fishwizzard

Thanks for the imput guys. I am glad to know I am on the right track, but I still cannot decide on what power to get. I tend to default to lighter rods, but if the CR723 will cast well at the lower end of it's range then I think it would be a better choice. AmericanLegacy doesn't have the IMX version in stock, so I will be cooling my heels a bit if I go for the MH. I was unsure about the real differences between the GL3 and the IMX blanks, but for $45 it seems like a good idea to spring for it.

Hi, As a lover of short rods, factory offerings are few and far between. I have recently come across the Loomis Classic Casting line, which are offerings in a 6' length with a short 7" full cork stock. I am not familiar with the Loomis lines and most of the info online is about their higher-end offerings. Specifically, I am looking to put together a combo to use when bank fishing. I want to fish medium weighted (3/16-3/8) t-rigged plastics, jigs in the 1/4-3/8 range, and 3/8 chatterbaits. The water I have in mind varies from open surface with dense weeds below, to large snags/laydowns, to sparse pad fields. The two rods I am looking at are as follows: or Not knowing how the Loomis rods fish I am not sure which one to go with. In addition, most of my current short rods are UL, L, or ML actions, and I don't know how well a stiffer short rod will cast. I am obviously not going for huge distance, but am looking for a rod that loads well across as much of it's range as possible. In terms of my general lineup, this combo will fit between a 6'3" ML/MF rod I use for senkos and jerkbaits and a 6'8" MH/F that I mainly used for inshore, but also doubles as my frog rod. The MH/F now covers the applications I want the new rod for, but it is cumbersome to hike around with and I would like to move it to kayak/pier duty. I am inclined to go with the heavier rod as my ML combo seems like it will cover the lower end of the weight range but does not handle jigs/t-rigs above 3/8-5/16 very well at all, and due to it being a MF, I want to only use it with thin/softer plastics. Any input or thoughts would be welcome.

Yea, that was my thought as well. I know I have posted this before, but a Hula stick on a 1/16th jig head with a wire keeper is a great bank beating lure. Fish it as normal until you have a missed strike, then quickly pull it off, rig it wacky, and throw it right back. They are just long enough to work like a flick-shake and once the salt washes out, they fall nice and slow on the weighted head.

Being on the younger side of things, the only magazine I ever really got into was Handloader back when I was into shooting. It is an amazing resource of technical data and I trust a large company with a legal department far more then a random dude on the internet when it comes to a 50k PSI explosion going off next to my face. Fishing is far less stressful, if someone gives me some bad advice here I just risk wasting time or money.

I picked up a SV105 during a BF sale and have it on a Go Emotion ML rod and so far have been having a blast with it. The SV reel has been amazing, as advertised I can tie on a 5' senko, set the breaks to max and cast it straight up in the air and let the bait hit the ground with no backlash, just a few loose coils. It is less forgiving when you have the break sent to a more reasonable level, but it is great to have that option when trying to throw jerkbaits into the wind. If you hunt around ebay you can find the JDM version for under $200 pretty regularly.

You guys with a dozen 3600 boxes blow my mind with how much weight you are willing to carry. I think I am going to start carrying $50 in singles and just buy what ever I need from one of you guys.

I have about a dozen 3000 sized boxes that I build up into little "kits" based around a certain type or lure or technique, which are overwhelmingly soft plastic based. So say I have a box for senkos with 5-6 long compartments for worms sorted by color and a few smaller compartments with hooks and other terminal tackle. I have had some of them loaded up for around two years now and other then some light staining from redbug plastics, nether the boxes or lures seem affected at all by it.

Yea, there is not enough compelling stuff to get me past $50, so I am going to give it a pass. Last year I went nuts and bought all sorts of stuff.

I will have to look around for the hooks I bought, I think they were 4/0. I didn't even get to the water test phase, I couldn't get them to sight straight in the frog. I think I am going to buy some figure 8 links and see if that lets me use a shorter, but still oversized hook and have it seat better inside the frog.

I might be the only person who isnt into frog fishing. It's too stressful and the low hookup rate kills me. I have been fussing around trying to rig a zman floating pop frog with a line-through treble that exits the top of the lure, but haven't found a good system yet.

Yes, I have been toying with making some finesse frogs and have yet to hit on a hook that fits well in the smaller frogs.

Interesting info, it sounds like planning a trip 3-5 hours away will be tough as there is no way to predict how the local conditions will be. I wonder if I can get my combo to cast far enough to hit the hole off of Jonas Green pier? Otherwise the poor thing is going to be demoted to catfish duty.

"Sensual winding with smoothness added to the rigidity sense." Well that bit of ad copy sold me, time to start saving up my yen! For real though, if it really works for super light lures and is saltwater rated, it looks perfect for the brackish/salt water combo I have been wanting. The RH model isnt available until May, so there will be a few months for all you wrong-handed jerks to give it a good testing for us correct-handed folks.

Interesting, so the tubing is to help hold the hook on? I found the lure with two rusted trebles on it, but removed them. I have been using the double hooks more and more on my small cranks and that seems like a good way to secure them a bit better. The idea of a trailer on a micro crank is breaking my fragile mind, though I want to believe.

I think I found the same one last summer by the Potomac river.

I cannot conceive of such a pressured place, or were you like the first guy to hit the place after a drawdown?

Man, are those all from trees?

Hands down it's a fluke. I love fishing them and getting them to dart around, I love how versatile they are, I love how weedless they are, I love how well they cast and skip, and I love seeing one disappear a split second before I feel the pull. I love them so much I had a spinning rod made just to fish them.

Interesting, so surf fishing is about not only being at the right spot, but also at the right time? I am used to fishing for a more "captive audience".

Well that makes me feel a little better. My backyard casting attempts were less then great. I wanted to try to use a small floating tube on like an 12-16" leader mojo rig with like an 1/8oz weight, but it helicopters like crazy. Would upping the weight help any with that?

That is what I figured as I never really see it mentioned or see much surf tackle in the local shops. It's a shame as it looks to be a ton of fun. Some times when shore fishing for perch I will find a group of small stripers or blues and it is a blast to wade out and catch them. Before Christmas a friend noticed the rod in my rack so we went out back and spent an hour drinking beers and lobbing 3oz weights across the field and now I am all pumped to give it a go for real. Are there any specific spots on the eastern shore I should look at? Even the "pier and surf" forum seems to be pretty much all pier in the MD section.

I got my first sit on top yak from West Marine for around $400. They have sales a few times a year and are worth looking at if you live near one. It was their house brand "Pompano", which I believe is from an old Wilderness mold.

Reading some of the threads about splitshot/mojo rigs had me wondering about the specifics of casting them. With a heavy spinning rod I can usually bomb say a catfishing bottom rig a decent ways out, but there is little accuracy involved. If I have more then say 6" of line past the tip I have huge accuracy issues with casting reels and not much more luck with spinning ones. I have yet to find an online video that shows the a full body shot of the casting motion, so I am not sure if there is something I am missing. The way I normally cast isnt doing it for me and would love any advice.

Hah, I wasn't clear. I meant three Plano 3000 series boxes. Like this: I make little self contained kits that I can just grab and go without worrying if I have forgotten anything.

Yea, I would have jumped at one of the higher geared ones. I still might pick one up if I have a moment of weakness at the end of the sale.