anderb54

I have a Jewel bait hound retriever... Works really well, and the irony of having it on a retrievable dog leash cracks me up every time I use it

$70 for a Gancraft Jointed Claw 178... Worth every penny

It's a common issue with them. Use high grit sand paper to take the sharp edge off

I've had my eye on them for a bit now, I'll have to give them a shot. I'll admit that I used to use Owner for all of my hooks, but the TGW Finesse hooks are just so d**n good that they're slowly taking over all of my treble baits. I spent wayyyyy more than I care to admit this winter replacing all of my jerkbait hooks with the regular Nano Finesse hooks. Sharp doesn't even begin to describe them.

I usually use the Owner ST-36, but recently bought some of the Gamakatsu TGW Finesse MH hooks. Both work great. I usually use the stock hook size, or use a slightly larger front hook like @A-Jay does

I fish clear water a lot, and my advice in that situation is to go either small and finesse (dropshot, Neko rig, finesse jig, etc.), or throw big baits (glidebaits, big paddletails, etc.) on the break into deeper water.

Dead sticking an Original Rapala F11 with occasional twitches is a time tested method of really getting them riled up. I've had some of my most vicious strikes ever doing that... They come unglued.

You might be able to find one, but it'll be like casting using a pool stick with guides on it. Some of the JDM swimbait rods out there are available in 7'4" that can throw to 3 ounces (Megabass Valkyrie), but that's the shortest I could find with a quick search. You could go with the 7'2" H Mojo Musky... that goes up to 3 ounces.

I use my Oneten Special as my all around smallmouth rod for wader fishing. I have a slingpack with two 3600 size Planos in it full of baits that I throw with it. Versatile is definitely a great word for it. I'm planning on switching to an Otomat once the crankbait bite heats up because of the slower action. OP, I throw all of the baits you mentioned on the Oneten Special except the Kanata. I found it to be just a bit too heavy for me to feel comfortable with anything but a lob cast. It perfectly handles 110's, Ito Shiners, Trick Darters, Pointer 100s and 78s, Rerange 110s, Staycee 90s... Well, you get the picture. Is it worth buying if you're not a hardcore jerkbait fisherman? Maybe. Is it worth buying if you're really into jerkbaits? Absolutely. As a side note, the jerkbait rods make excellent finesse jig rods if you're into that sort of thing.

Obviously it's great for mid range cranks and traps, but I also really like it for lighter chatterbaits. I also like throwing a lighter Carolina rig on it, and it's a sneaky good football jig rod as well.

I have a Javelin, and it's probably the most versatile of the Destroyers I have. It's very much in line with the new style EMTF, but is a touch faster in my opinion.

I have a pair of "vented" Permits that are a more enclosed style, and will fog up. I recently bought a pair of Reeftons, which are more of an open style, and have had no issues with them.

They hold up fine. If you decide to return them for whatever reason I'd suggest exchanging them for the 68 Special though, I've had more success with it than with the standard 6".

+1 To add to this, hook size and wire thickness make a difference in what I'll use. Heavy wire hook I'll use a leader of 16 lb Sunline Shooter, light wire hook I'll use 12 lb Shooter. For ultra finesse jigs, like the Keitech Tungsten Football jigs, I'll go down to 10 lb Shooter. However, I use those jigs on my jerkbait rod, and use more of a reel and sweep hookset

Keitech Swing Impact Fat 5.8"

You're only looking at 5" per turn difference between the two... aka the length of a Senko. Take that for what you will.

What are you using the reel for? Not exactly the same reel, but I haven't found there to be a noticeable difference in torque with the 8.1:1 vs the 7.1:1 on the Chronarch. The 7.x:1 would be my pic for an "all around" reel speed though

A well designed rod should balance on the locking nut with an appropriate reel on it. The balance on my OneTen Special only moves a few millimeters when I put my Chronarch on it vs my Aldebaran. Same with my Javelin or FMJ. If I were to put a 300 or 400 size reel on it, I'd expect different results though. I can post pictures if you're not convinced

I suppose my poor attempt at humor fell flat, like it usually does. I wouldn't encourage anyone to cheat the system. The point I was trying to get across is that if you're going to spend $75 or more on shipping and "repair or replace", I'd expect that the damages would warrant a new rod. That Gold Star plan is there to cover anything that isn't considered a factory defect. Something like a broken guide, or multiple, can be repaired for less than $75, so if you're going to spend that kind of money, be smart about it and send something in that you know will be replaced with a new one.

Get you an Addermine. The perfect finesse spinning rod. Balances super well with a Stradic CI4+ and is super sensitive. Perfect tip for finesse plastics like ned rigs and light shakeyheads, great for dropshotting, and I've found it to be an awesome rod for spybaiting as well.

My Destroyers all balance on the locking nut with no lure attached and a reel on them.

St. Croix has a great warranty program, and a well earned reputation as being one of the best. Good luck finding one that's better. My rules of thumb with a St. Croix warranty is: 1) If it's less than $75 to fix, get it repaired 2) If it's more than $75 to fix, make sure it's broken enough to get a new rod from them. Tailgates of trucks and car doors will produce the best results.

I use a 7'10" H/F BassX for 68 Specials and other soft swimbaits. Nothing special, but take the extra money you save and put it into a reel for your swimbait rod. To answer your second question, most prefer a fast action rod for single hook soft baits. You'll get different answers for treble hook baits, but I prefer a moderate fast with a softer tip and a stong backbone like the Levante/Orochii XX Leviathan rods

The FMJ is a great rod. More on par with the GLX in terms of sensitivity, but the balance of the rod is top notch, and the fit and finish is a cut above the rest. I've fished jigs down to 1/4 oz with a trailer and have no issues. It's also a great spinnerbait and chatterbait rod. The warranty isn't long, but when I warrantied my Javelin it was truly no questions asked and they sent me a brand new rod within a week.

It's not a true straight shank, but the Owner Twistlock Light hooks are perfect for the applications you listed.