Boomstick

My personal take is if I was looking at a Ci4+, I would said. The one problem that I have with that reel is my thump hits the bail when spinning if I'm not careful. I know others have had the same issue too, but knowing Shimano that will almost certainly be fixed in their next redesign. That said, if you don't have that issue with the Ci4+, then you may just be wasting time that you could be on the water with it by waiting. I'm not sure what else there is to fix really.

I can't provide any input on the specific rods, but I have read the 704CB glass is very good for those lighter cranks. I will say I own the Daiwa Tatula glass rods, both M and MH which are heavier and I have not had a problem with the extra weight. I had the first gen MH rod, which I sold to a friend and got the 2nd gen with the medium at a great price (for the same handles for matching feel) and the first gen had more tip and I will say that was actually a very sensitive rod! I could feel any bottom structure, just everything was slightly muted. The new ones aren't too far off but have more bend in the tip, which doesn't provide quite the same input. I would say if you like the 705CB glass and don't have issues keeping fish pinned on larger crankbaits then go ahead and get the 704CB glass.

What do you mean? It's right here

4.5 lb smallie on a Megabass S-Crank, I think it was the 1.2 size.

^6.

I caught a two pounder late last spring on a crankbait, and a two pound perch. Missed a couple on a frog and one of my kids lost something that was pretty big. That was like a couple hours of fishing in 2018 for me at St. Catherine but for whatever reason last year was tough.

Yup, if you find it's too stiff, send it back and get the spinnerbait rod instead, which should do the trick.

If you can find the Custom speed stick lite for cheaper then that's a no brainer between the two, it's the upper model. As far as their action, they are a little all over the place. The Lews labeled as jig rods should be very similar to the St. Croix Mojo Bass Jigs/Bait rod overall, just maybe a little heavier. The Lews rods labeleed as worm and spinnerbait are more like a Mojo Bass medium with the exception of the "topwater" medium, which is a true medium. I have never really had a balance issue with the heavier Mojo Bass rods with a lighter reel, but they are surprisingly light so I could see how with a heavy reel that may be a little awkward.

I don't think Shimano's rods are as popular as their reels, but I will say that I've got my hands on some Curado and Zodias rods, and they seem like quality rods.

Two years ago I had a field day on Lake St. Catherine in Vermont. I caught two bass on the same treble hook, a pike that was at least 30" and right after that I hooked something much bigger that towed a 14' rowboat with 500lbs worth of people in it around like it was nothing. All three of us thought it looked like el mondo, it eventually swam under the boat and shook the hook. I'm pretty sure this was at the spot around 2:50 in the video below (although they said they were at the southern end of the lake but that spot is at the northern end). Kind of cool seeing it in this video while I'm waiting for spring to come. Thought I'd share.

SMB, 23.5" and almost definitely the fattest smallie I have ever landed. LMB, just over 24" but unfortunately anorexic.

You know what's a great bass lure for trout? NED rigs! I've caught a good number of trout that way, including this one! Also 1/8oz and under inline spinners, small jerkbaits and small crankbaits can be absolute trout killers as well.

Darnit, see what you did? You got me debating picking it up this year, and probably a Tatula 150. There are some places I could the need to have a frog rigged and a jig on braid, especially now that I'm going to own a kayak this year and will likely fish those areas more. UPDATE: I thought about it more, and yeah that sounds nice so the frog rod is on the way along with a Tatula 150 reel to pair with it.

I'm not sure what the hell the Giants were thinking with that one to be honest. The Titans actually have the best weapon to beat KC in Henry. That guy is a best. However, Mahomes is just too good and came to play. It's going to be virtually impossible for them to pull it off at this point, but if they put it in Henry's hands a little more and kept it out of Tannehills, they could have maybe pulled it off. I don't think the 49ers are gonna kill the Packers like they did in the regular season though. I imagine it should be a close game.

As a lifetime Red Sox fan, I am so disappointed with Cora and team management for sign stealing. It's even more disappointing than the amount of motivation the 2019 team showed...

I would carry as much gear as you feel you need. I currently don't own my own kayak yet, but this year I plan to purchase myself and my kids one (and it's going to be awesome) but I have rented boats frequently last summer and what I did when fishing with my oldest son on a canoe we rented was to buy a single waterproof 3650 container. When we got to the lake, we loaded it up with some extra weights, hooks, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs and then pocket some senkos and netbait paca chunks, which was enough for a day of fishing with my son. I have the Bass Mafia tackle bag, and it's loaded with 3700 tackle boxes but once I get to a lake, I usually have an idea what I'm going to be throwing. Even if you don't know the lake, you're going to make an educated guess based on what you see. So once you figure that out, you can really narrow down your tackle selection significantly. As far as storage, if you get a YakAttack BlackPak, or buy a milk crate and rig up three rod holders, that should be able to hold all the tackle you need plus two rods and a net. You can also add rod holders on your tracks for additional rods, or add 3 more to your milk crate or BlackPak if you prefer.

I thought this was going to be a tragic or depressing post but as it turns out, it's not. I'm glad you found what you like

Yeah, it stinks, preventive care basically runs me a boat payment but with no payoff date but I'm alive and beat it. If nothing else when I payoff my truck, it should be in good enough shape where I can bank the payment a few years and there's a boat. But that's not gonna keep me down, I'm going to buy kayaks for myself and the boys to get off the shore next year while I put away money for a boat.

Thanks for the review. I may have actually been the person who asked for the review, I can't remember. There was a used one that popped up and if I wasn't diagnosed with cancer right after, I would have bought it. That's basically my dream boat. In fact I am looking to buy and rig out kayaks this year, so I can continue to put away some money and maybe in a few years as the Pro Vs will have been around a few more years and dropping in price a little, maybe I can make it happen.

If you are pitching or skipping, save up and get the SV. If you are just casting, get whatever fits your budget. I have a the Tatula CT and a few SVs and they both brake very well. The SV has an advantage when casting lighter lures (the weight varies depending on the rod but on a MH/F the difference is noticeable on a 3/8oz lure but not as much on a 1/2oz lure). It's rated for the same amount of 12lb line as the CT, but on the box they list the diameter of what they call 12lb line, on the CT it's .330mm and on the 100 it's .285mm so that's more like 10lb or even 9lb line using the rating of the CT. It's a good reel for crankbaits and jerkbaits for example.

I don't think I have enough experience with oddball brand gear to say what's underrated. I would gather many of the Irod rods are underrated, as I hardly hear anything about them but whenever I do it's the most glowing review possible. As far as being overrated, reels like the Daiwa Tatula or Shimano Curado series or the Shimano Stradic Ci4+ are prime candidates just because so many people have them, although I don't think any of them are bad reels or have any reason to really be considered overrated.

Oh thanks! I ultimately got the jig rod, which is a .5 to 1.5oz rod and launches frogs a mile. I may likely pick it the 7'4" at some point still, but maybe not this year as my money is going towards kayaks and rigging them out.

^10. Love Paco De Lucia.

I was actually looking at a Bonafide for myself since I'm primarily concerned with stability (so the Topwater would be a better unit for me. However I was looking at a Topwater for my youngest son. but he's light and doesn't have arthritic ankles so he'd probably be okay with the Predator too. Plus I see some used now and then

I liked the interface of the Garmin. I could sit down and figure it out without having to read the manual or waste any time. Even my kids could figure out how to use it in the same amount of time. The other model I was considering was the Lowrance HDS as well, but you know the price difference. The one I did not get my hands on was a Raymarine Element, and I have heard good things about them, but at the same time I can get a Garmin for 60% the price too.