jitterbug127

I keep all the lures that catch fish a secret. Problem is I keep the secret from me.

The curado 150 mgl is the reel I’d be looking at, but your on the right track! I’ve for a few curado 200k reels and they are fantastic, but I don’t throw anything under 1/4 ounce on then. Really they are even better with 3/8 oz or heavier. Curado 70 mgl looks great too. You can’t go wrong with any of the shimano reels imo.

I like to work. I always have, so that makes having a strong work ethic come pretty easy I suppose. I had a VERY strict stepfather growing up, so being lazy wasn’t even an option. I am a nurse, and it can be a pretty demanding job. I always feel like I owe it to my patients to do my best. I think having a positive attitude and being reliable should be the standard and norm. I do also think that working your life away is stupid. I’m going to give it my all when I’m at work, but I’m not going to live at my job. Life is too short. Wise man told me years ago “there is no pride in being the richest man in the graveyard.” That has always stuck with me.

I think you’d get your money back pretty easy

Funny I own 1 spinning and 5 casting reels. I use my spinning reel 75% of the time give it take

Curado mgl 150 will cover all of your needs and give you some more on the heavy side as well.

I’m really glad I started this thread. Tons of solid information so far. 2023 is going to be a heavy cranking year for me, I’ve pretty much fished the bottom of the river and top water exclusively. I’m going to work lots of lay downs and weed lines. Squarebills, jerkbaits, shad raps, in-line spinners and chatterbaits will be my first weapons of choice.

I've torn one reel apart. Needless to say it turned into a parts reel.

I bought a couple flicker shads to try out this spring. Tackle warehouse's rod sale also got me. I picked up a lancer pro cranking rod for $55 bucks shipped to my door. I think it will be perfect for smallies this spring.

Funny you post this. I bought a black fury in black and orange and Avila with a gold blade mepps 3 today. Your exactly right about them being forgotten. I surely did forget about them.

Greenwood resident here. Muncie native. I'm still fishing the same river just 90 miles south now.

hard to beat KVD jerk baits for the $

All of my catfish rods are 8 foot ugly sticks. I have 3 of them 2 are paired up with abu 6501 C3 reels and the other is paired up with a huge shimano 4000 reel (stratic i think). I've used and abused these rods and reels for 10 years without fail. I wish I was committed to my bass gear like I am my catfish gear I'd have a happier wallet.

I do have a few flicker shads, but ive had little luck on them for whatever reason. Wiggle warts are the other baits that ill throw parodically in the deeper pockets of the river. rebel crawfish yes!!!! i forgot about that one had it years ago.

I am going through and doing tackle organization this week since the season is all but over here in central Indiana. I am exclusively a river smallmouth fisherman, and I am realizing that I don't really own any crankbaits for the river outside of KVD 4" jerkbaits and 1.5 square bills. My river is shallow being 3-5 deep at the most. What other crankbaits do you guys throw in a shallow river? I am excluding topwater baits for this conversation.

I appreciate everyone's responses on this! This is why is love this site. There is so much useful information! Does anyone have experience with the ARK lancer pro rods? They have a 6' 10" medium moderate/fast action rod that looks promising. I am just not sure if Lancer pro runs stiffer to flex or not? If its a medium that is a "medium heavy" I'd be game for something like that. That Diawa Rebellion rod also looks amazing! $200 is probably a steal for such a nice rod.

My bps cranking stick broke recently. This was the older old which was labeled as a 7 mh/fast, but it had tons to bend. It was essentially a medium heavy/moderate action rod. I loved it for spinnerbaits/chatterbaits/buzzbaits square bills and even some jerkbaits. I am wanting to find a suitable replacement, but finding a rod under 7’ that meets this criteria isn’t exactly easy in a less than flooded market for this peculiar request. I fish from a kayak and like 6’ 10” rods. They Just seem to be my sweet spot for length. I’m 5 8 and can’t stand in my yak. The kvd medium heavy moderate rods that a-jay raves about are on sale for under 70 bucks, but at 7 4 I’m a little weary about it. I have a 7 4 heavy and 7 w medium/moderate I’ll use out of my kayak, but rethreading line is a mess on them if I get caught up/break off. I basically end up with the rod in the water and have to pull it back out (I’ve yet to find a better alternative on how to do this, but this is for another thread). If no better options come about I’ll gladly pick up one of those kvd rods, but I wanted to ask around around a 6 8-6 10 cranking stick prior to buying. Cheers! Rob

Do you know if there are any mods I can do to my curado k to make it more like curado 70? I really don’t know much about it

So funny this thread pops up. I was just considering this. The one complaint I’ve got about my curado k reels is they’re not great with lures under 1/4 ounce.

Talked to abu yesterday. $9.95 and I’m getting a new rod!

I think putting a zip tie/hose clamp and leaving it there might be a good alternative. I am going to call ABU this week get some restitution.

I’ll contact Abu and see what they say

Cracked reel seat

I have had another horrible year for rod breakage, and reality is setting in that the problem is the man in the mirror. I have damaged/broken 3 rods in the past month 2 of which were completely my fault and the other was a product of stupidity and current. Looking at my abu garcia veritas casting rod this evening I realized that the reel seat is cracked, and now it is pretty unstable. I assume this is from over torquing the reel down, so complete user error I’m sure. I’ve had this rod about 1.5-2 years now. My question is this something that is covered under warranty/ would abu honor a replacement/discount a new rod? If this isn’t possible is it reasonable/economical to replace the reel seat? I am inclined to try to epoxy the crack and throw this rod in my car to bank fish until it finally gives up the ghost, but wondered if anyone had experience with this before? I assume the best option is to just buy a new rod or two and call it a day. Ark rods with the bogo going on look pretty good. thanks and happy thanksgiving Rob

I found another hmg at sportsman’s warehouse for $100. This time it is a spinning rod. 7 foot m/f. Blank feels great, but I’m not 100% if I want to pick it up or not. I’ve been divided on this one or a 6’ 9” ml/fast. This would be my only spinning combo, so I’d want something that’s good for Ned rigs, tubes, wacky worms, weightless crawls/Senkos and jerkbaits (if this even exists?) I fish a river with lots of laydowns/timber out of a kayak. I don’t really ever make extra long casts. I do pull fish out of thick timber often. Question for users of both rods which do you prefer?