FrnkNsteen

Same thing happened in the yuppie area north of Indianapolis. Stopped by while up there to see what they had and couldn't find the hunting/fishing area. I grabbed a worker and asked where it was and was told "We don't have one. We don't carry any of that stuff here". I assumed it was because it's within a mile of the Cabelas, but maybe not.

I have to say I agree with the importance of handling the fish proper and get them back in the water as soon as possible. That is my wife's pet peave when we are watching fishing shows. She's constantly saying "Shut up and get it back in the water". You wonder how many takes they film with that same fish out of the water. What I find strange is the inconsistency even within a given series. Major League Fishing "Pro Tour" penalizes for dropping a fish in your boat, clutching it against your body, or releasing it above the gunnel (Which I understand, though some unstances seem a little TOO minor) But,... Major League Fishing "Big 5" still lets them flip it into the floor of their boat, bounce them around the decks and shows them floating belly up in the livewell??? BASS Elite Series seems to be the worst in how they treat the fish, but not by a lot over MLF Big 5. I know people like the different formats (5 biggest vs total weight) but you can still weigh & immediately release then decide if you count all, or just the top 5.

I had heard that about those rods from others, but never had that issue myself. I had four of them and none had that issue. Must have gotten lucky that the reels I used had enough bulk to the reel feet to tighten up. I belueve I had Daiwa Regal Z on one, two had Pfleuger Presidents and one a Daiwa Fuego. My wife knocked the MH version in a lake and we couldn't recover it, the one that broke was one of two 6'3" M, and the last is my favorite; a 6'9" ML I use for Wacky.

Well, I don't know who made the grips for the Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth, but this is the one I recently broke and was so disappointed. If someone could put this grip on a new blank and rebuild a rod for me, or tell me where these grips can be gotten, I think I would bite the bullet and do my first custom rod.

Good idea. I usually clamp a piece of stepped dowel in my workbench vice to hold the line spool, then hold casting reels in my hand while loading, so no need for a rod, but a spinning rod cut off above the first eye would be handy! I don't break many rods, but I did have one get smashed under the support rod of the trolling motor recently. I will cut it off and use for loading spinning reels! Thanks!

Except that you would be trading stuff nobody uses for stuff nobody uses! LOL! ??

I think that will make a decent all-around setup. I looked it up and its rated 3/8 - 1 oz, which means you can throw 1/4oz texas rigs + the plastic. Senkos usually run about 3/8oz, so they are at the bottom of its range, but should work. You could also use it for jigs, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits,... pretty universal. My suggestion is to keep it and consider a medium action spinning rig next you can use for lighter stuff.

I use a Mojo MHMF "Spinnerbait" rod for throwing my WP 90s. I'm not a fan of the other Mojo rods I've held or tried. They always felt heavy to me, but I do really like that one. It has a nice soft tip thats a little slower. It casts well and has enough give to fish trebles. I actually have two of them. One throws the WP90 with 15lb mono. The other is used for lighter Jackhammers and Thundercrickets and I really like it. You can throw those 1/4 - 3/8 lures well and you can feel everything that blade is doing without your hand going numb by the end of the day.

I ordered a few different sizes from McMaster Carr when I was ordering some other stuff so I could combine shipping. 100pc packs are $3 - $5

I've got boxes full of plastics that were "So cheap I couldn't pass up". Most have been sitting on the shelf in my bulk boxes ever since. I try to avoid doing that anymore. Now I try to only buy things to replace items I've lost or used up, or grab things that match a certain need I am trying to fill. For instance, before our last trip up to MN I knew the rusty crayfish were in the lakes up there so I bought a few bags of Chigger Craws that I thought would "Match the hatch" Ended up using them all up. They worked awesome, just not very durable. I just kept saying "There goes one leg" then "Well, both gone,... Time for a new one" Funny how that doesn't hurt as much when you're catching fish!!

Agreed^^ I do the same thing. I feather the end of the cast for accuracy, then manually close the bail and give the line a tug to tighten on the spool or lift the tip to pick up slack on moving baits as I start to work the bait or reel. I rarely have any issues with wind knots or line twist causing line to jump off the spool. My wife has them occasionally. She says she does the same thing at the end of casts, but I haven't been able to confirm.

I have come to look forward to Deleted's responses. They are usually good for a good laugh!! ?

I agree with this^^ There is an old saying that says don't leave fish to try to find fish. To me, the same goes with don't quit lures that are working to try something else. It's obvious they were wanting the slower presentations, so I would have stuck with that. Try your hard baits on days they AREN'T hitting your plastics and may prefer the reaction bite. Had a day up on our summer trip when the smallies were barely touching anything plastic. They wanted swimming craws with lots of action like Chigger Craws or Rage Craws, cranks like OG Slims and paddletail swimbaits like Keitechs and Cane Thumpers. We dropped the senkos, tubes, and Neds and switched over to moving baits and a had good day!

Couldn't agree more. I can say the same thing. I've got numerous Abu, Daiwa, Lews, and Shimano reels and I have been happy with the majority of them. Some cast better than others while others reel smoother than others, but I couldn't seperate them by brand. I've got Abu Revo S, STX, Winch and Orra models. I've got Lews LFS, Tourn MB, Custom SLP, and Pro SP. Daiwa Fuego, 100, Type R, Tat SV (2017 and 2020), Alphas SVTW, and a 21 Zillion G (which wins by the way! ?) Shimano SLX, SLX MGL, Curado MGL, Curado DC. Not to mention BPS PQs and Carbonlights and a couple 13 Fishing mixed in. If any of them had major issues they'd be gone. The point is when you get up to the $150 - $200 mark, they all make a pretty good reel. Any can also have an issue here and there. I'd go with the ones I listed before,.. but wouldn't turn down a deal on any of the others, which is evident by my obvious mild addiction!! ??.

If we are including being hung up. I was fishing a creek with a friend one time. He was throwing a #5 Mepps and got hung up on a rock across the creek. He snapped back on the rod and that Mepps let loose and was coming right back at us. He got turned just enough to get hit in the shoulder and that treble buried in so deep we couldn't ****** it out. Had to push it through and back out his skin so we could snip off the barb so we could back it back out.

They don't have to be in the front of the boat with you. In the example I spoke of above, the person setting the hook was in the middle seat of my 19.5 Stratos, so right at the front of the windshields and my wife was sitting in her chair on the back deck.

I was tempted to order one at that price, but truth be told, I have never had an modern Abu rod that I have liked. I've heard a lot of good feedback on those Fantasista rods, but many say they aren't a $300 rod, but decent deal for $150. If that's the case, not much of a bargain at the current price. I've had Vengence, Vendetta, Veritas and about any other "Ve" rod you can think of and have gotten rid of every one. Tried to like them, but in my opinion all Abu rods tend to run higher power than marked and seem stiff to me. Plus the black coating on their reel seats always tends to start getting tacky and rubbing off. The only Abu rod I still have is an OLD 6'6" MH Hank Parker signature crankbait rod. I like it because it has a short grip and works well for working squarebills, spinnerbaits and chattertubes around cover. Interested to hear from others though!!

I believe I got mine at a local shop by me, but I know they carry them at a lot of places. Seems to me I have seen them at Academy Sports. I don't think BPS stocks them, but Tackle Warehouse has them. I just checked and they have the 7' ML for $54.99. I'm sure many others carry them as well.

Daiwa AirdX is the cheapest ML I am aware of that is light and sensitive. I have a ML I use for working light hair jigs. They typically run about $50.

Same for me. I use them when I want to use a bare craw. I don't like using a normal texas rig because they tend to roll when swimming them. A light belly weighted twistlock hook (1/16oz) works well as a keel to keep it swimming flat. It also helps it fall flat on a pause or when landing after the cast. I like a Rage Bug in cooler water, and switch to a Rage Craw or Chigger Craw as the water warms and I want more flipper action.

My wife and I were fishing one day with a family member sitting in the middle. He's one to swing for the fences on every hookset and hit her with his jig three times that day. Luckily, none embedded or hooked her, but we had to cut the third one out of her jacket. Had to finally tell him to either settle down or at least change the direction of his hooksets. I understand the need to set the hook, but some people go overboard in my opinion. If you're constantly thinking you need to set the hook like that, you may want to consider sharpening your hooks! No need for that in my opinion!

Exactly what I was going to say!!!

From the top of your budget down I think my initial choices would be thw following but depend on what you want to use it for.... Daiwa Tatula SV $199 Shimano Curado Mgl 150 $199 Daiwa JDM Alphas 800 SV TW $180ish Shimano SLX MGL 70 $150

I had that same rod set up for Spinnerbait as well. Right now I have it setup with braid and a Chattertube

Mine is Mojo "Spinnerbait" 7' MHMF with Revo3 S 6.4:1 loaded with 17lb Suffix Tritanium Mono. Works great for that. Centrifugal break casts it great and the gear ratio is perfect for my cranking speed.