evilcatfish

There is an entire thread about sales in the tackle forum. Keep an eye on it as good deals pop up more than just for Black Friday.

This is an excellent reel and they often pop up at a good price. I’ve got a few and love mine

I have held one of the Elites with the yellow handles, but haven't ever fished one. Seems like the handles would transmit vibration well, though it may be a weird transition from cork and eva foam

I'm in the market for a mid tier priced <7' medium heavy casting rod and found the Cashion Icon series. I'd previously dismissed Cashion due to my dislike for the Fuji ACS reel seat but am glad to see it absent on this new series. For the folks who may have fished these, do you feel their actions/powers are pretty true to how Cashion rates them? Any additional pros/cons would be appreciated as well. I've found a few reviews on TW and whatnot but was hoping for some more info Specifically, I'm looking at the iWJ69MHF and iWJ66MF models

Terrible news

The higher speed steez sv and A can be sourced through jdm sites and would be worthy of consideration. The newer zillion sv is another nice choice Not out yet, but this zillion hd looks interesting https://www.daiwa.com/jp/fishing/item/reel/bait_rl/zillion_tw_hd_22/index.html

Whoever started that rumor is a complete scumbag.

I’m a big fan of the fat boy worm on a drop shot or shaky head. Liver is a particularly productive color for me, but there are several good ones

Right bite baits, river rock, mizmo, and poor boys are all solid choices.

Straight mono for me, but I know plenty of people that throw them on braid. Just gotta experiment and find out what works best for your style!

You can’t go wrong with siebert, excellent jigs and customer service. One other option similar in profile to the bitsy flip is the Nichols Dee Thomas jig. Nice compact profile with a quality hook, just wish the skirts were wire tied

What is your budget? On the low end, dobyns makes the Sierra in 6’8” length in m to h. On the higher end, the megabass p5 blade (or bandersnatch in previous generations) makes an excellent topwater rod just a note, since the title mentions super spook, I’m assuming you’ll be throwing top waters at least 1/2oz?

Less is definitely more when putting a pack together in my experience. I used to have one of those fancy wild river bags and fully loaded that thing must’ve weighed 45 pounds haha. Pretty much defeated the concept of using a pack for mobility purposes. Now I’ve got a couple different hip/messenger bags (gf calls them my fishing purses) and they hold more than enough for me.

There are a lot of baits I have real confidence in, but my number one is probably the lowly tube. Gimme some 2.5 and 4” tubes in a green pumpkin/variant type color with an assortment of heads/hooks/weights for rigging and I can probably do ok on any bass containing body of water in the country, any time of year

I feel like I saw somebody else mention this somewhere. Its not that new Steez CT some places have up for pre-order is it?

Most likely, your line was compromised and got some wear/abrasion on it which caused the snap. I fish straight 6-25# fc depending on the application and I’d say 95% of my break offs are due to this, the other 5% me being clumsy and not tying a good knot haha.

I’ve heard some positive comments about this daiwa, and the price is right https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?from=BASRES&start=0&count=30&searchtext=Daiwa+frog

Paul Krew custom baits, look under "smallie collection" on the drop down products list paulkrew.com

The Hookup Tackle's sale started. Code USA for 15% off

I just posted the links showing the rods do exist. Never said anything to suggest less expensive rods are "cheap junk"

The Hookup Tackle has had them recently, can be special ordered through The Tackle Trap, or ordered from overseas. Personally, if I had that kind of money to spend on a JDM rod, I'd be looking at Evergreen or the Steez Racing Design. https://thehookuptackle.com/products/arms-super-leggera-casting-rods https://tackletrap.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1066_1841

Daiwa Steez CT SV. I have the perfect rod to pair it with, but have yet to pull the trigger. I love my other steez reels and have no doubt the CT will be impressive as well

The Daiwa Tatula 76 medium light-medium would be good on the lower end of your price range, or perhaps spend a little more on the Tatula Elite AGS Seth Feider model? Even better, just go way over budget and splurge on the new 76 Steez Compile X AGS rod, that thing looks awesome Dobyns makes some longer champs that may work for you as well

I'm a bit of a tube junky, and use various brands ranging from 2.5-4" depending on the application. Right Bite, Secret Lures, Mizmo, ISG, Case, Poor Boy's, River Rock and Get Bit are all quality tubes. The smaller tubes I generally fish with an insert head or on a drop shot, the bigger ones with an insert head or t-rigged. I use a lot of colors but green squash (BPS calls it puke) and green/blue are my favorites

The tackle monkey bit me hard when I saw the new Steez rods, especially "The Sensor." Here is a picture of the balance point paired with a Daiwa PX Type-R. Haven't had the chance to fish it yet, but I'm thinking shakeyheads, tubes, hula grubs, and finesse jigs/plastics are all in this rod's wheelhouse.