Oklahoma Mike

I use these in 3/0 and 4/0 with great success: http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Twistlock_Light_Hook/descpage-OTLL.html

I run a leader with micro guides (including the Avidx) with no issues. I use the Alberto and am usually tying 30-40lb smackdown to various size FC.

Casting: Met MGL Spinning: Pflueger Patriarch XT

The stainless ones that Terminator used to make were hands down my favorite. Now I'd have to go with Mepps.

I have had a lot better luck keeping the 130 version running true that I have with the 90.

I like Siebert's Foggy (and the Fogy Bubble Blade). Can't beat the price and color selection. As for trailers, just depends on the situation - will sometimes use a Keitech Impact (usually the 3" but will sometimes use the 4.8" Fat), sometimes a pitboss, maybe a grub. My favorite though is the Biospawn Vilecraw.

The H20 ones that Academy sells look very similar and also have the weight painted.

Spinnerbaits, lipless cranks, and paddletail swimbaits tend to be my pre-spawn workhorses. I'll also have a senko and a jig tied on and ready to go at all times.

I use a lot of LC baits and have had zero issues with the stock hooks. The only time I change them is when they get too worn.

I would also agree that the plastic worm is king, and I don't think it's even close. As Catt pointed out, it has been proven to be the only bait to which a bass does not get conditioned. Behind that I would rate the jig #2, then the spinnerbait, then the squarebill crankbait, then the buzzbait, then the popper... and that's about as far as I'll take it. These baits are universal producers in nearly every body of water (minus the topwaters maybe) and, for me at least, they have consistently produced over decades in the order I've listed here.

I was going to also recommend Hammer but I would go with the 7'11" flipping stick, which is a XXH. It has a longer handle and larger diameter blank to help horse those pigs through thick mats. Very light and comfortable.

My recommendation would be the President. I have owned spinning reels from nearly every manufacturer and have found Pflueger to be the best value overall. As for the rod, I'm not sure what types of lures you plan to throw with it but based on the info provided it sounds like you might be better off with a M or possibly even a MH rod.

The jig is a year round presentation for me. I will use it to pick apart structure or areas where I've already located fish with a search bait or electronics. Once I've worn that spot out, I will typically go on to other areas and back to a search bait. Once I've located them, I may go back to a jig again, rinse and repeat. That said, as long as the area still contains fish and they are hitting my jig, I will stick with it.

There was a thread here on them. I posted when I ordered and then updated when I finally received the order. Just over a full month. There was another guy in the thread having the same experience.

I bought a pretty good sized order from them. Quality was great, but it took about a month to receive and there was zero communication aside from my paypal receipt.

Freedom tackle hydra hybrid

I had a pocket full of BPS gift cards I've amassed over the last year, so I went in this morning to grab a PQ and see what else they had. Ended up only getting the reel. Nothing really that impressive on the sales. Most of their stuff is already overpriced, so a 20% discount just gets the price down to normal. For example, they had Suffix 832 on "sale" for $15.99 - which is the regular every day price at TW. The place was a madhouse too. I got there about 15 minutes after they opened and the lot was full. And of course every single one of those people was in the fishing department.

When I saw the thread title, I thought it said $100-200 range. My bad. Although i I did pick one up at last year's classic from Thorne Bros for $170.

Don't you get it, man? WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT CAN'T BE DONE! Now delete this thread before the other members' wives see it, and never speak of this again.

I would go with the St Croix or Dobyns. You can get an AvidX at the upper end of that price range.

Been thinking about a new rod for throwing senkos and some other soft plastics and maybe lighter jigs. Will probably get the 853C JWR - trying to decide between the GLX and NRX.

Very good line of thinking there. Things that may work for one angler, in one body of water, under a variety of conditions, may not work for another angler, in another body of water, under a different variety of conditions. The same can be said by changing any single component in that list. While it can certainly be helpful to study and learn from the successes and experiences of others, you really have to apply those lessons and learn from them yourself through personal experience to really begin to understand why certain things work, and when and under what circumstances, and with what types of adjustments, etc. It really is a sport of trial and error and learning the little nuances through countless hours on the water, and there is is never an end to that - there is always more to learn through experience. If it were simply a matter of taking and applying the things that made another angler successful, we would all be tied for first place in the Bassmaster Elite every year.

Both hilarious and brilliant!

Out of the ones you listed, the Bass-X would be my first choice and the Phenix would be my second.

I typically use 40# and I don't go smaller than 30# on a BC reel for the reasons Darren mentioned above. For the rig you have there, assuming you're fishing jigs and stick baits with it, I would recommend a good quality FC line like Seaguar Tatsu or Sunline Sniper in the 12-15# range. Or if you're set on braid, I'd go with 40# Smackdown with a FC leader.