FishTank

Got it last year. My wife wears it all the time as well. Great jacket but it is JDM sized. It blocks wind and is good in the rain. It's a stretch fit and is good in 40-50 degree weather.

I took this masterpiece (Conquest 101 and a Megabass P5 Z-Crank) out for its first run and it was a blast. My wife confiscated this set up for Christmas and I've been wanting to fish it for quite some time. I tried a jerkbait, a shallow crankbait and a topwater popper at my local pond. I caught one on each. This one has that magical feel to it. The reel is amazing but the rod is perfect for 110s and 110jr's.

I never use braid with the a 110. The way I work it, it would turn the bait backwards. Also, 10lb is too light in my opinion. The bait was designed for light FC. I use 8 or 10lb. The smaller jerkbaits, like the X-Nanahan, I will sometimes use BFS gear with braid (PE #0.8) to leader (8lb) but prefer 5lb FC with these as well.

Light line and BFS baits. Spooked bass in cold water won't move. They just stare at baits. Putting something in front of them that looks like it was supposed to be there is a must..... Unless it's right at the crack of dawn. You have a short window when the fish will hit topwater.

SK Baby Bug, Net Bait Tiny Paca Cunk, 3in DoLive Beaver. I also have one special jig like that from Keitech that I will wacky rig a senko on. It's odd but it works.

I have this reel and was going to suggest it as well. Good reel but is it like a Steez or Zillion? Not really. It doesn't cast as well, it's not as smooth. It does hold a lot of line, and the drag is pretty beefy. The reel I'm seeing isn't a Daiwa but a Shimano.... the Metanium 100 would be the direction I would go.

Looks cool but if I saw the cost of this reel correctly, it will be the same price as Steez SV Limited. Around $500 at the JDM price.

What line is it? It may not be the rod. Take a look at the line guide insert on the reel. Another odd one and a long shot is, is there a bar in behind the line guide on the reel? If so, is the line over or under it? It should be over.

I have the 821S in NRX+ and it's a fantastic rod. Sensitive, light weight, loads well, and so on but it's kind of overkill with braid. For what you mentioned, the IMX would be fine but an 1/8oz head and a 3in Spark Shad would max it out on weight. The tip is really light. Also, I would go with the lightest reel you can. I have mine paired with a Vanquish 2500S. I tried a few reels I had on hand with it when I was waiting for the new Vanquish to come out and none of them felt just right but they were all on the heavier side.

I put the baits on the hook keepers. Not an issue for me. My buddy doesn't. He deep sixed two of his rods getting line caught on them when bringing fish in. He also broke a rod tip and he gets lures hung up on stuff all over the boat. Bigger issue, he got a hook in his big toe. It was a blast removing it for him. So ya it has become a pet peeve of mine when we fish together.

Shimano has free ground shipping on anything, parts included. So if you order a $3 bottle of BFS oil, it's just $3 and yes, they finally have BFS oil in stock.

I use the EWG, straight shank, and the offset round bend for different things based on the bait thickness, the water conditions, and sometimes line size. The only one I have issues with is straight shank. Hook sets are fine but fish tend to pop the hook out if they jump. In close quarters this isn't an issue. In cold water, certain baits seem to get stiffer and it makes hook penetration harder if you bury the hook. For instance, a Dinger or a 7in Power Worm. So like mentioned above, swing hard. For me, in cold water, I stay with a wacky rigged senko or some type of Ned rig.

Some lakes it works but others with a dead forest on the bottom, forget it.

If I'm bank fishing and going with the bare minimum, 1 setup (probably BFS), 2 packs of soft plastic, a small pair of needle nose pliers and a small pocket box with a couple baits, weights and hooks.

It varies from year to year but in 2023 it was the 5in Senko and 3.5in DoLive Beaver.

Yes. Put $1000 worth of stuff in your cart and it comes out to $400. Not a bad deal if you need some rods.

This is one of the reasons I stopped using it. I was changing line about the same amount. At that time I switched to Yo Zuri hybrid but then something changed with it and I went to Invizx. I would change line about once a year or maybe two. I then tried Tatsu. I had it on my main jig and worm set up for 4 years before the spool started to get low and i finally put some new line on. It stayed good but still pricey. I wouldn't buy it at regular price. I branched out to other lines since but by the time you consider what other lines costs compared to how BG holds up, changing it every three weeks and my time changing it and buying it, it's worth the cost to move on. Plus once it goes bad, it only takes me one or two lures lost on BG to justify the cost for me and if I loose a fish (which happened a lot on this line), I might loose my cool 😎. Again, it doesn't mean that it's bad line. It just doesn't hold up for me and it's not worth the risk. I have better luck with 5lb Sunline Invisible than 12lb Big Game.

Several of the lakes I visit have recycling stations. I try to save a batch a couple of times a year and dispose of it at one the locations.

Kistler is having a really good sale. It ends today though. I think you can get up to 60% off.

In order.......Wacky rigged senko, Texas rig (senko or creature), BFS crankbait, and finally a jig.

Not necessarily. R18 comes in different formulas. They have a budget version (Bass), a long cast version (Hunter Tact), high vis (Yellow), hard (Hard Expert), and a premium line (Fluoro LTD). Between Seaguar Tatsu and the R18 I have, they do feel and look different but I can't really describe it yet from an on the water perspective. They R18 LTD seems harder and slicker but yet it's limper and it seems heavier. We will see how it performs next year. Also, I haven't experienced any abrasion resistance issues with YGK yet. In general, most X8 lines don't hold up as well as the X4 versions but that's not always the case. Super Jigman holds up pretty well in the X4 but the X8 casts better, while Ultra X8 is supposed to be more abrasion resistant.

I also have a PA14 and looked into putting a trolling motor on it and it can get pricey quick. The XI3 seemed to be the ticked but when you get the GPS version, the PA14 mounting plate, the quick release bracket, the wiring kit, the kit to release the motor and installation you are looking at around $2000. Also, forgot the battery.....

It was a rough one today but caught two keepers and one dink. Temps in the upper 40s most of the day and 10+mph winds constantly. It made keeping the kayak in one place impossible.

I use to use Big Game, not for leader, but experienced the same thing with it over multiple spools and decided to move on years ago. My main issue with Big Game was, it was short lived at pretty much everything (knots, stretch, abrasion resistance, etc) but it starts out great. For a cheap alternative, Sufix Siege is not bad. For a premium line, Sunline Defier Armilo. Great all around line and pretty tough. If you want to go FC, Seaguar Gold Label and Seaguar Grand Max (best I have used so far).

Deps Evoke 2.0 and 3.0. I toss these around wood and timber all the time and somehow they magically don't get snagged.