Shimano_1

I have a cple of the newer lews tournament pro reels as well as a cple slx and curado k reels. The lews is my favorite of them. Its smaller than the k and smoother than both. They can be had for 140 or so if you look around. The mb are decent reels but they're not what the tournament pro is

Personally if I had a 150 to 200 budget I'd catch a sale on dobyns fury or basspro carbonlite rods and buy 2. I dont like a med hvy rod for weightless seniors and small topwaters. I'd want a med action for those and a med hvy for the Texas rigs. Lots of good options tho. If you can go to a store and handle several

I spent 4 hrs this evening fishing a wacky jig head with a senko. I have zero desire to have to fish that way but that's what they wanted so I fished it the whole time. I agree that having confidence is a big key to what you're fishing. Having said that, I've came to realize i have confidence in several baits i dont particularly enjoy fishing. I'm always there to catch fish tho so i fish what i need to. If I had it my way I'd flip a jig 95 percent of the time. I just refuse to be so stubborn and to haul water and not catch em because I "have" to be throwing something I like to fish. I dont know that's there is any right and wrong advice on this matter. Everyone has their own way of doing things. I let my instincts and what little knowledge i have of patterns and lakes dictate a lot of the decisions i make while on the water. If you feel that your worm or jig are getting too much play and that's costing you fish you might have caught other ways, i say put em down and try other things.

Lol kinda where i knew that was going. Either of those reels will exceed your expectations

I'd say you selected some fine equipment. Most people seem to prefer minn kota motors. The fortrex is an awesome motor several buddies have them. Obviously the ultrex was the deal with its spot lock feature so lotta people made the switch. The bigger graph will definitely be nicer but as you said at more cost. You have to decide if the size is worth it. I've got 9 inch garmin's and I've never wanted anything bigger. Im also not a big lowrance fan. I'm sure they're fine but I prefer birds or garmin. For 1000 bucks I'd definitely take 9 over 12 if you can take the 12 back. I personally prefer motorguide over Minn kota. I like the foot pedals better and the ones I've had seem a lot quieter. Never had the xi5 so maybe someone who has will chime in. As far as the size of the motor, I'd say 80 would be sufficient for your boat. Of course like everything else, you're probably going to get several different opinions so ultimately you're gonna have to decide for yourself. They all make pretty good quality stuff. Good luck! I bought a new Triton 18tx this spring that came with a 70 lb minn kota edge. If and when I upgrade it will be with an 80 lb ultrex or equivalent motorguide. I've heard so many horror stories of problems with the ultrex I'll wait a while til hopefully they work the bugs out. The spot lock feature is the biggest game changer to hit fishing in a while in my opinion

Sportsmans outfitters has all 3 ratios for 139. Both of mine came from there. Have bought a bunch from them over the years

I've got 2 of the newest ones and have one of the pro g. Both are fine reels. The newer ones feel a lil smoother and better built but time will tell. Fished some of the ones before the g for several years and all still worked like new when I sold them. Still regret it

While I'm not particularly fond of the tatula sv I will give it this one. If its intended for skipping purposes it's a hard reel to beat. Much more forgiving for this technique

Everyone is gonna make you think if it's not shimano or daiwa its garbage. I have a cple of the lews tournament pro lfs reels and they're fantastic for the 140 they can be had for. The curado k is a nice reel as well. The tatula sv didnt impress me like it apparently has a lot of people. I'd go handle them all and see which feels better in your hand.

I've had a cple for a few years. They draw vicious strikes for sure. I won mine in a tournament. Would I pay full price for one? Absolutely not.

You're swinging too fast and not near hard enough. When one blows up on it and you know it's got the frog stomp your foot then drop the hammer. I set the hook quite hard with a frog. It's my preferred way to fish. I also am in the pad crasher fan club. It's my favorite. I'd also learn how to walk the frog. Small twitches on slack line and you can make it walk like a spook almost in place. If nothing else I feel this sometimes triggers a strike when simply moving or popping the frog wont.

Seaguar red label has been great for me and all my buddies. Spiderwire stealth braid

Curious as well. I'm still using the one that came with mine. Much prefer the motor mate style tho

Lews customer service is excellent. I would have guessed theyd handle it just the way they did. I like their products and the service just tops it off. Had a problem with a spool from a different company. They refused to send me a new one. It was either send it in or buy a new one. I couldn't let the reel go at the time so I bought a new one. They sent the wrong spool and then had the nerve to ask me to pay for another while I returned the wrong one.

I'm pretty OCD about mine as well. I usually over fill just a hair so I have a little extra for cutting off etc. I respool when I think its either too little line or been on long enough to need new. Just an eye test for me. If it's much more than 1/8 inch showing on the spool I'll put new one. Depends too on the setup. My flipping rods I dont worry so much cause I'm rarely making long casts. If it's a rod I'm slinging a trap or something on I want a full or close to full spool

I've had good luck hopping a light jig down deep light that. Similar to how a big spoon I'd ripped then flutters back down

Exactly why I fish cabelas and basspro rods. Yes they now only come with a 1 year warranty, but I figure if it doesnt break the first year its solid and likely my fault if it breaks after. I'm too busy to be making trips to ship rods back, pay fees etc. Etc. I've owned Loomis and st croix along with several others. All fine products but I dont want the hassle should I break one. After reading the original post glad I never bought a Phenix. I'd fix it, sell it cheap or give it away, and never buy another. You'd think these companies would understand now days with social media and such, you cant treat customers like fools. Too much competition out there. If I break a rod I ride 15 minutes to cabelas and swap it out within the first year

Garmin are much more user friendly. My dad is older and he loves then for this reason. Striker or echomap models depending on what you need from it

Sounds like a steal to me. With a little common sense and avoiding rough water theres nothing unsafe about them either. If it fits ur needs I'd jump on it. Could always probably make a little money on it if you didnt like it or wanted to upgrade

I've fished dt baits for years and years almost exclusively and have had zero issues with any of them ever. Maybe I've just been lucky but I will continue using them. Excellent bait and I've never tried any that match their fish catching ability

Yes they're helicopter lures. Guy I know used to use the heck out of em at a pond we fished and he slayed bass on them. That's about all the info I can offer other than if u use them use a swivel above the hook as they spin coming through the water lol

The okuma tcs rods are fantastic. My buddy uses several and I've fished them several times. The shimano slx rods and basspro carbonlite 2.0 are also very nice rods in ur price range. Not sure you can go wrong with most rods over the 100 range. Just shop around and find deals on whatever you want.

Seaguar red label in various sizes is hard to beat for the money especially. I buy it in bulk spools. And I use bps excel mono for any topwaters. Have heard good things about the yo zuri but have no experience with it

I'd save a little money and go with the ct instead of the sv. I much preferred the ct especially for moving baits where casting distance matters. The shimano slx is worth a look too. Combo can be had for 139 and they're 99 a piece separately. Good luck

Rage craws, bugs on jigs and t rigs. D&l jigs. Strike king and rapala dt cranks and jerkbaits. Booyah and kvd frogs. Yum dinger and flapping dinger. Powerbait and zoom big worms. Strike king and z man chatterbaits and spinnerbaits. Missile d bombs for flipping around vegetation. Keitech and rage swimmers. River 2 sea s waiver glide baits. Roboworm drop shot and shakey heads. Red eye shad and rattle traps.