Fireguyfrank58

Well, I have been fishing the same line for a 3-4 days of fishing and a dozen or so fish. I wanted to give the line a full try before I stripped it clean. As far as memory I think it has gotten better, seems like its gotten better just from use. I could be wrong though. One thing that helped me out the most was a kink believe it or not. After my first trip, and all its back lashes, apparently I had an unknown kink in the line fairly deep in. So on the second day I made a 30-40 yard of so cast and got hung up on a rock. I pulled a bit on the line and SNAP. Lost a good bit of what I had on the spool. I still had at least 3/4 of the reel with line. So I used it for the rest of the day with no problem and not a single backlash. Even on the longest casts I still have at least 1/4of the reel with line so I think Im good. Used it a few times since and casts a lot better like this, with zero problems. The big thing is that the Lake I am fishing is pretty mercy. I had one day that I think Fluoro was a big advantage, because the lake was super clear. I had my polarized glasses on and I could see rocks in the water 40-50 Ft out from shore I had never seen before. Most of the day just like today the water you can only see 2-3 Ft in murky water. For me I think the best choice in a braid. With the murky water 70-80 % of the time and Texas rigging rocks, sticks and grass, something in like Power Pro 50 would best suite my rigs. Im gonna pick up a Revo S and I may spool some Power Pro and give that a whirl. On a side note my Abu Veritas has been outstanding! Very sensitive and powerful. Next rod is gonna be an *** but it my be in Medium action for my Brush hogs and 1/4 oz. weight.

Thanks for all the advice once again guys. I may strip it off and call it a loss on that brand. I'll probably try 12 lb. in another brand, I do see why Fluoro is so good.

Well, after many days searching and reading articles I decided that I would try some fluorocarbon on an old bait caster reel I have that was just sitting around. I have been using spiderwire braid stealth on a Texas rig and have been having really good results. I wanted to see how it compares to braid since there are alot of pros to using it. I have to say It casts great, really strong, and ultra invisible, but man this line is stiff and has a lot of memory! I had a lot of back lashing on my reel, now it was 100% my doing along with some wind issues but I also think the memory and the stiffness make it to where you really have to be careful and feather. I tried Berkley Vanish in 17lb test on an old Diawa reel with my new Abu Veritas. I also tried a tungsten weight 1/4 oz. with my baby hogs and culprit 7.5" worms and I have to say the sensitivity was out of this world. I think I am gonna stick a Revo S on this rod so hopefully I can get it adjusted to where the back lash issues go away. On a side note, caught 3-2-3 lb. Largemouths and my wife finally got the wacky worm Senko down I was trying to teach her and caught 6 2-3 lb. Large mouth.

Thanks for the info! That helped me decide, that is the exact same Texas rig style of fishing I do. Same lures and all. I too am gonna try some tungsten and see if I like it. I like to feel everything I can.

Sweet setup, let me know how it performs for you. That's the same setup I want for my next Texas Rig. *** with a Lews T Pro. What setup specs did you get?

Just an update, I actually found a Veritas at Academy sports for 69 bucks on clearance. It was 7'3 MH, a little longer then I wanted but I figured for that price I couldn't beat it. I was gonna buy a *** but money was a bit tight. I think my second rod ill get an ***, I can't find a wiggle bad review on them. I slapped my Old Shimano Citia Bantam 200 I had on my Abu and headed to the lake. I really didn't like the the feel at first, which to me was crazy since I was coming from a old 5'6 Berkely lighting stick that is about 15 years old. I think what really through me was the reel, I have 2 old Bantams that I really like the feel of. Maybe it's just the old worm bearings. It took a while but I got used to it and like the rod pretty well. It casts a mile and hook sets are huge! It's a big change from those short pistol grip rods. I am gonna pick up a Abu S or STX to slap on it to see if that will make it better for me. Don't get me wrong when I get a bite it feels really sensative and nice solid taps but I guess it's just new to me. I did drop the hammer on one and landed a nice 3lb largemouth so all in all I was pleased. If money permits I may drop a little more and snag a Lews pro, or I may just put the Revo on this one and a Lews pro on a ***.

Here in TN the lack of a cold winter has the Mosquito population at a high right now. As soon as I step out of my truck I am bombarded with 15-20 little scoundrels. I have bee using Deep woods OFF on every piece of exposed skin and even on my shirts and jeans. They have even been biting through my hair!

I found a few Lews Tournament Pro 6:4:1 ration on Ebay with free shipping for right at 150$. I think I'll slap that baby on a Abu Garcia Veritas 7'0 MH Fast tip and start yank some hogs out of the lake.........hopefully. Better feel then my current setup by far.

I have just about decided on a Abu Garcia Veritas rod 7' Medium with fast action tip for my new Texas rig. Now I need help with a new reel. I was a loyal Shimano fan for years but have seen really good reviews on Abu Garcia REVO reels on here. I'm looking for something in the range of 100-150$

Thanks for the info so far, so as far as fast or extra fast would I notice much difference?

So for starter I wanted to say hello! Excellent website and forum. I have found a ton of useful information so far. As you can probably guess from my username I am a full time firefighter in my local town. A little fishing background, I have been fishing since I was about 5. My Father was a very good bass fisherman and taught me ho to use the Texas rig. He told me when I was little if I ever learned how to use it I would catch more and bigger fish then anything else. I didn't use it very much when I was younger but I began to use it in my 20's and really started to like it. My father died of cancer when I was 21, and with it for some reason the joy of fishing and the want to go. After many years (10-11) of layoff my wife talked me into taking her and my 6 and 7 year old children this past weekend. We did some bank fishing the first afternoon at a local lake honey hole I remembered. My wife caught one and I caught 3, one of which was a 3.5 lb. Largemouth. Fishing was slow but I really enjoyed myself so we went the next morning to the same spot. Produced 3 more fish and another 3 pounder. So now I started getting the bug, went again that night and just before dark landed a 4 lb. Largemouth just at dark. So needless to say my family and I are now enjoying fishing again and I am looking to upgrade some of my very old tackle So I use a Texas rig 98% of the time. I am using 2 Berkley Lighting rods that are very old. My go 2 is a 5'6 lightning rod, Medium action with 30 lb. Spider stealth braid with a baby brush hawg and a 3/0 Owner offset hook. Paired with a Shimano Bantam bait caster. I went to Bass Pro and was trying out some new rods after seeing this site recommend a 7'0 rod with fast of extra fast action. I found 2 I really liked one was an Abu Garcia Veritas, Medium Heavy 7'. I really liked the feel and found it on clearance for 69.99. The other was a Shimano Sellus 6'8 Medium heavy fast tip. Both of these rods felt amazing and ultra sensitive. I think it was 49.99 and the Extra fast was 59.99. I would really appreciate any advice on which rod to go with. I have a feeling that both with be perfect but am looking for advice from you guys with more experience. Thank ahead of time, Frank.