r83srock

Oh gosh I’ve been waiting on a 3600 terminal. Very sweet.

I started throwing a toad on the back of one a couple years ago now. I also like a swimbait at times. Both will add weight and make casting easier in wind. Yum toad or yum pulse swim bait are two I use a lot. Berkley pitboss is another I like. A 1/2 oz can be retrieved a bit faster, but I tend to lean on a 3/8 a bit more. I like the booyah clacking buzzbait. A drop of superglue holds the bait on well.

That’s definitely the best way to do it. In a plastic container.

On my Mercury 150 XR6 I removed my oil injection, after having a pump fail a previous Engine. Many say to keep it, and yes it can be reliable when maintained, even still I chose to remove it for peace of mind. You do need to remember to add oil before filling with gas, for some that might be an issue. For me it is not. With my engine when it had oil injection the throttle arm controlled the amount of oil at idle until about half throttle at 100:1. At about half throttle up to full throttle the mix goes to 50:1. When I get get behind a slow pontoon for two miles and I’m forced to lug my engine a bit, it’s at 50:1 all the time on pre mix. Idle, you can foul more plugs. Merc sells a block off kit to take up the correct volume in the pump area. The oil alarm gets removed as well. Pre mix isn’t for everyone, but it is for me.

Tournament fishing and fun fishing aren’t a whole lot different, given the goal is the same, which for me is to catch 5 quality bass that day. So many times I would fish a tournament and my thought process would shift, mind become cluttered and I would speed my retrieves way up. This has improved over the years but I still have always to go. There are proven predictable times where a fast/louder retrieve can be productive, often during prime feeding times.sometimes that window can happen during high sun noon, most of the time for me it’s early morning. I do feel that if you found fish that you are best served slowing down and dissecting the area. There is a bit older gentleman who fishes team trails and local opens with his son. They are some of the most tenacious, slow jig fishermen I’ve seen, and they put themselves at the top or in the money often.

I like the scum frog trophy series too, as well as the Strike King frog. For a popping frog the booyah popping pad crasher walks well.

I have noticed this too. The bite can be very short lived, but it’s a great way to put 20lbs in the boat. I love a buzz bait in the morning too, it feels like putting a screwdriver in an electrical outlet when you get that first blowup.

I have owned a decent amount of St. Croix rods, and have enjoyed most of them. My preference in rods always leans back towards shorter rods with shorter handles, as I like pitching, skipping, and roll casting often, and that type of rod works best for me. there have been about 4 revisions of the LTB rods over the years, the first and latest being my favorite. After owning a 2nd gen LTB 7’1”mhf casting rod, I can tell you it felt more tip heavy than my 7’4” mojo bass Heavy fast. I don’t think St. Croix rods get a whole lot lighter as you go “up” in the line up, but the actions do get a bit more crisp. with usually better eyelets. I feel like the cork, build quality, flex coat, reel seat ect are as good on the low-mid priced rods as they are in the upper end rods. Balance and feel and “sensitivity” are highly subjective. My 6’8” Mh fast casting gen 4 LTB is my favorite overall rod, love it for jigs, and in my hands with a Curado K it balances just fine. Only think I wish it had different was the older design Fuji Ecs reel seat as that seat is narrower, and I prefer that. For the record I prefer rods 6’6”-6’10” in length for most things.

I’m sure favorite has good rods. I fished with one my buddy has and it seems nice. I like St. Croix, they have treated me well and I have no reason to change. If I felt. Compelled to try another brand I’d look at ALX, Kistler or Cashion. Shimano and Daiwa offer good rods too.

I believe Gill is replacing these with a new model. Like the gentleman above said they are on sale all over. I bought a pair after owning subpar rain gear for years. Had guidewear that I wore completely out in high school and was way to cheap to replace. I haven’t used them yet but they seem similar to my snowboarding set. The jacket has a ton of features the are tailored to fishermen. The only thing I don’t like about the bibs is that they don’t have a zipper to go pee. I’m 6’ 225 and the xl size fits perfect

In Wisconsin Joe Butcher comes to mind. Also Tom Monsoor and Dan Brovarney are pioneers in the swim jig.

6’6” has been my most purchased rod. I went back and forth with 7’ rods for a long time. They used to seem huge, and heavy! When split grips came out, again, it seemed even worse, tip heaviness at least. I think rods have gotten lighter and better balanced in recent years. 7’ish rods seem pretty normal for me now. I do have a 7’4” heavy frog rod that I like too, but I wouldn’t want that length in every rod. It barely fits on the front deck of my little ranger. It’s a tool I’m glad I have though. So, my preference now is 7’, 7’1” same difference for me. I still use 6’6” for a lot of top water, close quarter casts, etc.

I can’t offer any help on Dobyns, always wanted to try one though. I have handle a few St. Croixs, the first gen mojo was made in park falls very brief, before the Mexico plant was running. I had it for 8 years and never an issue. I have a twin to it that is 6 years new. The triumph was made in China for a few years prior to the Mexico plant and there were definitely issues with those at that time. What I was told by another factory store employee is that ALL St. Croix blanks are rolled in park falls, who know, maybe some are. Mileage may vary. I have had a few gen 2 Mojos and I feel they fish really well, the tips are softer than the gen 1, and balance better. I did break a gen 2 mojo fighting a bass in thick reeds. I think I put a lot of strain on that blank, pop! I have some premiers also, two that are 18 years old, I think, never an issue. I also have two Bass X rods. I like those as much as any, idk maybe I’m not as picky with rods as I am reels. I never noticed much difference in sensitivity between any model St. Croix, the legend tournament on up has a more crisp feeling blank for sure, but the honestly have all been plenty sensitive. The sc2 graphite St. Croix uses has a very good track record with me, it’s probably my favorite blank material, I’m just confident in its durability.

They do look awesome. I hope they come out with more 3600 sizes down the road. I’d live to see a 3600 thin.

My first good baitcaster was a cu200b38. I still have it and it’s in very good shape. Save a couple weeks of lawn mower and hay stacking money to buy it. I have two more cu200 in 6.1 and a parts reel someone gave me. And I have 2 of the 100b reels, my favorite. The ergonomics are excellent. My dad has a quite a few 100s he’s still using. I used all of mine until last year, but I’ve found newer technology that I’m happy with. My b series reels will still maintained, and kept nice, but I’ll likely only take them out on occasion, just for fun. Give them to my future son someday. I just sold some e series citicas, Curados and and some g series as well to make room for a few new tatula 100s, but I will not part with the b series.

Heavy drags are pretty overrated. I’ve never had a functioning drag on any baitcaster, cheap or expensive slip. Once you get that fish moving in the slop, it’s all rod anyway. That Tatula 100 is a sweet little reel. I’d use that!

What will transfer “sensitivity” better, a thinner, more limp line, or a thicker, stiffer line? Or some combination of the two?

I wear contacts and glasses. When I have my contacts in I wear my normal polarized sunglasses. I keep a pair in my truck and a pair in the boat. This year I bought a slim pair of cocoons. They are actually pretty comfortable and don’t look too bad for fitovers, I’m impressed with them. Those stay in my tackle bag. I found I can wear those too without my glasses. I keep a cheap pair of fitovers in my truck as well, just in case. Glasses can be a pain, but I like them over contacts as I often forget to take contacts out at night, and I’m maintenance man at a wood products plant, so I’m always getting dust and metal from machining or welding/grinding whatever, in my face. I also keep spare contacts in my travel bag, tackle bag, first aid kit in truck, toolbox at work. Not being able to see sucks, so I like to be prepared.

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I ordered the insulated Gill from them, should be here tomorrow. We can have some cold weather in Wisconsin. Anxious to try them. I have a pair of frog toggs that I like for when it’s hot. Half the time if it’s warm I don’t care if I get wet anyway.

The St. Croix factory store is very much worth the beautiful drive, dad and I try to go every winter. There can be some excellent deals at times. It certainly has become much more popular since they last redid the store(8-10 years ago) and things do get picked over quicker now. But B stock rods are usually available for half off msrp. One other place we found pretty neat is fisherman’s factory outlet in spirit lake Iowa. They sell only rods and equipment from pure fishing, but the sales are pretty awesome. Definitely worth checking out if you ever go that way. We tried getting a tour of the Berkley plant across the street (dad had been in many times years ago) but it was a no go. They did have a sort of historical show room, and the smell of power bait was everywhere!

The older 7’mh is more of a fast action. I have the newer version in 7’m mf and I’d say the moderate fast rating is accurate.

Pretty sweet! Those are made about a half hour from me. I got one for standing up in a wedding, mine has a 9mm bullet. I don’t drink but I think they are cool, and the company encourages concealed carry at work.

Nice write up! Probably the most useful information I’m learned about Spinnerbaits in awhile. I’ve never paid much attention to it, but I didn’t know there was no industry standards on blade sizes. I’m following.. interested

You are normal to us 1%ers of the world. I love Messing with tackle. My lady is really cool about my fishing. I try to be reasonable but either way she has never told me no.