humbleangler

I don't mean to turn this into a DSG bashing thread as I have found some legit good deals there in the past, but I agree that the majority of time, their "deals" bring the price closer to industry average vs. a true discount. However, my real beef with them is their shipping practices...atrocious. On two separate occasions, I've ordered a rod and a rod/reel combo from them and they shipped in a thin, unsupported, rectangular box with a few pieces of newspaper type material for "protection." Now, I lucked out and both rods were in fine shape upon delivery outside of the Lews Mach I rod having one slightly bent eye, but based on the pack job and condition of the box, I was simply lucky. The other rod was a 2 piece 6'6" Okuma UL, the box, no fooling, was CUT IN HALF...lengthwise, like with a circular saw clear around, and then taped back together with a single strip of clear tape. I wish I had a picture...My only explanation is that this was the last box in the entire shipping center, they assumed they could fit it broken down in half the box (you know, to save half a box, it was their last one and all), but needed an extra inch or two, so put the 2 PIECE 6'6" UL rod BACK together, shoved the two ends of the box together, and rolled some tape around it. I also get 7 different boxes on 3 separate days for a $50 order of assorted lures and tackle...

Back to the OP, is it common for bass LMB or SMB to have parasites? More common than other species? I would have imagined cats to be the most likely affected, but I've never had a problem.

I have eaten bass, but only on a couple occasions...I thought it was good...not as good as bluegill, crappie, trout, or walleye, but still very tasty. I rarely keep and clean my catch, and when I do, it's usually planned so I'm going for panfish or cats all day, not bass. If I happen to gut hook a largemouth in the slot on one of those days, it comes home with me. I think a lot of the negative reviews of taste are exaggerated and meant to discourage people from taking, but slots and limits are there for a reason, and relative to other fish, bass populations are not exactly struggling. I almost prefer seeing a guy take a couple 14-16 in. bass vs. an overflowing bucket of crappie or cats...The crappie population around me is WAY down from overfishing...wish they'd lower the limits on a lot of lakes if they have them at all.

I agree if you hear grinding, return it...but it's probably just a little tight and needs some use to loosen up. They pack a lot of grease in them from the factory. I just got a Trion 25 and felt very smooth, but not much more than 1-2 revolutions out of the box when spinning...after being delivered and sitting on my front porch half a day in Chicago in February...after warming it up and playing with it a bit, it feels good...4-5 turns on the spin and will loosen up more as I fish and the grease is distributed around the reel.

Need to start fishing so I stop sitting at the computer spending money on gear!

Dick's has $20 off $100 and free shipping (standard over $50)...picked up a Pflueger Trion 25, Okuma Celilo 6'6 UL, a couple inline spinners, some Z-Man tubes, and a fair amount of terminal tackle for $85 to my door.

I haven't used the rooster tail, but have used the lipless cranks...I was surprised at the quality for the price. I think the cranks came in a two pack for $1.98. They aren't going to last forever and the hooks were weak, but they caught fish. I also really like the braid scissors I picked up from them for $2-$3.

In the next 12 months or so, I'm planning on buying my first boat. I'm looking for a no frills, 14-16' V hull utility fishing boat or Mod V Jon. I grew up fishing from my Grandpa's well worn 14' deep V Alumacraft and see no reason for anything pricier for the fishing I do. Plus, a lot of the waters I fish have a 10HP limit, so I wouldn't want anything more than a 9.9. I'm just tired of being relegated to the shore or spending $100 a day on a rental and having to deal with getting back to dock at a certain time, filling out paper work, etc. I have MANY questions as I've never personally owned a boat, but for now, I'll leave it with the below: 1. I've gone to many boat makers websites (Lowe, Lund, Tracker, Alumacraft, etc.) and can usually find what I'm looking for in the $3-7K range, Boat, Motor, and Trailer. However, when you link to a dealer's website, they have nothing this cheap in their inventory unless it's a 30 yr old used trade in. Can you build the boat through the manufacturer and have it shipped to the dealer? I understand the dealers want to show off the fancy $20K+ bass boats, but there has to be a way to order a brand new basic V hull, right? How much extra does it cost to have a customer job sent to the dealer? 2. I'd like to take it up and down some of the rivers here in Northern Illinois...will a 9.9HP handle work in current? I'm not talking white water rapids, but when the water is high, the Kankakee, Fox, Illinois, DesPlaines can all get moving pretty quick. 3. In addition to the rivers, I'd like to take it to a few cooling lakes in the area that can have quite a bit of chop...Heidecke, LaSalle, etc. I figure a Mod V Jon would be better for the rivers, but imagine it would be painful at least, dangerous at most on choppy waters in bad weather. Any experience? Suggestions? Thanks for the help...since joining this site, I can't tell you how often I refer back to many of the forum postings here. This is a really great community with a lot of folks with a wealth of experience and solid advice.

So I received the combo today...better than I anticipated...more power in a UL rod than I anticipated. Really don't care for the lack of guide inserts when they're just stainless and a hook holder would be nice, but overall, pairs well and looks like it will be used often.

We have Farm & Fleet; no Fleet Farm.

Well, I'm going to beat this one up and hopefully get some solid use out of it, but the winters in Chicago are long and I'm sure Cabin Fever will trigger another impulse buy and convince me I "NEED" the TSS60ULF before the ponds thaw

Thanks for the feedback and you echoed my thoughts...I plan on hiking and creek wading with it (also why I wanted a 2 piece) and would be really bummed slipping and cracking the stick on a tree/rock if it cost me $100+...not that I wouldn't be bummed breaking a $60 rod, but less so. Most other reviews/comments I read said it was pretty solid rod, just on the heavy side. I don't know how heavy ANY 6ft ultra light could possibly be, but if the only issue is that it's not as feather light as a St. Croix or higher end Fenwick, I'd be happy. How's the sensitivity/responsiveness/backbone for the light power?

I really want to do some ultra light 4lb test creek smallmouth fishing this year and kind of settled for a 6ft. BPS Micro Lite/President 20 combo. I'm happy with the reel, but really wanted a St. Croix premier rod. I just couldn't justify the $150 tag on the 6ft 2-piece for the rod alone. Anyone have any experience with the BPS rod, specifically ultra light power?

So I read through the flyer...a few decent yet far from great sales on lures/lines, but the vast majority of rods and reels are just standard price without trade-in...Oh well, at least my wallet will be happy.

I guess it's just being in the Chicago suburbs, but NONE of the sporting good stores around me have a very good selection of fishing gear...went to Dick's a couple weeks ago and their "5 for 5" was limited to an endcap with Lunkerhunt Kraken hard body frogs (already sold out) and a bunch of $12 umbrella swimbait rigs. Walmart is extremely limited while Bass Pro and Cabela's are mostly house brands (if you want any real variety of sizes/weights/actions/powers) and expensive. 95% of my gear is purchased online in general these days.

Couldn't pass up the Patriarch XT Casting for $100 down from $250...hard to find many reviews for this reel, but the few I found were positive. Anyone here have any experience?

Dammit...I thought I was done and didn't NEED another rod to pair with a new Lew's MB, but couldn't resist the 7' Heavy Dobyns Sierra for 114.99 on TW. I hope it pairs well...

Just nabbed a Lews Mach 1 Baitcast Combo for $70! Original price, $139.99, then 35% off sale price, plus the 20% off sitewide...pretty sweet deal.

So I picked up a dinged up but otherwise unused round Mitchell baitcaster for $15-20 at an outdoors show in the late 90's, put it away and never used it but carried it with me ever since. Came upon it the other day, cleaned it, and was wondering if it would be worth a spin. The funny thing is, I couldn't find any information about the model online. It says "AT 300" on one sideplate and references Mitchell and "Advanced Tackle Systems" on the other. I've never heard of "Advanced Tackle Systems" and was wondering if this was some collaboration promo model they did with Mitchell. I spooled it up today and it's surprisingly smooth...a little noisy on the cast, but I think this has a lot to do with the super cheap, terrible memory, super thick, 15lb WalMart Omniflex I spooled it with. Better than average distance, and very quiet, smooth retrieve. 6.1:1 "Power Retrieve" Gear Ratio, 3 Bearings, no magnetic brakes and what appears to be 4 centrifugal brakes that cannot be adjusted. Just 4 small bits of plastic that slide out on 4 metal prongs when casting. There is a "Korea" stamp on the bottom of the rod mount. Anyone have any information on this reel? Schematics, manual, dating, review, original cost, anything?