MontclairDave

I’ve got the Falcon Expert and it can handle frogging and punching for what passes up north as moderate to heavy cover. But in Florida I agree the Amistad may be a better choice.

Yup. Why deal with the hassle of straight fluoro? Alberto knot takes about 5 minutes to learn how to tie, never fails, and if you want the experience of straight fluoro without the hassle, just tie a 15- or 20- ft leader. But know that occasionally that can be a bit springy. I’ve found it’s fine in lakes but less so on rivers where I am fighting current and any bit of line management issue becomes magnified. Then I go with a short leader (3 ft or so). Also: you can afford to get a higher grade of fluoro because it lasts so much longer when you are just using it for leader. Invizx is my fav. Now, having said all that… as noted in another thread… I’ve been using straight braid on both spinners and BC a lot more lately!! Not seeing a whole lot of difference in murky water. Just sayin…

This is more and more my approach. Used to use a LOT of braid-to-fluoro and after a few trips where I forgot my leader box and fished straight braid and straight fluoro I noticed no difference in catch rate regardless of what line I use. But I fish weedy ponds with pretty murky water like the OP. In Michigan or other clear water fisheries, I can see straight braid being a problem.

x2. I’ve been tying the Alberto for about the last 5 years because it’s (for me) a bit easier than the double uni. Never failed me. Gotta be something else causing the break offs.

Invizx and Sniper are the first 2 I’ve tried, and I’ve had zero issues with either of them. Then I tried Seagar Red Label to save some money on applications that don’t need the highest-quality line/sensitivity, like reaction baits. I’d say a good value so far; no breakoffs (some have had that problem with Red Label). I’d buy all 3 again, no hesitation.

Ha! As a Falcon fanboy that is definitely the way I am leaning. I’ve got a few rods I don’t fish anymore so I think I’m gonna do the American Legacy Fishing trade-in program to help lessen the bite of the baitmonkey.

Looking to get a new baitcasting rod for 1/4-ounce finesse jigs along rocky banks and moderate cover. My medium rods are all a bit too moderate and frankly budget-oriented for moving baits, so not very sensitive. And my MH rods feel just a bit too overpowered for this presentation. My dilemma: I can’t decide if a fast-action higher-end Medium or Medium-light is the way to go. $200-$250 is the range I want to be in. Benefit of Medium-light is that it could double as a BFS rod (yes, on heavier end of BFS range) for bass in small ponds. I just got a new BFS reel, hence my thinking of a double-duty approach. But I’m not married to that—it’s more important to get something dialed in for finesse jigs at this point. Been catching a lot of fish on them but feel like I may be missing some bites with my current rod (Falcon HD Medium). And yes, the Falcon Finesse Jig rod (Cara) is on my short list!

Link to thread please, thanks!

You don’t find the micro guides a pain?

Bingo!!!! Thanks!!

You know, I thought it was a Seibert but I couldn’t find one with those two long tails coming off it. But I’ll tell you what the real secret of this jig combo is: the River2Sea D Walker 100 trailer. Makes the head shake and gives jig amazing secondary action. So I’m sure I can pretty much recreate the effect in case I lose this one.

Tell me about it. Now that am used to how crazy smooth the Zillion is, it is the new standard. But that 150 mgl is definitely on my short list for my next reel so thanks for the review, great job. And boy would I love that Loomis rod. That’s definitely NOT in my budget, baitmonkey or no.

Caught my PB on this a few years back, thought I lost it. Found it buried in bottom of tackle bag and caught 3 fish in five casts after skunked on chatterbait, spinnerbait, Senko for 3 hours. But I can’t remember who makes it! Anyone recognize it?

Ha! That’s quite a long short list. Looking forward to seeing the replies. BFS is definitely my next reel and rod purchase.

Falcon HD casting rods for about $80. I always have the Medium 6’ 8” or 9” near at hand. Cranks, small Texas rigs, finesse paddletails, 1/4-ounce mini-max chatterbaits, finesse jigs, small topwaters, it can do it all.

Don’t have any experience with Dobyns rods but love my Falcon HD. For $79 I can’t imagine a better bang-for-the-buck rod, especially for moving baits. I have the Medium and it has a great tip for target casting and handles smaller chatterbaits and spinnerbaits well. Even can handle small jigs and t rigs. But not a good heavy cover rod. I fish weed lanes and pockets so I don’t get too bogged down in slop. Good topwater also. Pretty sure it’s a moderate fast action. Rated at 1/4 to 3/4 but you’re really pushing its limits at 3/4.

Indeed! Caught 20 fish today on mini max chatterbait, spinnerbait, super fluke and worm. A junk-fishing party! Only lost a few, drag working fine. I think my biggest problem was an over-filled spool. Peeled off some line, leaving about an 1/8 of space from the edge of spool, voila, casting and retrieve felt 100% better. Still getting used to how ultra smooth this reel is—and using straight fluoro for the first time, which definitely feels different than braid—but it casts a mile and I’m definitely seeing what the hype is all about.

Thanks! This weekend I’m up in the Berkshires but if you are near my neck of the woods (West Orange) I’ll let you know next time I go out and we can meet up.

Update: ordered a replacement tension knob from Quantum, voila, problem solved and reel works fine. Darn good reel for the $.

Hope so. A bit more info if it helps: Rod is a Kistler Argon MH with 12 lb Seagar Red Label. I was throwing mostly 3/8 ounce baits (chatterbait, spinner bait). Never adjusted the “zero adjust” spool tension knob, so it’s set like it came from the factory. Bait had a pretty fast drop. And I was wrong in previous post: I just rechecked and I can hear the clicker drag when I pull out line with the thumb bar disengaged. It’s subtle but I can hear it. I guess it’s possible that this is an insanely smooth reel and I am just not used to how that feels on the retrieve? And the fish not keeping pinned could be the Kistler. I’ve had that problem before with it, although usually with braid; it’s a stiff rod and definitely needs softer line, especially for chatterbaits. That’s why I tried straight fluorocarbon on it. I’m going out this weekend and will give it another shot. Will let you all know how it goes. Thanks!

When I pull out the line, I don’t hear the drag clicking. When I reel, it feels mushy, as though the reel isn’t engaging all the time. And when I spin the handle just to test out how smooth the reel is, it the spool doesn’t really spin all that much. Basically it feels like something is just off. I am 100% clueless when it comes to reel maintenance, so apologies if I can’t be more specific than that. But I have a bunch of Curados and I can tell what a quality reel feels like. This ain’t it. Casting isn’t an issue—getting pretty impressive distance. Reeling in and keeping fish pinned is definitely wonky.

Bought a JDM Daiwa Zillion from Japan Lure Shop with a bum drag. Emailed them 3 times, no response. I actually thought I had bought it from Digitaka because I was on that site so much when tracking this reel and the yen conversion rate. So I emailed Digitaka first. They responded within 6 hours and let me know they had no record of purchase. Then I remembered I had bought it from Japan Lure Shop. So, lesson learned for me so far: if I ever decide to buy JDM again, Digitaka will get my money. Japan Lure Shop won’t. Next adventure: finding someone willing to service a JDM Daiwa reel. This should be fun. ?

X3. I came to baitcasters late, after decades of spinning reels. Tried a right-handed baitcaster in a local tackle shop and it felt incredibly awkward and weird. I guess I could have gotten used to it but why? Bought a leftie and have loved baitcasters ever since. I’d suggest a Shimano SLX XT. For $130, hard to beat.

Interesting! So, you are not of the camp that fish are line-shy to braid? Or they can “hear” braid under water? Frankly, I’ve not seen a big difference in hookups with moving baits and leaders vs straight braid either; if I use leaders it’s because I’m around rocks and I’ve lost too many fish to cut braid on rocks that I finally learned my lesson. (Sorry to OP for the thread hijack!)

I have that Falcon. Great for smaller cranks, topwaters. Also great for 1/4 ounce chatterbaits, small Keitechs. It’s sweet spot is anything around a 1/2 ounce. My favorite for pond fishing. Just remember you can’t winch fish out of heavy cover with it—I know from experience. Hooked into a hog with a small swim jig along a bank and I didn’t move that fish an inch—reeled my kayak over to her and 7 lb later had my PB, total luck I landed that fish. So use it for stuff it CAN handle and you’ll love it. Of course keep it!