benzmech

I checked out these fishing rods at Icast and was not impressed at all. It felt really cheap and I think it should be sold as a ninja turtle or hulk rod/reel combo for 60 bucks. There were much better rods that should have won.

I use 15lb Daiwa J braid in chartreuse. Really easy to see and handles very well.

Fat ika 90% of the time

I've had bad luck with p-line in general. Specifically, too many break offs on fresh line and is was mid line, not at the knot. Maybe it was a bad batch or two, but now I just use it as backing. I mostly use invizx and have been really happy with it.

I love the Ned rig and fish it all the time. It's always tied on and sitting on my deck. I am a believer in the zman products as well. I think they perform the best for this specific application. That being said, I also think the hooks on the shroomz head don't keep a sharp point for very long. I also had problems with fish just popping off half way to the boat. I started taking a file to the hooks and got a nice sharp point. Now I hardly have one pop free. I'd tie my file to my Ned rig rod but it would get in the way. The key for me was to sharpen the hooks often. Hope this helps you and keep handing out those baits. Swing by my place on your next rounds with some green pumpkin and 1/10 Oz heads please.

I caught my pb in February while in a trout fishing tournament. It was about 5pm and i was fishing a large flat area. used an ultra light shimano rod and a small okuma reel. I was throwing a drop shot with 4lb fc line, small trout worm hook and a bright pink lip ripper trout worm. I must have dragged that thing right on top of her bed and really ticked her off. I just thought I had a huge trout at first. Then I saw it jump out of the water. Biggest bass I had ever seen! People on shore were yelling at me to be careful and not break it off.....well yeah, that was my plan. After about 10 min finally got her in the net and to the dock scales. 12.1 lbs!!! I couldn't believe it. I eased her back in to the water so I could try and catch her when she is 14 lbs.

You should definitely take a look a major craft rods. They are really popular in Japan and many parts of the world. They have recently been sending more of their products to the US. I have been fishing with their rods for about two years now and have been really happy with them. I have several of the nanoace and ms-x rods. I have one of the nanoace rods as my dedicated Ned rig setup and it's perfect for detecting those light bites. I also know that Don Iovino "the godfather" does use these rods on a regular basis and has been very happy with the way they perform for finesse fishing.

I try not to store that much excess tackle anymore. I've narrowed to certain baits I like to use and just stick with that. What I have started to do is keep a box full of old stuff I don't use anymore on my boat. When I'm out fishing, If I see a couple of kids who don't have much tackle but make the best of what they got, I will pull up and give them some lures and plastics. Usually I will show them how to fish it if they don't already know. I hope it gets them addicted to fishing and not doing other stupid stuff kids do. And for me, I would rather give some of my old but usable stuff to kids who need it rather than haggle with an adult for a buck.

I know it wasn't on your list but you should definitely look at the gantarel full size and jr. They have great swimming action and catch a ton of fish. You can fish them super slow or burn them back to the boat without them turning over. I have been pitching the jr size along docks and bass can't resist it. I have one I fish shallow and one with some suspend strips on it I fish a bit deeper. Both are an amazing lure. Best part is they don't break the bank

I have a cull aid app on my phone and it works great. Program in the color of your cull tags and it's ready to go. As you catch fish weigh them, tag them and toss them in the livewell. Once you get your 6th fish weigh it and compare to the others. I have an accu cull scale that works great and didn't break the bank. If you're tournament fishing for money it's not worth using unreliable equipment.

I don't know if I got a bad batch of pline, but had had a ton of hook set break offs on 12lb line. It wasn't at the knot, it was in the middle of the line. It was fresh line. I had been using seaguar before and wanted to try pline. I never had an issue with break offs using seaguar. I now use what's left of the pline as backing.

A pro once told me, the best way to fish a weightless senko is on baitcast gear. When (or if) you get a backlash, by the time you're don't picking it out you'll probably have a fish. Taught me to slow down how I fish a senko. Can't tell you how many fish I have caught picking out a backlash over the years. Just had one a month ago that was 6.42 pounds off a dock while getting a small backlash out.

Well the last time I was getting skunked.....it was beer, beef jerky, chex mix and fire up the electronics. Just motor around the lake and look for some new structure, rock, drop off, or some spring break scenery. Beats being at work. Oh, and tie on the good ole Ned rig.

That is an awesome smallie. Hope your time in the sand box goes quickly. Remember, when doubt empty your mag! Semper Fi!

I would love to buy some of those baits. The painting talent and attention to detail you have is impressive sir. Before you give ebay a shot maybe you could open up the sales to us first.

Like previously stated, the z man zinkers do sink but not very well imo. I'm a huge fan of z man (especially the trd) but they didn't win me over with the zinkers. If I'm fishing in a tournament I will use a yamamoto senko because I feel it's hard to go wrong with the original that works so well.

I bought a brand new tracker and don't regret it. It's a nice new boat and I know everything has been done right as far as accessories and maintenance goes. When it came to financing, I was told a 15 or 20 year loan was standard. I was pretty surprised. I got a loan for 15 years at 2.9% interest. No way I was going to pay that long and paid it off after a year and a half. I say if you can afford the new boat get it. Just pay it off as quick as possible and keep the boat as long as possible. Make sure you get what you need so that you don't want to upgrade in 2 years

Can't go wrong with the good ole roboworm. Don iovino worms on a drop shot also catch a ton for me but roboworms are my favorite

I have always had good results with a spook and usually have one tied on in summer. A couple other that have worked well are the deps Buzzjet and ricos. A new favorite I discovered last year was the evergreen shower blows. I can't wait til summer to start throwing that thing again.

I am a huge fan of shimano and lews. For swimbaits I have a lews super duty and 2 shimano cardiffs. Both are great but for bigger swimbaits I prefer the cardiff. As far as spinning reels I would says hands down shimano. I have a saros and 3 stradics that are a work horse. The drag on them is great and they are super smooth. My lews spinning reels is nice but I don't think they are as refined as shimano. As far as regular casting reels go I have about twice as many lews reels and prefer them over most of my shimanos. Hope this helps.

If you take a look at the Huddleston rods on TW they are an 8' rod and the lure weight 3-10oz and Matt Newman designed it for them. That rod is $249. Take a look at the irod genesis II large swimbait rod. Irod is owned or started by Matt Newman. Essentially the irod is exactly the same as the Huddleston rod but 100 bucks cheaper. I got the irod and that thing is perfect for the 8" hudds. Hope this helps.

As far as availability goes it's kinda tough. Major Craft was selling these other models at a fishing show in southern California. I do have ordering information for the other models. If you have any specific information/questions just send me a pm.

Yes, major craft is a jdm rod company and they have recently come over to the usa. I have fished several of their rods and have been very happy with them. This past weekend they just started selling some of their higher end rods in the states. They now have the corzza, speedstyle and ms-x rods here. I'm trying to get one of the ms-x rods right now. I have also heard that don iovino will be releasing a video with his new rod series soon.

I keep an old water bottle on my boat and soak Ned rigs in it (or other zman plastics). I also stretch it out under water about 6-7 times before soaking. If I loose one in the rocks I take one out of the water bottle and I'm ready to go. Been working pretty good for me so far.

Take a look at major craft nanoace rods. I've had one for a year now and use it for my Ned rigs. Those rods are super light and have nice sensitivity.