GReb

Saw people on Facebook say that as of today ALF is closed and all employees were laid off. The original owner died about a year ago and the kids were running the show (terribly judging by recent reviews).

The Abu STX is a great frog reel for the money. It has great ergonomics, holds plenty of line, great drag, and is rigid. Ergonomics are super important to me when choosing a frog reel. I need something I can keep control of through a hook set in the muck. Larger reels such as a Tatula CT, Curado K, BB1, etc tend to fumble around in my hands.

The plaintiff in this case is local to me and several of my close friends know the family quite well. I’ve heard stories about what occurred but have no way of knowing fact from fiction. However if you watch MLF or BASS live you see anglers running on plane messing with their graphs at speed. My speculation is the boater wasn’t looking at the water in front of him whether it be by distraction or blindly following direction of the on screen GPS to navigate through the area.

The Elite casts hard baits really nicely

Sounds like they need ammunition to use against Garmin before banning completely. Ratings don’t lie. Nobody watches scope tournaments and they are finally accepting it.

For his age the guy has proven his worth

ALX Ikos Promise 7’3

Don’t sleep on the 1/4 oz trap from now through the end of the year especially if you have threadfins.

I bought one spool of Tatsu several years ago and was impressed. It was manageable and lasted longer than others. It felt new for a long time. However the cost is insane. The only flouro I’ve fished the last 3 years is Trilene 100% and it’s been a good line for the cost when you factor in how often it’s on sale

Look at the bright side, troubleshooting your own mistakes is the best way to learn.

That’s a nice reel. It’d be worth the money to send it to Mike for a little pampering

I agree with him. They could cut that down 3 days and save guys a lot of money assuming you are spending $200+ a night for rent plus food. Not everyone travels in a RV.

https://www.bassmaster.com/news/pros-and-cons-of-longer-rods/ Here’s what KVD says

If you carry less than 25 spinnerbaits a worm binder is a great choice if you want to save space. Just don’t shove more than 3-4 in each pouch

Catt was one of those guys you felt like you actually knew just through conversation. This is a tough one. Gonna have to tie on a Stanley and reel one up for you bud

The Zolo Mitch was specifically designed to skip senkos under cypress trees at Santee cooper I believe

Falcon uses 1-8 to grade power. 5-6 is your typical industry MH. I use the Cara Head Turner for lighter Texas rigs. The Expert Head Turner for spinner baits and chatter baits. The finesse jig rod can handle lighter applications and top water. The head turner will also throw larger top waters well. The Amistad is great for your heavier applications. The swim jig rod has a good reputation but I’ve never fished it. If you prefer longer rods the heavy cover jig is a solid rod that to me fishes more like a conventional MH/F. Honestly never really thought much of the Falcons cranking rods. I’ve slowly converted to Cashion Icons for those.

Shimano’s financials are public. https://contents.xj-storage.jp/xcontents/AS02673/5b69a104/0c69/497d/8fc7/9d94d7b575b5/20250423154437072s.pdf Covid years spiked revenue in many industries and companies are still chasing that high instead of returning back to pre COVID ratios.

The west coast just needs its own trail that’s like the NPFL with competitive payouts and live streamed events that don’t conflict with other series. They’d potentially have Ish, Skeet, Ehler, Cody Myers, etc to bring eyeball and notoriety.

So the new Curado will be $239. $410 for a Bantam. No thanks. I’ll shop in yen or buy doyo Not getting political but I have a suspicion most of these “tariff price increases” will find their way into the bottom line.

End of season? You northerners are deprived souls.

I loosen mine when they go back in the box and tighten when they come out. It’s just habit at this point. But honestly most of my reels are fished locked down besides a few treble hook setups so it doesn’t take me much time to tighten to my liking.

Our Dicks got rid of fishing stuff 5+ years ago.

If you plan on shopping there a good bit just bite the bullet and become a club member. That’s where all their good deals are these days. I don’t buy much tackle there but when I need anything outdoors in a pinch they usually have what I need in stock. It’s a good store to have near you no doubt.

Didn’t know that!