IDUTBass

I do my best impersonation of Jeremy Wade from River Monsters..."Fish on!"

I always use the braid as well.

I have abeen HMG spinning rod that I really like. I got mine for 65 and definitely feel it was worth it. 58 makes it even better!

I have a two of the Daiwa ardito travel rods which I really like. They can be had for under $100 dollars. They run pretty heavy so I think the medium would be a pretty good all around rod unless you fish really light stuff. For the reel maybe a citica i or one of the old model tatulas.

Thanks again everyone. I'm thinking either the Zodias or Volkey mainly because they are two pieces and I travel quite a bit. Where do you guys order your JDM rods from? Ive only ordered reels reels from Japan.

I just picked up a MH model at the Cabelas bargain cave for $57. It had a few scratches on the reel seat but still a steal. They have worked really well so far. My girlfriend tried the Medium model and wants her own now, so I'm sure I will be ordering more soon.

Thanks for the help everybody. Maybe I will pick up the rod first, try it out and go from there. I was really debating picking up a 50 but it seems people really know what they want for them. Any other input on possible rods? I've seen the Major craft Volkey rod has been talked about a bit on here. But I haven't heard of many other rods that people have been using on here.

Thank you for the help. I was thinking of getting the 6'4" L zodias for throwing weightless trick worms, light drop shots, and ned rigs and possibly small inline spinners. I dont see myself going below 1/8 of an ounce on anything. Also do you use braid on any of your BFS setups? I'm a little worried about damaging the spool, but I guess if I don't try to use the reel to get a snag out by pulling it should probably be fine.

I'm going to start getting stuff together for a BFS setup. I have done some research and notice a lot of people use the 50 series shimanos. I already have an Alphas sv and was thinking of buying the megabass finesse spool for it instead of spending the money and getting a new reel like an Alphas air, a used 50 or an Aldebaran. Has anybody tried this yet? If so, what did you think? I was going to call Gary at tackle trap to see if the spool will fit just to make sure. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as this will be my first BFS setup. Thanks in advance.

What are some of your guys favorites so far? I picked up some Pline in a pinch last year on a fishing trip and I'm looking to pick up some more soon.

I also like the Strike King Hack attack hooks. Out of the few I've tried they are my favorite so far.

I like watermelon with red flake and green pumpkin. I mainly use Zoom and Strike king.

Roboworm

I don't have a lot of experience with it, but I have a friend that fishes for steelhead. He told me to try slinky weights, so I made my own using cord and split shot. I made a bunch that were different weights. I just guess and try different weights until I find one that will barely tick the bottom. I'm sure some other guys here will chime in that have more experience but I just use baits like roboworms, dream shots and senkos.

I like using yellow braid and it is on the majority of my reels. It really helps me see what my line is doing while fishing plastics and jigs. I've been teaching my girlfriend to fish and it has helped her quite a bit. To me it is definitely worth it, especially on really thin line like 10 lb braid.

I had the same question. I looked at my reel for a bit and I couldn't figure out how they would snap in/out. I think they just stay free. I may be wrong though.

Should be a great combo. The tatulas are great as well. I love mine.

There are a lot of great reels for around that price. I have a Curado I, Tatula type R, and a Tournament Pro G. I would have a hard time choosing one over the other. They are all great. I really don't think you can go wrong with anything around that price range.

I picked up a 105 last year and it took some time to get the tension right and learn to cast without really forcing it. Just as Hogsticker said. After a few trips messing around with those, it's turned out to be a great reel and it will very rarely backlash. It does seem to have a bit of a learning curve, at least it did for me.

I don't know about the whole doyo thing as I've never been to the factory, but I worked as a machinist and at our shop we had 3 competing companies that we made parts for. The quality control standards for each company were vastly different. Each company had different standards for whether each part was good. So maybe the differences stem from more intense quality control effort from one company. I don't know for sure, but it is a possibility.

It is almost 32" long and has a diameter of 3"

This or an Albright knot.

I will measure it tonight when I get home if nobody chimes in. I don't remember off the top of my head.

Thank you. I'll give them a try. I just havent heard many people talk about them.

Has anyone here tried the Vmc spring lock hooks? I've seen them at DSG but haven't got any yet.