5by3

Maybe the Expride A’s will go on sale now so I can buy more of them

Looking for a rod to throw glide baits, a-rigs, and swimbaits. Most baits will be 3 oz or less. What are your favorite rods $300 or less? Used to have the fury 795 swimbait rod. It got the job done, but looking for something that has a little better feel. That 795 power seems about right for my purposes though.

Take 41 South of Naples towards the Everglades. Lots of freshwater canals, rivers, and ponds with bass, tarpon, and snook. Many are untouched since most people are targeting the saltwater.

Looking to restock a lot of my tungsten weight collection. Where’s the best bang for your buck to buy them in bulk?

Alx toadface

Reds and oranges don’t work well for me in my lakes, although we generally have pretty clear water and I think that is the issue.

I throw a 3/16 black and blue jig a lot in cold water here (low 40 degree water temps). I usually pair it with a netbait tiny paca chunk and throw on spinning gear with 8-10 lb line. Seems to excel on those bluebird skies day when they won’t eat a blade bait or jerkbait.

Blade baits work best for me when water temps are around 37-45 here in the Midwest. I do catch bass, walleye, crappie, and perch through the ice on them as well. As AJay said, less is more with a blade bait. A lot of times I see guys ripping them really aggressively, and while this can catch fish, I seem to do better with more gentle hops, especially in the frigid temps. You want to lift the rod just until you feel the blade vibrate, then let it fall back down. Depending on the blade, you’re usually only moving the rod tip 4-6” at a time. You usually don’t feel the bite unless the fish are ultra aggressive. The rod will just load up on the next lift or sometimes you’ll see the line stop falling and you know a fish has it. My favorite is the Vibe-e in silver, gold, or black Shad. 1/4-3/8 oz depending on depth.

7’ medium spinning. Tube with a 1/4oz head.

I used to have a bunch of zolos and still own a few that I use for moving baits. Sensitivity was slightly above average for their price range in my hands. They are a good workhouse rod that can handle some abuse. Most of the zolos fish like a Loomis mag bass rod if you’re familiar with that rod action. A few years ago I switched over to the zodias/expride rods. They are definitely more sensitive, but not sure about their durability yet. I had an expride tip snap on the cast (shimano replaced it at no cost)… but never broke a zolo.

Agreed on the dobyns 734c. Fury line is affordable, but you can probably find a used champion in excellent condition in your price range as well.

Watch Zona’s cracking a tube video on YouTube. ?

It was the white bushing and it was completely missing on my reel handle/knob assembly.

Thanks, got it ordered. It was the handle knob bushing.

I purchased a used shimano stradic FL 2500 about a year ago. The reel was in like new condition besides one thing- it seems to be missing a washer/spacer where the knob attaches to the reel handle and it causes the knob to wiggle up and down a bit when reeling. Besides that, the reel works just fine, but the extra wiggle is annoying. Does anyone know where I could find a replacement washer? Unfortunately I don’t know the exact part number, but it looks to be a small white disc that’s just a few millimeters across in diameter. It slides right in between the reel handle and the knob.

Agreed. Just be careful about how much weight you are gaining or losing when you swap on the hooks. The vision 110 is specifically tuned to suspend with the katsuage hooks.

It’s a big bite baits craw tube

I had the same issue recently. Sent my rod in back in May and was told it would be February 2022 before I got it back. This was a normal warranty claim for a factory defect, not the expeditor service. I was told by a customer service rep that if I paid the fee for a new rod through the expeditor service instead of the factory warranty, the wait would have only been 30 days. In other words, money talks… Ended up calling and complaining to one of the managers who eventually made it right, but the process took about 3 months. They are a mess over there right now.

I posted a similar thread a few years back, but didn’t have much luck finding large buzz bait blades. Prefer the delta style blade over the open blade. Anybody know where to get them?

The same happened to me, no response for about a month after the rod arrived at their facility. I’d probably call them again and request an update.

I should have looked into TW before sending the broken rod back but unfortunately it’s too late now. The frustrating part is that I was originally told in June that there was a 30-day turnaround time and somehow that became 7-8 months according to the rep. Hoping that there’s just some sort of misunderstanding and they will make things right.

I sent a broken Expride rod back to Shimano in May, which ended up passing the warranty inspection in mid-June. They told me today that I would get my replacement rod in February 2022. I know there are challenges due to the pandemic and labor shortages, but this seems like an awfully long delay. Not to mention nobody seems to have any answers to my questions when I request a status update. Just wondered whether anyone else has had a similar experience recently?

Just starting using some big tungsten weights for flipping and had a few break off from what I assume was line fray. Had this happen on both braid and fluorocarbon lines. Any suggestions to fix this issue? Are the weights with inserts or polished insides any good? Any certain brand of weights better than others? Mostly using 1 oz.

Agreed. I think a lot of pros would agree with you as well.

I’ve seen the 872 mentioned a lot but haven’t fished it myself.