LionHeart

That is a special rod for sure. Used to use the the same one as my Texas rig rod. Truly regret selling it. It may drive you crazy knowing, but I'd fix the tip and fish it. Academically how much difference can .5 inches make in the way it fishes?

Pitching Setup ALX Dragger Lews Tournament MB 8:1 50 lb Power Pro 15 lb Big Game Don't have a setup for flipping

I use braid to Big Game mono leader for everything cept' froggin'. I got no complaints.

They are GTG no doubt about it.

Well young man, what size weights do you plan to use with those texas rigs? A jig rod can absolutely be used for frogs and Texas rigs. Where you will run into problems is trying to find a rod light enough to properly throw a light Texas rig and be stout enough to drag a bass through slop. The ALX Toadface is touted to possess both qualities, but I personally would not use it for frogs or jigs. Got a budget?

10-15 lb leader. FG knot y'all

Had to google it. It's 3/8.

Without googling I'm pretty confident the 1.5 is a 3/8 lure. I have thrown it on really flimsy spinning gear no problem so I'm pretty sure whatever rod you got will be just fine.

I'm not going to be able to describe the process of how to tie an FG knot in any way that would be useful to you. When I was learning to tie it, I watched just about every video there is on YouTube. "SaltStrong" has a really good one. The one thing that everyone seems to leave out is that once you finish with all of your wraps and tie the first half hitch to lock them in place, you really need to cinch the knot down hard. I use a couple of wooden dowels for this. You can't just give the knot a good tug, and expect it to hold. You need to pull as hard as you can without snapping your leader line. As for the finishing knot, I used the rizzuto finish for a while (and it is pretty good), but what I have come to prefer is alternating half hitches. After cinching the FG wraps HARD, I tie 4 alternating half hitches around the braid main line and the tag of my leader, then clip the tag of my leader. Then I tie 4 more alternating half hitches around just the braid. Done. This knot will be extremely strong and will not have to be retied for a very long time. I tie it at home and it can take me between 5-10 minutes per rod (what?), but once it's done, it will be done for a long time. The only reason I retie is if my leader gets too short or starts to look discolored from UV and I begin to doubt the integrity of the leader line itself. The FG can be a pain to learn how to tie properly, but once you get it you wont want to use anything else. That looks awesome!

FG knot, period.

Hmm. That is very interesting. I have no idea what it takes to manufacture a blank but I was very much under the belief that Zolo and up models were 'in house.' It is possible that I am mistaken. I do that sometimes

Ikos blanks are farmed out, Zolo and above blanks are made in house. This is what the owner told me, and I believe him. Have ordered two custom rods from ALX. Top notch company to do business with, and Alex is in a league of his own.

So you want to switch from a medium power to a medium power? Or did you mean medium heavy? A medium fast baitcasting rod should absolutely be able to bury your average EWG hook. What line are you using? Mono and flouro stretch alot so if you are trying to set the hook >30 yards away, good luck.

Spinner baits and topwater for early morning, Texas rig stuff for after 9 A.M.

Usually a cheap pair of zip off pants. I unzip the legs about half way so my legs can breath, but my calves are still protected from the sun.

The brittle nature of flouro is one of the reasons I no longer use it. Are you thoroughly wetting the knot with slobber before cinching it down?

The gear you have is totally decent. Keep it. Truth is there are some strikes that result in no line or rod tip movement. I have it happen alot. The only indication I get is like you described. The lure either feels heavier than it should, or has no weight at all. Sometimes I just roll the dice and give a hook set. I catch many logs using this technique.

Excellent choice. The Tatulas are great reels across the board. Which model did you go with?

Just my opinion but 25 lbs. Of drag is pretty unnecessary for bass fishing. Would not even be a selling point to me (10 is plenty). What you need to focus on as a new person to baitcasting is a reel with good brakes. I own a few MB reels and they may even be my favorite. The brakes are pretty good, not great. I can't recommend strongly enough that you try a Diawa Tatula reel. You will thank me later.

In my opinion, the Tatula "Regular" is basically a fast action rod. I owned and loved the 7'2" MH Regular for quite a while and it was a dedicated bottom contact rod. I think a medium power would make an outstanding 3/16-3/8 oz bottom contact rod.

Diawa Tatula rods. Have been a fanboy of them for a while now. Just an excellent product for the money.

The less paint a rod has, the better.

You can pitch just about any weight lure with even a heavy power rod. It's casting that gets tough with too stout of a rod. If I were you, I'd be deciding between two rods: Mojo "Jigs and Baits," or Mojo "Spinnerbait." The spinnerbait model has a bit more give in the tip so it would be better for lighter lures, but may be a bit light for dragging a bass out of cover. If it were me, I'd go with the "Jigs and Baits" if I planned to mainly pitch with it. Hope that helps dude.

Very possible that you have a bad bearing. I had the same issue with an MB. New bearing and all is well.

To me, those are not light jigs. A 1/2 oz calls for a heavy power rod in my experience. For that matter, most of the time, I use a heavy power rod for a 3/8 oz jig as well. Definitely would not recommend a medium power rod for either. St croix Mojo Jigs and Baits would be good for the 3/8 but too light for 1/2 IMO. Diawa Tatula 7'3" Med Heavy would work well for 3/8 oz also. You could definitely get away with it for 1/2 oz also, and I'm sure many do it with success, but a 1/2 oz jig with trailer is pushing the limit on most medium heavy rods IMO.