LionHeart

Well man, if by bad wording ya mean you said you're breaking hooks when you ain't. We'll, I guess so.

This sent me to the YouTube rabbit hole of knot strength videos. I think it is safe to say the PR has a higher strength most of the time, but not by much. I have become so comfortable with the FG, that I'm not interested in switching for an extra lb. or so of strength most/some of the time. Which is a relief because if it were appreciably better, I'd be having to tie that crazy knot on nearly every setup I own.

If I felt like I had to hide things from my wife, we truly have much bigger problems than how she feels about fishing. As the soul bread winner of our house, I make every dollar that my family has, but none of it is mine. It belongs to my family. That is quite a responsibility, and I do not take it lightly. On rare occasion I will buy something for myself, or my wife, or even rarer still I'll just give my wife a bunch of cash and tell her to spend it any way she wishes (usually on our 2 girls). I don't believe my wife dislikes that I have a hobby that I enjoy. I always keep my love for bass fishing in the right box. Very rarely will I go fishing when there is something I can, or need to do with the family. This isn't imposed upon me by my wife, I impose it on myself (reluctantly sometimes). I'm not saying this is the only right way, but I intentionally don't do things that would make my wife, or girls feel like they have to compete for me. As long as everyone involved has healthy expectations, it works pretty well for us.

Man you are breaking 3/0 hooks? Sorry but I have trouble wrapping my head around that.

Use the slowest rod that will still get the job done. I like a rod that loads as deep as possible to give me a little grace when a fish jumps. Losing a good one to that hurts for sure. It hurts instantly and profoundly.

This helps

I think it depends also on the lure. If you are hopping a Trig across the bottom, the line isn't really under any tension as it is laid on the reel. As such, when you set the hook, your line is liable to dig in. A big spinner bait or chatter bait will keep a fair bit of tension on your line while it is spooled. You can still get dig in for sure, but in my experience not so much.

Rods are trending to have a more 'moderate' action from many manufacturers these days. Bass fishing is full of trends, and like most, can swing to far in that direction. Personally, I would not be interested in a heavy/moderate rod for frog fishing. May be the bomb though

Back when I fished mono as main line, I'd respool once per year unless I had a reason to.

Use cheapest stuff you got. I ordered a 900 yard spool of no name for my backing

Was watching a Tactical Bassn video and surprised to see that they recommended a Kastking reel for BFS. I have no experience with Kastking, and definitely am no reel snob, but always for some reason thought they were budget reels that put affordability above all. I just check their website and they have what I would consider to be some fairly high priced reels. Did they up their game lately? or just their prices? Or have they always been good? Just seems like the only time I've heard of them is regarding affordability.

Barometric pressure is only usefull if you need to tell yourself why you got skunked.

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What size line are you using?

Replace it or it will haunt your dreams

Braid to mono for every single rod except frog. FG knot for life

The way I see it, for casting distance, a reel needs to have all braking set as low as possible without becoming overly difficult not to backlash. That's it. It's a question of what company makes the best braking design. That is without debate Diawa. To me, the plain old Tatula casting distance is tough to beat. If that ain't get'n it done, take a look at rod, lure, line, and technique.

There is something magical about the $100-$120 dollar price range. Companies know that most rods and reels people buy are in that range, so they make that their most competitive model. Plan to pay that for a rod, and pay that for a reel. That is how you get the best for your money, period. You may say, but that means I have to pay roughly $250 for a decent setup? Yep, that's correct. Also, most combos are either a crap rod, or crap reel. Don't waste your time. Cheers

Just pulled the trigger on a Falcon Lowrider which was competing for the Tatula slot. Thanks for the responses guys.

I thought about mentioning this in my original post but what I'm looking for is something similar to the power/action of a Falcon Bucoo Trap Caster, but just a tad, just a smidge lstouter. If you have any experience with that rod, how would you say the Tatula compares?

Does anyone have experience with this rod? I'm looking for something to throw lighter texas rigs on (3/16 weight and 6 inch or so worm) I have never owned a Medium power bait caster, but feel like all my Med-Heavies are sliiightly too stout to comfortably toss light lures. I don't mind a rod being slightly on the slower side, I actually prefer it. I typically use braid to leader btw. I just don't want to expect a light Tex Rig rod and it be more of a cranking rod. If anyone has experience with this particular rod, I'd appreciate any insight you can give. Thanks guys

Man that's a very good point.

I envy you then.

People have so many strange notions about gear when it comes to bass fishing. One of the greatest mysteries to me is why people seem to believe you need a reel with high line capacity for lures that typically cast further. The Tatula holds 150 yards of line if I'm not mistaken. You ever casted 150 yards? Not coming at you, just an honest, blunt question.

I dunno man. Maybe everything you said is absolutely true. I own both and got the Fuego based on all the hype. As soon as I used it, my first impression was how cheap and plastic it felt. The braking is good for sure, never claimed otherwise. Just feels like a reel that comes in a blister pack at Walmart. Guessing you own one, maybe both. You can honestly tell me the Fuego feels like a quality reel when compared to the Tatula?