Drewski73

I wear a buff, longsleeve spf50 shirt, spf50 hat, and gloves. To me its just a lot easier than applying sunscreen 5 times a day. Also, the stuff I wear keeps me cooler than having my skin exposed. I also hate pouring chemicals all over myself.

If I had $150, and wanted a crankin reel, Id call Ron at Valley Sports and ask for pricing on a Curado I.

I won a new IMX in an online contest. Honestly, Im a little dissapointed in the rod and will probably sell it before fishing it again. I have the 894JWR, and I must be spoiled by my Dobyns because this thing is tip heavy, and no where near $300 sensitive. I will say this, I really like the tip, and action of the rod for pitching T-Rigs. But thats about the only positive I can find in that rod. With the Memorial Day sales upon us, buy a Champion swimbait rod for less money than the new IMX.

#1) Give yourself a break. You dont know how to do something youve never done before! The only person that expected you to be able to, is you. #2) Go outside when it isnt too windy, and there arent a ton of people around, and make a few hundred casts. Get comfy with the new setup BEFORE you try to land a frog in the perfect spot with it. I recently bought my first boat. I had never pitched before in my life. It was insanely frustrating to try to learn that while my buddy was slaying them. When I got home, I made thousands of pitches in my backyard. I still grab a rod a couple nights a week and pitch with it. Its still not 2nd nature, but its getting close! Youll get there! Just give yourself time.

Straight braid to a frog. Braid makes using treble hook topwaters like Zara Spooks a little tougher because the hooks tend to wrap up in thebraid for some people. Im not one of those people, I throw treble hooked topwaters on braid all the time with no issues. I do back of the drag when using treble hook baits, and lock it down when using a frog.

When you say sight fishing, do you mean target fishing? Like pitching at timber, rocks, reeds etc? Or do you mean sight fishing like pitching at bed fish or fry gaurders?

Brian, I dont know if you ever stroke flutter spoons, but my 804 also does that VERY well! I also pitch light (1/2-3/4oz) punch rigs with trailers into reeds with it. The length is killer in that application. Plus, it is an incredible C-Rig rod to boot. Its probably my favorite of the 7 different Dobyns I own. Ive fished 1/2 oz jigs on it a lot as well.

Ive got five 50E's and will buy 200I's from now on. Dont get me wrong I love my 50E's, but the I is just a better reel. Time will tell if its as tough as the E series.

I like my I a lot. At $180 its a game changer imo. I dont like mag breaks, so I cant comment compared to a Tatula. However, compared to a core 100, Ill take the Curado I, and I like my core pretty well. The Curado casts really well, Palms really well, is fairly smooth, and seems to have more power or torque when fighting a fish than other Shimanos I own. I havent opened mine up yet. Thats saying something because I always tweak my reels.

Hook in the top of the mouth EVERYTIME! I pretty much just fish the dredge series at this point. I think Ive had one fish throw this jig. Ever.

Carbon Tex washers a big upgrade in my opinion. Much smoother, no disintegrating like shimano stock drags. Theyre great.

I used Izorline braid for years in saltwater, and had a hard time liking anything else when I started bass fishing. So, I still fish Izorline mainly. I do have 2 reels spooled with smackdown and its really nice!

Man the new curados are really nice! I was not expecting it to be as good as it is. Fished it on my frog rod today and was really blown away by the casting distance, and smoothness. Like the new brakes a lot. I will be buying more of them! Havent fished the IMX yet, but I love the feel of the tip. It will be used to pitch lighter, smaller t-rigs into nasty places. Cant wait to use it!

The final determining factor for me is this. I like nice stuff. I work my tail off. My wife lets me buy nice stuff. Is there a big difference between a $60 rod and a $300 rod? Heck yeah there is! A massive difference in weight, balance, and sensitivity. Does that mean I catch more fish? Ill tell you this, since Ive upgraded my bottom contact rods to Dobyns DX's, I almost never get hung up. Why you ask? Because I know exactly what my bait is doing at all times. I can feel it coming into a pinch point before it gets pinched. Does that mean I catch more fish? I spend less time NOT FISHING because of it, and I do believe it is easier to hook a bass when you are fishing, and not re-tying, or trying to shake your jig out of a tree. I also believe I feel jig strikes that I used to miss, and set the hook before it gets spit out. THAT means I catch more fish!

You can also order online at shimano.com. Go to the us fishing site, then parts, then find your model number open the schematic and order the number that matches the picture.

TW finally got some Curados in stock apparently. My new rod and reel will be here Tuesday! Cant wait!

If theyre eating a rage toad, then use that! Trying to force feed fish a lure WE want them to eat is futile. Id fish a buzzbait in open water if they were eating a toad around cover.

2/0 Gammy ewg for a fluke. I like the almost suspending glide I get with this hook, and I dont miss many so Ive never changed.

I have no problems at all fishing shakey heads on baitcasting gear. Its all Ive ever used. I use 1/8 -3/8oz heads and anything from a 4" roboworm to a 10" Powerworm and everything in between. It works really well for me.

Tungsten Weight Force Bead Swivel Its really not all that much stuff.

30 or 50 lb braid depending on cover. Anywhere from 12 to 25 lb flouro depending on where Im throwing it. Alberto knot in between.

I moved from SoCal to South East Texas two years ago. I grew up fishing offshore in socal, and have a few hundred days long ranging under my belt. Ive fished the waters you fish, and now I fish here. I had 30 lb braid on all my rods when I started. Now I have 30lb on two rods (flukes/senkos and light T-rigs), and 50-65lb on everything else. The reason, I have to! These arent Calico in kelp, where 30lb braid cuts the kelp really well. These are hardwood trees! You need a chainsaw to cut them. I lost a few really nice fish in the trees, due to frayed braid and that was that. The picture that Catt posted above is what our lakes look like. Can you land fish with 20lb braid, sure. Will you lose more with 20lb than 65lb, absolutely. So for me, its a matter losing as few fish as possible.

I dont know. Are those little rage flanges on the antenae?

I cannot wait to get a hold of these!

I wouldve tried "stroking" that jig in deeper water. MAKE them eat it when theyre like that. If they think "crap hes getting away", they may eat it. Cast out, let it sit for 10 seconds without moving it, then shake it, then grab the butt of your rod with your reeling hand, and RIP it 2-3 feet up and off the bottom, then reapeat. Making it jump after shaking it, the next time you shake it, they think its getting ready to jump again. Ive caught a lot of fish doing this.