Ozark_Basser

Cuz

I fish a pond that's pretty similar to yours. It's only about 4 acres, super clear (spring fed), about seven foot deep in the middle, and about half covered in lily pads. I can almost cover the entire thing from shoreshore due to the way it's shaped, so I never take my canoe out. If I were you I'd take my kayak out and look for irregularities, such as breaklines where the flooded timber turns to open water, large flooded trees, places where structure coincides with the flooded timber, etc. A picture of the pond would also be helpful.

It's possible. Probably won't be pretty, but it's possible. You won't be able to pull out as much line, so distance will suffer a little.

I'd say it's for comfort more than anything. All the old guys use them. Roland Martin, Charlie Ingram, etc. I'd say they've gotten tired of rod butts digging in their sides.

If you did ^^^^ that build yourself, it would be right around $300.

Same here. As long as my reel can bomb lures, is reliable, and fairly lightweight, I don't care if it's expensive or not. With rods, I want the highest modulus I can get for any technique, but I feel it's most important for bottom contact baits.

The power, which in this case is medium heavy for both rods, is the stiffness of the rod. The action, which in this case is fast for both rods, is how far down the rod the blank will flex under load before engaging the "backbone" of the rod. Fast action rods usually will flex in the first third of the rod before engaging the backbone. This can differ from brand to brand. With all things being equal in your case, the only difference is length which will give you a little extra casting distance and a little more hookset power.

I used to fish a pond where jigs worked slow on the bottom rarely got bit. I started swimming them while hopping them, and started getting bit.

Depends on how well I did. I'm usually not satisfied with a trip unless I catch at least one good size fish. Depending on the body of water that could be 3-5 lbs minimum. I'm never disappointed if I catch some decent ones, but I'd rather catch one beast. That usually holds me over as far as the itch goes, but it doesn't really matter either way. I'll be back out fishing again in a few days lol.

Its more about line manageability when it comes to higher # test braids and baitcasters. Also braid isn't the best for abrasion resistance. Higher # tests help with that a little.

The way I fish a spinnerbaits is I usually do a roll cast (that usually prevents helicoptering) past my target. It also allows the spinnerbaits to enter the water a lot quieter.

I guess that's true, but I won't buy shakey heads that won't stand up.

I guess that's true, but I won't buy shakey heads that won't stand up.

You kinda get what you pay for with fluorocarbon. The best cheap fluorocarbon is seaguar red label if you ask me. If you just want to use fluorocarbon as a leader, I'd buy fluorocarbon made for leaders. This type of fluorocarbon lacks in manageability, but is harder and more abrasion resistant. Seaguar invizx is a good fluorocarbon for manageability/castability. I.e. it's pretty good as a mainline. I like it for reaction baits. There are lots of good options out there for fluorocarbon.

Shaky head for when you want the worm to stand up. Texas rig in cover.

I have a 709 XH MF HM North Fork Composites blank on a build that I did. Almost the same blank as on the helium 3's. Its rated 3/8-2 oz and is true to its rating. I will agree with 21 farms and say go with the LMH/F. Might be a little underpowered for 1/2 oz jigs, but that's just a guess.

Temple Fork Outfitters 7'MHF. Very parabolic bend with plenty of backbone and it's lightweight. I throw 3/8 oz spinnerbaits with it on 20# fluoro or cxx. It can easily handle 1/2 oz spinnerbaits as well. It is a very good moving bait rod.

I've yet to build on an MHX high mod blank. How does the sensitivity compare to some other brand's high end blanks?

Lol Get em SenkoGuru....locked in 3,2,1

When you make rods as pretty as ^^^^^ he does, you want them to match. I used to never care about matching rods and reels until I started building.

The panty how's is a good tip. Probably helps keep the liver on the hook.

http://asavacustom.com/en/casting-with-daiwa-t3-air-shimano-aldebaran-bfs-xg-and-abu-revo-ltz-shootout/ Check the rest of the site if you want to some AWESOME custom rods as well. He does very nice work.

I'm not real sure why. I remember seeing a finesse baitcaster "showdown" on A. Sava's blog or website maybe. One of the spools on one of the reels was so light the manufacturer recommended only low # test mono. The way the spool was built to save weight apparently made it structurally unsound for anything else. I'll look it up. It's pretty in depth. The reels were very high end though. Nothing a non enthusiast would think about buying.

Big ole river fish. Nice!

How well does the Alphas sv hold up to braid and heavier line? I know some spools on finesse baitcasters recommend you don't use braid or even fluoro on some.