pbizzle

I'd definitely look into the Ethos. There used to be a 7'10" cranking rod in the Ethos lineup, but I believe that it has been discontinued like the 7'6" flipping stick. The new Nano series will have a flipping model though, so maybe they'll add another deep cranking model in it.

I've been fishing my 7' Medium Moderate Ethos cranking rod pretty hard for about 6 months now with no problems. I really enjoy fishing it. I've been using it for everything from Bandit 100's, Rapala DT16's, and Rat-L-Traps.

Just got back from Academy and saw the new H2O Xpress Ethos Nano. What a great rod for the money. It's the highest priced rod in the H2O lineup at $100, but from the way it feels it's worth every penny. It has a split cork grip like the regular Ethos, but I REALLY liked the grip on this one. It fit in my hand very well. This rod also had a really nice reel seat. I'm not sure what it is, but I believe that it's a Fuji skeleton reel seat. Whatever it is it provides a TON of contact with the blank. It doesn't have a foregrip, but I prefer my rods to not have a foregrip. It allows me to put my index finger on the blank of the rod when fishing a jig or worm that I need to feel even the slightest bites. I believe that it's the same blank as the other Ethos rods, but it may be nicer. It has some very small micro guides, and they seem to be very high quality. I found the rod to be EXTREMELY light weight, and it would be an amazing combo if paired with the H2O Xpress Mystic. I'll list the different models that it comes in. I'm really glad to see some heavier actions in the new models. Casting: 6'6" Medium / Medium Fast 7' Medium / Medium Fast 6'6" Medium Heavy / Fast 7' Medium Heavy / Fast 7'2" Extra Heavy / Extra Fast 7'3" Heavy / Fast 7'9" Heavy / Fast Spinning: 6'8" Medium / Medium Fast 7'2" Medium Heavy / Fast http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress-ethos-nano-casting-rod/pid-997227?color=Gray&N=101394130 http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress-ethos-nano-spinning-rod/pid-998986

Sorry I didn't get to reply to this earlier. Basically magnetic brakes have always been a problem for me, and I can do just fine with my thumb. So why not REMOVE THE PROBLEM and have a great reel that I can fish more efficiently. Hootie was right, it's really just improving it for me.

I knew about turning them off, but my problem is hitting the knobs and turning them back on when I palm the reel. Then I don't realize that it's happened and it completely screws with me. That probably sounds like a stupid reason, but it's happened to me a lot. Maybe a knob like they use on the Daiwa reels where it's a lot smaller and not in the center would be better. The large dials that are used on most reels are another story though.

Went fishing last Saturday. First cast of the day - Bass Pro XTS Minnow - Chrome Black Back - 10" LMB Second cast of the day - Bass Pro XTS Minnow - Chrome Black Back - 20' OAK Also caught one on a white/chartreuse Big Bites crappie tube with a 1/16th oz. head.

I completely HATE magnetic brakes. I really have a hard time casting with them, and I loose a lot of distance when I'm not backslashing. I also dislike the external knobs that they come with, because with the way that I palm my reels they tend to get adjusted on accident. The final and probably largest reason I dislike them is because I forget to adjust the magnets, but with the centrifugal brakes I can set them and forget them. This is why I only use reels with centrifugal brakes and avoid magnetic and dual braking reels. I was thinking about picking up either the pro qualifier or carbonlite while they're on sale, but they have a dual cast control system. I was just curious if it would be okay if I removed the magnets from the sideplate. Can this affect performance in any way (besides for the obvious)?

All of them... There's no set standards for actions and powers, so there's really no way that we can say something is the "most" true.

Well I don't feel to bad about my year now. Went out Saturday and caught two dinks. These were only 1/4 pound fish. First was caught on a jerkbait and the second on a crappie tube (you'll go to desperate measures when even senkos won't catch fish).

I don't exactly have the nicest reels so I may view this differently than y'all, but I think a reel looks better with a case of boat rash.

That's what my boater said he would most likely be fishing. We're launching out of Riverpark , so we may even go down river towards Nickajack. I'm not planning on it though.

The tournament is actually not until the end of this month on the 29th. My boater said that we won't be fishing deep, so I'm expecting a max. depth of about 10ft. I may also try some swim baits, like Berkley's new ripple shad. I forgot to mention that there's a HUGE shad population here.

Alright, our next club tournament is going to launch underneath the Chickamauga Dam. There's a lot of rip rap in that part of the river, and I don't really know how to fish it. I've only caught fish using green pumpkin senkos down there. There will be a good bit of current and stained water, but I'm not sure what else to expect. I could probably also throw out some lipless cranks, sqaurebills, spinnerbaits, and the Tennessee rig (3 wire AL rig). My boater said that he would most likely be fishing tubes, and that we will probably be fishing pretty shallow. I don't like fishing the regular tubes, but I may try some fat ikas. How would you go about fishing this?

Yeah I know. From what I understand H2O reels are made by Daiwa, and the rods are made by All Star.

I guess I'll have to try them out. Thanks everybody.

Has any one used these? I've been known to use BPS XPS Magna hooks when ever I can't afford Owners or Gammies, but I've been very pleased with them. Are these about the same thing? They should be great if they're half as good as the Mettles and Ethos.

I don't know if Chickamauga has ever frozen over?

My name is Patrick and P-Bizzle was just something I did at lunch one day to make fun of all the guys at school who try to be "thug", but it's stuck with me. Now everyone at school calls me P-Bizzle.

I've looked around and decided that I either want a 6'8" MH XF, a 6'10" MH F, another 7'0" MH F, a 7'0" H F, or a 7'3" H XF. I'm really leaning towards the 7'0" MH F, because my bass club is not going to fish Nickajack that much this year. It's just a church club with a bunch of college guys in it so they can't afford the gas to haul their boats 45 minutes away. Chickamauga doesn't have nearly as much cover or mats as Nickajack.

I fish in a club as a co-angler, and I really hate bringing a lot of rods. I really want to keep the amount of rods I take to 4, but I need the rods to cover all of the techniques that I'm going to fish. Currently I have 3 rods that I fish, and these can do most of the things that I like to fish. 1.) 7' MH F Casting - 12LB or 15LB CXX or 50LB Spiderwire Stealth - Worms, jigs, spinnerbaits, etc. 2.)7' M M Casting - 12LB CXX - Crankbaits 3.)6'8" M F Spinning - 20LB Sufix 832 - Shaky heads, senkos, flukes, drop shot, topwaters, jerkbaits, etc I don't know what I should get next. My favorite technique is pitching 1/4 ounce jigs to boat docks and other shallow structure up to 10 feet, and I was going to get a rod just for that. I don't think that it would be versatile enough though, and I've had a hard time fishing heavier cover and structure with my current tackle. Now I'm considering a heavy action flipping stick. I think that it would allow me to fish frogs, punch mats, and flip heavier weight jigs and texas rigs. The one that I've been really looking at is a 7'11" H F. It's rated for 3/8 - 2 OZ but that's really just general guidelines. The only thing I don't really know about is that I don't flip heavier lures like that very much. I'm not quite sure what would be the best for me to get, and I would really appreciate anyone's input.

They feel nearly identical to the All Star Nano. The Nano is the same rod that Chris Lane won the Bassmaster Classic on.

If you're ever fishing inshore the shrimp in new penny are great for specks,reds, and flounder.

You said that you had luck with weightless stick worms in watermelon seed. I imagine that you were using a standard 5" stick worm, so you should try using a smaller 4" version. I usually have luck with curly tail worms, and as the fish get more finicky I'll go down in weight and if that doesn't work I'd use a smaller size. Based on the conditions you're faced with I would try a 6"-8" worm with an 1/8 or 3/16 ounce weight in either a green pumpkin or watermelon color. I'm partial to Netbait C-Macs, Berkley Power Worms, and Havoc Juice Worms. I'd also try some 6" or 4.5" Big Bite Squirrel Tail Worms in the color of your choice (I'd try a watermelon red flake) on a shaky head. There's no reason that they shouldn't be hitting a spinnerbait if you're fishing it slow enough, but they may not hit a full sized one. Try going down to an 1/8 ounce model like a Strike King Mini King. I'd try a chartreuse/white, chartreuse/white/blue, or a pure white. Zoom Super Flukes will most likely be one of the best lures to use, but when you buy a pack most of them will have bent tails. This is easy to fix though, because all that you need to do is boil the tails for 10-15 seconds. I would use a pearl white, and if that doesn't work I would try dipping the tails in a chartreuse dye like Spike It or JJ's Magic. Try multiple retrieves though because some days they'll want it in a walk the dog retrieve, a stop and go retrieve, the regular jerking retrieve, and sometimes they just want to hit one that is going in a steady straight line back to the boat. I actually caught my PB on a watermelon seed fluke that I dipped the tail in chartreuse and retrieved slowly in a straight line. You can also try throwing out a drop shot and slowly dragging it back to the boat. I hope that this helps.

Honestly the H2O Xpress Mettles are great for speckled trout and slot reds. They hold up great, and if anything is to go wrong they have an awesome warranty. I know I recommend them in like every thread, but you can't beat them for $60. The aluminum frame and centrifugal brakes are worth the $60 by themselves.

I'm 5'9", but I'm only 14 and still growing alot. The doctor says I should be around 6'3" by the time I stop growing, but hopefully I can get a new rod by then. Lol. I have some super long arms though, and somehow they make me hit the water or a dock more than most. It's either that or I'm really careless, but either way I still enjoy a shorter rod, although I practiced all day with my 7' and I feel a lot better with it.