evilcatfish

Oh boy, I love fishing tubes. These picks are mainly due to price (buy bulk packs) and color selection, as I feel most tubes work as well as other brands. 4"-Right Bite and Poor Boys 2.5"-Right Bite and Mizmo Go to colors are smoke purple flake, roadkill or roadkill blue, green pumpkin, and green squash (what BPS calls puke)

I about had a heart attack in the hope for a perfect pitch. Oh well, saves me some cash. Guys who have been looking for the Diable Spec R or spinning rods should be quite happy!

If you fish for smallies in rivers then a wart will produce all summer long, at least in my experience that is

I wish the Academy promo codes could be used in store!

I have baitcasters costing $30 to $500, and they all catch fish just the same. Practice will make you better, then once you've honed your skills a little more, splurge on that fancy new reel. I'm no expert, just my thoughts....

I'd say the 41 is a medium shank if that helps at all? It's not as long as the shank on many hooks, but definitely not as short as hooks marketed " short shank." Either way, the 41 is an excellent hook

You can use a ML casting rod for anything you use a ML spinning rod for. I mainly use mine for small tubes and drop shot though

I store my swimbait rods horizontally, mainly because they won't fit vertically in my basement. I've had zero issues thus far, but I'm no rod scientist and have no idea what long term effects might be.

You could cut the top hook off and butch brown rig it, or attach a hook to the ring on the bottom

New stuff, and Spring sales on the way!

Not a fan of the knob caps Daiwa is using on newer reels (this one included), seems like they would get full of dirt easily

Interesting. Can't find any info on this otherwise. You'd think they would've been showing off a new reel like this at the classic?

I bought one, prob won't use it until late May at the earliest. Looks like a great frog and I have no doubt it will catch fish, but the whole fur thing is a little goofy.

Lots of those questionable Tatulas still popping up from various sellers. The temptation is there despite knowing it's not legit lol

Darn I forgot about the tax stimulus sale. Surely I'll have to buy some more things I absolutely "need"

I'm probably going against the grain here, but whether boat or shore fishing I'm usually wearing old sneakers/hiking shoes

Haha I was thinking your combo seemed a bit much! You'll really like the 795, I love mine. May I suggest a Tatula HD, or even the new 150, over the Okuma? You can get some great deals out there on the HD right now

I haven't personally fished the jig&worm, but after they were recently discounted I did look in to getting one since my experience with the XX series otherwise has been good. Seems like general thoughts on the rod are good in the grand scheme of things, but it is one of the less popular or exciting models in the XX line specifically. Hopefully that helps a little? Most of the info I found was on tackle tour

While not a spinning rod, I do have the XXX Rattle Viper and absolutely love it. I use it mainly for moving bait applications but it definitely had pretty good sensitivity the times I used it for lighter bottom contact baits. Surely lacking the sensitivity of the more appropriate models, but it worked in a pinch. I've only owned one M1 (MX69ML) and while it was a nice rod, I ended up selling as my preferences were going in a different direction Hopefully my ramblings were of some help! Oh and you are right, The Tackle Trap is great

I've heard good things about the Daiwa DX frog rod, retails at $119.99. Also Dobyns makes a couple in your price range that would do well

This goes against what others have said in regards to finesse, but since you mention the bass are eating gills then how about a bluegill profile swimbait? Find something that roughly matches the gill size in the lake and give it a go

Not exactly the same, but the zoom critter craw is pretty close substitute! I was sad to hear of Guido's passing, he truly was a LOZ legend. Even non fishermen knew of him.

I've got some higher end Daiwa reels, but have found the Tatula to be my go to

There is a lot of jdm talk over on tackletour, but even then, info can be limited

Palms, Legit Design, and Graphiteleader are also worthy contenders!