DaleGribble

Gamakatsu skip gap shaky head hooks have been my favorite by far since I discovered them. They skip gap style hooks keep plastics straight up and prevent them from tearing at all

Pflueger supreme is easily the best $100 spinning reel.

How did the color firetiger teach you about thermocline, specifically bill? There is literally a thread about a go to last ditch bait two threads above this one right now...

As someone who works in retail, you guys are making me proud. You'd be surprised how many times I've been asked this question this week...

Rapala dt10. "Smash" color and the green craw are awesome.

These rods are terrible. They are super brittle. I have seen at least a few dozen that broke somewhere in the last 3rd of the rod tip. Do not buy.

I am currently looking for another casting rod in the 7 to 7-3 length for general purpose applications. I have a few already but I'm looking for one to fill light jigs or weighted plastics as well as the ocxasional chatterbait. I think I've narrowed it down to these two rods as I want to try something different. Really like the looks of both rods and he weights. Does anyone have anything to say about these two? Is the fancy handle on the elite tech worth $50 more? Fwiw, I can get either at %25 off if it would make a difference to anyone

They don't have actions listed iirc. only powers. Heavy rod of that size is likely extra fast but could be fast. These rods and the newer ahigher price point arsenal versions of the rods are awesome though.

I like the heavier tufline xp a good bit. Definitely better than grand slam braid which is the quickest to fray I've ever used. Smoother than PP too.

If this was a combo at dicks, it was almost certainly older version of the orra.

I use zmans lizards as they float. Rage lizards are also really good but zoom or other generic lizrds work well too. I use a 3/0 ewg offset as well. I find lizards most productive for me when c rigged.

got a few nice ones at Lake Needwood this morning. Again the crankbait bite was on around 830. Caught 6 in a row, including my personal best on a Rapala Dt10 This one weighed in at 6.3lbs This one was really long. It was 4.3lbs

If you aren't having issues with PP diggin in on itself then dont switch. IME PP is the worst braid I've tried for digging into itself. Its good braid otherwise, but I find upsizing necessary to avoid digging into itself.

Strike king 1.5 are good. Rick clunn series are awesome too. I also like sixth sense square bills and they are very detailed and come in good colors. I found lucky craft square bills very nice but a couple of mine lost their eyes after a few trips and a $10 crankbait shouldn't do that... One I would be aware of is the storm arashi series. I've tried to love these baits but they just don't work... The wake crank is good but any of them that dive don't catch fish... YMMV

Lately I've been into elazteh stuff from SK or Zman. Other than that, gycb, zoom, yum, rage, and roboworms are just about all I need.

I would recommend copolymer line for cranking. I'm sure braid would work fine with the right rod, but I like using copolymer like pline floroclear or Cx. Not much stretch on either but really easy to cast. I would not recommend CXX because it is very dense and has bad memory.

I am consistently amazed at how small a fish will swallow a 7/0 worm hook. Every time I bust one out with a 10" worm I end up with a 1lb bass with a spear sticking out of its head.

Last day of vacation so I braved the rain today at Lake Needwood in Rockville. Went out on my kayak with the explicit goal of trying out some new jigs (Nujigs) and new jig rods, but started off with a crankbait and couldn't put it down. 6 fish in 30 minutes on the same spot off the island in the middle. 10-15 FOW with a Rapala DT10-Green Olive Craw with a Duckett Ghost 7ft cranking rod with an Abu Revo S 12lb Pline FloroClear Fattest on of the day. 4lbs This one was hook with rear treble hook in gills. took a picture, weighed and released immediately. Swam off just fine. I caught 6 fish total for just above 18lbs.

Dicks sporting goods usually. When stuff goes clearance it goes REALLY clearance

Let me just say after owning and using a patriarch and a supreme mgx, I really prefer my supreme. The patriarch is just as smooth its just incredibly light weight. The supreme line is also very light but for $100 difference, just save the money and buy the supreme.

I love them. Like all rage products they have ridiculous action. Best as a Carolina rig bait. I've used them as a sort of topwater/just below surface bait as well. Then slow retrieves work great for them too.

Trilenw know ties well with braid for me. Super fast too.

Ghost have smallish guides but nowhere near as small as micromagic. Youll be fine with leders even with rough knots. That would be a good setup, you can't get much lighter a combo...

Those will do fine for almost anything. Add a good spinning rod with a halfway decent reel for finesse drop shottig and shakey heads or smaller worms/flukes and you're set.

I haven't been super impresses with my LFS Speed spool. It's been hard for me to adjust to different lure weights on the fly, particularly lighter stuff. Other than that its sturdy, lightweight, and palms comfortably.