I only caught 5 fish on that rod but, it is flat out like having x ray vision. The rod feels good. I was able to get good hook sets and yank the fish out before they got me wrapped around poles. I fished about a few trees and got the same result. Rod has plenty of backbone and the reel was able to do its job too! Ok so would I buy another Core or DX. Maybe and Yes! I could tell a food difference with the rod over my Powell it is absolutely worth the extra hundred bucks. The Core is a phenomenal reel but o would have to catch it on sale again. I felt that differences in the Core and the Team Pro weren't that far apart to to justify the extra money. Team Pros can be had for 233 all day and most people can get a core for 370.. that's a 140 bucks for what I found to be a little difference. Now my team pros are still earning their dues, I know the Core will last me a lifetime if taken care of. That all said, if in see a pattern of the sales like that again I will absolutely capitalize. Hope this helps a few guys. And just remember, I'm not a pro, I'm not a rep, and not a fishing gear service guy, just a fisherman. Thanks guys. Edit- oh I forgot to mention, I love the handles on the Core far and away more than the handles and Eva crap on the Team Pro. And much more than the flat paddles of the TP. Its a lot more comfortable

Yes sir, if you don't mind rooming with a 100lb Belgian Malinois.

I would buy an ugly stick for the same price before I bought a carot stick.

Yo zuri has grown on me

Too many variables. On one jerkbait rod and three cranking rods, I have three different lines. I like mono for jerkbaits and topwater I use a rod with a xf taper so the extra elasticity of mono makes up for it and allows me a better hook set and helps me keep the fish pinned. That's what I like, many other accomplished fishermen on here are successful with something different. Flourocarbon for cranks. My med and deep crank rods, I have 10# spooled on now and I have gone between 12-8 I like the smaller diameter lines on deep and med divers because it makes it easier to get down to max depth or deeper. I have a rod just for shallow cranks, lipless cranks and some medium divers. The line selection for this rod was 16# because of all of the junk,cover, and rocks that I find my self fishing these baits through. This is just a mere baseline, a lot of guys do it slightly different. This works FOR ME and THE LAKES I FISH.

I use my spinning rods in spurts. And not for just light line techniques. To be perfectly honest a lot of times they become alternate rods for techniques that are hot at the moment. I really enjoy working jerkbaits and smaller topwaters on spinning gear. Although I have casting gear to for these techniques, ill tie on an alternative color or size, on spinning gear. I really like them for flukes and senkos too! And really what it is, is me creating a lighter line alternative...sometimes its the slight ajustment in line size or downsizing the bait. If I'm on a boat dock pattern I generally have a couple spinning rods with alternate lures, it may be a senko, it may be a rage rig, or the centipede or trick worm... I may have lighter line tied on, bit its hardly finnese fishing.

I've used them on a weighted hook skipping docks and they are pretty good. I really like them pitching and flipping them on 1/2 trig into heavy cover. I haven't bought any in a while but ill say theubare really versatile. I've even c rigged them with some success. I've tried punching them and the claws tend to grab ans wrap on weeds, but still good. A smoking rooster is good here

Too many three syllable words? Jk, I got confused a couple times and had to go back and start over. Lol.

Sorry for all of the spelling errors. RaiderNationFisher is rubbing off on me.

Everybody pretty much said everything I have to say, but I'm bored so I'm gonna say it anyways. 1. BE PREPARED. Make sure to check the boat over and check the livewell. The last thing you want is to be broke down. Make sure batteries are charged and trolling motor works. These are little things that have crept up and bitten me before. If you are using line that has been on the reel for a while. Make darn sure that you have checked for Knicks and dings and have cut some off of needed. I typically use all new leaders for tournament fishing and ill cut a few feet of the braid off. USE SHARP HOOKS! Either tie new ones on or take time to sharpen them before and during the day. HAVE A PLAN. I like to prefish when I can. Have a plan B. BRING A LUNCH AND EAT WHILE YOU RIDE. Somebody mentioned no wake zones. That's a good idea. 2. STAY FOCUSED AND DON'T GET RATTLED. Take what the fish give you and stick with YOUR PLAN UNTIL IT TIME TO ADJUST. If you lose a fish, or see others catching while your are not, you gotta stay confident and keep pushing. I think everybody else said it, don't listen to dock talk. I prefer to say my hellos and get on my boat and get ready. I don't want to hear anything that's gonna make me doubt what I plan to do. Keep an open mind, theres nothin wrong with adjustments. Knowing when to change something and when to stay the course is the difference in a food angler and a great one. But don't overthink it, it will just take away from your focus and confidence. 3.HAVE FUN. fishing is fun. No need to creat a mini drama in your head. Just go out and have a good time. Have fun, focus, and don't waste as Mich time was we normally do on a fun fishing day.

Haha, that's why I love good ol NC! No ice!

I'm with this guys. Generally I use swimbaits in high percentage areas with a good combination of desired cover and bottom structure. Typically if I'm on a good bite and I'm working an area that is feasible for the swimbaits, ill switch to the swimbait looking for a big bite. BUT THAT'S JUST ME. I really like Spro slow sinks. I have 4 of the 4 inch shad swimbaits in slow sink and o really like the versatility. To be more specific, I can run it high near the top but hold my rod tip up and cranking slowly and I can also get it down. I like it best running slow over submerged hydrilla and milfoil. I've had some success using swimbaits, but mainly smaller ones, I am by no means an expert. I would suggest sending a pm to speedbead or WRB. Both them are known for using swimbaits and catching huge fish. There are plenty of big bait users but I can recommend these two becuase I have had opportunities to msg them with questions before and they were quick and kind with responses.

I just stick to what I know and that is useing the drag and patience

Oh and I did manage to bang my prop up pretty bad. Dang rock just jumped up outta no where