PitchinJigz

I agree. Plus they're both 150 sizes so there's no difference in line capacity. I'm still intrigued by the new Caenan because it looks sooo much cooler than the last one. The maroon and silver was ugly!

I saw a lot of this on another forum, but I haven't seen an all-encompassing post on this site for it. 2016 looks to be a huge year for Shimano, and a handful of Hagane styled reels will be coming out. Here's a list with pictures. -Shimano Curado 70 -Shimano Scorpion 70 -Shimano Aldebaran BFS -Shimano Stille 100 -Shimano Casitas 100 -Shimano Metanium MGL -Shimano Caenan 150 -Shimano Antares DC -Shimano Bantam Rods

That's what I hear too.

I just got a Guidewear suit. Seems nice, it will be used a lot here in the rainy Pacific Northwest.

I got one this summer and I've been using it quite a bit. It's a pretty solid reel for the price. I like it. I got it because I wanted an 8:1 reel and Shimano doesn't offer it in the I series reels. The 8:1 Fuego picks up line super fast. One thing to note is 6 of the bearings are in the handle, which really isn't an improvement over a 4 bearing handle, so don't get too caught up in bearing count.

Sent you a PM.

I wish I could find an Orochi XX for $150!

The only Falcon I've used is the BuCoo, so I can't help you there. I just want to add that a lot of guys on here recommend the Avid X over the Avid, so I'd check that out as well.

I really don't like to sound arrogant, and I know there's people better than me somewhere, but I'll give it a shot. Why I'm a better dropshot angler than you are: I've been fishing for my whole life (which definitely isn't as long as most of yours'), but not all always for bass. I started walleye fishing at 3 and became a hardcore bass fisherman a few years ago. Walleye fishing meant spinning rods and light line most of the time for me. Whether it was vertical jigging or using crawler harnesses, I always wanted to know what I was fishing in or around. I learned quickly what a soft bite felt like, and how to tempt a fish into buying in a vertical presentation. Ice fishing especially helped with this. When I started bass fishing, i still had my spinning rods, so immediately I began finesse fishing. I guess that's what we do up in northern Minnesota. It's been said we grow up with a hockey stick in one hand and a spinning rod in the other. I spent all of my free time learning techniques on YouTube when I couldn't fish. I've watched hours of videos on how to read Lowrance/ Humminbird units and now I know what almost everything looks like on one. Through experience, I've learned how to feel the bottom with a dropshot, how different attractants change your presentation on a dropshot, and when to use different types of baits. I started out using just Zoom Finesse and Trick Worms, my favorite color being "Sprayed Grass." The flake shows up more than the fairly translucent body in deep water. I now use 4.5" and 6" Roboworms and Jackall Crosstail Shads. The 4.5" Robo is for most situations. If you need one bait to throw on a dropshot hook, this is it. I use natural colors like Aaron's Magic in clear water and bright pink/ purple colors in dirtier water, such as Morning Dawn and MMIII. The 6" Robo I use when I'm fishing for largemouth 90% of the time. The same color rules apply. The Jackall Crosstail, or any shad shaped bait for that matter (I use the Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm as well) is reserved for fish schooling on baitfish or if I feel like there aren't a large amount of crawfish in the area (think very weedy lakes). 95% of the time a bite on a dropshotted bait is just going to feel like dead weight, especially with bigger fish. This is because a lot of the time, they stare at the thing before they decide to eat it. It's not an aggressive reaction strike like a (insert any reaction lure). The only time I get a hard hit on a dropshot is when they hit it on the fall or right when it hits bottom. These bites are the ones you typically have to watch your line for. I think a lot of guys don't notice some of the bites they get on a dropshot rig. If you're a good jig fisherman, you can translate your skills over to dropshot fishing fairly easily, in my case it was the other way around. The main trick with a dropshot is to vibrate the bait with your wrist, but not to lift the weight off the bottom. The most I lift my bait off the bottom is maybe two inches to move it over a rock or check to see if a fish is on. Dragging the weight is the most efficient way to cover water with a dropshot. The speed of your drag depends on where you're fishing and how active the fish are. I drop down on structure I see on my boater's unit a lot of the time with this rig. I actually stand in the middle of the boat when I'm dropshot fishing to see the unit(s) better than I would on the back deck. EDIT: As for the gear I use on a dropshot, I've changed it around a lot to fit exactly what I need. I started out with a 7'2" ML/F Daiwa Lexa spinning rod and VMC #2 dropshot hooks. I found the rod to be a bit stiff for dropshots. It was hard to lift up on a fish without them feeling the weight of the rod, which led to more fish spitting the bait before I could set the hook. Now I use a Powell Inferno 6101 dropshot rod. It's a L/XF rod. The tip action is crazy, but when I reel set into a fish, the backbone really shows up. I use Gama #2 Split shot/ Drop shot hooks now. They are lighter gauge than the VMC's, which makes them easier to set into a fish's mouth, especially the hard mouth of a smallie. I still use the VMC's around wood and grass because they're harder to bend out. Basically in a spinning reel, what I look for the most is a smooth drag. For line, I use 15lb hi-vis braid to a 6-8lb fluorocarbon leader. This allows me to see the line better and have more sensitivity. Plus the lack of stretch helps make up for the light tip on my rod. I feel like I wrote too much, but hopefully it helps some people out. A lot of people dislike finesse fishing and spinning rods, but it's something you absolutely need to know, especially if you fish competitively. I think I like this technique so much because there's so many options: ways to fish it, things you can change. You can complicate it or keep it simple and still catch tons of fish in it. You can catch active and non-active fish on it any time of the year.

This isn't a joke.

It's the same price as the E6X, unless you found the E6X on sale somewhere.

Here would be my picks at that price range: Powell Max 3D Shimano Zodias Loomis E6X Megabass Levante

The only thing I can think of with the UV deal is the company Tightlines-UV. They claim their baits are easier to see in stained water. If UV waves are the first to be filtered out in stained water, then their company literally has no purpose other than deep, clear water. Unless I'm interpreting this wrong.

My guess is that there's dirt you missed in your gears or you chipped a gear tooth.

Tenmile is much better than Siltcoos and Tahk.

My best advice to you is find somewhere other than Hagg Lake. ...god I hate that place.

I fish a lot of topwater for smallmouth on the rivers here in Oregon. There's some key factors to catching them on topwater. First being cloud cover. You can throw a topwater on a sunny day, but they tend to do the best on partly cloudy to overcast days because the fish can see the lure better and track it easier. This applies especially to smallmouth because they're very visual feeders. If you want to fish a topwater on a sunny day for smallmouth, I'd recommend a popper instead of a walking style bait like the Zara Spook. Weather is very important when using topwater lures. If you're fishing during a cold front, you'll be lucky to get a sniff on a topwater a lot of the time. They aren't as willing to chase when the temperature drops abruptly. I'd say a steady or rising temperature is the best topwater fishing condition. As for the time of year, August should be an okay time to throw a spook up there. Later in fall the topwater smallmouth bite gets a little bit better. There's a window where the topwater bite can get really good, but that time of year really depends on your location. One thing I'd like to add - I'm from MN and I grew up fishing LoTW a lot. It's an amazing lake for walleye, pike, muskie, and smallmouth. I miss it quite a bit now that I've moved to the west coast.

You'll love that Inferno 6101. I grabbed one of those when they went down to $100 and I bought one of the last Inferno 704 casting rods last night. The Powell day is my favorite by far.

To be totally honest with you, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a bad idea. I figure I should put a solid Arsenal together before I really get into enthusiast tackle and gear. I ended up going with a Curado I to save some money, which I'm impressed with. I still plan on picking up one of these reels eventually. Sorry I can't help you, but the feedback from others seems great on the reel.

Hopefully you didn't take the last one. I ordered a 7' H last night too and I got an email saying some of my items were back ordered. Praying it isn't the rod. I already have a 6'10" L Inferno spinning rod and it's a super nice stick. EDIT: Called TW, you didn't get the last one.

I use either 7lb Sunline FC sniper or Yo-Zuri Hybrid 6lb.

Grand Rapids is a great place as well. Northern Minnesota doesn't get the recognition around the country for the great bass fishing community it is. I think that's because none of the big tours come through MN. There's great fishing everywhere in Minnesota for almost any freshwater species you could think of.

I'm from Minnesota and love the state in general, but my pick would not be the metro area. Not even close. There's some awesome lakes down there (Minnetonka, Chisago) but Northern MN is the way to go. Rainy Lake, Lake of the Woods, Upper and Lower Red Lake, Rainy River, Lake Vermillion, even Mille Lacs is pretty far north. My vote is Bemidji, MN. Huge outdoors community and almost everyone you meet is a fisherman.

Powell Inferno 7' MH cranking rod

Powell Max 3D 775 CEF.