Master Bait'r

Smackdown all day every day. Nothing is thinner or smoother. Spooling up with smackdown is like upgrading your reel.

Took the day off from important things for some even more important things...

DSG is soooo hit or miss. I had two near my old house and one was huge and shiny- massive, massive space and aisles of... oh wait it's all JUNK I didn't want. They had a few things (line and terminal tackle etc) and were good for necessities but very little above the entry level gear which they carried every stitch on the planet of. Staff there barely spoke full words and aside from being friendly were purely furniture. The second store was way smaller and a little farther out but had the coolest staff- mostly an older gent who was obsessed with fishing like we are. The selection was pretty darn good and what wasn't there he was adamant about being able to get sent in from elsewhere. When the ".97" blowout clearance sales came he had all the best stuff, and even pulled a crucial off the rack once for me over the phone so I could come get it after work. You just never know until you peel all the layers off the onion. You could find one guy that makes it all worth it or you could be perpetually standing around waiting for Troy to saunter over from footwear to unlock a case so you can check something out for yourself.

Hey I like my Daiwas too, but until they come up with something akin to Shimano's DC system, they're just tweaking components that have been the same for decades.

I pronounce it "zinkerz"

Can you point to another company with digital cast control? Yeah, nope. Look, Shimano is basically NASA. Everybody else is just waiting for patents to expire. #fightinwords

All they'd have to do is import the Exsence, call it something freedomy, sell it for ~$250-275 and they could sell every unit they make. It's already to the point where I only buy DC reels now unless it's a finesse package. Why not? A Steeze and an Antares DC are pretty similar in price but the braking on the shimano is next gen IMO. The only thing that scares me is the version of the DC system that they put in the Scorpion. It's no 4x8.

Came in here to say this. Love my BG! Killer reel for the money.

Well that's just it- they made an inexpensive DC reel but it was so sought after is raised the price on itself. I am all for DC reel technology trickling down but it would have to be in a big way or it will just exsence itself again.

hahahaha good one

Well, as usual... I go looking for one thing and talk myself into a completely different deal. Bait Monkey strikes again! Was looking for a lighter swimbait rod that could also handle big jigs and the occasional inshore duty and came across the following gem: a 7'11" Shimano Crucial (green blank, full cork) MH/F swimbait casting rod for $99 BNIP. She's a smidge lighter than I was originally looking for, but 1-3oz is actually pretty ideal for what my actual (read: not internet delusions of grandeur) life intentions for this rod will call for and I know for a fact I love the Crucial handles and blanks. I just got confirmation on shipping and it should even get here before I leave Sunday for a 3 day fishing trip out on horseneck at a friend's grandfathered-in shack out past the state beach. No running water, no electricity, lots of beer and lots of boating, fires on the sand and my most pressing decision being which Alchemist or Lawson's brew to sip on next. It's been years since a legit "me" vacation. I cannot wait.

I'm trying to keep it under $200

I need a rod for big jigs and swimbaits in freshwater, stripers and offshore meat dangling in the salt. looking for reccs on something with a rating around 5oz or so. I will be putting a Lew's BB1 Pro on it with #17 CXX. Seems as though most offerings in that range are swimbait rods, so I've been looking at the Daiwa DX, Okuma Guide select, Levante Leviathan and everything in between. What's a tough, versatile rod you'd use for chucking big baits and even cut bait in salt? Open to suggestions!! Thanks!

I've got a few weeks out with it and so far I'm impressed. Super crisp and communicative, very comfortable in the hand and loads up well for everything I've used it for so far (down to about 1/16oz) and up to 1/4oz hardbaits. I like very fast rods and this one does not disappoint. As I mentioned somewhere when I got it though, the solid tip section was installed a few frog hairs out of alignment, but it makes no difference in performance. Small gripe and at that price point I don't feel a real complaint about it is warranted. Definitely recommended though if you're on the fence. Looks, feels and functions well above its' price range imo.

Finally got around to finding an app that works for resizing pics. Here is my newest addition- a Light/extra fast Major Craft Benkei with the solid tip section, lure rating is 1/64th to 1/4oz. Reel is a Daiwa BG 1500, whose quality defies its price tag by a large margin. The pair is perfect together in every way, and the balance point with a full spool is dead on the reel lock where your finger sits naturally. Big fan of this combo!!

The only thing funnier than a $500 net is the reactions to one from the general public.

My gf always knows when I get stuff in because of the Japanese newspaper in the trash lol Gonna have to get a wood stove one of these days haha

Sickle hooks seem to be the easiest to set and keep on for me, but don't work for everything obviously.

I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you! ?

Picked up a bunch of stuff today. Sickle hook standup heads in 1/8 & 1/4 for the big uptons, also a few gliding jigs, another tube of megastrike, a brown CL8 Mighty Mouse (been wanting one for a while!), a few soft plastics to supplement my shakey arsenal and a few disc golf discs ?

You guys need the marketing translator app. They're are really saying "iCast Sponsor Auction winner"

That place sounds stupid. ??

As mentioned above, trajectory is huge in noise. If you can cast long and low it's vastly preferred over a huge high arcing cast that will cannonball into the water. *especially* if you can feather it out at the end.

Someone wake me up when the hype train cars pass. I've got a commuter rail ticket @$14 for one of these but that's it haha

I have a bucket but haven't used it recently since most pages have their own uploader- and this one was working fine a short time ago! Guess it's time to figure out what the heck my password was.