evilcatfish

Little late to the party here, but I can definitely confirm the steez a hlc is a little “wild.” Early last year I’d decided to put together an all around heavy combo and settled on a steez a hlc paired with an evergreen Orion black rose. Despite my hopes, I quickly realized the steez was definitely not an all around reel. Bomb casting heavy or arrow dynamic baits was great, but when I’d switch up to pitching a jig or throwing a spinnerbait, results were not good. I held out as long as I could but ended up selling the steez and used a jdm tatula hd custom for most of 2022. The tatula was nice, but I’ve got a 22 zillion hd on the way from digitaka, which I’m hoping works out nicely

I’m a believer in letting the rod do the work. If you are throwing baits too light/heavy for a setup you overcompensate with your body, which can result in strain or in the long term, a real injury.

You think it could handle a full size super spook? I was considering this rod recently

I have 5, soon to be 6, medium light casting rods and use them all extensively. I fish ozark rivers a lot and with few exceptions, these are my bread and butter on the river. Get one, you’ll like it!

Only time I keep my drag locked down, or close to it, is when fishing with big soft plastic swimbaits or fishing a heavy jig/big worm deep. Usually using straight mono for the swimbaits or fc for the jigs/worms. After hooking up, I’ll back it off a bit during the fight

Whoever pays me the most? Jk Evergreen International Bass Cat Boats Reaction Innovations Non fishing: Michters distillery or a brewery

I nose hook flukes quite a bit with hayabusa weedless wacky hooks. For the mag size a 2/0 works, I assume that size in gamakatsu will be fine too. If you want something with a little heavier wire, the decoy finesse cover HD is an excellent hook

Vary your retrieve. Burn then kill, speed up, slow down, add a twitch or pop. If they won’t commit follow up with a weightless fluke or Senko

Slug-Go, Tubes, Hula/spider grubs, Chug Bug, and Rapala minnows (float and countdown) all are worth mentioning

Its just a bit more than your budget if buying new, but I highly suggest the Megabass Levante Diablo Spec R. This is an excellent all around medium heavy rod that can handle just about anything within (and a little above/below) its lure rating. You may be able to find a deal on a used one in either the Levante or Orochi series if you look around

JDM Evergreen rods are probably the most well constructed rods I’ve fished, flawless fit and finish. Most jdm rods, even the more affordable ones, seem to be very well made though

I really like the Cumberland pro lures rock hound, good colors and well made. For something a bit more finesse, the kalins marabou jig is excellent, and wallet friendly. During the winter months, the smallmouth here in ozark rivers love those little jigs. I keep it pretty simple and stick with black or white

Evergreen- JDM and USDM rods Megabass- JDM and USDM rods St. Croix-Legend and Premier Major Craft-Nano Ace Daiwa-Steez and some older oddballs Abu Garcia-Bass Beat III Also planning to to pick up a Cashion Icon rod this spring

Won a pack of Rico blems and had to come up with a few things to get that free shipping. Pretty happy with the colors I got on the Ricos

Those racing design rods are absolutely gorgeous! One day I’ll have to pull the trigger on one. Killer combo my friend

I use Tuf Line XP in a few different sizes, I really like it

Aside from fishing, knives are another hobby of mine. As much as I love my higher end production/customs/mid-techs, lesser priced knives definitely have their place. Spyderco makes a value line called "Byrd" which make good fishing companions. https://www.bladehq.com/cat--All-Byrd--316 If you like more classically styled knives, Opinels are hard to beat at their price point. For a value fixed blade, Morakniv is fantastic

I love me some hula grubs. Usually fish them on a chompers stand up jig head. Favorite color is green pumpkin with green/purple flake

I’m not sure it works anymore, has it saved somewhere

I’m gonna say one that hasn’t been mentioned, cinnamon purple. Personally, my eyes I think it’s a great looking color, but I haven’t had much luck with it. Might just be that I haven’t given it a fair shot As far as the red thing goes, I’ll throw red moving baits for a brief period in the pre spawn but that’s about it

A 5 power dobyns would be a solid choice

I feel like tactical just means it’s black, maybe with some gray or camo. Take a blue rod but release it in a limited black run and now it’s “tactical.” Clever marketing I guess

A medium light fast rod is extremely versatile and can be used for a lot of applications as mentioned above. Nobody mentioned topwater so I’m adding that to the list. Can easily handle 1/8 to 3/8oz poppers, spooks, etc

I highly suggest you try using the black rose for fishing a football jig. I swear this rod is almost magical for the application, well at least in my hands anyway. I sometimes wish I’d never taken a step in to the world of Evergreen lol. Had been hoping we might see some of their JDM rods stateside via The Hookup Tackle, but nothing yet

Not Black Friday sales per se, but I did stumble on a used Daiwa Steez 100SH and Evergreen Kaleido IGTC-69MH Stallion GT over the last few days, both of which were excellently priced. Had to ****** them both up. As far as actual sales go, I stuck with stuff I actually needed, like line and a few odds and ends.