Master Bait'r

Dear Megabass, Gan Craft and Deps, Why must you so ruthlessly tickle my fancy and constantly demand so much of my attention?? Just when I think I'm finished, something sexy comes up and WHAM. I'm back to doing your bidding. This has to stop. You've got to quit while I'm ahead. Please, for the love of God stop churning out so much ridiculously sick gear this instant- or sponsor me. Sincerely, Master Bait'r

Haven't tried any of those 3, but given the list I'd probably go *** black. 13 has been an awesome company to do business with and their products are pretty awesome.

I use 4lb nanofil on an ultralight spinning setup I use for streams. Good stuff actually, but it gets progressively worse and worse the larger the diameter gets.

I have a lightning amp rod right now- one piece blank, 6' spinning M rod- it's my bushwack stream beater. It's tough as nails, decent backbone, fast/moderate action that works for a lot of stuff and it just does everything I ask it to. It's no NRX but it gets the job done for far better than $30 would otherwise indicate. For how I use it, it is perfect. Two thumbs up.

I love soft sided tackle bags. Much like luggage, the creative/skilled organizer can fit far more than one might think. My Plano 3600 probably weighs 20lbs. It's the largest bag I can physically get into my kayak so I'm pretty much stuck with it for now- I keep a shoe horn handy

Dude the easiest way to really learn the thumb is to start off thumb heavy. Don't even take it off when casting, just give tension the whole time... Then taper it off until you've found what works consistently if you can't get the spool tension and brakes just right. Don't try to cast too hard though- when you really whip the tip it creates super high spool speeds and can lead to huge backlashes. Be smooth above all.

Oooooh that female gill color is sick

That's sweet Rusty, looking forward to seeing those for sure. Monster fish pics just never get old!

I think as long as I don't outgrow the current rack I have she probably won't really notice or take offense. Right now she sees 3 combos and that seems reasonable... Little does she know how unreasonable they really are haha.

If I were you I'd sell the DX. NRX + baran = oh lawd! I'm still not 100% that I can even let it go yet. I just saw it on lunch break and am havin some serious second thoughts.

Y'know, if plastics are your go-to, I just decided to sell my 852c JWR/ 51e combo. That right there is probably one of the best light plastics casting combos out there. Also buying used you lose a lot of the financial sting. It even has a wildcard. Just sayin! It's also worth nothing that these rods underclaim bigtime on their weight ratings. The 1/8-3/8 rating on the 852 is pretty much a joke. They can handle a good 1/8th more than they claim, easy. Their performance window is definitely larger than claimed. Warranty hedging? Who knows.

Tell that to my toes and the weatherman, I don't think they heard you.

I always try to reuse them if I can. When the nose on my roboworms get tattered, I bite it off and rig farther down until there isn't enough worm to do that- then sometimes I'll use the tail as a trailer on a snagless sally or something to give a little more action, etc.

Mine just laughs when I start to rattle off my "logic" in the latest purchase. None of it makes sense to her so I might as well be speaking in Dutch while I explain why I need X, Y or Z. I use my overexuberance for tackle as a buffer zone more or less nowadays though. Now I think she just hopes I spare her the two hour long stoke dump on why I prefer recoil guides and showing her which swimbait has which sink rate, hook setup, paint, features etc. Nowadays I think she's more of an innocent bystander just trying to mind her own business rather than actual witness to my gear crimes lol.

I had to laugh when I saw this. Why u mad bro? Never seen a closeout before? Or maybe you would prefer to push bamboo shoots under his fingernails to see what he's REALLY hiding lol

Just grabbed a minty Deps Killer Compass for <$20 shipped. Man, I hope that thing is half as cool as it looks and sounds. I've already got a few specific spots in mind for it. Definitely going to change out the overdressed trebles for all-blacks but I think that sideways "compass" action will be slaytastic. Anybody else got one? Also all that gear from a few pages back just showed up a day early. Color me stoked. I haven't gotten a d**n thing done in the shop since the box came in haha

Or the Bettencourts- if you're talking about Rat wakes, you seriously cannot leave those out IMO. Three sizes- 3.5"@ 5/8oz, 5"@ 7/8oz & 8"@2.25oz-, and you can get them solid, jointed, and also in I believe 3 or 4 color combinations. I swear by them, and the handmade finishes kick anus clean off. If you ever go to a body of water and there's a bunch of buttcheeks washed up on the shore, that means somebody is throwing the bettencourts haha

It's so funny to me because this is exactly how skiers do it too. Opening weekend there are huge crowds for 3 trails of death ice, and then in the spring when it's warm, sunny, there's tons of snow and you can ski in shorts the place is empty- Just like the fall bite can be super huge but so few are out fishing for it. It's as if they were more in love with the idea of fishing/skiing than they are in real life. Kinda cracks me up how quickly people get their fill in most cases. The places I like to go I rarely see anybody but me though, thankfully.

I feel like I catch more. Just having another guy in the boat ensures that you will get a broader sense of what the fish are after. Maybe they'll be keying on something you wouldn't have thrown, who knows?? It's just more fun, and you get better pics with a friend there. It's hard to be a social drinker when you're alone too, so there's that haha

I'd have to say as far as optics quality goes, I really like Smith although it's hard to go wrong with any of the higher-end reputable companies. I have to wear prescription if I want to see anything at all, so when you put in polarized prescription lenses it can get spendy in a hurry. That said, I've had cheapo WelfareMart scrip sunnies and they honestly don't compare at all. The money you invest in something like quality prescription eyewear pays you back every day you use it. The frames fit better, the ear and nose contact points are non-slip and comfortable- and the clarity, durability and quality of the lenses themselves are impeccable. In my experience (and I have very light-sensitive eyes) lighter tinted or "low-light" brown lenses are the most conducive to all-around usage. From cutting the rain glare while driving in a storm to fishing on a bright day or even going for a ski tour (snow is extremely reflective and can burn your eyes easily), they seem to cover all the bases perfectly for me. Very versatile.

Bettencourt rodent My small one worked so good I just got a large one. They are just a different look and ultra realistic. They get smashed left and right, and they look exactly like a mouse or muskrat wiggling across the surface. They are a touch on the spendy side (but not bad) but the craftsmanship you get for that is seriously top notch. They also work just fine on heavier gear.

Yes please!

Well if it's going to have lots and lots of line on it or bigger line like heavy braid etc. go for the bigger spool of the BB. If it's smaller baits or lighter line, go with the tourney.

You have a better selection than half the tackle shops in the area haha

Yeah I've had that happen to a few via. pickerel, but more often than not they're repairable. It's a sad day when a frog gets completely shredded though!