LionHeart

Cabelas Tournament ZX rods are great for the money. Absolutely recommend checking them out.

Went fishing today. High was 49 degrees. Figure I'll still make a few more trips.

Completely agree.

Winter fishing to me means catching less fish, subtle bites and the fish don't put up much fight. Oh yeah, and it's cold. No, I don't like winter fishing.... but I still do it.

For lite lures, Diawa's braking system is tough to beat. I'm a Lew's fanboy but Diawa has made a believer out of me.

What speeds are these reels Dude? To me, it is the most important factor when deciding how to pair them up

Didn't even look at it honestly. Just stuffed it in the tube and put the tube in my garage. What was weird about it?

I have spent the most on my jig, worm, Texas rig rods. For spinner bait, chatter bait, swim jig, cranking, and top water, I'm not as concerned with sensitivity or weight, so those rods are a bit less $. I can say for now, I have 5 bait casting and 1 spinning setup and I'm finally pretty content with rods. Just need 1 more reel.

So basically the "just tie a whole bunch of granny knots" knot. Cool.

I fish Ray Roberts about an hour north of Dallas. The water level is super high here due to all the rain. Been pretty tough fishing but most of my fish have been caught by pitching plastics into what used to be the bank but is now under water, and slowly dragging it. My best luck has been from 3-6 PM. Oddly enough I can't seem to buy a bite on crankbaits.

Found a Trapcaster for that price. It came in the mail yesturday. Super pumped about it

The Bucoo SR heavy is pretty light for a heavy power rod, but I think it would do well with Texas Rigs. No experience with the carbonlites.

What do you think of the Deputy?

I think you will be presently surprised by the change braid will make. Flouro has a lot of stretch, especially at the end of a cast, where as braid has almost zero. Also, I think going to a faster reel will absolutely help keep the fish pinned. Switching to an 8 speed made a noticeable difference for me.

Just my opinion but if it were me, I'd find a store that does rod repair and let them deal with it. Shouldn't cost more than $15. Just wait till winter when you don't need the rod. It will be just fine till then

Braid will help tremendously with hook sets if you are currently using flourocarbon. I'd even recommend giving it a try before switching rods. You may be surprised. I was in the same boat at one point. Switched too a heavier, faster rod, and then started using braid. Sold the heavier faster rod for something lighter and slower. Braid makes a difference

Most people tend to prefer a 6 or 7 speed reel for the lures you are planning to use. I think something 28-30 inch per turn (IPT) would be just right

7'4" ALX Heavy Zolo Dragger (Heavy/Fast) Jigs and Texas Rigs 7'2" Diawa OG Tatula (MH/ Regular) Lighter Texas Rigs 7'3" St. Croix Bass X (MH/Mod-Fast) Spinner baits, chatter baits, heavier crankbaits 7'1" Cabelas Tournament ZX (MH/ Mod-Fast) Do-all rod but mostly swim jigs and spinner baits 7' Falcon Bucoo SR (MH/Mod-Fast) Crankbaits, poppers, senkos

Wouldn't get to hung up on trying to find a combo. In my experience it's best to buy seperately. I would have to agree about the Diawa Tatula CT. Excellent reel. A rod is a little tougher. If you know for absolute certainty you will always be fishing those super light lures, I'd say go with a medium light but a decent medium power rod may serve you better. A medium fast rod can do a lot. Take a look at the Dobyns Fury 734, or even a 3 power. Dobyns rods run a little on the soft side but it seems like that's what you may be looking for. On second thought, check out Falcon Bucoo SR rods, they have a softer to than most and are well made rods.

What you are experiencing is what happens just before a backlash. Increase thumb control, brakes, or both. Any time the spool is turning faster the a casted lure is taking it, this will occur

Dude just use the reel.

Dude take them apart and clean them

Really want to check out the Zolo Deputy. I have the Dragger and it is a great rod. Honestly not sure it is as sensitive as my Tatula though. May be comparing apples to oranges since the Tatula is a med-heavy and the ALX Dragger is a heavy. Should a heavy rod be as sensitive as a med-heavy all other things being equal? I only ask because I used to have a heavy Tatula, and to me it didn't seem nearly as sensitive as the med-heavy.

What size hooks and weights are you looking to use? I use an original Diawa Tatula 7'2" MH/Relular for my worm rod and love it. It is light and very sensitive with an almost perfect tip. It is rated 1/4-1 oz but it throws 3/16 with baby brush hog or trick worm great, and perfectly with a 1/4 oz weight. Even though it is rated to an ounce, I occasionally use it for 1/2 ounce jigs and feel that's about as high as it is suited for. My only gripes are that the handle could stand to be a tad longer, and I ain't crazy about the reel seat. I would prefer the trigger be a little further forward. It is very well made, and if you can still find one, it's a tough rod to beat.

As much credit as anglers give a bass regarding preference for certain lure colors, action, realism, and then to think that same fish won't notice a dark green braided line attatched to the same lure just seems contradictory. Truth is, who knows for sure? But I Don't want to risk it if costs me a single bite.