mjseverson24

nice pick up teal. Just an honest question here I have never used a dobyns rod, what makes them so much more liked than other brands. Is it superior graphite, better balance, better cork, eyes? none of the places around me carry them, so I cant go and play with one either. Hope I didnt jack your thread, just curious about the momentum this company has gained recently... Mitch

tgm that is probably the single worst post I have ever seen on this website. it was neither informative nor accurate, and it almost seemed angry. The BPS PQ is a good 100.00 dollar reel, but the curado is one of the most battle tested tournament quality reels ever made. I dont even own shimano casting reels, but I at least have respect for the top quality engineering and technology that was put into these reels. Also there are a lot of good sticks on here that you just called "fools", if you want people to take you serious and listen to your opinion I would suggest you not insult them... ok I am done... Mitch

Personally I would not do a jig/from combo, the reason is often times you will be fishing those two baits in the same area, and it is nice to throw frogs and then pick up a different rod and be able to just pitch a jig. I woul use a 6'6" - 7' MH like a veritas rod that is a little stiffer than the actual rating on the rod. really though if you like frogs I would get a designated set up. Mitch

they are both great reels for their price range, I think the new cabelas version of the exceller with the mag z is also a good option. its a coin flip for me, i guess the deciding factor is the pq is an easier reel to cast without backlashes, but i think the daiwa will have better cast performance assuming you are a relatively experienced caster. Mitch

I have a few pretty interesting stories, the most recent being last fall (september) fishing the tournament of champion on leech lake in MN. our fisrst spon in the morning was a secluded spot on the northern most section of the lake. this area of the lake is surrounded by a protected state forest and while fish frogs and jigs in the wild rice fields and bull rush (tulies). Shortly after getting to the spot i hooked and caught about a 2.5 lb largie when we started hearing some rustling coming from the shoreline area, when i looked up a huge black wolf was less than 75 ft from the boat was standing on the shoreline huffing. The wolf then let out a very loud howl and over the next 1/2 hour it followed us up down the shoreline as we were casting. He never made an aggressive move towards the boat, but it was still a litte uneasy having him so close. on the otherhand it was a magnificent creature and a true blessing to have witnessed the animal in its natural setting. The next very interesting encounter was on Lake Mille lacs in MN it is one of the largest non great lakes in the US. I am out prefishing a walleye tournament with a friend, in his ranger 620 VS. this was the only prefishing opportunity for him so we went out even though the weather was pretty iffy. we were catching fish on the north end with moderate wind and waves, but there was an approching storm from the west comming across the north half of the lake, so we headed south about 8 miles to avoid some of the rough weather. once we were down south the storm slowly took a turn down the lake then exploded with 50+ MPH wind, it did not take long till we were in 5 ft constant waves (still catching fish) finally we decided to head in back up north against the wind to land the boat. They say the ranger has the driest ride on the water, well with as many waves that we speared right through the middle having them come up over the bow I shure would not have wanted to be in a boat known for letting you get a little wet. thankfully we made it back to the marina without hurting ourselves or the boat. Mitch

for jigs and plastics I would go with a7'2" MH/XF shimano crucial ($150.00) and get a good deal in the near future on a curado G7, or the daiwa t3-B or tatula type R. for crankbaits I would go with either a kvd cranking rod, or the shimano compre reaction series rods for about $100.00 then pick up either a lews BB1 or a curado G6 or 5 on sale again. for topwater and jerkbaits I would go with the 6'8 st croix mojo bass jerkbait/ topwater rod, and pait it with either the curado or a lews tournament MG in the 6:1 or 7:1 ratios. In my opinion I would not spend the cash on those higher end reels right away, I would invest that money on another rod and reel for frogs or a-rigs or c-rigs or just get another jig setup. Mitch

for medium to lighter cover, i like fast for heavier cover i like XF. mitch

if it is a metal sideplate you should be able to use the smaller drill bit method to get it out, if it is a graphite side plate i dont have a clue. Mitch

Being from the north and not really fishing any of the southern reservoirs and not using the southern terminology for structure I would say that on this picture you have 2 primary points, the two that are highlighted in red. I say these are primary because they are a part of the first break lines coming from the shore. The yellow highlighted region I would consider to be the secondary point as it is a part of the secondary break line system going from 20' on top and falling to 30+ ft on the bottom. I would assume that most from the southern and or reservoir country would disagree with my terminology on this, as it has nothing to do with main channels and or feeder creeks. that being said up north we use similar terminology and phraseology to describe different situations. Mitch

1) 1 X 5" watermelon and pearl senko with an o-ring. 2) 2 X GP red flake strike king rodents. 3) 1 X 3/4 oz. strike king bottom dweller spinnerbait in bluegill. 4) 1 X 1 oz. strike king bottom dweller in sexy shad. 5) 1 X custom 1/2 oz swimjig with havoc subwoofer trailer some kind of white combo. 6) 1 X custom 3/8 oz black/blue flipping jig with rage craw chunk trailer. 7) 1 X 1/2 oz. strike king burner spinner bait in white. 8) 1 X black and yellow kvd frog. 9) 1 X 1/4 oz. custom flipping jig in bluegill pattern with paca chunk sr. This would work for most lakes I fish, but i would have to get creative... Mitch

They way a country mile was described to me was the distance between roads when you get out in the farm lands or country. it was said that the plots of land were originally devided into square miles give or take... when it comes to fishing I think anything over about 50 yds would be a very long cast and or a "country mile" that being said casting a weightless senko 25 yards is heck of a cast unless a strong tail wind. especially with casting equipment. Mitch

Tonka is an awesome lake, especially if you live near the metro. It has every kind of cover and structure all in one package. So many awesome lakes in MN cant wait for open water agin. Mitch

I have a few triumphs, a few mojo's, and one premier. I fish the triumphs and mojo's a lot, they are great rods for the price, the premier doesnt get a lot of love, I would probabily not opt for the premier again and instead get the triumph or mojo. that being said the premier is a great rod just not when the others are more affordable. Mitch

you can find the abu verdict 6'6" M/F on some places for as low as $60.00 shipped. I just picked up a 7' M/F for light jigs and t-rigs. Mitch

I guess I am on the other side of the argument. I find that free spool time greatly increases pitching performance of a reel, also this will make casting more accurate as less energy is needed to cast the same distance, making the whole process more easily repeatable and predictable. there are only a few instances where casting distance can equate to more fish, the first deep crankbaits, the second A-rigs, the third spinnerbaits, the fourth footbal jigs, the fifth c-rigs and so on... The point is the longer the cast with a search type bait the better you can actually search for fish. now combine a long cast with good fishing knowledge and the added distance could make a noticeable difference in productivity. Mitch

I do have some quantum reels, I have not tried the smoke reels but they seem very nice, I have the kinetics, energy, and catalysts and I really like all of them. No issues from these reels at all. I like how they are aluminum on both the frame and gear side cover. most brands you have to get well up over the 150 range to get that feature. Mitch

1 X 6'6", 3 X 7', 2 X 7'2", 1 X 7'6", 1 X 7'11". these cover rods for both jigs and t-rigs. Mitch

I would definately get the new cumara if you dont mind the money increase, the HM1 blank is pretty sweet, the reel seat in my opinion is also very nice, I wish the crucial and compre had the same designed handle. That being said the crucial is an awesome rod as well. Mitch

Either Lews or Quantum, Shimano has great reels, but they are not in my opinion the best bang for your buck. Personally I am switching most of my reels to daiwa and quantum. I like the tatula and t3 platforms for daiwa and the kinetic, energy, and catalyst for quantum. The lews reels are great value as well the bb1, tournament mg and the superduty are great buys. Mitch

I use the KVD's in both 1.5 and 2.5, and the rapala dt-3 flat. Mitch

The kvd frogs are my favorite frogs on the market, and the black and yellow is one of my best producers year in and year out. I typically use black or very dark colors in stained water and more of the natural/greens and browns for cleaner water. Mitch

You are definitely going to want a reel with metal frame and gear sideplates punching puts a lot of strain on the gear system. that being said the quantum accurist and catalyst are good options around that 100 dollar range. The tatula seems to be a beast of a reel I would not hesitate to use that for punching, honestly though the best punch reel I have used is the ardent flipping reels the F-700 and F-500. the lews line up is really nice with the super sized handles. Mitch

my favorites... 1) hollow body Frogs 2) t-rig/jig 3) dropshot 4) spinnerbait 5) crankbait lol I guess I like them all, each lake I fish certain techniques really shine. I would say that my least favorite method is Punching, Mitch

I switched some of my flipping reels to the T3-B when TW had them for 125, I went with the 8:1 ratio and upgraded the bearing with hawgtech spool bearings. these seem to be great reels for pitching lighter baits, the reels I use for moderate to heavy jigs and rigs is the lews tournament MG and the quantum kinetic both with the HT bearings. Mitch

The best crankbait fisherman on the planet (KVD) uses a mix of glass and graphite rod, I think the composite is also the way to go, that being said I do have some just glass rods and some just graphite rods that i use for cranking, but most are a combination. Mitch