jitterbug127

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?

I think would’ve released her, but I’ve never caught a state record fish either. Hard to say unless I was put in that position

I have a follow up question: Fenwick eagle vs st croix triumph which is better(6’6” spinning specifically)? I actually own both of these rods and the st croix feels like that superior rod, but wanted to feed back from the boards. I’ve only fished the eagle and it was a really nice blank the one time I had it out. I picked up the st croix off fb marketplace for $20 bucks. I’ve cast both in the yard and the st croix feels stiffer, based off the st croix I’d say the eagle is more like a medium light or based off the eagle the st croix is more like a medium heavy. eagle feels like a power 2 rod and st croix feels like a power 3 rod. I’ll probably pass one of these rods along to my buddy that is looking for a 6’ 6” spinning rod for the kayak as well. I think I’m gonna pass along the eagle. It’s actually a nice rod for the $

I mainly just beat up the white river between waverly and martinsville and hope got the best. River has been so low i got stuck a bunch last time I went out.

We’re living in a fishing black hole. I don’t even have a spot I like to fish

Thanks for having me back! This fall has been great for fishing, too bad I haven’t been out much. I’ve been shopping like a fool though.

I have not fished many of the ponds in my area. Most of the newer neighborhoods have ponds that will produce fish, and before my son was born I would fish those periodically. Not the best, but I’ll take anything I can get on a hook over being skunked. This year has been tough since I’ve got an 8 month old, so my time on the water is precious. I am addicted to brown back fish, so I’m going to the river every chance I get to fish these days.

Sweet! I guess I got a new hmg for $100 bucks. Pretty good deal then

Unfortunately I live in Greenwood, indiana . The fishing here is terrible at best. I’m half an hour from the closest lake, and the bite is tough. I’ve become a river rat because it’s the only place to get a decent bite. Heavy pressure and very limited options make it tough for the recreation fishermen. Having a kayak has helped a ton. We have very limited bank fishing options

I have a black hmg medium/moderate and the rod I got yesterday is a grayish/gold color. I’m not sure which one is the new model and which is the old. I got the medium moderate second hand brand new last month for $10.

Picked up an hmg at sportsman outdoors for $100. I think it’s probably the older model (not sure though). The eagle was $90, so I think this rod is well worth the $10 difference. I’m going to try to get by with the medium heavy for now and I’ll get a medium/fast if needed.

I think it’s gonna be the hmg. I’m such a sucker for fenwick rods, and they make some good ones!

Anchor pulley system. Put it on both sides of your kayak and enjoy. Boat position just became your best friend. as far as anchors go I’ve to a 10 lb kettle ball or a 10 lb mushroom I’ll use. I haven’t used both yet, but they’d be necessary in really heavy wind. I’m a river fisherman, so spinning due to wind isn’t normally a big concern. I’m fighting current more than anything