Columbia Craw

I had the opportunity to visit with a Lamiglas rod designer during the period the company was applying the 3M nano resin. I was privy to his first impressions. The primary attribute was the strength of the blank. The stress tests revealed tremendous stress had to be applied to the blank to reach the failure point. The blanks could also be rolled with a smaller diameter as a result. The weight savings was negligible. The blanks were also more reactive with a much quicker rebound. This made the blank's action faster when applying the same taper. Lamiglas had every intention to apply 3M's product into a series of production rods but Pure Fishing obtained the sole rights to the formula. More development was projected because the bugs were not yet worked out, that designer is now with another company not affiliated with PF. I had the opportunity to fish a couple of prototype rods produced with 3M nano resin. The application of that product in those rods showed slightly lighter rods, quicker rebound, smaller diameter blanks and what appeared to be a more durable blank but that was never proven by me. I have one rod that is a nano resin formula obtained by another company and you can feel the difference although not as glaring as I would have expected. That's about all my experience Tom.

Senko: Weightless Texas rig Weighted Texas rig Drop shot straight Drop shot wacky Wackey rig weighted Wackey rig weightless Shakey head Flick shake Neko rig Cut in half for a Ned rig Bubba shot Pitched, Flipped, Cast or Skipped.

The inherent issue with the drop shot rig is line twist. Braid really helps to mitigate that. Using a micro barrel swivel between the braid and leader makes twist even less of an issue or no issue at all. I pre-tie leaders in various tests and hook sizes/types to save a bunch of time. Braid in #12 seems to work well for me and reduces drag in current. It works for me.

The CT type R has a lighter spool, higher quality spool bearings (2) and a Zaion drag star. The type R is about .6 ounce lighter. The 2018-19 Tatula 100 is a better performing reel the the CT or CT Type R.

It's paid off!

I have two buddies who are steelhead guides and both use Daiwa Fuego LT 3000's. That's a pretty good endorsement. I have one and two Ballistics and the performance of the Fuego LT is surprisingly close. If I need another spinning reel that's what i'm purchasing.

I have to some bass fishing books, Roland Martin, Bill Dance, KVD etc. Anyone else collect?

I came upon a rare flippin stick that was sold by Cabelas back in the late 80's that was new and has never been fished. I put some cork sealer on it. Note the off set "stripping" Guides to make the single haul draw easier. A piece of history. It's not as old as my Fenwick Dee Thomas Lunker Stick flippin stick but it's pretty cool.

Dobyns Xtasy 755 matched with a Tatula SV 8:1 and #20 Red Label Dobyns Champion 765 Flip matched with a Zillion HD 8:1 and #20 Red Label Dobyns Extreme 795 Flip & Punch matched with a Lews Tournament Pro 7.3:1 and #50 Smackdown braid These three will cover any situation I would bump into.

Smoking deal. That model will work for jerkbaits, many topwater baits, even lighter spinnerbaits. A 6XD will be a strain but a 5XD should be fine.

My neighbor passed away and the family began the liquidations of a fishing and hunting collection that was second to none.

Add the Rage Structure Bug to that list and it's go time. Nice to see James as a member.

Life is filled with priorities. Many change.

The lures distributed after the PRADCO acquisition saw a package change from red to blue and all are tagged on the back, " Made in Guatamala." I have compared my post PRADCO to pre PRADCO and can find no difference, visibly or how they perform. I've been fishing NORMANS lures since 1979 and at last count have close to 80 or so. It's a much over looked bait and brand.

Local tackle dealer had a hot ad with Seagar Smackdown for 17.99 a spool. That'l work. Also found some Keitech Fats 3.8 in good colors for under five bucks. I'm set.

As I mentioned in another post, I tried U-40 and was pleased with the results on the first two test rods. I sealed all my rods after a good cleaning. As far as feel or the cork, I can tell the handle sealed over a non-sealed handle but the texture is so negligible it's certainly not a factor in not sealing the handles. Just apply it sparingly with a cheap foam paint brush and let it air dry. It's worth the money to protect your investment.

I had an issue with a tip. I called and received a new tip in less than 48 hours at no cost. Easy fix.

Happy and blessed Easter to everyone!

The handles on the Savvys are over 5 years old. I bought them from a buddy who got a sponsorship. He fished them OFTEN. Dawson sealed them in U-40, cleaned them and resealed them. This is what pushed me to try U-40 myself. The other grips on the three Furys were also sealed after a good Magic Eraser cleaning. The fill material in cork grips is not water proof and with time in wet weather and sweaty hands it will soften, and erode with the movement of your hands. Seal it. A container of U-40 will treat over 200 10 inch cork grips. Fast and so easy. It's worth it.

Collin, it sounds like you are ready for your first bait casting combination. Do not be intimidated by bait casters. LiionHeart's comments are much the same as mine. The Diawa Fuego CT is so user friendly. There are several good entry level rods to get started and keep you under you budget cap. A 6-6 to 7-0 medium power rod would be a great start. A great value rod to take a look at is a Dobyns Colt 703C but that's just one of several possible choices. Good luck !

I've got the shoes, clothing, gloves, jigs( lots of jigs) sunglasses, Smelly Jelly and other amenities down. After talk about U-40 for the past several years I had to give it a try and the same with KVD line conditioner. It's like the scene in the the movie Open Range when Boss buys chocolate all the way from Switzerland Europe and Cuban cigars. The store owner says he's never tried it. Boss says, this has been sitting in front of you the whole time and you never even tried it. That's me and these two products. I love Swiss chocolate. I don't smoke though.☺️

It's no secret, I've been fishing for a long long time. I think I have an open mind, what's left of it. So, there were a couple of products that have been mentioned by many of you but I saw them as a gimmick, unnecessary, and a poor use of my money. I thought, " what the heck, if it works, why wouldn't you at least try them. So I tried: U40 Cork Sealer and KVD Line Conditioner. I spent a bunch of cash on two rods this year and wanted to keep the full cork handles as perfect as possible. So I sealed them with U40 and the results impressed me. I think money well spent. I cleaned and sealed every one of my rods with it. Next was KVD line conditioner. I don't have issues with backlashes but if it can make a line more supple and reduce memory. I'll try it. I think both products were a good investment. Now what else can make my fishing more enjoyable?

I can relate Walt. We had few options in the 70's. I used to take a worm and use a razor blade and cut down the length to make a split tail. I recall finding out UJ added dual colors. I was so excited to have black blue or brown orange in #11 frogs. I attached a few plastic trailer options. Each does something different to a jig but it always seems to fall into, profile, vibration, rate of fall and action. I'm healing from a surgery so took a minute to photo some examples that I know you will be familiar with.

Listen guys, it's not my intention to be adversarial or testy. If I came across that way and I very well may have, I'm sorry. I value anyone's view point. Having a study that minimizes the validity of a food source for a bass and then developing an array of baits that's contrary is over the top. I'll tuck my Rage Craws between my legs and walk away.

Berkley Lures offers 23 soft plastic lures in some type of crawfish configuration. They are owned by Pure Fishing. The crawfish pincers cleaned out of my live well is enough to convince me i'm on target.