sal669

Good going . Haven't fished a buzzer in a while; I gotta get one wet one os this days .

eh.... I admittedly was very anti-split grip before the Steez rods came out. I hadn't held a split grip that didn't seem tip-heavy. It seems that Abu corrected this problem by increasing the handle length. If you notice...the Vendetta has a longer trigger handle than other rods of the same length. This helps balance out the rod. Smart. Granted the blank is the most important piece regarding a rods performance....lighter overall weight equals more sensitivity. I'm a firm believer in that. Less pressure on the hand makes vibrations stand out more. A 10lb fishing rod weighing down your hand just won't be as sensitive as a featherweight 3.5oz stick that floats in your palm....think about it. That is an extreme example.....the difference in a 4.7oz rod and a 3.4oz rod isn't going to be that dramatic...but the theory still applies. In my opinion a lighter rod will not necessarily fish better than one that weights 1-1.5 oz more, but is better BALLANCED with the reel or by adding a bit of weight to the but of the handle. Annother issue is that a 3.5oz rod with a 9oz reel on it might be more "tip heavy" than a 4.5oz rod with a 8oz reel on it. If the blanks have similar properties, the 4.5 rod might fish better and be more comfortable on a whole day of fishing than the lighter one, even though the combo weights the same. Regarding the "bling,bling" aspect, it's a "no-no" for me. I fish rods with no "flash", full cork handles.

I fish on average 2 days a week from april to november (if weather alowes). Not all of it is bass fishing ,though. There are weeks when i go out almost every day, but when I'm bussy i might go without fishing for a week or two. I'll do a couple days of steelheading from february to april.

I got it done with the heating. It breaks if you try to bend it at a small radius without heating. Thanx

Great info !!! Thanks

Hey guys, I want to modify some Titanium spinnerbaits by shortening a bit the upper arm and making them SINGLE blade. I never worked with TI wire and I don't wanna screw up. So I'm gonna have to remake the loop to atach the blade. Can anybody give me any advice, please ????

I don't think the reel has anything to do with you loosing the fish ! :-/. 8.8lb of drag is all you need, unless you fish slop. And since the fish was by the boat, maybe having the drag tightened all the way down ( and not allowing the drag to work the way it's supposed to when you needed it) gave the chanse to the fish to rip the hook out of his mouth.

Bet it put up a good fight

I am using a 7'MHF Fenwick HMG, wich i a bit LESS HEAVY than an Avid or All Star MH rod. Even though they are rated rated the same, rods have a bit different action from company to company. Reel is a Daiwa TD Advantage (6.3:1), line is 12# fluoro.I don't have any problem with the hook-ups.

As said, 7MXF

Went to Gander today and lucked out ! The guys in the fishing dept. were working on the "Red Tag Sale" wich says 50 % off all red tagged(clearance) item .I 've seen the older Shimano Citicas for $50+tax, Revo SXT for about $70, and a lot of others. I ended up buying a Shimano Saros 2500 for $50+tax. I'm not realy into Shimano but I couldn't pass this up. So check out your local Gander Mountain if you are lookinginto some tackle

Good decision ! Let us know how you like it after you fish with it.

I own AVS68MXF (awsome for plastics), AVC66MF and AVC70MF. I just love them; great value for the $$$. My next one will be AVS69MLXF for drop shotting. The heavier rods are Fenwicks, but I'll probably swich ower to Avids in the future. Excellent warranty + Made in USA

Have you tryed ebay? With patience and persistancy you can buy Avids under $150 TYD.

Have you had a chance to try AVS68MXF ?? : Or the baitcaster version AVC68MXF ?

For bass fishing : - BPS flourocarbon only (cheap Torey) - mono/copoly: about 80% of times i use Tectan Premium, I also use Trilene XL, P-Line CX, Stren Original depending on water conditions and season/temperature

Daiwa Sol..... : Just my $.02

I have the Compre in 7 ft med and med-heavy and love them. They are mod fast action though, not moderate. They work great in weedy waters because it's easier to rip them free of weeds and get the reaction strikes. If the rod is to soft it's hard to impossible to rip the crankbait free of weeds, in my experience. For rocky or woody situations you might want a softer rod (moderate to parabolic) I have no experience with the Premier or Mojo. Tight lines

St Croix Avid AVS68MXF for pretty much everything except crankbaits. It's to fast for that and you will have to many missed bites and "unbuttoned" fish. St Croix rods are a bit more powerfull than other brands at the same rating.

I have two Extremes 5.4:1 on crankbait duty. One is 2, the other is 3 seasons old. I oiled them the day i bought them and maintain them regularly. They performed flawlessly so far.

Beautifull healthy fish. Good goin'

Bass fishing, definitly alone if it's my boat. I have this conception that if you invite somebody on your boat, you are responsible of them catching fish/having fun. I don't mind at all being in the back of other guy's boat, even if I'm not catching anything. There is a lot to learn just by watching somebody fish/ make decisions, especialy if they tell you what are they doing and why. You might even teach them something new, if they are not as good fisherman as you, and they are willing to listen. For most of the other species I prefer to have company.

Great reel for the money !!!

I use a 66ft MH if I walk the bank and a 7ft MH of the boat. The lakes I fish most of the time don't require Heavy rods ( weeds are not that bad, no docks or other heavy snags). Also, the fish are not that big !!! :-/ PS: I like a rod that has a "softer" feel, presently using Fenwick HMGs , they are not as "crisp" as other higher end rods.

I would recomand this http://cgi.ebay.com/Daiwa-Advantage-153HSTLA-153-Baitcasting-Reel-Lefty-NEW_W0QQitemZ290304567283QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item290304567283&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318 it's a lefty, but you can find it in RH also; and read this http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdaiwaadvantage153hsta.html The Patriarch is a good one too Just my opinion...