slimjim1135

The metal weed guard is extremely stiff and tends to lock itself under the barb, making it almost impossible for bass to trip the weed guard. Additionally, when throwing into thick cover, weeds would accumulate in the small divot between the ring and the weedguard, which kind of took the point out of weedless hooks in the first place. I disliked fishing with the weed guard so much I ended up clipping the guard off the last few. That actually increased my hook-up ratio a little. VMC makes decent hooks, but their weedless wacky is my least favorite weedless I've ever used.

Zoom ol monster in watermelon red texas rigged.

Will Do. If You were looking for a swim bait rod that you could also frog and flip with, does a 7'3" XH F with a 7x spool sound about right? Would I benefit from a slower reel?

I was thinking braid with a fluoro leader for swimbaits, or is that still too harsh on the lure?

Hi all! Ever since moving to LMB country, I've been in the constant pursuit of learning new techniques. I'm looking for either a new setup for spinnerbaits or a jack-of-all-trades flipping stick to add to my lineup, and was hoping you good folks could help me choose which one to buy first, whether I should buy both setups , or just one. I fish about 3 days a week on average, once from the banks and twice on a kayak typically. My current setup is 3 rods: Mitchel 308 Pro 6.2:1 on a Dobyns Fury 703 M F spooled with 10lb mono I use this for weightless wacky rigs, dropshots, shaky heads and live perch/minnows Lews 7.5:1 mach combo on a lews mach 7' MH F spooled with 20lb fluorokote (I prefer over straight fluoro currently) I use this for t-rigged stickbaits, craws, brush hogs, jigs and swimjigs. A Lews BB1 on a Dobyns Fury 735CB MH MF spooled with 15lb mono I use this for crankbaits I tried throwing spinnerbaits on all three setups, but none of them seem to be the perfect fit. Additionally, I haven't thrown too many frogs or swimbaits in the past, but it's something I really want to get into. A lot of the locals in my area swear by frogging and bigger swimbaits. So my questions are: Do you think I should add a spinnerbait-ish setup to my mix or a flipping stick? If both, which first? I was thinking something like A) a 6'6"-7" M F with a 6.x spool. I'd probably use it to give to friends when I have visitors joining me. or B ) a 7'3" XH F with a 7x spool. I'd want to use it for swimbaits, frogs, and flipping, so I'm looking for more of a jack of all trades heavy setup rather than a technique specific. Please let me know any and all things to consider. Can spend about $200 per setup. I'm partial to Lews and Dobyns, but I'm open to just about everything.

I have a 2 piece 6' medium ugly stik elite, and a one piece 7' elite medium heavy that were give to me for free from a friend pairing down his collection. I love em for when I'm fishing with friends who need a rod they can't break. The one piece is indeed significantly thicker and heavier than the two piece, even for the added power and length. I've never had a problem with the pieces coming apart during the cast, and I imagine if you secure them together tight when you're taking them out of your car, you won't have a problem either. As far as your other two concerns, breaking easier and not as sensitive: Ugly stiks are near impossible to break under normal use. Believe me I've tried. And when you have such durability in your rod, you're giving up sensitivity to begin with. The difference in sensitivity between the 1 and 2 piece will be negligible at best under normal use. Hope this helps!