MassYak85

What twistlocks are you using? I've never had a keitech get ripped completely off during a bite.

Sounds like a good night! That must have been a chunky crappie to go after a slammer huh?

If it is slipping all the time no matter what you do it is something to do with the line on the spool slipping. If it happens occasionally like when you set the hook I would bet it's something with the anti-reverse bearing. Possibly over lubed like @papajoe222 said.

I would say the 90 has the most issues (getting fouled by weeds, entire body rotating, getting drowned by waves) but sometimes it is the right tool. It has a distinctly different noise and obviously a smaller profile.

Yea I forgot the 110 was about an ounce, probably a bit heavy but for the 90 it should be good.

I forget who said it last time this subject came up but if you give an NRX to someone who has never fished before they aren't going to be able to distinguish a thing. The vibrations traveling up the line may be better transmitted down the blank to their hand but I'd argue "sensitivity" is 90% the angler's experience being able to translate the information they are given.

Sounds like a great rod for it. IMO you want a rod that has a lot of bend to keep the fish pinned when they come up to shake.

That slime or the black fibrous decaying vegetation is the worst.

Some 8" WRS and some 12/0 Owner Beasts would be a good addition, very different action compared to something like a hudd.

Generally when I think of "ripping" a bait it just means aggressively working it. Usually hard fast twitches of the rod. The other kind of "ripping" I think of is what you would do with a lipless crank bait and literally rip it free of the weeds. The key with that though is to allow it to just catch the top of the weeds and then immediately rip it free, not allow it to fall through 5 feet of milfoil and then reel back a salad.

Things are still far from over here in MA. Water temps still in the mid 60's. I like ice fishing so I never minded the cool down, I just hate the gap between soft and hard water.

Went out this morning in the rain. My first slammer fish is officially a 12" bass who apparently thought he could stuff a 9" lure down his throat. I did manage to get a couple other blowups from better fish in the morning though so it was definitely an encouraging outing.

The only two I use are alberto and FG. For both I trim as close as I possible can. I have never had either slip.

The real prey's are really nice, a little more pricey but durability is second to none. I've got a couple of the shiners and a perch but he also makes trouts. Some comparable size to the Hudds and he also makes a big 10" one.

One thing I've always wanted to do is measure the affects of different variables on line breaking strength, such as UV exposure, kinks (like those at the top guide when the rod has been stored for a while with the lure), water absorption, etc. Not sure if that falls in line with what you're trying to do.

Does anyone have any experience ordering stuff from these guys? I'm debating ordering a rod from them, and they claim to have free shipping (only catch is it's 3-4 weeks since they ship from overseas). I'm just trying to avoid ordering a rod and having it show up unannounced in February lol.

Hit the charles today. There was some decent activity early, I got a 3.3 and another small guy and lost a couple others. It really slowed down after mid morning though. Got to try out the slammer, no takers but I really like it so far. It's really neat how the action changes just based off retrieve speeds. From what I could tell you have like 4 options, really slow where it is just barely rocking back and forth, a little faster and it starts to make a really nice knocking sound with the wood and wobbling really wide, faster still still and the tail starts to splash some water as it goes back and forth, and burning it goes down about a foot.

IMO you want a rod with some bend to it (not a fast). I used a Heavy Fast to fish it last summer and I lost a good amount of fish because of it. I'm currently fishing it on a MH mod-fast with better luck. Any heavy treble hooked bait you want to have the rod stay loaded when the fish come up and shake, generally a heavy fast is going to completely unload pretty easily during those situations.

Finally got my MS Slammer. I canceled my TW order after the 5th backorder date change and ordered it from another site. Got a 9" in dark rainbow. It looks amazing! Mike does an incredible job with the paint on these things. I boiled the tail to get it perfectly straight, changed the hooks and will be testing it out this weekend.

Another thing I didn't like was the bait keeper, it's just a swinging nail basically, and doesn't hold too well. You can add an owner cps spring if you cut it off though.

My dad has done well on those fished through and over the tops of lily-pads. I do agree the hook is not great though.

There's definitely two sides to this coin. On one hand you have the guys that won't even consider gear outside of certain select brands and only their flagship top of the line products. Then you have guys that think super low budget gear is just as good and there is no reason to spend money on those items. In reality you do get what you pay for most of the time, and while the returns get less as you go up the ladder in price they are still there, to not acknowledge them at all is just silly. I think most of us here fall into the category of "buy what you can afford". There are plenty of great options at all price ranges and all budgets. All will catch fish, but not all are equal in performance. The backlash you got seems extreme and completely unwarranted, but the "If you're spending triple digits and NOT getting 3 combos you're doing it wrong" comment I think is probably what set people off. Sure you can absolutely get 3 combos for a hundred bucks and do great with them but to say upgrading beyond that is "doing it wrong" comes off poorly IMO.

I've heard of the thumbar thing being an issue and I've had it happen a couple times with mine. I just keep the joint of my thumb on the thumbar now when I cast to make sure it doesn't disengage.

@Bluebasser86 How well do the plaster of paris molds hold up? Are you able to mold quite a few sets of baits? Although I imagine as long as you keep the master you can just keep making molds if needed.

I have the TAT721HFB and use it for all my jig fishing and t-rig fishing. It is my favorite rod. IMO it is not a punching rod (1oz and greater weights) though. I use my 7'6" HF abu garcia vendetta (more like an XHXXF pool cue if you ask me) which is also my frog rod to punch. Anything an ounce and under for jig, and t-rig applications my TAT721HFB gets the nod though. I would "punch" with lighter weights maybe with it. I feel it shines with 3/8 and 1/2 jigs though. I would definitely describe it as a true heavy and a true fast. I can't compare it to the other rods you mentioned though.