Largies4Life

I do already have a 6' 8" legend tournament M- X Fast that I use for top water and jerkbaits. Would a jerkbait specific rod be better do you guys think?

Hello All, I currently have a Daiwa Tatula SV TWS in the 7:1 gear ratio that doesn't have a rod for it currently and am looking for a rod to pair it up with for this upcoming season. I have a frog rod, MH rod for jigs, M rod for topwater, crankbait rod, and a MH rod for spinnerbaits/chatterbaits. Given what I have already, is there any rod that would fit in well to this lineup that I may be missing that would pair up well the Daiwa Tatula? Let me know if there is anything else I should add that would help. Thanks in advance!

I just moved to the Milwaukee area recently and don't have anyone to go out ice fishing with. With the ice as sketchy as it is lately, I'd much prefer to go out in a group than by myself. If anyone has any interest to go ice fishing this winter and is in the Milwaukee area, feel free to send me a PM or message on this topic and we can get together!

I'm kind of in the same mindset as you. I don't see this new Tat being any better than the original except for being lighter and like you said, my tats have never felt heavy to me either fishing them all day. I can't wait for the originals to go on sale now!

Daiwa just announced they will be releasing a new reel in the Tatula SV lineup, the Tatula SV TW103. What's everyone's thoughts on this new reel? Do you think it's worth waiting for? https://www.daiwa.com/us/contents/reels/tatulasv/index.html

Have you had good success with them? My hook up ratio seems to be extremely low with those. I feel like they are nipping at the tail and not actually hitting the frog itself.

It's memories like those that will live on forever and never be forgotten! I'm sorry to hear about your father, but it sounds like he's out on the water with you every day still! I had a very similar thing happen to me. Caught a nice 5 pounder out of a small private lake and one of the homeowners drove past in their pontoon and told me to keep it and fry it up. I was completely taken back by that comment, I would never keep a bass of that size or any other species that could be considered a "trophy" fish for the body of water you are fishing. I know where you're coming from, but at the same time, they probably don't fish often enough to understand the morals we have towards these fish. Tight lines, my friend!

I'm sure you had plenty of adrenaline pumping after that catch! Way to go!

My go to is the Spro popping frog or the River2Sea Spittin Wa Frog in that order.

When it's really weedy like that, I tend to not make long casts, rather, short precise casts into and gaps or holes in the weeds and that has worked very well for me for those bottom contact baits. If there are any weed edges where the weeds break off, definitely target those spots as well. Heavier and thicker weed patches, I will get a much heavier bullet weight in the 1 oz. range usually and punch right through it. Also, try to go with more slender plastics on your t-rig and jigs as trailers so they can get through the weeds easier and get hung up less.

What type of knot do you guys like to use as the connection knot? I've tried the FG knot, but found that it seems to fray pretty easily. Maybe that's just due to me not tightening the knot down enough or cutting the line too close to the knot. Any recommendations on that end?

Is this the Bait Monkey speaking now?

I personally prefer ones that float as I feel you get a lot more action out of them than the ones that just lay flat on the bottom. But of course, one day the fish might like the floating ones and the next day they might like the ones that don't.

My vote would go towards the Daiwa Tatula's as well since you already have a Dobyns, unless you really enjoy the Dobyns rod then I'd say stick with Dobyns. Otherwise, if you can swing it, go with the Daiwa Tatula Elite 7'1" or 7'3" Heavy. You will not be disappointed in those rods, they are superb!

Now you're making me want to get this finesse setup when I do not need it at all! I love the Daiwa line of rods and especially reels. I've tried other reels, but always gravitate back towards my Tatula SV's and Tatula rods. I got a Tatula Elite AGS spinning rod with the Ballistic LT this past winter, but broke my hand so I was only able to use baitcasters for the past couple months. Just got my cast off this past Monday, so I'll finally be able to use this setup this weekend for the second time this year! I got the 7'4" Medium for the finesse type of applications that you're running. Threw 15 lb. braid on and will most likely run a leader as well for clearer water situations.