PGA Dropout

I throw all of those things on braid. If you're going for swim jigs and traps in grass or heavy cover, maybe a 735 for variety?

I would probably throw spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, swim jigs, squarebills, and lipless on that 734 Savvy. They're not terribly fast if my 703 is any indication. However it is likely that both the bass and cover are nastier in AL than MI.

Thanks for the side by side. This sort of changes my opinion about not wanting one and/or waiting for a 50.

You can probably find a second hand curado 50e for $130 or so. If you're looking to throw small pointers on a budget, I believe it is the best option.

Got out to the big Cabela's in Dundee over the weekend. I got a couple jerkbaits and a Live Target walking frog on clearance. Went to a Great Lakes brewery for dinner afterwards. Ribs for me and a salad + brown ale for the vegetarian. Ribs were mediocre (I prefer a rub over sauce) but the fries were excellent.

Thumbs up! I'm probably going to do the same thing at the end of March. Our season starts late up here.

Sounds like you got a lemon or something. I used a MH *** for frogging last summer and I was impressed by the rod's power and durability. It handled my Bill Dance hooksets quite well.

I think at least six of the Friday the 13th's are watchable. Three movies into Nightmare on Elm Street and uuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh. Honorable mention for Jason X being the best movie like, ever. It includes some of the best one-liners in terrible horror movie history and a cameo by David Cronenberg, who makes sweet movies himself. Short version: Jason.

I'd take a Premier with a 6930 on it. I might go down to ML power with St. Croixs. A Medium St. Croix is a pretty strong stick.

I would say graphite MH F in a 6'8"-7' length. I would personally not throw squarebills, lipless, or topwaters on a moderate action glass rod.

If I must use mono on a spinning reel, I use Sufix Elite or Stren original. I think you should check out the Bass Pro XPS fluoro, but that's sort of outside the scope of your question.

I like straight braid for jerkbaits. Many people use mono as well.

I have a Smoke that I really like for some things. I'm not a big fan of the braking. It feels like the choice is either no brakes or all the brakes. However for things like 1/2 oz traps or pike spoons, it is one heck of a caster. Nice and light, too.

I would see what Ron from Valley Sports could do for you on a Tatula. I don't think the Type R is worth the price from what I have read. I have Chronarchs and I like them but if you want to buy a new Shimano, wait for the Curado I. No harm in having the latest and greatest, right?

Shimano Compre 6'8" MXF is right at $99. If you can't get Fenwicks or Omens, the Compre would be my suggestion.

Some people like an XF for their topwater duty. If you're going St. Croix, 6'8" MXF is where I would start. Avids are probably the way to go, though the Mojo Wacky gets a lot of good press. If you're looking second-hand or interested in spending a little more, the Legend Tournament Bass rods are quite nice.

Has the show gotten better since seasons one and two?

I am surprised that the Monkeys have not joined forces to get you to buy both reels.

In my experience, ***'s tend to prefer lighter reels. I'm with you on your pairings so far.

I am interested to see if there will be a 50/51I at some point.

Probably Medium/Mod-Fast. 6'10" would sound about right to me, but I'm on the tall side. Maybe a light braid, 4-6 lb. diameter. I don't imagine that you're going to be attacking any sort of serious cover here. I would probably throw the cranks you mentioned on a lighter casting rod, but that's just my preference.

You'll need to be more specific with your planned techniques and what you're upgrading from, etc. Out of the mix you've mentioned, I like the Crucial but no one knows very much about the Ghosts yet (they're quite new).

If the Pflueger comes with a spare spool, it's got my vote.

6'10" Elite Tech Smallmouth is a very nice rod that is probably what you're looking for. You might need to wrap the feet of the reel footing in something to get it to be snug in the reel seat, like a few layers of electrical tape. For whatever reason, the Shimano reel footing did not play well with the reel seat on the Elite Tech that I had. There was some serious wiggle room. I think it depends on the individual rod though.

Just speculating. There were good sales on the Chronarch E last fall at some places. It wouldn't be unreasonable, seeing as the Curado is now very close to the Chronarch's price point.