faygo1979

I want to pick up a newst croix legend tournament rod for light Texas rigs. I have been looking at the TBC71MF and the TBC71MHF and I am not sure which one would be best for what I am using it for. I normally throw 6 inch ribbon tails or the Zoom Z-Craw with a ¼-5/16 oz bullet weight. I will also be using a 50 size curado for the reel. I broke a rage rod that I had for frogs and decided I would upgrade and pick up a dedicated rad for something that I throw all the time. Any advise guys?

I used to use a curado B 200 for smaller size swimbaits and a citrix 354 for the larger ones. this last weekend I picked up a Quantum exo 300 to replaced both those reels. it is lighter than both of them and holds more line than either as well. So far I am impressed with it,

Okuma calera is nice for that price range as well

I would say bring what you are comfortable to fish with and where you plan to fish. Depending on the kayak you can take a ton of rods but you still have to maneuver them around you for fishing. Know that you are not going to be able to run and gun around the lake so you need to be able to fish a little slower. I fished the KATS Midwest tournament last weekend and because of wind and waves chose to fish a cove with some small islands for 8 hours. 90% of the time I was fishing a Texas rigged craw. Now I did have 6 rods with me but honestly they caused way more hang ups with trees or playing musical chairs with their placement than they were really worth. On a normal day I take 2-4 rods out with me. I base this on what kind of fishing I want to do for the day. Normally a finesse spinning rod, some kind of m-mh moving bait rod, a jig/frog rod, and sometimes a swim bait/ larger pike rod.

I can say I avoid buying products or going to stores that I don't like how they operate. Now i don't know anything about Skeete so his name on a product would not sway me either way. Hell I have seen some real ******** on facebook pimping products they are on the prostaff of that has caused me to not want to try the products or to stop using them. At the end of the day there are dozens of similar products on the market at similar prices for almost everything fishing related. style and how the companies act toward the public go a long way.

I seem to add more and more crap to my kayak. I normally bring 3-4 rods and 3-4 3600 size boxes.

I have used my 50 size reel for spinnerbaits and crankbaits for the past couple years with out any noticed wear. I use it primary on my cranking rod because I will through anything from 1/4 to 5/8 weight cranks with out any issues at all.

I would say 1/4-3/8 spinner-baits would be more ideal for that rod. 1/2 would be a little heavy and I actually prefer a mh power rod for most of my spinner-baits. Frankly a 2500 size reel should work for anything short of large swim-baits.

I have not seen an Avenger casting reel But i did just pick up a Calera Casting reel for around 60$ that actually feels great. I would recommend it for the price.

I love those little swim bait but they I fish them much more finises. I normaly use a ML rod with light line. I throw them into holes between Lilly pads or into weeds and let the bait sink, then slowly reel them back for 5 seconds then let it sink again. I would say I fish them in similar places that I would a ribbon tail worm.

Fuji 503 no cp

Ok. Well I am almost finished with my second Rod and I have to say I think it is a little better than my first. I still need to add a hook keeper, sticker and some kind decoration between the split grip. But it is a great feeling rod I. am using a rainshadow revelation 610mxf blank with this.

My wedding is coming up and I thought about building my two friends in the wedding party custom travel rods with their names, and the colors of the wedding. Would anyone be able to recommend a moderately priced travel blank that I could use for this? One of the guys will only use a spin cast reel basically a zebco and my other buddy frankly is not in well enough to fish anymore but was an avid rishername and I think would like the gift. I was thinking something in the 6’6” to 7’ range medium power all purpose travel rods?

I believe the Rage will be more sensitive and the ZX will be lighter But the guides on the rage I think are subpar.

Honestly I use a hobie outback and when i fish with a couple guys that use a ride 135 and an Atak they actually paddle faster then I normally pedal. I am sure if push came to shove I could outdistance them but the real advantage is not the distances pedals cover rather it is being able to stay in position by peddling. while fishing. most of the time a good good kayak with an anchor trolley covers 90% of what a pedal powered kayak can do.

I have to ask, how do those slid locks work on the rainshadow rod? I have seen you post them before But i would think that the reel would fall out often?

I am more ad hoc with my purchases of rods. Most of my fishing rods are in the 100-200 range and almost off of them are different brands. This is because for the most part I have not found my perfect style yet. I really don’t pick based on warranty or anything like that But I do have to say pure Fishing is very easy to work with on the rods that I have broken. I have started looking for rods with guide rings rather than chrome or stainless, they seem to feel smoother with braid. I prefer full handles to spit grips but not enough not to keep me from purchasing a rod. And I am not a fan of the really small microguides. Anything smaller than size 5 is too small for me. The rest is up in the air. I actually started building my own rods just because my tastes seem to be a little more unique than what I can find at bass pro shop.

I think people over estimate the quality of one brand vs another. The larger brands put out a quality product but you see them everywhere. Boutique bait companies are popular but they have to different themselves from the big guys with different packaging, marketing or even more extreme styles Now I don’t know if their baits are better or if they are just seen less than the big brands so they may get a better reaction sometimes.

I have two local bait shops that I use. One I support buy renting flat bottom boats when I want to head out on the water for a couple hour. They are primary a live bait shop they sell tackle but it is sparse. But I do try to buy drinks, propane and anything else they do that line up with what I need. They are a mom and pop shop that does a little bit of everything. They fix reels and motors as well as deer processing in the fall. The other bait shop is right off of St Clair and they have a good selection or items,. I normally pick up stuff that I can buy at dicks, Walmart or BPS. Their prices seem to be competitive but they also don’t have the competition of a BPS or a cabalas on that side of the area. Small bait shops have to do things that you can’t get from the big boys for them to succeed. The ones that just want to sell tackle are already dead.

I seem to like bending branches paddles the best. I have tried a few others but I like their paddle design.

I find 3 to 4 rods is ideal for kayak fishing for me. I will add a 5th for tournaments sometimes but it depends on how much i know about the lake.. I normally plan 1-2 moving baits like a swim-bait, spinner bait, or a crank. then one slider head rod and a jig rod. Now on how many I own that is over a dozen. Granted I am planning on offloading 4-5 this spring But that is to replace them with other rod ideas.

The smoke is a nice reel but I have had it act a little finicky with fluro. If you are planning on running braid than it is a wonderful little reel. Now I dont have a curado 200 but I have a 50 size scorpion and it is a nice little reel as well. it casts like a dream with fluro on it but i do not get the distance that i do with the smoke.

I bought one last fall. It is sensitive but heavier then I expected. Love the handle and hate the guides. for 89 it is a good deal But I was more impressed with the new Mojo rods I checked out at BPS

My favorite is actually Grand Slam. I bought it on clearance last year figuring i would try it for kicks and I was really really impressed. I wish I would have picked up every spool they had.

They don't sell XX rods in their Michigan location.