War Eagle 44

17-25# lines 1/4-1-1/4oz lure rating Fast action

I only have one 50 size Shimano at the moment, a Curado 51E but I'm right in line with the other guys. It can handle anything you want to use it for, its only limiting factor being line capacity. They are almost exactly the same reel. Built with the same parts, using the same molds to make the parts, in the same factory. No worries at all between the two. Pick which color you like best and go for it. I personally like the dark green of the Curado best but that's up to each person to decide for themselves. Good luck.

I don't have any experience with the new model GLX rods but I do however own the now "old" GLX flip/punch rod. It's the BCFR 954 7'11" rod and I can tell you it's a beast. I don't use it for anything but flipping heavy grass. If that's what you plan to primarily use it for then it's a great choice. If however you are wanting to use it for other things I'd suggest going with the other rod you like. The 7'11" rods are only meant for one thing, at least this is the case with the older version.

A Citica G IS IN NO WAY a better reel than a Curado DHSV, period. I have one DHSV and love it, I wish I'd have purchased four or five when they had them on sale right before the E series came out. In my opinion they're the best series of Curado's so far. I'd pay the $150 if I were you but it wouldn't hurt to try and get it cheaper.

I own 5 Powell rods and I'm in agreement with you here, they're great rods for the money. I would have given serious thought to adding the Powell umbrella rig rod to my arsenal if it was in the Max family of rods but I just can't take the purple/pink coloring on the Endurance line. However I have NO doubt about the quality or performance you'll get if you decide to go with Powell.

99% of my KVD baits are the 1.5 size and I always go with a #2 on them. I haven't been able to tell any difference in the baits action and sure haven't had any problems getting bites. I was just curious if you have any special reason you don't go with a #2 on the 1.5's?

Like I mentioned in my first post the fish doesn't have to be a monster to bend hooks. 3 pound spots bend cheap hooks no problem, that's how I learned my lesson.

I just picked up a new Cumara A umbrella rig rod not to long ago and I've been very very pleased with it so far. It's really sensitive, light, and once I got familiar with how it loads with an A-Rig tied on it's a great caster. I've only tried a hand full of baits on it so far but a 3/4-1 oz jighead and plastic will fish great on these rods in my (limited) opinion. I plan to use 1 oz scroungerheads with magnum flukes in the middle of summer on this rod as well so I'm planning very similar things as what you're looking for. I'm sure the Crucial would be a perfectly good rod for these purposes as well, just not quite as light.

I've personally had a 3 pound spot bend the factory hooks so thats why I always change them before fishing with one. I've never had a problem with the KVD Mustads and therefore I've put them on the majority of my crankbaits. I have more confidence in the Mustads so I have more confidence in the bait I've put them on which in my mind leads me to fish the bait more effectively. Could be nothing, could be something??

I can't believe I'm the only guy who thinks Tommy Biffle is going to take this one!! I also would like to see Shaw win one. He's been doing it so long I'd just like to see him get at least one before he calls it a career. It wouldn't bother me if Hackney won either.

The one I tried yesterday was the Tennessee Shad color, though it doesn't look much like a shad to me. It doesn't really look like anything in the pond either for that matter but I guess it does somewhat look a little like a Bluegill maybe. The action was good though so I'm looking forward to trying the more "shad" colored ones at the lake. I'm going to try and get out tomorrow so I may try one then.

I got a chance to fish one today in a pond close to my house and I love the subtle action of these baits! The wind was blowing really hard here today so I didn't stay that long and couldn't fish it nearly as slowly as I wanted but I did get my first look at its action and I'm really excited to use them at the lake soon. I was using the smaller version, 4" I think on a 4/0 Owner Beast 1/8oz hook.

Shimano here. Most of my personal experience is with Daiwa and, of course, Shimano. After owning numerous high end reels from both companies I decided I liked Shimano the best, I just simply enjoy fishing with their reels. Not that I think they're a major step up in quality from Daiwa, they're not, Daiwa makes excellent gear. I just have a more enjoyable day out fishing with my Shimano gear. I know there are some guys that think just because it says Shimano on the side that automatically means it's the best, I don't look at it this way and I certainly don't look down on other guys tackle just because they prefer a different brand than I do. I have two different fishing buddies that have and enjoy fishing with Quantum reels. One guy ONLY owns Quantum reels. In all the trips I've fished with these two guys I've not witnessed either guy have a single problem out of his gear. At the end of the day if you enjoy using your gear, whatever brand it happens to be thats all that matters. Fishing is suppose to be fun and enjoyable. Sorry to go on way more than needed to answer the question.

I hate to hear that people aren't liking the action of these baits, I picked up 6 packs a few weeks ago but I've not gotten around to trying them yet. I hope I'm not to let down because I was fairly excited about these things. Bluebasser86, your post gives me some hope, I planned to fish mine like you are minus the belly treble. I'm going to have to try them soon.

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I'm not exactly sure on the sizes but I've always been 100% satisfied with Owner or Spro rings.

kickerfish1 pretty much nailed it, all I'll add is the Core will sit much lower on the reel seat and to me is more comfortable and easier to cast because of it.

I'm thinking it said early April.

Well I LOVE to flip/punch heavy grass so this is exactly the type of tournament I was looking for but I understand that not everyone likes this style of fishing. So maybe it will be a little flip fishing and a little of something else that other guys want to watch. Either way I'm looking forward to it and I hope everyone here enjoys it as well.

I thought I read somewhere that the next event is on a small lake in Florida. Anyone else hear that? Anyway I love flipping and pitching so it didn't bother me to watch them fish all those docks over and over. Denny really did put on a show, wow.

I don't have any experience with St Croix rods whatsoever but I will tell you my opinion of a "general guideline" if you will. For the rod to fish the docks with I'd try to get a MH flipping rod, something say 7'6" to 8'. I don't really know the water clarity situation there but if it's mostly clear I'd go with 20# fluoro. The next rod you could get something in a 7' to 7-1/2' range MH to H and it would fish Texas & Carolina rigs and bigger spinnerbais ok but I think you should get a rod specifically for crankbaits. Also a 7' or longer rod just with an action suited to treble hook lures. Like I said this is just a general guide to help you get started, you can go from here on your own, with the help of everyone else here of course.

If I had to narrow down my plastics selection I could get by fine with baits from just Zoom and NetBait. I use numerous baits from a lot of different companies though so trying to put my finger on one would be almost impossible. Time of year affects which plastics I throw so it would always be changing with the seasons.

Well I use greenpumpkin but yeah I dye the claws in chartreuse JJ's every time I use them. They are awesome little baits! I did get out today for a little fishing but I didn't do much grass flipping. They seemed to be more so in the brush today so I yanked a few out with a 3/8 Dirty Jigs no jack in Alabama Craw color with a greenpumpkin Rage Craw trailer. Picked up one more on a KVD 1.5 right before dark.

Yes they are pretty effective on the spots here as well. 90% of the time I just t-rig them with a light weight and go to work, the spots just love these little things when fished around rock. I always use Green Pumpkin with the claws dyed in chartreuse JJ's, of course. I've not wet this jig combo yet but I like the way they look together as well. I also agree that the color, action, and durability of the D-Bomb is very good but I'd like to also add I'm very fond of the scent of these baits. I'm a firm believer that scent adds to a plastics effectiveness.

Half ounce Dirty Jigs No Jack in Threadfin Shad is probably my favorite currently. My next choice is Dirty Jigs 1/4 Alabama Bream I've onlyt thrown this one once or twice so far but it looks really good in the water. It's also a half ounce Dirty Jigs. I think the color is Green Sunfish or something like that. This isn't the best pic it doesn't look nearly as orange in the water as it does here. To get a little better idea on its color, thats a Keitech Swing Impact Fat trailer in their Pro Staff Special color. Look them up and you'll get a much better idea of the color they match perfectly.