punch

I really want to try the new LFS Tournament Pro.. dang monkey.

Zman has a lot of fun with it... check their instagram feed haha.

It's amusing that Ott Defoe does the infomercial for the shuddering bait BUT he used a Jackhammer on day 3 of the classic. It caught his winning fish towards the end. I'm sure Rapala was pumped about that.

Nailed it. FMJ is really for 1/2oz and above. I have one and I think even a 3/8th might be too light for it, let alone 1/4. If you're going to fish 1/2oz and under, I'd totally go for the 7'2 MH Expride. Amazing rod.. i've been tempted to buy one on several occasions.

Is there a code?

Daaaaang... ya'll bringing the thunder.

I find the new Tatula rods to be pretty stiff. The fit and finish is fantastic, per usual with Daiwa, but I was a little disappointed in the tips. Seemed a little overpowered for their ratings. There's an embarrassment or riches for amazing rod lines for under $150. From my personal experience, I don't think you can go wrong with the Mojo Bass, Fury or the new Shimano Curado line. Don't sleep on the new Curados. They are quite nice for the price.

What did you get it for?

Anyone hit the NW sports show? Do some damage? I picked up an Expride 7'2 MH glass, which isn't an easy to stick to find these days. Keep hearing how it's one of the best chatterbait rods out there.

Spinning reels I'd imagine. Tatsu has a smaller diameter than other Fluorocarbon lines.

My biggest problem with custom rods is the resale value. If I'm going to spend four hundred bucks on a megabass, Loomis or St Croix.. I know I can sell it in a couple years for a lot of money AND pretty easily. Even if the custom rod is really nice, nobody wants to buy them used on the aftermarket for anywhere close to what you paid for it. For some reason people are kind of turned off by used custom rods. For that reason alone I'll never buy a custom rod.

I own a Xtreme and yeah i'd say it's close to what the Posions are. The Posions have kind of a matte finish. I'm just going off memory from two days ago but the handles felt pretty nice.

They are very smooth, they are not the 'soft touch' material like on the Expride. They feel more like the handle on the St Croix Legend Xtreme IMHO.

Mmmm I can't get this to work.

I got hold these rods this weekend at the Shimano booth at the NW sports show and they are AMAZING. The balance is fantastic and It's ridiculous how light there are without skimping on the handle and guides. The taper is quite powerful for a rod that light. I don't know what voodoo Shimano is doing but its shockingly lite. The Phenix feathers feel this fight BUT they have super bare bones handles and components to achieve that weight. This is a fully baked rod. For 350 these are gonna be popular. It felt like a more expensive rod. The 7'3 MH is the obvious front runner.

Now that the K has been out there for a while, how is everyones reels doing? I keep reading/hearing about issues with the the thumb bar, but other than that it seems to be a solid workhorse? The thumb bar seems to be a bit of a weak point. I haven't bought one yet but I'm tempted to try a couple this season.

I'm still not sure I understand what the heck Reelsnot does.

I find it interesting that they had a 7'4" MH legend glass that St Croix marketed as their Chatterbait rod.. now they have a 7'2 H Legend Glass that they are marketing as their Chatterbait rod.

Sorry, I want to deep dive on this for a sec. This is an very odd mindset because I'm sure that MANY of our favorite baits were designed by fishing amateurs. Professional fisherman don't make great inventors/designers... they are great at catching fish. Average joe off the street who's an engineer/designer with a manufacturing background could easily design a bait that's way better than one made by a Bassmaster Elite angler. Googans, much like pro anglers, partner up with a company and just test the baits that other (more qualified) people design through the R&D process. Then they give their input/notes, then when the final product is done they slap their name on it and cash a check. Not like ANY of these, googans or pro's, guys are sitting in front of CAD software and designing molds. To succeed in any retail market, you gotta be great at marketing and branding. Googans ability to brand and market is pretty astonishing for how young they are. When they have bigger lines for autographs & pictures at the BPT kickoff event than the pro anglers (true story).. you know they are kiling it. At the kickoff BPT event there was pro anglers that WALKED PAST the Googans meet & greet line and nobody stopped them to talk or take a picture.

Added it to my calendar, I should be free.

Yes. Get both

As a spinning rod addict I have to say that in that price range the top contenders are a GLX or NRX (you can get used NRX spinning rods for 325ish), St Croix Legend Xtreme/X/Elite, Shimano Expride, or the MB Addermine. If you want to save a few bucks, the Tatula Elite rods with AGS guides are a great sub $300 option.

That is a good price.

1. I would go with a regular MH rod for 1/4 & 3/8 oz jigs. I think the sweet spot for the FMJ is 1/2, 5/8, 3/4. 2. FMJ can handle any duties you'd normally associate to a 7'2 H rod. It could be a good frog rod for sure. 3. I think most people prefer the blank on the 894c vs the 854c simply because the 894c feels more "lively". The 854c and 894c are rated the same. I'm not the best person to give a great opinion on this but my gloomis buddies have all told me the 3 gloomis blanks that are must-gets are the 894c, 893c, and the 873 CRR. I'm running a GLX 893c this year for lighter texas rigs (1/4 & 3/8) and single hook moving baits.. chatterbait/spinnerbait/buzzbait.

I used to say the same thing.. now I'm like "$360? That doesn't sound so bad..". Slippery slope. These rods look SICK. Shimano is killing it. The spinning handle looks like the same one they use on the Zodias.. anyone else notice that?