FishTank

@RRocket I love the Flashback mini. I just wish it had some kind of hook keeper. I like the Raid Little Sweeper and Zmans Shad Fry.

Not exactly a meme but still funny. Also and I keep repeating this, I have seen more injuries with people wearing Crocs while fishing than anything else. I was on vacation last week and fished almost every day. I saw two more people fall victim to Crocs. One guy fell on a dock getting out of a boat and hit his head. The other was a guy at the boat ramp trying to secure his boat to the trailer. He fell and busted his knee. His wife and son carried him to his truck. He couldn't walk.

Another shot from my last kayak trip. I go to several lakes but oddly the one closest to where I live in Indy has the most wildlife. I sometimes take for granted how lucky I am to be 10min away from nature.

I have a Megabass Evoluzion 30th Anniversary Edition Super Diablo II. I bought it used and for the most part it had never been fished. The guy that owned it didn't care for the looks, the color and the taper. When I saw these rods become available, I wanted one but they sold out almost instantly. Its fun to fish and I like everything about it. https://jdmfishing.com/vault/super-diablo-ii/ If you want ultra rare.... I wish I still had it but my father brought back a signed, handmade bamboo rod from Cuba and it was a work of art. He used it to fish both freshwater and saltwater. Over the years the components rusted and he threw it away. I always enjoyed using it. It was as sensitive as you could get 40+ years ago.

I have a few but its depends on what I'm flipping. Loomis NRX+ 802C - 1/4oz jigs NRX+ 853C - 3/8oz jigs NRX+ 894C - 1/2oz jigs and beavers 1/2oz weight NRX+ 895C - 3/4oz stuff and up GLX 803C - dock skipping/pitching NRX+ 904C - I use this mainly for football jigs but it works great as a flipping rod Megabass Valkyrie 7'4'' H+ - Kind of a do all heavy rod. Has a lot of backbone for thick cover. P5 Daemos - Great, accurate casting rod. Its softer than everything else listed and lends itself more to swimjigs but works great flipping 3/8oz jigs on windy days and in weird places where pinpoint casts are needed

I will second the Dobyns 700C. It was my first BFS rod and its been great so far. I definitely think its a good place to start. For a reel, I like the Curado BFS. Its easy to use and I've had no real issues with either one I have.

The three you listed have patented features that only these baits have. The I x I series have an opening that allows water to pass through and an LBO. The Z series have the LBO weight transfer and a unique bill that is supposed to transfer bottom hardness better. The Griffon has a special cut bill that allows the bait to hunt like its deflecting off of cover even though its in open water (when retrieved at the right speed). I have looked for alternatives for the Griffon and the Z Series but have yet to find anything. I do like one small crank that I fish on BFS gear, the Evergreen PC-5. Great all around bait that catches everything.

I've tried these and they are just ok. I find they have a hard time staying on a hook, which is weird for elastomer. Also, the ones I had melted in their original packages and I had one get totally stuck to a rod after I put that setup back in a rod holder.

I'll second the Zillion HD. I have the Steez A II and it works fine but the Zillion HD seems to have a little extra power to it. Also, the handle is great for powering in fish. I have it paired with a NRX+ 895 JWR. It is almost too powerful for most of my fishing but it can horse in the fish.

This fuzzy guy kept me entertained since the fish in morning weren't biting and I had to deal with 30+mph winds. Luckily as the day went on, the bite really picked up. I ended up catching 11 largemouth, 1 smallmouth and an endless amount of green sunfish.

I have several that I throw just for the fun of it..... Bassday Mononofu - catches anything OSP HP Bug - just fun OSP Fuzzy Dice - can't figure out why they eat it 3/4 and 1oz jigs - it's a blast to pull a big one out of some slop Jerkbaits - the strikes are usually vicious but I do throw them all the time Any topwater but I really like the Baby Pop-X OSP Blitz Max EX DR - this thing goes to about 30' but I rarely fish that deep BFS Jigs - I like the challenge

For me it's a no go for mono and straight braid on BFS gear. I've tried both and didn't have the best of luck. Mono didn't hold up and with straight braid, I was loosing fish, bending out hooks, and knot strength, for whatever reason, was not good. So I mainly use fluorocarbon and I have braid to leader on one setup. My favorite BFS line is Sunline Invisible in 5llb and 6lb depending on the setup. I brought in a 6lb Smallmouth with 6lb. For braid, I used a variety of lines from YGK, Varivas, and Sunline. My favorite is YGK Upgrade in green. I use 8-10lb leader. My go to leader materials are Seaguar Gold Label and Grand Max. As far as micro guides go, I believe all of my rods have them and it can be a pain with braid to leader but I have found the carrot knot works great and holds up. For me, it's not only important to make a good knot but the two lines in question have to mend together properly. It sounds weird but as many lines as I have tried some leader material and braid just don't seem to bond as well. My current favorite braid that holds leader knots better than anything I have seen is Varivas Avani X9. It may be my go to line in future but after a year of using it on spinning gear, I may stop experimenting and just stay with this line for BFS and spinning braid. It checks all the boxes. My advice, if braid to leader is becoming a pain that can't be fixed, I would go to 6lb fluorocarbon. Like I mentioned, Sunline Invisible is my favorite but Seaguar Invizx is a good place to start.

I honestly don't care either way. Both Shimano and Daiwa reels work just fine for me.

With there being tournaments with and without FFS, it will end up like Nascar road courses. We will probably end up with guys like Boris Said, if you remember this guy. He was sort of a part time Nascar driver that specialized in road courses. I wouldn't be surprised if we see guys like him that just specialize in FFS and stink the rest of the time. My point with this odd analogy is that there will be a clear distinction between those who can win without FFS and those that can only fish with it. It will be interesting and probably better to watch.

$63 total? How did they calculate the extra $33? 😱

872S or 894C. Both rods are special. Another would be the 904C. Versatile and powerful.

I wonder which one of us is brave enough to cross that bridge and make a purchase. It will be interesting to hear how that experience goes. I think I'm going to be holding off until things change.

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I've done ok with one early in the morning and in stained water with the Shower Blows in black bone. Not exactly a walking bait but the color works. I prefer a chrome or plain bone color for most of fishing.

Free rig all day for me but they seem to compliment each other. You can pick either one and catch fish. I like the Free Rig in tight spots and a drop shot running parallel to the bank and in open water. The downside to fishing a drop shot is that its slower and gets hung up more.

I no longer use YoZuri Hybrid but when I did I didn't go over 6lb on spinning gear. To me based on diameter, its closer to 8lb. My issue with it was a short life span. Based on how often I fish, it just didn't last. When it aged, it became brittle and I would sometimes get random break offs. So it would lead me to believe that I needed heavier line but in reality, I needed to change it more often. I'm not saying its not good line. I just moved on to lines I get more out of and fit my style of fishing.

I caught fish with it but it never really out produced anything else. On the other hand, I was young, maybe 30 years ago, when i used it. I was still figuring things out back then. Jigs were kind of hard to fish at my lakes at that time. We fished deep strip pits with very little structure and the shallow areas were full of thick grass year round. The bank was filled with whatever leftover chunk rocks the strip pits produced.

If you are loosing fish after you set the hook, your line and rod choice has a lot to do with it. Often times, the hook will penetrate on its own. The important part is keeping the fish pinned. A moderate or moderate fast rod helps but for line fluorocarbon or mono works best. Braid is a no go for me on crankbaits.

3/8 and 1/2 oz is about it for me. I do use a 3/4oz but only for deeper water, around 20+ feet. I sometimes fish them like a spoon or a jig. I let it fall, pop it, reel quick and repeat.

I usually take 6 or 7 rods. I could take more but things start to get cluttered. Typically I take the following. Spinning senko wacky BFS crankbait Deep crankbait Texas or free rig Spinnerbait or bladed jig The other two are typically for fun, something new, or something I want to get better at. As far as specific set ups go, I don't really take certain ones. I have about 35 rods and reels that I like for different reasons. I just pick what I think will be fun for that day.