TorqueConverter

No pictures. My frogging rod is also showing the same wear on the guides and I've only have a bit more time behind it than I do the Tour. Titanium nitrate and chrome are the only coatings I have seen to be truly braid proof. Kinda sad that cherrywoods have longer lasting guides than most other rods.

I think I'm in it, at least partially, for the tackle. I love the science, art, design and the sheer amount of variety in bass tackle. Bass as a species inhabit the type of water I have near me and I enjoy the shallow water mobile and aggressive nature of bass fishing. I only walleye and pike fish with a bass fishing style of shallow water (less than 20') casting as I move with one foot on the trolling motor. You couldn't pay me to troll live bait on the back of some walleye rig in 40' of water.

I thought the whole "thing" with the baits was that the fish like subsurface props on propbaits. It was one of those things that catch fish, like the wobble and flash of a spinnerbait blade or the wiggle of a crankbait.

Fluorocarbon fishing lines stretch but the stretch is not an elastic (stretch and return) like you see in monofilament lines. The stretching that is a result of elasticity in a mono line is a healthy behavior. The type of stretch you see in fluros is a plastic stretch. Lines with high plasticity will stretch and stay stretched. This is an unhealthy behavior for a fishing line because the line has become permanently deformed at the eras where the line has stretched. The elastic stretch of mono occurs are very light loads, such as hook sets, fishing a fish ect, where as the plastic stretch of a flurocarbon line should only occur at loads approaching line failure. You should see no stretch from elasticity in a fluorocarbon line and the only time any stretching should be observed is when pushing the line to it's breaking point. A good Fluro should have no stretch when fishing and catching. Do to this lack of elasticity, all the power of a hookset and fishing fish goes to the knot. Knot failure is more common with fluro than with monos typically. Some people even believe that you can "burn the knot" with the stuff but that is most likely the result of people making up audacious claims to explain away knot failure not realizing that elasticity protects the integrity of a knot.

Yeah. My guides are showing signs of wear from the braid. I won't be too long before they have groves cut into them.

Popping frogs are the best frogs. The Poppin Pad Crasher is a great popping frog. I wish I could get them in a bigger size and that the paint was more durable.

If I'm not mistaken, the buy 2 get the 3rd free deal on XPS fluorocarbon, was on the KVD XPS fluorocarbon. I wouldn't assume it's the same stuff.

#30 8 strand braid #10 mono #14 fluorocarbon

I picked one a few weeks ago. Even in MH, it is a very, very, very stiff rod. I can't cast a 1/2oz jig on it with any accuracy because the tip won't load up. It pitches very well but I may never be able to cast anything on it.

I frog with a 7' H and love it. Great action, excellent double-footed guides, carbon fiber cross wrapping on a good blank. The rod is tip heavy though. It's not the best balanced rod I've ever had. I've heard of the telescoping models breaking at the telescoping portion of the rod. It's something to watch out for.

All my swim jig fish are barely hooked in the corner of the mouth. They're not hooked like more normal jig fish at all. I think a rod with a bit softer and slower tip could be good for swim jigs. You might be on to something there.

Ar 15s are nice things. Necessity be damned, I'm glad I live in a country where people are allowed to have nice things and are free from wide, sweeping, knee jerk, bans.

There is a rattlin rouge in yellow baby bass on ebay right now. Apparently it's a rare color.

I don't care what brand it is. As long I can get in bean form and grind it myself I'm happy. A low temp brew in a fine mesh coffee press can't be beat.

You might have to switch gear to a dedicated crankbait rod. You should have no problems with a medium powered, moderate action rod. I use a M/M that is on the light side of a true medium and it thows my lightest balsas well. The Scatter Rap is a rocket compared to my Lee Sission baits.

I use a Buck Eye Min Mop jig. It has a broad head that lends the jig some stability when sitting on the bottom. Football heads also work well.

I don't know about the Shock but I had a 7'6'' heavy/fast lightning rod that was actually an XXXH moderate. The LR I had would throw a swimbait like that no problem. I ended up throwing A rigs and Musky baits on it before I gave it away.

So it's an extinct Pradco premium bait line. Some of the baits designs that were exclusive to Excalibur have be absorbed, through Pradco, into the Bomber and Headdon brands. This begs the question, which came 1st the Excalibur Fat Free Shads or the Bomber Fat Free Shads.

Bait fish? I'd say don't throw it unless you have bass fish marked on sonar suspending. Count it down and run it through them. I hate the rig but I did get bit real good last year after ice out targeting bass in their wintering holes.

Topwaters as in floating treble hooked things? Sticking fish with treble hooks and keeping them pined is crankbait rod territory. What you want is a crankbait rod that is also light weight and well balanced. On the cheap side of things, look at the Berkley Cherry Wood M.

They still make Excalibur baits? I thought they were killed off and their designs sold as Bombers and Heddons?

I like a #17 Fluorocarbon with a #12, #14 or better mono equivalent diameter. I'm torn between Berkley 100% and BPS XPS Fluro. Sunline Sniper seems great but I just bought some this year to try out. I've heard that a lot of the Japanese fluros are rated at break strength as opposed to significantly under per American market lines, meaning that a #20+ Japanese line might be more in line with a #17 north American market product.

If you're under a tight budget for a deep cranking rod then the BPS 7'6'' MH Crankin Stick or KVD Tour 7'10'' are good rods. I adore my 7'10' KVD Tour blank. I've pulled pike and Walleyes in the 10 pound range on it junk fishing deep cranks and it has let me have my way with the fish yet was somehow also very forgiving. It made me a believer in big powerful glass blanks and I'm coming from a glass/graphite composite construction background.

The baitcasting combo seems legit. I'm not a huge fan of purely magnetic brakes when non Diawa (such as the Black Max) but that price is good as long as the rod isn't completely worthless. $50 is normal retail for the Black Max and other reels using the same parts/architecture. At this low price point, doubling your budget to $100 can get you a better rod/reel combo, especially at sale pricing. If $50 is your budget then I don't see how you can go wrong with either combo.

I crank with lots of line. Fluorocarbon, mono and braid. It's a bit of myth that you NEED mono and its elasticity for cranking IMO. My favorite mono when shallow and medium cranking is Sufix Elite #12. If I require a high elasticity mono because my rod is too stiff, I like a #10 or #12 Berkley XL for the additional give. A great cranking rod hooks and hold the fish the same, no matter what the line material. The elasticity of a highly elastic mono helps to make a bad situation of a stiff rod better with the elastic properties of the line.