gilkeybr

I would put it around 7-8ft on the 10lb FC line that I fish them with. Its a couple feet deeper than the standard 110. For a "deep diver" I like that it still maintains much of the action of the original. Just gets a little bit deeper. Its my go-to jerkbait in most conditions.

My grandpa is doing some "spring cleaning" and offered up his fishing equipment. I didn't expect to find anything of much use, but did find things that were pretty interesting (maybe not so interesting to people more experienced than myself). I thought I would share: The first is a Shimano Bantam Mag Plus XHS. This was the most modern of his equipment to put into context what we're working with. It was paired up with a 5'6" Medium action pistol grip Bantam rod. I thought this matching combo was pretty cool. He had it spooled with what seemed like 4-6lb mono. I respooled it with some fresh line and look forward to taking it out to try to catch some fish! Should make for a fun popper rod. Comparing this Bantam XHS to my Bantam MGL XG is very interesting. Reels sure have progressed a long way The last picture is of his first fishing pole. There is no evidence of a brand or anything on it. He said he found it in a parking lot in 1948, so not sure of the exact age. Its a square (or octagonal) section steel rod! This is where I am green behind the ears as it never occured to me that fishing poles were made out of steel! The rod is about 4' or maybe 4'6" and feels like an absolute boat anchor. The weight belies its power/action as it would best be described as a ML/Extra-Moderate action. The reel on it also is unbranded. It has no anti-reverse and no spool release. I think any cast of 10 yards with this setup would be considered herculean! Maybe this will give some people a trip down memory lane.

You can get a JDM Poison Adrena 6'10" M/F. I assume the action is very similar to the Expride 610. I love it for jerkbaits and poppers. One of my favorite rods to fish.

7 would be my go to. Can even crank with one, as long as you're not fishing super deep divers. But still would pick up plenty of line for frogs and jigs

As many say I look more for value than for outright price. But this in practice puts my limit around 350-400 at the absolute max. It'd be hard to sell a block of gold for that much, none the less a used fishing pole! But if I can find a used Conquest for $450? Why not...

I got the original Riser, I believe its the 007 size. My first observation is that its very small and not at all buoyant. It would be considered a "fast sink" for sure. Second observation is you have to reel it very quickly to keep it on the surface, which would be the idea. If you found a school of EXTREMELY fired up fish, I could see this getting bit. But in your 99% of your fishing applications, I would have no confidence in it. The 009, being a bit bigger, maybe could be worked a bit slower? I have never tried it though and don't plan on buying one. Would much rather use a walking bait

If its possible to get back and the situation is right, i'll swim for anything. I've swam down 8ft to get a Ned rig. But if the water/air is too cold and I don't have a bathing suit...i'll break off just about anything. All situation specific. But I always keep a pair of swim goggles in the boat just in case the mood strikes.

Yeah honestly i'm not sure its intended to be a hook keeper. But it works as one in a pinch

The Antares 70 has a feeling of quality that is a step above all the other shimanos i've owned. The USDM price is hard to stomach, but if you get a JDM version i'd say its worth the small added cost.

That is some seriously impressive damage! I had 1/2 dozen Vision 110s split down the seam once. Learned my lesson and never store tackle out in the sun anymore.

The Poison Adrenas have a hook slot integrated into the reel seat (not a great one, but a serviceable one). Do the Glorious rods not use the same seat?

Gosh danged perfect

20lb braid on the MD? How many yards of line did you put on? Like 300? Sweet reel anyway!

The select pine is definitely better than the common stuff. I think part of the problem was I used a 1x12 and 1x8 for mine. Hard to find any boards that wide that didn't have any cupping. Or maybe your big box store just carries nicer wood!

The poplar is generally much nicer to work with. Almost impossible to find an unwarped piece of pine in the whole stack. My first iteration I got a 4x8 sheet of plywood and ripped it down to the widths I wanted. Much straighter wood that way, if you don't mind the exposed end grain (or you could get some veneer if you were really anal). When the second one ends up too small again, the third version i'll go back to plywood!

I've had good success with ClearH20Tackle on ebay. They are a local fishing shop in Michigan that also have an ebay store. They usually list their rods as "OBO" and they've accepted $450 or less on a couple of the NRXs i've ordered. If they were closer i'd go to them in person, but unfortunately they are on the other side of the state. You may try there. Save yourself a lot more than 10%

Megabass Launcher/Calcutta Conquest 200 is my setup. 6XD and up feels really nice. Will throw slightly lighter lures as well. I really like the mod-fast taper.

You sure about this? I'm not aware of any differences. The published capacity by Shimano Japan (followed from a link off digitaka) is 12lb/100M for JDM and TW lists the USDM as 12lb/110Yd. This would indicate the same spool capacity...

I too have had no issues with my TWS reels. I know some of the early T3-based reels had issues with grooving of the hood that covered the TWS, but this was fixed by putting a non-wearing bar in under the plastic that prevented the braid from touching it.

I guess i'll buy one or two to try once they're in stock. You may have to twist my arm to get me to do it though...

If money were no object or I were getting it for free from a sponsor, maybe I would fish more FC. Braid lasts nearly forever it seems, and for me is easier to cast (although I know this opinion differs).

I have Expride, Poison Adrena, Xtasy and NRX rods. If you're looking for something "better" than the Xtasy, I think the best option on your list would be the 873. My NRXs are the only rods that I would put above my Xtasys. The Poison Adrenas are cool, and to me they have a very flexible taper which would make them a good do everything rod as you describe. But they aren't, in my hands, as light or as sensitive as the Xtasy or NRX. The Expride to me lives up to the hype. It feels as light to me as the Poison Adrenas and the action is reminiscent of the NRX. TLDR; Get the NRX if you want to try something new. Get the Expride if you want to try something thats really good bang for the buck. Just in my experience, while i'm happy to have the Poison Adrenas, they aren't a rod i'll be lining up to buy again.

Rapala Glass Shad Rap in Ghost Firetiger. As a teenager I caught my first noteworthy smallmouth on one. I have kept one in my tackle box ever since.

As long as the weeds haven't grown up too high, give me a suspending jerkbait and i'm pretty confident I won't get skunked. Also since last season have really liked the Duo Realis Vibration G-Fix 62. Lots of ways to work it that can trigger a bite. I typically have one tied on.

852 will sling a 110 far enough to spool an Aldebaran 50MGL. Can't imagine you'd need to cast it any further