Master Bait'r

Z man crusteaz are probably the smallest thing I use. Work great on the eco gnats, bitsy bugs and tiny zappu or eco heads etc. That and those tiny northland slurpies tubes work for a lot of stuff as well.

Turn back now while you still can! **the following link contains a bait monkey propaganda rabbit hole you cannot unsee**

Came in to say the Trout series. 5'6" or 6', UL/F but definitely a one piece rod. I'd lean 1000 size reel though, as those rods are super light and don't need much line capacity. I would use either nanofil, gliss, light Smackdown braid etc- something ultra thin with no stretch. It's just more communicative for me and it's what I prefer. The reel almost doesn't matter that much so match your budget after ponying up for that rod ??

Some surprises in this thread for sure! Cool to see what everybody does behind the persona. I started off real life as a welder and custom metal fab guy at my family's industrial production shop when I was 15. Ended up getting a bunch of certifications in TIG and Pulsed MIG welding and engineering for high pressure water etc. and becoming a pretty successful production outsourcing firm for a few large clients. Fast worward 17 or so years and I just left the family business to be the Operations Manager at a ski area in VT. I've been heavily involved in volunteer organization, pipe & chairlift repair work with for the last 8-9 years and they offered me the job to run the place! Now I am in charge of everything from all the chairlifts, snowmaking, heavy equipment, personnel and infrastructure upgrades as well as the upkeep of the mountain itself. It's insane these days. I came in with a new & aggressive ownership/investor group and we are adding chairlifts, snowmaking and an insane amount of work needs to be done by next season. It's pretty intimidating but I've got a great team and a killer hill to work with. If any of you are NE skiers or snowboarders you should hit me up! Also excited to learn my surroundings here in Southern VT. The landscape is so incredible I can't wait to explore the lakes and ponds in the region. The ice is *almost* gone!

That's got to be the best premise for one of those "wanna get away?" airline commercials- came home to a full on river of rotting fish? The virgins islands are really nice this time of year! ?

High tech lifelike swimbait ?

I always wondered what those Kirisames were like. Solid graphite seems so strange to me but I'm sure MB played it well. Please keep us posted!

A day for the books! Nice!!!

Another good one I like to give him is a weightless Texas rig w/ a small worm & a small hook- like a #1 ewg and a roboworm. Doesn't get hung up and he can pretty much just return fire when comething runs off with it, which will be momentarily. A lighter action rod and lighter tackle will virtually guarantee action be it bass, panfish or other flippery critters. Kids just need to catch stuff so I keep it light and simple.... until topwater is on anyways, but that's another thread ?

If the bottom composition will tolerate it I almost always hook the little dude up with a Ned. The action is persistent and it doesn't matter what he does with it, fish will bite.

While the 103 is a great reel I'm not sure I'd pair it with a Leviathan. The Ito is tuned for the finesse end of things, whereas the Leviathan is a swimbait/inshore type rod. With how finicky those 103s can be, I can only imagine the bird's nest that they could whip up with a hudd on the line. Id lean more towards a 300 sized reel like a tranx, Calcutta/conquest, curado etc. That way you get the line capacity you'll need to throw big baits on big lines and have the drag to back it up. Just my .02 ?

Yeah that's what appeals to me as well- I like jet boats and fishing heavy veg shallows etc. but it's hard to find a boat that has everything you want- which is pretty much nothing but a good layout, extremely durable surfaces and some good storage. Jon boats work good for floating in that type of stuff but moving from place to place leaves a bit to be desired.

How are these Majeks in rough water? I love the low sided center console bay boat design but always wondered about their choppy water behavior. Everybody around here has Lunds.

Current conditions ALWAYS dictate. If one isn't working, switch it up until a pattern clicks. My go-to is either a Slug-Go SS walked hard or big Bento Minnow gently finessed but if it isn't working I will toss a pit boss, structure bug, uptons or even a zinkerz. T-rig is probably my most confident method and it seems like I can always save the day with it- there's always a way to catch with it you just have to find it!

Slug-go SS. Whippiest tail ever, bigger head accepts weight and hook well and the slightest wiggle sets the thing off into convulsions. I feel like like nobody uses them, but they are an absolute staple in my tackle box. Pick up a few, you will never regret it!!

If you're getting a ton of action and no hookups, it's likely being battered by short fish, maybe even panfish. They're also beating up your line, because they grab it at the head and try to swim away- you try to set the hooks and it rips it out of their mouth since they never had the hook anyways. That way when the one decent fish comes along and takes it, she snaps.

Judging by the comics, you may have a battle with a hulk on your hands at some point ?

Painted reel? All I see are crappy off-center pics of a drag star, handle and spool. ?

Wow you can say "envy" now? Has the cursebanhex been lifted?!??

The eagle has landed The fearsome foursome for the kayak this season L to R 7'1" MLXF ENVBLK + Stella 2500 7' NRX 852c + Pixy R 7' Orochi XX Flatside Special + Antares DC 7'2" Orochi XX Perfect Pitch + Exsence DC

This page is seriously killing it so hard. ???

"Worth it" is as individual as favorite color or kind of pizza. One man's lust is another's loathe and this will always be true. The 110 is an extremely erratic ripbait. Whether you want to fill your box with them or you just want a pair in your most confident colors, it's an action worth having. I've had days nothing else could get a bite but that tail whippy, super erratic twitch made it happen. It's not every day but it happens. It's always interesting to see how many feelings people carry around about things though. Megabass threads never disappoint!

I wouldnt bother with the Scorpion. I've heard it is very lackluster in the casting distance department. Exsence is pretty much entry level for a real DC system, but 4x8s and such can be found used for pretty darn reasonable IMO considering what brand new non-DC stuff goes for. That 10" Hiroshima is unreal haha

You'd be surprised. I've had my eye out for a deal on one for months. Just so happens the timing on this used model was perfect. I would never in a million years pay retail for one (or pretty much anything!) fwiw. I basically only fish from a kayak and prefer remote/secluded smaller waters. Very rarely from a bigger boat. Keeps it simple and relatively cheap and lets me dial my combos to perfection. The DC reels are unreal though. I bought an Exsence DC last year for my H rod and was impressed with its versatility and ease of use... Considering how much one can spend on a non-DC reel it is pretty much a no-brainer to me to make the jump to DC braking. It isn't "necessary" but it is a really nice system and I enjoy it immensely. Very excited to try the 4x8 system!

Thanks! Been watching and waiting for a deal on one for a while. Wrapping up the ski season and it was my first running this place so I decided this was my celebratory "yay me" gift to myself for not going crazy or dying before spring came.