Festivus

Seems like there are a ton of ways to rig them but what about retrieves? Seen KVD demonstrate them on a tub jig head and he likes to power fish them with a lot of jigging and twitching. Seems like on the tube jig head you could jig them or even swim them. How do you guys retrieve them when you Texas rig them?

I think they are a good soft plastic and underrated. The sassy shads have great action. They also make an Exude line that is supposedly marketed for the saltwater world but I'm gonna use their fluke style Exudes in freshwater soon. It supposedly has some scent/bait/coating mixed in and will release it when wet and gives the soft plastic and even more slippery/natural feel.

Is it possible to just bend up the hook eye on a EWG or even regular worm hook so as to use these CPS? I think I saw somewhere where an angler was screwing the CPS on the neck of the EWG/Work hook right under the eye and that was working OK, not ideal but a feasible work around. Anyone use them like that as well?

Good to hear. Does that include the senko? I was watching a lot of videos of underwater footage that showed various stick worm type baits, usually comparing a yamamoto senko versus something similiar like a yum dinger, etc. but never saw any actual footage of the ocho and they are readily available where I live. One thing I did notice was that the senko always had the best action, a few did have good action but not as good as the senko weightless. When they added a weighted wacky worm hook the action of the other stick baits greatly improved, was very interesting and eye opening for that type of presentation. I didn't know if they were the same formula as the zman trd worms. I looked on the strike king webpage and didn't see it on there. I'll definitely pick up a pack if I run across them, I love a floating worm.

Hi. I bought a bunch of the Ochos on sale and haven't had a chance to use them, couldn't find any videos that show it's action. Was wondering if anyone had experience with the Ochos versus the Zero from Strike King. Thanks.

If you don't have a boat and want to target them from shore what are some of the best tactics and methods of doing that? What should I be targeting for structure or shore line? I bought some long light powered rods specifically for crappie and white bass, 2 10" fiberglass rods, and 2 12" graphite rods. I was hoping these will help me in casting out farther and deeper. thanks.

What about the Blue Fox Vibrax and Silver Bullet inline spinners?

Thanks. It is true you don't see them much in stores. I also bought some of their Exude soft plastics as well and some of their Sassy Shads. I hope they get me some good bites.

I got a couple of these on sale and was wondering if anyone had any experiences with them good, bad, or indifferent? You don't hear much about them but they look interesting and have a double split tail grub trailer and another version has a bucktail trailer. Thanks.

If having a place to take back a reel in case anything goes wrong is a big thing to you then I would get a H2O Xpress Mettle or Mettle HD. Only slight issue with their reels is that it may be hard to get parts if you like to work on them yourself, they do have a strong return policy as long as you keep the receipt, either paper or digital, if anything goes wrong. They are on sale for $40 and $60 respectively right now, not bad at all for a reel that is head and shoulders above almost any other reel I've touched at that price point. BUT, a Daiwa Fuego at $50 to $60 would probably be my first choice right now since they ususally sell them at $100. You can get parts for them which is good but buying from ebay and amazon leaves you at their mercy and no brick and mortar store to back their products. All the other reels mentioned are decent to good but I'd never pay even close to full price for them. Just my opinion.

H2O Xpress Mettle or Mettle HD. I have 3 myself and they are a good reel, incredible for the money. You will have to pay twice as much to get even close to comparable quality with an Abu Garcia. Sometimes you will get one that may need to get some oil on the bearings but once tuned up they are great. My only complaints is the extra stuff that seperates all expensive reels from the mid and entry level reels, like a side plate that is attached to the main body so it doesn't fall or an easier way to adjust the centrifugal brakes as I'm sometimes paranoid I might loose on of the tiny plastic brake things. Other than that you get an aluminum frame, and metal gears and good quality bearings. What else is there to ask for from a sub $100 reel.

Who fishes in either Texas or in the Southern states and throws tubes with success? What has been your experience? I'm just curious as tubes seem to be a northern, smallmouth, clear water type of lure. I picked up several packs and I'm wondering if I wasted my money, lol. Also, since many people seem to be multispecies anglers has anyone used tubes in inshore saltwater fishing? Thanks.

Thanks. I'll check out some videos to see how it's done. I know they will give me a refund just gonna see if I can in anyway switch it out for another non camo mettle as it looks like they are out of the camo ones. They are pretty good to deal with thanks.

I'm overall new to fishing and I'm still learning. Learned on some Ugly Stik GX2 spinning combos and picked up a few H2O Xpress camo Mettle rod/reel baitcast combos for me and my brothers on clearance in a two different stores and they are out of stock now. I'll call the stores and see what they can do for replacements but since these were on clearance and they don't have anymore camo reels I'm not optimistic about getting a new one. Anyway, one of the reels is not smooth at all and very geary feeling. If I wind the handle it makes a "whirring" type of noise that I can feel in the rod. I tried adjusting the spool tension knob and the drag both to max and minimums but nothing really changed. Also, I tried adjusting the brakes and this didn't make a difference in the noise and vibration. When I slap the handle to spin the handle the problem reel doesn't free spin as long as the others. What do the experts think it may be and do you think I can fix it or is the reel a lemon? I do have some Penn grease and cleaner I believe. I'm hoping this just needs some lube or grease in the right area to make it smooth and quiet. I heard a ton of good reviews about these reels and had high hopes for them. Any help or input would be appreciated.

I know none of these rods are for the same application but which one would you think I would be getting the best value for my money. A 6'6" MH Falcon Bucoo SR casting rod for $50, 7' MH Falcon HD casting rod for $35, or a 7'3' H or 7' MH H2O Xpress Ethos HD with micro guides both at $35. Any input and info would be appreciated especially if you have had any experience with 2 or more of these rods. Thanks again.

Hi All, Picked up several packs of these on sale and was wondering what everyone's experience or opinions of them are, don't hear much about them. Haven't had a chance to test them and I'm thinking about fishing them on a shakey head or neko rig. Does the tail stand up or does it sink to the bottom? If it stands up I may have just have what I am looking for. Thanks for any info.

Would this line be good for topwater and walking the dog? Trying to find something I don't have to tie on a mono leader. Do people use straight braid to topwaters? I'm not a fan and I'm convinced that fish see and react to the line. Thanks.

Thanks for the code. Is this if you're buying from a ebay store or for any purchase?

Thanks for the replies so far guys. I want to keep the reel at about 10.5 ounces or less, not looking for a super light set up as this will serve double duty in saltwater. How many of you guys use a spinning set up to walk the dog? I tried it this past few times fishing and although it was productive it made my wrists and forearms tired even with my intro 35 series GX2 Ugly Stik combo, lol. Thanks. Really?! Dang. I need to handle a BG then. Sahara felt great, only issue I had was the thin bail wire. I have about 70 bucks in credit at academy so that is determining what I get as well.

Hi. Been looking to get a new spinning reel that can do double duty for both fresh and inshore saltwater fishing. Been looking hard at the Shimano Sahara. Curious to what the real world differences are of a Sahara vs Sedona vs Nexave vs Nasci. I was also looking at Penn but don't like the heavy weight of their reels but love their reliability, but also hate their lack of innovation and line lay, lol. Don't know what Daiwa offers at that price point. Maybe a BG? Been looking at at a 3500 to 4000 size reel to put one a 7 foot heavy spinning rod. Would like to keep weight at a minimum but if they all weigh within an ounce then it won't matter much. Any help or insight is appreciated. Thanks.

Hi. Looking at a bait casting reel that can do double duty as both a bass reel and some light inshore fishing. These two look like they are well regarded. The *** has about 5 lbs more drag, 13 versus 18. Anyone have experience with these reels and which one would you choose and why? Thanks.

I know bass eat whatever they can fit in their mouth but what I'm curious about is how many anglers have opened up a bass and discovered some real weird and gross stuff. In particular mice and rats, yuk. If I ever find a rat or mouse carcass in one I don't know if I could ever eat another fresh water fish again, haha. I'm just curious to see how often they do or can. As soon as I saw rat lures I had to look into it and then you see people feeding mice to their pet bass on the internet. Eating a duckling doesn't bother me nearly as much as a rat. I know it sounds a little critical but rats freak me out more than anything. I can do snakes and most insects but not rats. I did do some reading around and the vast majority of their diet is other fish and whatever else they can find like worms, frogs, lizards, etc., but I just want to know what other people have found and what other weird stuff they may gobble up.

That's probably going to take all day. LOL. Thanks guys. Hope to learn a lot.

Hello everyone. My name is Tim and I'm a new fisherman. I never fished till about a year ago when our younger brother got a rod during a hiking trip to a Texas state park. He found out some info and then got us involved, we learned most everything on our own and online and we don't know much, haha. Much to learn. First fishing trip Lake Ray Roberts and was able to hook a nice bass on a saltwater popping rig carolina set up with a berkley powerbait stinky lizard, got him to the bank just in time for him to jump out of the water, throw the hook, and show me his butt and swim off. I was hooked. Got even more hooked when we went down to Galveston a few times for pier and shore fishing and I caught a fat 20" speckled trout. I was into traditional archery and bowhunting for several years but haven't been able to hit the woods in years so this is a much needed new addiction to get me in the outdoors. We tried to keep our tackle investment low until we got a handle on things. That worked for a while until I discovered clearance sales and online deals. I guess it is true that fishing lures are more about catching fisherman than fish. LOL.