Jon G

Never seen a difference in getting bites between the two year round. I just use the 2.5 because I usually catch bigger fish with it.

Your using superline hooks. They are meant for superlines. Those hooks are a thicker gauge wire designed to prevent the hook from bending when using superlines that have little to no stretch. I'm guessing you are using a spining rod or a medium powered baitcaster. The problem is your rod is not powerful enough to set the hook and penetrate the fish's mouth. Try using these instead: http://www.basspro.com/Gamakatsu-EWG-Worm-Hook/product/53661/ These are a thinner gauge wire which will allow you to get a good hookset with lighter equipment

If you are wanting to get him a reel I highly suggest getting him some higher end Shimano which can be found here: https://japanlureshop.com/reel/shimano/shimano-baitcasting.html?limit=all My recomendation would be a Metanium XG in whatever hand retrieve your husband uses. This would be a gift that would be leaving in bass fisherman jumping up and down like a little kid on Christmas.

What is your budget?

Dobyns Rods (St. Croix would be a close second) Shimano Reels Sunline line Same stuff I use now

The two spinnerbaits I use are War Eagle and the Ganns Stiletto

I use the Columbia Freezer Zero Neck Gaiter

x2 this pretty much sums it up. I'm a fan of both companies but I prefer St Croix spinning rods just because I think they are a tad more sensitive but Dobyns is definitley one of the most balanced rods I've used

I use a 610MLXF as well. Such a great rod. I've also been a big fan of St. Croix spinning rods

Boomerang Snips are the best braid cutters period.

Maui Jims are my favorite

Savy will work fine for those applications. I got into Dobyns rods around a year and a half or so ago after seeing a lot of people using them on this site. I used a 734 savy for chatterbaits and it was a nice rod but the sensitivity was not there for me for bottom contact. I then bought a 734 Champion and never looked back to the Savy. The only Dobyns rods I use now are the Champions and Champion Extremes.

Braid with a leader woud most likely be your best bet especially since visability is not a problem. Personally I prefer flurocarbon because the invisibilty property of it gives me a lot of confidence. I go back and forth with braid and flurocarbon but I usually end up getting frustrated with braid because I seem to always backlash with braid but almost never with flurocarbon or a copoly. Just experiment with different lines and see which one you prefer.

Pit Boss, Craw Fatty, Chigger Craw, and Back Slide are the only baits I use from Berkely

734 for sure. It is the most versatile rod in the Dobyns line up. Only thing better than it is a 744

No braid backed with 12lb mono and spooled with 16lb sniper

I have two Curado I's. The 200I and the 200IHG. I have just noticed today that the 200I seems to have a stronger drag than the 200IHG. It seems that I have to crank the drag a lot more get the same amount of drag on the 200I. I have taken the 200IHG apart a few times and cleaned and re greased it and ot seems to have the same issue. So what could the problem be?

x2 on the 6th Sense Crush 75x I used it last year and it has become my favorite squarebill by a longshot. My favorite color is Gizzard Shad. My only problem with the baits are the stock hooks are not very good.

4.8 rigged with a 4/0 Owner Beast Swimbait Hook is my favorite way to rig them, it works well in moderate grass for me

I just got back from fishing one of my local lakes and was using a Keitech 4.8 in Silver Flash rigged weightless with a 4/0 Gammy Superline Hook and caught 21 bed fish. I caught around 9 females and the rest males. Smallest fish was 1.5 pounds biggest was 4.5. I must say this is may be my new bed bait

Just a month ago they had BOGO 50% off on Zoom and they had I believe it was 20% on spro baits

kinda funny you say that every time I go in I always find stuff on sale or BOGO deals

I have not had a problem with reels off ebay in the past but if you shop around and wait for sales you can get a metanium for a little cheaper on a lot of JDM sites.

Im guessing your price range is around $300? If so it is easy to find Metaniums for a little under $300. I think you would enjoy that reel more than the CI4 or the Zillion.

Dobyns DX 744- most versatile rod I own