Elwood aka Ted Striker.

Just want to say guys cheers to all for giving my posts some of your time and its been appreciated getting all your views and opinions to start fishing american style lure fishing in the uk . Cheers aye. Rod: St croix legend tournament bass dropshot/finesse 6'10" xfast casting . Reel: Daiwa tatula type R baitcaster 8.1:1 retrieve . All that needed now is line . So for general use of dropshotting, jigs and trailers bottom bouncing and straight retrieve, worms and other soft plastics what line would you recommend, braid, flouro, mono etc? and what breaking strains for european perch which get from 1lb to over 6lbs? The other thing is the places i fish all have, as you guys call them northern pike . So i will be using an ultra thin titanium wire trace as i dont want to leave a fish with a hook in its mouth so based on the fact i will be fishing weights of 1/8 to just over 1/2 and all these other factors what are your reccomendations? I will be ordering a few spare spools for the reel to give me more options . So with the one thats with the reel and the spares i will order i will probably have 3-4 spools in total . This is my first casting rod and baitcaster and im sure wont be my last . I am looking forward to hearing from you all . Cheers aye .

Ordered the tatula type r in 8.1:1 as the slower models had to be ordered in so just went for it as i didnt want to wait, no what i mean. But some how i dont think this will be my first and last baitcasting reel so its all good anyway . But cheers for your responses fellas aye.

Tatula type r ordered and sent out same day so just waiting now and im counting the hours . Cheers for all your replies fellas aye.

You alright fellas Finally decided on the Daiwa Tatula type r for my first baitcaster, so all it is now is, what speed retrieve for jigheads and soft plastics for straight retrieve and bouncing along the bottom? 6.3:1 or 8.1:1? Cant wait to hear your views aye.

Cheers for all of your responses fellas aye. Being in the uk im limited to what i can get unless i import so based on reviews ive seen on what i can get here it looks like its going to be the Daiwa Tatula or Daiwa Tatula type R ok. For my application of dropshoting and casting out jigheads with softplastics what retrieve would you recommend, the 6.3:1 or the 8.1:1? As for $149 price list did you know in the uk the tatula type r is $230.14 and the standard tatula is $171.34? Is that good? Or what about $396.47 for the SHIMANO CHRONARCH 51mg and $515.76 SHIMANO CORE 51Mg7 Is that expensive compared to your prices in the states? Im prepared to pay the tatula uk prices for my first baitcaster to see how i get on with it before make my import purchase of a st croix legend extreme/elite or a g loomis nrx in either a spinning or a casting model for fishing jigheads and soft platics so which retrieve should i get for tatula type r to pair with my st croix legend tournament bass dropshot/finesse rod for now fellas? Looking forward to your responses fellas tight lines and happy hunting aye

After my purchase of a St Croix Legend Tournament Bass Finesse/Dropshot X-fast action 6' 10" 1 piece 1/8oz -1/2oz casting model rod im looking at a baitcaster reel to go with it and was looking at: 1) Abu Revo SX-HS -L 2) SHIMANO CURADO 200G6 3) Daiwa Cygnus 100-3BI mag force 4) Daiwa TD Fuego 5) Abu Garcia Ambassadeur REVOSTX (8.9 oz older version.....) 6) PINNACLE Matrix II MT10SR 7) Abu revo s 8) Recommendations from you guys for about $170.00 All the reels listed are all new and cheaper than the retail prices and my questions are which one is better for balance and application paired with the above mentioned rod? Can you recommend a reel that would be better suited than the ones in the list for the price mentioned? Being in the uk the baitcasting reels available to us are the usual suspects like shimano, daiwa and abu garcia as baitcasters arent as popular here in the uk as they are in the states and the rod above is my first trigger grip rod and the baitcaster that i purchase will be my first baitcasting reel and being a newbie to lure fishing and not being able to view and try, would like your input, knowledge and experience aye. Cheers for your time fellas aye

You alright fellas I purchased the rod on numerous recommendations from a lot of helpful people on this forum (cheers guys aye) and wondered which reel to put on it so out of 1) Daiwa TD Fuego 2) Shimano Curado 200g6 Which one would be better suited to the rod? Is $155.00 to much to pay for a new unused Daiwa TD Fuego? Is there a better reel i could buy for the money that would suit the rod and its intended application? Looking forward to hearing from you fellas ok Cheers aye

Cheers for your replies fellas aye. Does anyone know when the new st croix legend elites/extremes are out and is it worth waiting for the newer models? Is there any difference between elites and extremes other than the handles? With regards to the glx im not to bothered about saving money really as i want the best rod possible but cheers for the heads up on the newer glx models fellas aye. Does any body know when the new nrx is out and with the nrx being stiffer as some have said what are the advantages/disadvantages to this? Look forward to hearing from you all fellas cheers aye

You alright fellas. What are the sharpest jig head hooks for soft plastics and whats your rule of thumb with regards to size of jig head hooks matched to size of soft plastics? Looking forward to hearing from all, cheers aye.

Cheers for your reply tartan aye.

Casting or spinning for casting distances of 20-30ft canals and 40-80ft rivers?

Depth wise I will be fishing 3-8 ft canals and 5-16 ft rivers so is your recommendations still the same tartan or would in need something different? Fast or xtra fast fella?

You alright fellas. Looking at importing a st croix legend xtreme to the uk for fishing jigs with soft plastics for European perch on canals and rivers but after import taxes etc it works out the same money as the g loomis nrx and I'm not really bothered to much with warranty with regards to which company is better and considering the fresh water perch over here get to 6lb + which would be the better rod to purchase with regards to sensitivity? Fast or xtra fast action? Spinning or casting in a 6'6" to 7'2" lure weights of 7g to 21g? Am buying blind as don't have access to view in person as we are limited to top American rod brands in the uk so look forward to your views Ok fellas. Tight lines aye. Elwood

Stiff breeze? laughed for about 10mins with that one hootie absolutely priceless aye

Excellent tartan34 so you reckon the loomis then aye. I've heard the st croix are under rated casting weight wise so are the g loomis pretty accurate then? In your opinion Fast or extra fast fella?

Excellent tartan 34 so you reckon the loomis the. I've heard the st croix are under rated casting weight wise so are the g loomis pretty accurate then? In your opinion Fast or extra fast fella?

That's in case, proxy I pads aye lol.

Encase some wasn't sure which rod, This is the rod I was originally posting about fellas, st croix TBC610MLXF Drop Shot/Finesse 6'10" ML X-Fast 1 6 - 10 1/8 - 1/2 3.8 1 $ 260, so could I use it for jig heads and soft plastic or not? What about the st croix legend extreme vs loomis nrx purchase?

Tim you would be up for a bit of coaching/guiding would you? What's you price fella lol ?

Nice perch Tim, where did you catch that beauty? What lure did it take? Looks like it could get even bigger around the shoulders aye or is it the way your holding it.

Cheers for you responses guy been great aye. Getting the the st croix ltb and phoned the friendly fisherman about dobyns rods however they don't have them so now as the bug is biting hard have looked into also getting a legend xtreme or a loomis nrx new but because the st croix legend xtreme is to be imported to the uk it works out pretty much the same price as the nrx is in the uk so which one should I or would you go for for a jig head rod say medium light to medium? Fast or xtra fast? Casting or spinning?

Want to catch carp? Why not try floating baits such as bread and bread crusts when they are up in the water on sunny days. Did you know this can sort out the bigger fish. Carp are known eat up spawn and fry and small mouth sized fish in the early part of spring as did you know they spawn a lot later than most species in the uk so eat a lot of protein prior to there own spawning time. If the carp are present in high numbers then the bass will numbers will definitely be suffering over time aye.

I will post the pictures ok fellas and I know you s get it all the time but like I said I'm unable to feel or look at the rods before purchase and only want one top end jig rod and hearing of g loomis nrx, st croix legend elite and extremes, airrus, dobyns, mega bass etc can you imagine the frustration of trying to buy blind? Anyways tight lines and may many personal best weights be broken to you s all aye.

Tim I see your a member of the lure anglers society forum here in the uk, that is you isn't it. Do you fish in the uk? What rod do you use fella?

You alright fellas. Didn't expected responses so quickly so cheers for that aye. Lottery? Lol Tim if they ever get mine right I'll pay it for you ok fella. Checked the site you mentioned but they must not have updated there site with the dobyns rods yet but nothing a phone call tomorrow won't clear up aye. I must say the Robyn's also get mentioned alot on the bass forums don't they. Do you fish in the uk Tim? If so where and what for fella? Wrb, .ghoti., WIguideand Tim the rod is priced at £100.00 sterling and used twice, lightly, but in immaculate condition and the postage was free, so considering on offer here to us Brits we only have premiers and avids on offer to us with regards to American rods which cost a lot more and than this rod is offered I thought it might be worth ago, know what I mean. I'm new to lure fishing and have bought a fenwick venture 7' ml fast action spinning rod and an Abu veritas 7'2" ml fast action spinning rod both rods the jig head and soft plastic models and 3 Abu revo spinning reels to get me started whilst I research and make my mind up for a top of the range jig head rod up to the value of around £500-£600.00 sterling and already searched all the forums for best soft plastics and acquired more than what I was initially wanting to spend on American bass lures although in smaller sizes for perch which I haven't used yet so which rod do you brand rod do you guys recommend in 7' ish medium light spinning rod and would fast or xtra fast action be better? I've had lots of follows from perch of all sizes and even pike but not caught nothing yet and I'm yet to try my arsenal of American lures so just so you know I not wasting your time I will post a picture of my purchased American bass rod and with any joy an East London canal caught perch so fellas which brand would you recommend? Cheers aye.