Steelhead

When I'm working water 20' - 30' I'll bump it up to 3/32oz.

Twitchin' a size 13 original Rapala minnow and the size 9 jointed original Rapala minnow.

Big Bite Baits Salt Tube 2.5" X-Zone X-Tube 2.75"

7' mh/f Fenwick HMG and a Pfleuger President 35. The combo balances perfectly but I don't like handle and disappointed with the sensitivity. Also, it doesn't cast well at all.

⁹Are the small stick baits consider a worm like the Zman TRD, Missile Baits Ned Bomb, Strike King Ned Ocho, etc? Stick baits like Senkos, Dingers, etc. are. Zoom 4" Dead Ringer(Watermelon Seed) Zoom Curly Tail(Green Pumpkin) Zman ZinkerZ(Watermelon Red) Zoom Centipede(Gourd Green) Zman 4" Finesse Worm(Watermelon)

Jeff "Gussy" Gustafson. A fellow Canadian. He uses Loomis rods and fishes alot of Zman products which I do as well. We could BS about hockey while fishing. From the old guard, it would be Bill Dance. He was my favourite growing up. Would love to fish some of those deep hidden spots fishing among the Cypress trees.

I have two dedicated Ned rods. Loomis IMX-Pro 901SJR and St. Croix Eyecon 76MLXF2. Both are 7'6". The IMX is fast and the Eyecon is extra fast. The tip on the Eyecon is soft and casts fantastic. I don't like a stiff tip. I don't know if that Intenza has a soft tip. Some XF spinning rods have a stiff tip, others don't especially on the longer rods.

#10 PP Superslick v2 blue double uni to #8 Sunline Sniper.

Mudbug and Hawaiian Wiggler put a smile upon my face this morning. I had a paper route when I was a kid from 10-13 years old and once a month I would collect money from the customers and alot of the times I'd write to Fred Arbogast and order a couple of lures from the mini catalog that was in the package. I would go to the bank and get an international money order and then to post office to grab a US stamp... then wait impatiently, which I still do to this day waiting for mail orders. Jitterbug, Hula Poppers, Mudbugs, Sputterbuzz, Hula Dancer, Arbogaster and the Hawaiian Wiggler. The luminous Jitterbug and the Mudbug were excellent at night. My other two favorites were the Heddon Hellbender and the Cotton Cordell Big O. I use to troll the Hellbender out my rubber dingy when I wanted to get deep. The Big O in bone/orange belly caught my biggest Smallie back in that time. I see that Pradco has brought back alot of the old classics here of late. I'm hoping the Mudbug is next.

VMC has a bucktail jig. Reasonable priced. What I'm looking forward to using is the VMC Moon Tail jig. Fantastic colors. TW has a date of December 29th. Sure like the look of those Punisher jigs and the great selection in sizes.

Baby Rage Craw on a 1/8 oz. 2/0 Moaner Stroker hook or a Zman Finesse Bulletz in a 1/10oz.

4000 on a Loomis 901. 2500 on a Dobyns 702.

I picked up #10 PP Superslick v2 in Marine Blue which is hi-vis this past spring and used it for finesse spinning, mostly Ned rigging and have been very happy with it. I can see the line very well but it's not as "bright" as hi-vis yellow. I have a really hard time seeing Moss Green in the same diameter. It's kept its color very well and I just bought the Marine Blue in #8. Superslick v2 is a definitely better than the original.

Thanks Finessegenics. Great idea! I'm all for it. Late winter last year I picked up some good deals at Sail and Latiluppe. Peterborough Pro Tackle has 20% off Cyber Monday Sale. Not sure if it includes Megabass. Unfortunately the sites doesn't show any rods. I know Fishing World is a Megabass dealer. I'll go back to the Megabass USA site and find some dealers here in Canada and contact them and ask them what they can do.

I've ordered from a couple of the online shops you mentioned including Latiluppe. No complaints but... The SLX XT combo cost me $149usd but I wasn't expecting $80cdn though I did think at that time that I would be paying something. I want to order a Megabass rod in the New Year but I'm terrified to order from the US. Do you know of any Megabass dealers here in Canada that would be willing to ship?

Lots of other good reels out there at the price range but to find here in Canada in these times is tough. There's a Cabelas 2 hours north but the freshwater, especially the bass tackle selection is awful. Here on the Westcoast it's all about the salmon/halibut fishing.

There's one listed at Sail though it says, "Not available online." It's at the Lachenaie location. Might be worth a try to phone that store and see if they'll ship it. I feel your guys frustration. I placed an order with TW six weeks ago. I needed some terminal tackle and the cost was $27USD plus $25USD. This time I didn't get charged any taxes, duty or handling charges. Shipping has gone up during Covid. It's ridiculous. I didn't placed an Black Friday order at TW this year. Most of the items and colors I wanted weren't available until later this year or early next year so I'm waiting so I only pay a one time shipping fee. It was a year ago I ordered a SLX XT combo. Well, when it arrived via FedEx there was a bill for $80Cnd. I was outraged. I didn't pay it. I was willing to pay half the cost but they wouldn't agree. I definitely think there is a market here in Canada for a site similar to TW. Actually, I've thought that for the last 5 years. I've been ordering gear from the US the last 40 years. During that time on two occasions our $ was on/close to par but I don't see that happening in the long term... I hope I'm wrong.

I use L, ML, M and MH for Smallies. All depends on what I'm throwing and where I picked up the St. Croix Eyecon 76MLXF2 last winter for a great price and was very surprised. Love that soft light tip. I also use a Loomis 822DSR, 852S and 901S.

Most of the tackle I want as of today, aren't available in colors and/or sizes. Some new products that are on my list will not be available until the New Year. The dates keep getting pushed back.

I've been using the Zman GrubZ the last few weeks and it's been out fishing the TRD. Smoke hologram in 3.5" size has been producing the best.

+2

Thanks guys. I think I'm going to have to go a custom plastic.

I'm looking for a soft plastic in a blue back with gold belly in a stick bait, worm or/and a swim bait in the 3 to 6 inch range. Anybody have any suggestions? I've just started searching but I thought I'd ask you guys. To be more specific on the colors, the back is more of a medium blue and the belly an orange gold but if it's close I'll definitely take a suggestion. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I tried the Lifted Jigs Ned EWG heads and for me I found the hook too big. It's suppose to be 1/0. The new Zman Nedlockz EWG is a #1 hook and from the pictures and videos I've seen it seems to be about the right size. I'll soon find out. I've been using the Decoy Nail Bomb VJ-71 ewg heads in a #2 hook in 1/16 & 3/32 oz. and it's been the best I've used so far. I also will Texas rig with the Owner Rig 'N Hook in a #1 with a 1/16oz. tungsten bullet weight. I've used the TRD Crawz and the TRD Bugz with limited success though it was my first season using them. On the other hand the TRD Hogz has produced very well.

Yes. However, with that being said, I over complicate the jig head color... I think. I use 5 different colors depending on the situation. I primarily use the Zman Finesse Shroomz in 1/15oz. The TRD and 1/2 Zinkerz have been my go to baits but the TRD Ticklerz out fished both this past season. I've tried at least a dozen other manufacturers Ned baits and nothing comes close to the Zman products except the Xzone Ned Zone. I will be ordering the Zman OG Mushroom and the Nedlockz EWG in different colors and sizes this Black Friday.