Mothercanucker

Used Ci4+

Guided on Eagle Lake for 5-6 years. Not many anglers target smallies up there compared to down here or compared to walleye, musky and pike. Up until second week of June I was still slamming them on/near beds up there. Shallow. 2-5 feet. They are right. Every single foot of rocky island shore or land shore will look like it would hold a bass. It's overwhelming. End of June transitioning. I pretty much would either dropshot live bait/ wacky nightcrawlers, Squarebill cranks or wtv cranks to bang rocks on rocky windblown shorelines or spinnerbaits whenever you see reed/boulder combos. Hopefully you avoid mayfly hatch. Paying attention to the wind direction of that day and previous couple days relative to those shorelines is key to finding them if they are indeed moving out of bays and onto those shorelines to feed. The accepted "master angler" on Eagle was 20" smallie, 30"walleye, 40"pike and 50"musky. The grand slam. Good luck.

oh man. That's disheartening. I would absolutely lose it if I lost my tackle. How could one insure it? Take pics? Document the purchase of every single lure you buy? uggh Alot of good advice here. I'm addicted to collecting too and trying new things all the time but now I've finally feel that I know what works for my area and species that I could eliminate 3/4 of what I've collected and stick with a few main presentations and patterns with success and no need for the hundreds and hundreds of cranks and plastics. Good luck on your quest and hearing sir.

5 inch senko= 5/0 EWG hook like pictured above. Also add scent and they legit hang on longer.

Xraps and Visions are great but my absolute favorite are the Jackalls. Specifically the Dowzvido for smallmouth. Smaller profile. Kind of a "finesse jerkbait" for a little deeper than just 3-5 foot flats.

Best year I've ever had so far but still want more and bigger fish and am not content.

catching a 4lb+ smallmouth on medium light spinning tackle will blow your mind!

No sensitivity with mono and stretch...always done braid with FC leader. 10lb PP super slick for light n shallow with 6lb leader. 15lb PP super slick for deeper/current and 10lb leader

Nanofil was created for spinning and light finesse applications and it does excel in that area. Loved it for drop shotting but that was about it. It snaps off on heavier lures and hook setting. Definitely can't use the palomar like mentioned above. No abrasion resistance either. Again its for finesse and definitely not crankbait or spinnerbait etc...

Cranking is fun but drop shotting on a medium light rod and thine line is the absolute best for hard fought battles. Plus I rarely lose fish with a nosehooked smallie from a dropshot hook compared to a mouth full of trebles.

2 more Zodias, 15 Aldebaran, 13 Metanium, 13 MetaniumHG and a Core 101mg.

Imagine fishing a tube with a drop shot bait subtly wiggling above it.

That's where I got my Aldebaran from.

whoa. Those are sick. That's a good deal for an Adrena. I want! I don't know anything about the Exsense. Only know it was JDM only right?Will look into it.

From this to that. All Zodias. 2x Stradic Ci4+, Chronarch Ci4+, Core101mg, 15 Aldebaran, Metanium and MetaniumHG.

The MGL and the Bantams <3 <3 <3

Digitaka didnt answer about their stock. I got the last 2 13 Mets from Japan Lure Shop for 275$. One regular and one HG. Have an Aldebaran coming from Digitaka though.

Good to hear. I did my research and happened to stumble on a new one in box in a shop here in Canada that's been sitting there unsold for 8 years, lol Price drop even more for 2016...had to take advantage.

Forgot 2 Sebile Flat Shads

Still chipping away with reels for the 7 Zodias I just got in the off season.

Locating larger smallmouth. I really really struggle trying to target deep 5+ lb smallies in the river current. We have 7lbers here...I think spendin 5k in electronics might help. LOL not gonna happen.

If you had picked one up then I promise you wouldn't hesitate. I do not have a 6'10 MH but here are balance points on a 7'2MH, 6"10M and a 7'2M respectively with no line on the reel. The spinning rods and the Stradic Ci4s are perfect. Metaniums on these would be perfect. Honestly these are the best bang for the buck rods on the market in my opinion. Look around and you can find good deals or ask around for prostaffs from last year. I got mine for 75USD each and I just couldn't pass it up. They are as light and sensitive as rods 3 times their msrp but they don't have specific tapers for different applications. They are made to be very versatile for a wide range of applications. Sensitive but great backbone yet you can really really feel the fight and pulls from the fish. Everyone notices that the most after how light they are. I have only used the spinning cause I had only one Zodias for the last week of the season but was so impressed that I bought 6 more on that crazy deal after feeling 4 pound smallies tugging on my first rod. Favorite rods I've ever owned. That being said I drool over Poison Adrenas, Poison Glorious and Poison Ultima on a daily basis but just can't justify spending 3-8 times more on those than I did on my Zodias. They are definitely NOT close to 3-8 times better rods. They are in another league than Gloomis E6X and wasn't blown away with the NRX in one hand and a Zodias for 1/3 the msrp in the other...and I paid 1/8th and NRX here in Canada...no brainer. I'm gonna keep this Ci4 Chronarch for my 6'10 ML but plan on getting JDM Metaniums for my other 3. Same price as USDM Chronarch Ci4s.

Crazy deal on Shimano Zodias that I found locally. Literally under 2 for 1 So I don't feel too too bad...Couldn't help myself.

Added these this month.