FryDog62

I just went thru the same decisioning on Daiwa SV reels. I spent a lot of time at the Daiwa booth at the Minneapolis Sportshow in March. As I was talking to the Daiwa rep, James Lindner joined in the conversation. He and Al recently posted videos on their FB page about the SV spools and anti-backlash. I needed one reel for skipping Senkos and flukes, and another set up for skipping jigs. The conclusion was some of the more finesse Daiwa SV reels were very good but had smaller handles (80mm) and may be a little frustrating at times the way I fish vs. 90mm handles. So that narrowed down to the Zillion or new Tat for me. Steez was nice too but out of my price range... The Daiwa rep said with the floating spool on the Zillion, it would be a slight preference for skipping light plastics. He said the Tat would resist backlash well too, but maybe slight edge in terms of casting distance. So I bought one of each with the 20% discount at the show. Been out skipping with both of them and have the Senko on the Zillion and a Strike King skipping jig on the Tat. Takes a little fine tuning, but so far seems to be working well practing in a local pond before the season opens here in Minnesota. Neighbors think I'm crazy, I think I've heard "Catch dinner yet?" At least 20 times... but hey, gotta get the technique down with my new surgically repaired wrist and new SV reels...

Sniper and Tatsu are the two most user-friendly FC lines IMO. If they don't work for you, best advice is above to use braid and tie on a FC leader. Yozuri Hybrid as a main line can work too depending on what you are using it for. It's a compromise between FC and mono son o leader needed.

I'm now using Okeechobee Craw color on a Fin-Tech Skip jig under docks, overhangs...

Looking at rod options for either throwing a frog, or a LiveTarget Hollow Body Sunfish. I'm thinking a Fast action rod might be better on the casting end, but an XF might be an advantage on the retrieve. Haven't fished the LiveTarget Sunfish yet but "had" an older frog rod that met its demise a couple years ago. Can't remember the specs... and rods are a lot better now anyway so the Bait Monkey is sitting on my shoulder. Looking for opinions first and foremost on tip action (Fast of Extra Fast?) for hollow body frog/sunfish - and second if you have any first hand experience with the rods below - or if there is another good option in that price range ($90-120) to consider: Fast St. Croix Bass X Casting Rod 7'4" Heavy Daiwa S Casting Rod 7'4" Heavy Cabelas Tournament ZX 7'3" Heavy Extra Fast Daiwa Tatula XT Casting Rod 7'4" Heavy Frog Fate Black Casting Rod 7'4" Heavy BPS Carbonlite 7'3" Heavy

4 inch Pit Boss, Molting Craw color. Pretty basic but works well up North anyway...

It's searchable or if you can't find it let me know and I can re-post.

Given the reputation of St. Croix, I would suspect even the C rods are probably okay. At that price, I'd take a chance... (Let me know if they have any 7'-3" Frog rods at that price)

Big fan of Yozuri Hybrid. It is the only main line I will use outside of braid/leader. Stronger and less stretch than fluorocarbon, more manageable like mono but doesn't soak up water, great knots, abrasion resistance. Only knock on the line is diameter, a bit thicker than most but go down in pound test a notch or two if you need to. I use it for cranks, spinnerbaits, skipping under docks, etc...

I plan to fish more docks, but using a baitcaster this year to horse more big fish out. Still plan to skip lighter wacky worms but heavier skip jigs too. Also bought a better Frog rod to spend more time on mats and pads. Have had 5 wrist surgeries now but hope the new rod and some recovery time will allow me to get into some heavier stuff. Also bought a new boat that has Panoptix and I want to get better at finding some deeper structure where the fish hang out and doing some drop-shotting. ... so many lakes, so little time !!! I need to retire but can't quite yet --

Tats are good, also I sold my Revo S a couple years ago in favor of a Lews... all personal preference but I found the palming of the Lews superior to the Revo. Has been a solid reel for me too. Tats are good, also I sold my Revo S a couple years ago in favor of a Lews... all personal preference but I found the palming of the Lews superior to the Revo. Has been a solid reel for me too.

Going to a little shorter baitcasting rod for jerk baits this year (6'-6" MF). Don't want to give up distance in some clear waters. So what's everyone's go-to line to maximize casting distance? Braid, co-poly, fluoro, mono? I don't think they make Nanofil for baitcasters yet...

Sugar is just a didn't flavor to try vs. salt. I did try a bag once though and notice they are much lighter and don't sink very quickly unless using some weight. Seemed more durable than salted though...

For muddy/stained waters like the Mississippi or Waubay area - both for smallmouth - Yamasenko Blue Pearl (basically white) with Silver fleck. For all waters and for either large or smallmouth - Kalin Wac-O-Worm in Baby Bass.

I'm getting ready to place an online order - wondering what size Owner Twistlock LIGHT weighted hook 3/32oz for 5 inch Senkos? Can't remember what I ordered last time but It think 4/0? Thx, -Fry

X2 above -- Also books by Tim Holschlaug, although more from a river/spinning reel/fly rod perspective.

No, but we do have one 'screamer' in the group. If he weren't a relative of one of the guys he'd probably get voted off the island

I still think a 15 inch limit wouldn't be so bad and again maybe a happy medium. Maybe instead of catching 100 fish total they catch 60. That's still filming of a fish caught every minute on an hour long show. Would hold my attention better anyway. Personally, when I'm fishing with a bunch of guys and someone catches a 12 inch 14 ounce fish we're kind of embarrassed and slip it back into the water hopefully before anyone else notices ... and we're strictly amateurs at best...

Yes but figuring it out to win a dink fest is different than figuring out a lake's patterns to catch both quantity and quality are two different things --

"To me the big difference is the live score tracker & how a lot of the episodes go down to the wire. I think it makes it more exciting and intense. The format I think reflects how most people fish. Don't we all like to catch more fish but still manage to catch a few good ones in the mix?" I agree, but wonder if you could capture the same excitement but with a minimum 15 inch or 2 lbs...

I enjoy watching the competition and various personalities, but after watching a couple seasons now I am growing a little tired of the "catch everything" format. I know they want something different than the typical BASS/FLW tournament of 5 best fish, but when the average size is 14 ounces to a pound and a half, I get a little bored with it. I especially noticed this watching the Summit Cup Championship in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. These are home waters for me and to watch the finals and probably over 100 fish caught - and the largest was 3 1/2 pounds. These are waters where 4, 5 and and even a few 6 pound fish are not common, but are in relative good supply. To catch that many fish between 6 great anglers and not even a 4 pounder, I think its more of an issue of the format not the quality of fish in the lake. I don't know how many times I heard "Oh, its a GIANT" and they weigh it at 2 1/2 pounds... really? I think the fisherman are getting conditioned... Maybe reality is somewhere in between - it doesn't have to be the 5 biggest, but maybe only count fish over an acceptable size (12 inches is way too small IMO). I've always been a fan of quality over quantity and I would rather see the Pros figure out how to catch premium fish in waters where the average/amateur fisherman like me goes. Just my 2 cents worth ~

Road, what colors on the Menace do you find best for smallmouth?

"I want y'all to show me a report not done in a laboratory or someone's kitchen table & not with only 10' of line!" ... well, how about 12 feet of line hung from my vaulted ceiling?

Agree, frustrating - especially when there's an early Spring. Was it 2 years ago then was opener was moved earlier to the walleye opener..? That helped I thought. Wonder what the rationale was to do that - but then to move it again last year back to the end of May? It's a long wait for many of us that aren't walleye/meat hunters.

Thx Slone, your helping the bait monkey on my shoulder to stretch my $300 purchase to $500. Let me think about it, I'll let you know but if you need to use it in the meantime no worries. Appreciate the offer! -Fry

Looking to purchase a $300 item, wondering if anyone knows of a discount code of 20% or more to order online? Thank you --