Fishinthefish

Ive done some searching. Done some reading up and have had cranking sticks and reels in the past. So let me give you a little backround before we dive into the simple question. I fish primarily custom built, spent way too much money on a hobby I dont get to do often enough rods. My cheapest rod retails at 180, its a dobyns seirra mag heavy 7'3 rod I use for spinnerbaits and jigs. I typically spend 300 per rod and 200 plus per reel. Shimano cores, mlgs etc. Now Ive share that because the problem Im having is I know I dont need a 300 dollar cranking stick. But I want one. Because I have an elitist mentality when it comes to purchasing fishing gear. So what im asking for is what do yall use to crank with? Rod and reel combo? Im not reffering to extra deeps or anything along those lines. I primarily throw bagley minus or plus lipless crankbaits and the occasional square bill from shore as I dont own nor know anyone with a boat since I relocated to GA but hopefully joining a club this year will change that.

Seagar Smackdown.

That's because they're custom built per order, you have to specify which handed you are because they custom shave the wood down to fit the hand you'll be holding the rod with while reeling. Pain in the ass for people who cast with one then switch. Great for guys like me. You're dating the wrong women my friend.

http://tackletrap.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=5037 The Bugatti.

Just ordered 150 worth of baits. Posted for a new reel here and am looking various other places. Tackleware house cart is already back to 300 ans my last order just shipped today. Also have 150 dollar cart on amazon. New scale thermometer and backpack/pliers.

I'm warning you now so you can't blame anyone but yourself. There are two rods that once you buy you never go back from. NRX, and custom built rods by a quality dealer. As soon as you handle one, everything else feels like a limp noodle, or a broom stick.

At 300 dollars I'd look around for a used Avid or Avid X for around the 130-150 dollar price marker. That'd be a good deal for a 200 dollar rod leaving you about 150 dollars left to play with. Then I'd look at a Lews Tournament MB Speed Spool. Or a Shimano Citica. I recommend a used rod because you can get pretty good discounts on them and easily identify flaws via picture. Reels can look great in picture and show up bound up when you buy them used so even though I take the gamble myself, I never recommend that. Also, the reel is extremely important. Especially in and around the difference between 100-200 dollar reel. A lot of newer users to bait casters go out and buy a black max combo, cast two feet, black lash for half a day and quit. At least in my experience. Learning on a quality reel will save a lot of frustration and spools of line.

Rage craw or baby rage craw depending on the size of the jig and conditions I'm throwing into. I'll cut senko's into smaller pieces similiar to a zman ned rig style bait and put them on the jig when I'm looking for a slim profile target.

I've only fished with nanobraid once, and it was on a spinning reel a buddy of mine loaned me for the day. If you're going to use it on a spinning setup, my two cents is simply that it's okay. I use Smackdown exclusively for bait casters, I don't know that I'd want to put nanobraid on any of my bait casters it seems like it would be nothing but a constant headache that I would regret quickly. The line management was perfectly fine on spinning reels though. The small diameter didn't hurt me what so ever. I had no issues with management as far as poor knot strength or break offs. The only break offs I had were due to my own stupidity.

I'm from the ATL area myself now, moved here about a year and a half ago. For travel rods in this area I actually sold the rod I had previously and got a Triumph. Mainly because my old right was a bit less of a back bone, and theres plenty of situations around here where you can end up throwing into some slop without realizing it from the bank. I think the Triumph will be your best bet.

Start off by saying no, I don't own a boat. That'll scare most of the people reading this away. I live in Norcross area, just north of Atlanta and fish all over the ATL area for ponds/chattahoochie and whatever else I can get my hands on water wise. If anyone would like to go fishing together, or anyone with a boat that needs someone to split costs with feel free to post here, or PM me and we can exchange details. I fish primarily on the weekends 2-3 weekends a month. The wife usually doesn't mind much me going on short notice either. So let me know folks, spent all last year fishing ponds in the dark by myself.

I don't own a rod under 300 dollars retail and I probably never will. I also don't own a reel under 200 dollars retail. I buy it because I can afford that budget range for fishing rods/reels. I would fish with ugly sticks if it's all I could afford. Is there a drastic difference in quality? Absolutely, there isn't a 50 dollar rod in the world that can compare to an NRX, ZBone, Legend Elite rods. It's not even the same ball park when it comes to overall weight, balancing and sensitivity. Does that matter at the end of the day? No, not really. Having fun with that you can afford to have fun with is what's important. Fishing by nature isn't a rich mans sport, you can use an old cane pole and a can of worms you got after a rain and do just fine. Or you can spend thousands of dollars a year on lures, terminal tackle. And thousands more on equipment.

It's hard to say any stock rod at that price point is going to be worth while. As far as wanting something faster, or being less detail oriented. You really aren't going to beat the ZBone in that price range, it's all going to be preference as to which rod you prefer more than the other in that range. The NRX is probably going to be the most common comparison that you get to it. I love the NRX, and what limited time I've spent with the ZBone I've also loved that rod as well. It's really just a coin flip of which one feels better in the users hands. I think any time you're looking to spend that kind of money it'd be quite difficult to go wrong. But there is always the custom rod route as well. In that price range you can have quite a few fancy additions added to your rod, and setup just that way you'd like for specifically what you're looking to do with it.

Kistler at the 260 dollar price point is incredibly hard to beat. While I agree the Megabass O series rods are phenomenal at the 300 dollar price point if you look to push the buck another 40, at 300 dollars Mike at DVT can get you quite a setup. I got my soft plastics rod built by him for around 325, with a few extra features you don't particularly need to have that could have quite easily cut the cost down on what the rod ran me. I could feel a fish breathing on a lure. Personal preference though.

I'm curious to see how this plays out. I've taken interest when doing my research into future rod purchases. Though this just further affirms my belief that the best bet is to just order from Mike at DVT when I need a new rod, the extra money, and the wait time seems to be inarguably worth it at this point. I'm a rod snob, I know it, I just need to accept it.

If I could pickup an SV, or a Core right now I'd not even come close to hesitating buying the core 101, or even 51.

More custom rods, custom jig rod, custom crank bait rod. Basically all of my money would be going to Mike at DVT if I had a say in the matter lol.

Looking for a rod to split between crappie and certian bass tactics. Wondering what you lot are using out there? Havent had to buy an ul setup for myself in a long time.

Every baitcaster I own with the exception of two has 20lb seagar smackdown spooled to it. I never no issues ever. The other two are 60lb braid, and tatsu for deep cranking. I even med and shallow crank with braid.

One of the most expensive baits I use is also one of my most reliable for shore fishing. Bagley balsa bagalure. With our without the spintail between 0-3 feet has been absolutely deadly for me lately. I've caught fish from 1lb and about the same size as the 5 inch lure on the lure itself to 7lb fish on rhe four inch versaion

Went out, throwing a few things from shore. I don't remember the info on the jerk bait they put in it but I caught all of these fish on it. Also sorry to the fish on the ground, he got the treble hook wrapped bad in his gills and I had to actually cut the treble hook off the lure and replace it not to kill the fish, multiple times in the water then I revived him and off he swam.

I started on a Shakespeare and an ugly stik. Now I'm at the point where all of my new rod purchases are custom rods in 300 dollar price ranges. It doesn't make me any better of a fisherman but it does mske fishing a little easier at times. You don't see them posted on the forum a lot because in essence they sre what they are, heavier, and less sensitive than higher dollar name brands like Shimano, St Croix, G Loomis etc. There's nothing wrong with them per say but they do appeal to a crowd who is often times less avid fishermen and women therefor less likely to visit a fishing forum in their spare time.

I'd give a call to Mike at Delaware valley tacke.

1/16th with a medium light built by a custom builder. Shimano core 51. I throw it all day with no problem. You'd be surprised what a ned rig actually weighs once the plastics are on

Stradic fk, dobyns fury. Update road later as needed.