Cgolf

So you are ok with TW having an issue and knowing about it for months, not changing their security or card handling service, and not informing consumers to watch their cards? That is what bothers me. Had we known about the issue we could have found a safer way to order, or yes maybe another site. Yes my credit card company caught it, but I was without a card for 5 days. I only carry 1 credit card and 1 debit card. So not having a credit card for 5 days was a PIA. We now learned that my wife’s card has a feature to get a one time use number, we will use that in the future.

For me these are my ranges: I do try to buy on sale, so really never pay full price for them. Rods I look in the 150 to 250 range. So like St. Croix Premier, Victory, and Avid lines. Dobyns Sierra, Kaden, and Champ XP lines. This is likely the level I will stay at forever, of course the price will increase over time:) I still use an ugly stick so I am used to heavier rods, so getting a very light in the hand rod or reel is not important to me. BC Reels Generally in the 100 to 200 range. I have some cheaper reels that work fine, but generally with BCs you get much improved performance over the 100 dollar mark. That said I have found even low end Daiwas to cast very well and not baclash as bad as other brands. Spinning reels Here is where I am cheap. I am going to add a lighly used 20 year Shakespeare excursion to thmix to replace the one that has worked for me the last 20 years. I have never seen a reason to spend a lot on a spinning reel. As long as the drag is functional and they are smooth I will used whatever. I generally max out at 50 bucks. This is mostly due to the distance accuracy is on my hand trapping the line against the spool and not the fancy features needed in a BC to prevent backlashes, etc. So that's it. For my skill level and needs I think this level of gear will keep me catching lots of fish for years. The higher end gear has advanteges I don't feel I need so I am cmofortable with this. Only analogy I can draw is I used to race RC cars a lifetime ago and I was in or very close to the top tier of drivers nationaly especially considering I ran unsponsered. I basically ran what came to be a bone stock RC10 Worlds car with the aluminum tub cut up to save some weight. There were of course parts that theoretically could have made the car better, but for my driving style they were jsut money I didn't need to spend because it wouldn't have gained me anything. That is were I feel I am at with my rods and reels. Again the above is for me and me only:)

I tried out the 6th sense last summer and it worked really well for me. It is a nice option to have especially over the top of weeds. The ability to kill it and not foul the hooks increases the amount of water you can effectively cover. The Quake is a very large bait though, and I honestly don't remember how deep it actually runs, so for shore fishing from a pond I can't give a 100% go get it. You could always make either of these baits a little shallower by keeping the rod angle at 45 degrees or greater, I do this all the time fishing crankbaits on rocky rivers to run them a bit shallower and reduce hang ups.

Honestly the river I fish, I have seen the carp during the spawn so thick you could walk across the river on them and the smallie fishery has been strong and healthy with fish of all sizes including some tanks. Walleye and pike seem to do okay too. The last few years the carp numbers seem to be down so maybe they are being pushed out by the game fish, but who knows. A local lake has them as well and while the water is ugly, always has been, the gamefish populations seem fine, at least right now.

Christmas weekend one is out of the way. Got two books and really excited about both. Lunker City had a great deal on Giant Bass. Got two more blade krates, and while they aren’t efficient size wise, the sleeves make it so easy to store baits vs the standard boxes. Will likely carry two for a week long vaca, as spinnerbaits are a huge part of my fishing approach. got some more snaps and had a bunch of 6th sense baits set aside from the summer sale. So the Tempress pedestal seat. I was so torn on spending over 100 on this. Out of the box the padding is stout and I went and got it setup right away. This thing is super comfortable to sit on and the front being shaped the way it is vs the pointy of my old seat, I will actually lean on it more for stability in rough water. Can’t wait to get it out on the water to try. It’s kind of funny I am more excited about a seat than the tackle.

I don't doubt that it does, and our debit card would as well. That article Dwight linked is interesting, especially the overdraft bit that starts to drain into your savings account if your debit card is linked to your checking. We just use credit cards online and at gas stations because they have no link to our personal bank accounts. That is the only difference I can see, fraud protection is the same, but the debit is linked to a personal bank account. Also I don't think anyone is saying they aren't protected from fraud either, just that your exposure could be greater with a debit card if they get charges through before it is flagged.

The thought process is that a credit card is tied to say future monies that you will pay back, while a debit card is linked to your bank account with real money that you have earned. I think the thought is it's easier to cancel credit fraud than try to get back the money you lost if some was taken out of your bank account in the case of debit card fraud.

I don't tourney fish, but have given people advice on the water and even the soft plastics and scent I am currently catching them on. On the river I have caught a nice fish and proceeded to cut that lure off and give it to someone that broke off and watch them catch a PB fish. I do stop short on locations though. That can get dicey, I just pass on tactics and baits. I will help people if they ask, the only thing I don't like is people that will cut me off without asking because they see me catching fish and they aren't For those folks I change my path a bit, but really admire the next fish I catch so they can see it when they still aren't landing them;)

I keep a spreadsheet and logbook of river fish caught and baits that caught them and similar for my yearly week long fishing trip. The biggest thing I have used it for is to limit my spending on lures I will rarely use. It has saved me a ton of money the last few years and really helps me focus on what my tackle needs are.

So my card got hit, but luckily the card company stopped it. I have had the card for over 30 years and this is the first issue I have ever had. A little research online makes me think TW has known about this for a while. Not sure what they could have done, but warning everyone to be careful seems like it would have been a good idea. I did learn that my wife's card allows here to get a one time use number so I may do that to do an order from the 25 days sale. Then I will decide how much I use TW in the future. The 25 days deal is it may be the last time ever to buy certain baits cheaply and I would in large quantities, so we will see what I do. The them knowing and not saying anything would really bug me if that was true.

Last for a while lol. Book was for my Birthday and got my Victory and a small Barlows order.

With my two purchases this year my collection is complete and I don’t feel the need to upgrade to rods in grades above what I have. Right now some solid rods are my backups. Only reasons for upgrading would be if one of the high end St Croix or Dobyns dropped into the Avid or Sierra price range. Honestly for me while rods have gotten lighter, more sensitive, etc for me I actually liked the older rods I have vs a lot of the newer options out there even though I give up some sensitivity. I like a true moderate action rod and the older sticks I have perfectly suit my fishing style and finding that action in todays rods is getting difficult.

I will check my card again and if it got hacked, fair or not that will be my last purchase from TW which would be a bummer. Seeing some people also posting on Instagram about this as well. Poster that put it out there used to be on BR a bit too as a BR writer.

Dobyns from what I have seen and heard run a little softer compared to other brands with the same rating. St. Croix definitely seem to run a bit stiffer then other brands with the same rating. The victory in the hand feels a lot like my Cabela’s Prodigy MHM which has a soft tip. Both see the tip flex quite a bit when I shake it compared to my MHM Premier where I don’t think the tip moves at all with the same shake. So imo the victory seems out of character for the St Croix lineup and runs a little soft. With how much I love that prodigy rod the victory could be a huge win for me. The Kaden is just the opposite. If it would have been a test with the brands covered up I would have said the Kaden was a St Croix and the Victory was a Dobyns.

Don’t get me wrong I will really like both rods, it just like two should switch brands based on the actions. My theory moving forward is if I upgrade any more rods I will stick with Dobyns or St Croix because I will have a good idea what I am buying. It will be interesting to see how accurate I am casting 1/4 spins with the Kaden. The stiffer tip will definitely help me keep the big ones from wrapping me around reeds.

Now that I have both in my possession I was very surprised how stout the tip was on my Kaden 714C which goes against the trend of my 3 other Dobyns that have softer than expected tips. The Victory MHM I knew had a soft tip because I begged the wife to let me pick it up in a shop when they first came out. Interestingly this tip is way softer than my premier MHM which I love. The moral to this post is that while I figure sticking with one or two brands to have an idea what their specs are. These two rods show that rod companies may not always be consistent in house. It will be interesting to see which one ends up being my main spinnerbait rod, probably the Kaden, but time will tell.

They were definitely 2018 or earlier I confirmed that both were packed for our 2018 fishing trip. I know the one on the right looks way fancier than the other one so didn’t know if it was a different model or just cosmetic changes between years. The one now that it has grease on it, fancier looking one on the right, feels just fine. The second one works fine but just has the gearry feel while reeling. Being that they are all metal gears isn’t too much of a shock. It did at least improve a little, hopefully enough it won’t bug me on the water. I did regresse 4 baitcasters as well today and all 4 had very little lube from the factory. First time I have ever cleaned and greased a baitcaster.

I would guess pre 2019 likely 2016 and 2017. Noticing though on new reels in particular grease is apparently optional even on mid/higher level reels. Amazing how quality standards have changed over the years.

BPS has a bunch and I may have missed some and I only looked at Plano there https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/plano-787-guide-series-angled-storage-system https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/plano-guide-series-4-by-rack-system-1374 https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/plano-guide-series-767-angled-tackle-system https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/plano-7771-guide-series-tackle-box TW is limited https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Plano_Tackle_System_Hybrid_Hip_3_Stowaway_Box_/descpage-PL7237.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Flambeau_Ike_Multiloader/descpage-FIM.html

Over the last few years I picked up 2 presidents based on many hyping them up on here. Initially both were so gearry feeling that I pulled them off rods on a week long trip and this year they never even traveled. First question is can anyone tell me which models these two are? The one on the right had very little to no lube on it and it once I cleaned it and added grease it was much smoother. The second one on the left I had already tried to add grease on a trip but it didn’t work then. I cleaned it up today and regressed it and this one is still very gearry. is this a common thing for President’s? These are both 10 bearing reels and I expected a lot better out of them especially the one that will always be gearry feeling. I have sub 30$ Shakespeare, Lews, and Shimano spinning reels that are all very smooth, so price point shouldn’t be a factor.

Keeping with the spinnerbait theme, I grabbed 20 War Eagle finesse spins from the lurenet sale and some extra skirts. Already use the smoke purple on, the other color is new to me. Apparently I am all in on spins again. I was good and didn’t get too greedy for this sale. I will admit though I did get up early on Sunday to get my order in hoping they would have more than 1 spinnerbait on sale.

I have used all sizes of the cabelas advanced angler bags, now BPS something since the buyout, and instead of putting the boxes in their vertically I set them flat. The downside is you need to pull all out to get at the bottom ones. In the 3700 bag there is room to standup one box and I just make sure it is crankbaits or something other than plastics. It holds enough it can get heavy fast. A long time ago I had a flambeau soft sided front load that had a compartment above the box and it would start to collapse if you took one or two boxes out of the bottom. So for me dealing with taking all out has been les of a hassle. Other option is they do make some hard boxes that have removable boxes instead of drawers now that might fit what you are looking for.

While I knew I ordered a bunch of spinnerbaits from TW I didn’t realize it was all spinnerbaits, except of course for the three spinnerbait trailer hooks lol.

Well I am glad I read this and at the same time thankful my card is fine. If this is a thing wonder how many were tied to the early opening email if any? Clicking on email links can be a bad thing unless you truly trust the source. Not saying that's what happened though and not trying to spread bad info, just curious after having seen an email link bite somebody, not us thankfully.

I use snaps on cranks of all sizes and types. If the bait has a split ring I leave it on, if not I connect the snap to the line tie. On my spinning rods with Ned’s and sliders I also use snaps for presentation reasons. like some others, other than one Norman speed clip failing I don’t remember a duo lock snap failing.