poisonokie

Here's a little bit better shot of my rod rack. To me it's a thing of beauty. Especially with that new Luna 103L on my cranking stick. That reel is amazing.

I like a mod-fast action because it is more forgiving with resistance baits, gives better casting distance, and allows for reeling hook sets because it keeps the fish pinned. If I attempt a normal hook set, more often than not it pulls the bait away, so I like a stiff, powerful rod with a good bend since I still need a lot of backbone to drive the hook home, though, so a soft, moderate action cranking rod is out of the question.

I use a 7'1" MH/R tatula for spinnerbaits, blade baits, swim jigs, vibes, and squarebills. It fishes mod fast and has loads of backbone and plenty of sensitivity.

I just snap to the split ring. I don't think there's any benefit to removing it. In the past, I've tried removing it and tying direct with a non-slip mono knot and it hurt the action of the lure.

I do love my Major Craft rods, but seriously, how bout them Tatulas? Powerful, sensitive, lightweight, well built, technique specific rods with great components, and easy to come by for less than msrp with a 5 year warranty makes them incredibly hard to surpass. They're hard to pass up, too. That's why I've got 4 and counting.

they have the 6.3 at tackle direct and are getting the 7.9 at the end of the month, I believe. $300, though? Ouch.

I just tie on a 20# fluoro leader.

I didn't know they even made 1/20 shroomz. I throw the 1/15 + TRD on it just fine. I think it comes out to about 3/16 rigged that way. Those are actually pretty aerodynamic, so you can fling em out there a good distance.

That's the color I use. It's bass candy even in clear water.

Awesome. I've brought in a few good size ones with mine without a hitch. I love that taper. Makes it great for nearly any technique and helps play in the fish easily. You can't horse them in or steer them all over the place, but you can still control them. Try some 1/4 oz cranks with it. One of my favorite baits to throw on that rod is the Duo Realis Crank 48sr. Throw one of those in with your next TW order and you'll see what I mean. The little 3/16 rozante 63sp jerkbait is pretty awesome, too.

I know that friggin tackle monkey is insatiable. It's screaming at me for an ss air, even though I absolutely don't need one.

Maybe I should put everything I own (and some things I don't) up for sale at some ridiculously inflated price...

Major Craft ms-x. I don't think there's a better alternative in terms of sensitivity or balance, especially at that price point.

What gets me is seeing a $150 reel readily available on the same site for $99 being priced by someone else at $350. Surely no one is THAT idiotic...

I just spool on enough equal diameter mono or fluoro to cover the spool, then uni-uni to braid.

yeah, its the same frame as all the other tatulas, zillions, and puzzlingly, the fuegos.

Tatula!

I'd say 5-10# power pro.

If you ordered it from shimreels, it will only seem like a long wait. I had mine within a week.

Dude, you'll love it. Anything 1/8-1/3rd, singles or trebles. I use neon braid with mine and the sensitivity, slack line or not, is fantastic. I just watch my line, set the hook, and play em in. Between that and the ml ms-x, I barely even look at my jig rod anymore, which is kinda sad because i love that setup, too.

they start up faster and spools do hit some pretty high rpm's, if only briefly. The smoother the better to get it there.

Based on the bearing count, I may have one already. It makes it smoooooooooth. Some reels support 2. Plus it really helps to have one in the line roller.

Cool. Can you add a drag bearing to it?

Yeah, I have an ML basic series ms-x and that rod is just stunning in terms of quality and performance. I agree on going below 1/8th. You'd have to go UL for that, but what are you, trouting? 1/8 and up is bass territory, at least for me.