Oklahoma Mike

Kistler makes nice rods, but I refuse to buy them because they come with only a 1 year warranty (non-transferable).

St Croix AXS66MF or AXS68MXF G Loomis IMX802C JWR

I have my newest casting reel spooled with 12lb CX. I haven't had any problems with it. However, keep in mind that it's a fluorocarbon coated line, not a true co-poly such as McCoy or YZH.

Haha. I thought this sounded like a desperate cry for help, as I myself often employ the same tactic. "Well I asked for advice and no one tried to talk me out of it, sooooooooo... my hands are tied here."

There are very few times I go out that I don't throw a spinnerbait. I have a pretty wide array of colors, sizes, and blade types, but the ones I throw most often are 3/8 or 1/2 oz black/red, blue/black, and fire tiger, and usually I'm using a gold Colorado blade. Most of the waters I fish are stained with low visibility, so that plays a big role in these setups. If I'm fishing a clearer body of water I'll use lighter colors, and in clear water and sunny skies I'll use silver blades. I use them as search baits but will also make targeted casts with them if I think I know where the fish are laying.

Lost a brand new Megabass Vibration X on its first cast. Lost 2 Z-Man chatterbaits, a few spinners, and probably a half dozen senkos. Yesterday I lost a Whopper Plopper during its first outing.

I can't help you with getting the knot through your guides, but I will say that I lost a leader on a very nice fish last week that was tied with an FG knot. Probably operator error, but it has me gun shy now, and I would recommend that you test that connection as best you can before getting it out on the water.

Okay, so I did spool up some 40lb on a 3500 size reel and have taken it out for 3 outings. It was difficult to judge how much backing to put on in order to get the entire 150 yards on, and I ended up having to waste the last 20 or so yards. i used a double uni for tying to the backing and a palomar for tying baits. I did not use a leader. I was bombing casts like I never thought possible. I am truly amazed at the difference it makes in casting distance. It was also very quiet, unlike braid. On one particular outing it was very windy, and I experienced quite a bit of wind whip, but that was to be expected. I did notice some line twist, and a few times the line would wrap the pole between the last two guides in a strange way that I've never encountered with any other type of line. Knots were not difficult at all to tie. Sensitivity was good but not quite as good as braid. No problem with hook sets - it seemed to fish just like braid in that regard. I didn't fish any areas where abrasion was an issue so not sure about that. At the end of the day, I think the 40lb is a bit heavy. I really enjoyed the castability and how quiet it was, but the line did not seem as supple as I was expecting. I'm going to put some 24lb on a 2500 size and see if I like that better.

Nice fish, congrats! I'd guess some where in the 8.5-9.5 range.

Good point. I've had things ring up as sale items before that weren't even priced as such on the rack. When I went the other day and bought the Money Minnows, they rang up at $9.99 - I showed them the online sale at the register and they had to call the manager over to approve it.

I haven't fished the Orra so can't help you there. I have fished the Revo and felt that it was just okay. At that price point I would opt for the Pfleuger Supreme XL.

Flouro is probably a better choice for crankbaits, 12-15lb. I personally don't care for flouro as a main line but use it as a leader with braid. But your 12lb XL will work fine too.

Mind naming names here?

Cavitron Buzzbait Megabass Pop-X

If you're dead set on using cranks, you could try removing the rear trebles - 90% of the time you will set the front hooks on a strike, and the rear hooks are going to be the culprit with the majority of your snags. You'll still lose some lures, but not as many.

I assume some of you guys have taken out second mortgages. Next time my wife complains about a tackle purchase, I'm going to show her this thread.

I believe you can still get (2) of the Rage models for $50/ea plus $10 shipping if you buy two or more. You have to call St Croix by phone for it, and I'm not sure what models they still have left. Save yourself a couple hundred bucks to put toward your reals or some nice tackle.

Thanks for the heads up. After reading this, I decided to head down to my local DSG after work. Grabbed a few of the money minnows. And then I saw it... A GL2 853S JWR with a sale tag of $119! I wasn't particularly in the market for such a rod, but when the bait monkey whispers in your ear, you listen.

Cabelas still has Lucky Craft on sale for $6.99/ea, and that includes some pointers.

I would go with a 6'-6" AvidX MHF paired with a Team Lews Lite 7.5:1.

Picked up some 25lb and some 40lb yesterday. Looking at the sizes, I did some comparing to Trilene XL: Gliss XL 24lb 0.007 4lb 0.008 40lb 0.010 8lb 0.010 I'm going to spool up the 24lb on a 2500 size reel and put the 40lb on a 3500. Currently on these reels I have 8lb Fireline (.007in) on the 2500 and 20lb PP (.009in) on the 3500, so size-wise there is not going to be much change from what I'm using currently. Will I still see some benefits to casting distance, or am I primarily gaining breaking strength and a quieter line? Also, regarding leaders: I usually fish pretty stained waters and I don't worry much about line viability, but I do typically use a leader if I feel my braid may inhibit the action of my lure. So my questions are, do you feel that this line is okay for tying direct to most baits (say a Ned Rig or wacky style Senko, or topwater baits)? And if a leader is needed, what is the recommended line, flouro or mono? Thanks for any input on this. I'm really excited to try this line out. I love the feel of braid but the noise drives me nuts.

Anyone ever try one of these? https://buydeeper.com/

I would say the primary difference is in the quality of the hooks. If I'm gonna spend $3-$4 changing the hooks, I've probably spent more than I saved by buying a cheaper lure. Aside from that, I'd just say the quality of the materials/paint as it relates to durability. If it last me 3 seasons vs 1 season, I'm okay with paying an extra buck or two for that value.

I tried out the FG knot for the first time yesterday and lost the leader on a nice one, first hookup. I was pretty sure I tied it correctly. I was tying 10lb Fireline to a 15lb CX leader.

I was thinking about picking up some 40lb Gliss and spooling it up on a topwater baitcasting setup. Any thoughts or insights on this application from those who have used this line?