FishTank

Its one if those.....

It sounded too good to be true. The Netflix thing, that couldn't be verified, should have been a red flag. Crazy stuff.

Megabass Karashi, Evergreen Piccolo PC-5, Megabass Pop-x BFS, Bassday Mononofu 50s, and the Megabass X-Nanahan. There are probably several other hard baits but these are usually at the top of my list. For soft plastic.... Raid Egu Dama Level and a Devil Shaker, OSP Bug baits, anything from Great Lakes Finesse, and small 2-3in swimbaits on a jig head.

My brain says a jig but based on what I have caught the past few years, it's going to be a BFS crankbait. Time and time again, it has brought in big fish when nothing is biting. If it's cold water though, below 55 degrees, I'm going for a jerkbait.

If a bait is designed to run a specific way or have a particular action, it won't reach its true potential unless it runs straight. I think in this day and age it's not too much to ask for a bait work as it should out of the box. Also, I want a crankbait to deflect off of cover the way it should and it will not do that unless the bait is running properly.

If it's a local and I am fishing from the bank... Crankbaits - small BFS size always works. I fish it fast and slow. Drop shot - if they are still in the mud, a slow moving minnow that is easy for them to eat Trout Minnow - another BFS bait that seems to work Senko - wacky rigged and dragged on the bottom If it's out on the water in my kayak or boat.... Jigs - works in deep water and sometimes shallow with a do nothing trailer Crankbait - both big and small. Shad baits with a smaller tighter wobble work best. Jerkbait - always my favorite in cold water A-rig or small swimbait - another cold water big fish catcher Blade bait or spoon- I bounce it off the bottom like a dead or dying fish Something that thumps if you have dirty water - spinnerbait, big ribbon tail worm, bladed jig or underspin with a swimbait. These are also my last resort baits and least likely to get bit in cold water but they do work under the right conditions. They tend to work better when the water starts to warm up and fish are more active. They also tend to get bit due to a feed response and not a reaction strike, which is what you tend to get more of this time of the year. The best advice I can give for on the water is to look for shade lines and places where fish have access to deep water. So maybe rip rap with a steep drop off or an area with tree cover that blocks part of the morning sun near the bank but not all. Also look for spots that block wind with an obvious cut off between the wind blown water and the calm water blocked by the wind. This is generally a main lake point or secondary point that curves or wraps into a cove. Also, on my lakes, fish will not orient themselves to shallow water cover until the water reaches about 50-55 degrees. Another cheat code, look for crappie fisherman that are catching fish. Bass sometimes hang around the same area but focus on different food.

Ya, I watched a couple of videos with him using the rods I am looking at. It looks like they are about the same but the Monstrous is slightly faster. I am looking to throw same PD Chopper with a 5in Spark Shad, small glides, Magdrafts and big top water. I have a 7'4'' Heavy Megabass Valkyrie and it can cast a lot of the same stuff but it's kind of soft and anything above 2oz is a little off with this rod. It's great with a 6in Magdraft and an A-rig. I did hear Geoffrey say that you can bend hooks out on big baits with the Monstrous. Personally I have never bent out a hook that was bigger than a #2. I've got some time before I am going to pull the trigger. Going to keep thinking on it and see what everyone else has to say.

Anybody own one of these or both? Thoughts on them? What do you use yours for?

Just noticed the video. That looks like normal back and forth on most, if not all, Shimano reels. My fishing buddy has a few Curado B's that move back forth twice as far and they operate and bring in fish just fine.

I got an assist from @Bluebasser86 on this one. I finally found one on sale of sorts. I hope its worth it.

It's an awesome color. I got a 110 and a 110jr +1 in it and both have caught fish well. I wish I would have made a bigger investment and bought more.

I have two. I use a Mustang inflatable for when I fish tournaments and a NRS Chinook for kayak fishing. The Mustang is easy to have ready to go and must when the engine is on. The Chinook is great for hold things like my phone and few random baits and tools. The Chinook did save my life once. Definitely worth the money.

When I over cranked the nut on my first one, I contacted Gomexus and they kindly sent me another one. I don't know if they will do the same. I think I used one or two. I would have to take it apart to see for sure. The left and right nut are different threads.

Going to take a guess at this but I think it's one of two things, having a few of these Gomexus handles myself and also one on a Bantam...... First guess, maybe the wrong size was purchased or shipped. The Shimano handle for that reel is a 7x4mm. If OP installed a 8x5mm, it will be fine at first and then as the cap settles in, it will loosen up. Second guess, these handles come with a few washers/shims to add to the handle. It's not like the regular Shimano handle that has a 10mm nut with a cap over it. There is actually a cap that you can only tighten down so far. If you do not install the correct amount of washers, it's easy to over tighten and strip the cap (ask me how I know). Also, if the cap is installed ok without the extra washers, and you have the drag loose, there is enough pressure to hold the handle in place. If you tighten the drag down, it loosens up. There is also a left and right hand version for the nut.

That would work. Just remember that with this rod you need to pull pretty good to get the hook in. I have thought of switching from fluorocarbon to braid or braid to leader. We'll see how it goes.

It is a long rod but throwing jigs in cover and around docks, it's great off of my kayak. I also got to thinking why I like the Daemos, 883C BJR and the 873C CRR and its the tip on these rods. I often fish swim jigs in grass and I like to rip the bait through. The softer tips on these rods helps and they also recover quickly. If I'm using something like a big Keitech as a trailer, I don't want a rod that's going to rip the bait out of its mouth as soon as I feel it. I would say all the rods that I mentioned including the 844C and 904C do a really good job of pinning fish.

I don't think grubs in general are a big secret. I know a few guys that fish the Yamamoto Single Tail Grub and the Fat Albert. I fished both of them over the years as well but the Deps MS Grub is a different animal and not on most people's radar. I kept it quiet because its hard to find. Its a big bait by most grub standards and churns up a lot of water. You are definitely correct about rip rap. Works great.

I actually really like the 844C. Its one those rods that's good at a lot of things but it wasn't my favorite for swim jigs. I also have the 904c NRX+ and love it for football jigs. The 844C is an older version though and has a different feel to it. On the Conquest 844c, I have no real experience with that one. I have held a few and it never felt as though I would like it better than the NRX+.

Cabin fever always picks a lure or technique that brings the Bait Monkey out. This year it's the PD Chopper with a 5in Spark Shad and maybe some glide baits. The way it usually goes. I pick out something like this, struggle and then I go back to the baits that keep catching fish for me. Then later in the year when I feel the need, I start this routing over again to see if I can get some use out of my Bait Monkey purchases before the year ends. Sad thing is that there are so many good baits it's hard to fit them all in with the limited time I have.

So one more bait I have kept secret........If you're talking about single tail grubs, the one that has been great for me the past few years is the Deps MS Grub. When you go through the colors you will see why. My favorite is Amber Shad. It's just as basic as you can get but no one has anything like it. It also makes for a great trailer.

For the stuff you are looking for, you might want to check out the Megabass P5 Kasumi Six Eleven. This is my favorite small crankbait rod and it has been my best producing hard bait rod the past few years. It can handle down to an 1/8th but it's fantastic around 3/16 to 1/4oz and can handle 3/8oz cranks as well. Love this rod so much, I have two of them.

@FryDog62 I have tried several rods for swim jigs and my favorites are the Megabass Daemos and the 883C NRX+ BJR. The Daemos is a great for accurate casts and the 883C is great for long casts. You can overload both of these rods with a 1/2oz jig and a heavy trailer, like a Largo Shad or a Crush City Mayor. The Daemos, for me, requires a little harder swing when you set the hook. The 883C is overkill for both bladed jigs and swim jigs but is fun to fish. I have tried my 844C GLX and 894C NRX+ JWR. The 844C was ok but just didn't work as well my two favorites and the 894C was not bad but too fast at the tip. I have also tried my 853C NRX and it just felt off with swimjigs. A good compromise in the Loomis line would be the 873C CCR NRX+. It's a little more powerful than the 853C JWR but softer at the tip. It has worked well for a lot of stuff including jigs, swim jigs, and the free rig.

Maybe the 2500 Stradic but I still prefer the 2000 size Vanquish on this rod.

I have not had that issue with Almight but I keep reading post like this and I know a few people that have had issues. It's weird. Usually, Sunline is really good with their quality control. Not all their lines are fantastic but at least they are consistent. I also heard they had some recent issues with Sniper. I think they were in the process of changing the formula and there are some in-betweens that got thrown in the mix. Let us know how the J-braid works out.