Jcj90

7’ medium fast action rod with 12 or 15lb mono for all of my lipless crankbait fishing.

One brake with newer Shimanos? I use one brake with the old E series and I series curados but always seem to backlash using one brake with the new meet curado k series

2 brakes on and dial set between 3-5 depending on wind and lure with my curado k. Play around with the spool tension. It took me a bit to find the proper setting

Particularly rapala shadow raps and shadow rap shads. What are you guys using? Would like to keep it around $100. I am a big dobyns Rods fan but never used any of their crankbait rods. Anyone using the fury or colt crankbait rod for these size jerkbaits?

what a monster. you must have some good fisheries near you. thats a very large fish for that part of the country

i use this line as leader material inshore fishing and never had any issues with 20 or 25lb. i use a clinch or improved clinch knot

12lb Berkley big game on casting reels 8lb trilene xl on spinning reels

the dobyns 704 or 734 is what you want

Mann’s 1- haven’t found anything that works as well

1/8 and 3/16 for most of my open water fishing and 3/8-3/4 for my heavy cover.

Mono fan here only use braid for frogging, punching and certain top waters

I use Berkley big game 20lb. I am far from an expert swimbait fisherman but it’s served me well and never had an issue other than some memory in cold weather

Braid every 2-3 seasons mono I change when needed. If I’m fishing everyday sometimes I change it weekly but on average about every 2-3months

Abu Garcia silver max is a good reel for the money

4lb trilene xl. Been using it forever

Were you fishing a leader? If so, the tag end may have caught the guide which caused a wind knot. Also make sure spool isn’t overspooled

6-8lb Trilene xl on my spinning reels and 12 or 15lb Berkley big game on my casting reels. If i fish braid it’s original power pro

Very good finesse presentation. I like 1/16 and 1/8oz on a spinning rod with 6 or 8lb test with a tiny paca chunk as a trailer. The bitsy flip is good too, it has a beefier hook but I’ve never had an issue with the standard hooks using light line and the correct drag setting

I’ve never broken a rod and I’ve fished in temps down into the teens