MontclairDave

What are you guys using as trailer for mini-max? I have a RI Little Dipper and not getting a ton of bites. Could have been a few off days… it’s been hot as hades… Baby Goat is one I’ve seen recommended? Others?

All good recommendations. I’ve had a lot of success on the Gambler EZ regular size (I think around 4.75 inches) on a 1/4 ounce 5/0 swimbait hook. You can definitely throw that on any all-around MH baitcaster. The Beast Coast Miyagi Swinmer also has caught me a bunch of biguns. About 5” bait, works good on a 6/0 Owner Beast. Definitely need a wide hook gap on the Miyagi.

Thanks! Since I’ve already got the mgl 70 (love it), as well as a few other Shimanos, gonna itch the curiosity scratch and get the Zillion and give Daiwa a whirl. I also have Youtuber discount code for Omnia…not sure it will work but that would really make this a sweet deal.

Ha, I forgot to apply Physics to the question. Good point!

Looking to get the Daiwa Zillion SV TW and I’m a newbie to JDM. This one seems to be the current model, yes? At 175 grams (6.1 ounces), seems to be lighter than US version. Which I’ve read here is due to aluminum versus brass gearing? A lot cheaper than TW as well. Seems like a good deal? https://www.digitaka.com/item/4/4/2/4550133072581 Kind of torn between this one and a Shimano Curado MGL 150, which would save me about $50. But itching to get my first Daiwa…..

Brilliant! It’s like road bikes, for those who share that other Shimano obsession: you know that dropping 5 lbs of weight off your gut (or wherever) is a hell of a lot cheaper than spending an extra $5k on a high-end carbon frame. And that heavy dive watch doubles as a great punching weight ?

Hmmm… Hazedong (top) and Yum Ned Minnow (bottom) look close enough to try. TW order in! Do you rig it horizontally or vertically?

Not jointed. But very soft and moves very erratically on the fall. Could have been the color and/or length but I don’t think so—the other baits I was using didn’t have quite as much action. I think maybe it’s just what they wanted that day.

I have a Shimano Curado mgl 70 and a DC. Great reels but know what outcasts them both by a considerable margin and is just as smooth? My Quantum Tour S3. Amazing reel for around $170 on sale at TW right now, which I got for $130 when they really cut the price around Xmas. No idea why this reel apparently got discontinued. Almost never backlashes, and when it does it’s definitely user error. I was gonna get the Shimano MGL 150 for my next reel but gonna get a second S3 instead.

Found a Banjo Minnow kit in a box of old fishing gear I hadn’t opened in years. Saw this minnow thing and thought it looked like a nice drop shot bait rigged horizontally. Caught 15 bass in 2 hours on it, after getting no bites on three different drop shot baits (a mix of paddle tails are straight tail worms). So here’s my question: what current soft plastic bait comes closest to this thing? Cause I only have a few more… Thanks!

The smallest size fluke bait, white or green pumpkin, on a 1/0 or 2/0 EWG. Let it fall to bottom like a Senko and if no hit, then work it the usual way you would a soft jerkbait. Killer. Caught a 5 lber along a shoreline dropoff in a golf course pond I was sure only had dinks. Caught another 5 lber, same pond, on an Original chatterbait with a Zako trailer. But Senko by far the most productive bait. Recently hookup ratio improved dramatically with VMC saddle that lets you hook bait cross-wise instead of the hook pointing in same direction as the bait.

Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth Bass spinner. Amazing rod, discontinued, a constant EBay search item for me since mine broke in a car door years ago.

Actually moved to West Orange a few years ago but same general area. Good to hear the Bucoo actions are similar; looking for a frog rod and I don’t want to spend a ton; maybe something that would double for flipping into heavy cover. Haven’t tried the Expert for heavy flipping yet but it is one sweet jig rod (swimming, pitching, etc).

I’ve got the Head Turner in the Expert line, which is twice your budget. But same model I believe is available in Bucoo line for around $100? If the action is at all similar, you will love the rod: soft enough tip to really sling baits but a stout backbone to haul em out of cover. I just landed a 5-lber with the rod that would have owned me with my Falcon Medium HD rod (amazing budget rod by the way at $75 or so; could also be your dock skipper for lighter baits—maxes out at around 3/4 ounce but excels between 1/4-1/2)

Can we not call the OP a review please? First impression maybe, but c’mon.

I’ve got the Falcon Expert Head Turner. Rated as a Heavy but lure range tops out at 3/4 and it feels more like a MH to me. Nice tip with enough flex to really sling 3/8 ounce jigs. Love love love the rod. But I agree with other poster that the Finesse Jig Expert rod may be your best bet for the lower end of the range of lures you want to throw on it. I have no experience with the Low Rider so can’t say how much of an upgrade in sensitivity etc you’d get with the Expert line.

Just got this old thing off fleabay after hearing Roland Martin talk about it as a precursor to his beloved Devil’s Horse. Piqued my interest so I grabbed one for a good price. The lure is decades old, and though NOS, trebles feel kinda dull out of the package. So I’m gonna replace em. But they look huge for a lure this size (about 3.5”). Not sure but at least 1/0 if not 2/0? Any suggestions for size and type of treble replacement? I’m thinking light wire hooks cause they feel kinda light and if I am goingeven close to the size of the OG hooks, I don’t want to sink the lure with too heavy a hook. suggestions?

Would you say the 705c has a similarly impressive soft tip/stout backbone? I always wonder how much (if any) of a longer rod’s characteristics translate to shorter versions of same rod (an important question for us kayakers who prefer shorter rods).

Nice grab! I’ve been looking for both casting and spinner. Enjoy it! Just bought a Falcon Head Turner so that’s probably it for my rod budget this season. Can’t wait to try this one out on the water.

Lure comes in both versions. I’ve read that silent better for pressured fish. Any experience with both versions? If you were gonna start out with one, which one? I fish some pressured waters, others not so much. Leaning towards silent since most of my walking baits (Shower blows etc) do have rattles. Thanks!

Where??? I have been looking for that rod for years. It’s been like a holy grail for me. I guess I suck at looking but fleabay definitely doesn’t have it. My last one broke about 5 years ago. Best spinner I ever owned.

Me too! Just gave my son my 6’ St. Croix Premier so this will be a good replacement. Obviously not gonna be quite as sensitive but for throwing Senkos under overhangs from my Yak, bank fishing it right spots it should do a fine job. $60 with taxes and shipping. Pretty good deal!

Any good medium spinner will handle jerkbaits fine, and for me at least, cast a lot father than baitcasters. But I do sometimes throw them on my Falcon HD Medium 6’ 8” casting rod, and the softer tip of this amazing budget rod is geat for keeping them pinned. With my Curado 70, a very light and fun setup for MG 110s, Jackall Reranges; etc.

Yup, I was about to pull the trigger on the 150 mgl but during the TW holiday sale saw a Quantum Tour S3 for about $130 so couldn’t resist. Haven’t fished it yet but my first non-Shimano reel, so am interested to see how I like it. Feels pretty good in hand out of the box.

I’ve got the 70 and it is one sweet reel. Great for pitching in close—that mgl reel manages line so well; comes off fast with no backlashes. And it handles a pretty good range of lure weights. I do find I am casting down to the backing with heavier lures on longer casts but that’s not necessarily a bad thing—just shows you can really bomb-cast with this reel. I do think you need to look at the 150 though. Bigger line capacity, lighter, cheaper, and I think a bigger drag? Lots of YouTube vids comparing them. My next reel definitely will be the 150 mgl.