Eric 26

I would like to point out @KP Duty just posted in the “latest sales thread” Bass Pro Shops has either the Daiwa Tatula CT or the Quantum Smoke S3 on clearance for $99.00.

@NorcalBassin Regardless of their size spotted bass are absolutely beautiful in my opinion and yours are no different.

I would strongly suggest looking at the Shimano SLX which is $115.00 at Tackle Warehouse, it has a braking system that isn’t as user friendly as the Daiwa Fuego or Daiwa Tatula X but both are $150.00 so a bit over your price point.

Definitely sorry for your loss. Although I had 3 dogs and still have 2 cats the cats definitely have personalities that seem to change hour to hour and it’s one of my favorite things about them.

I’m not going to try and talk you out of either but rather suggest you check out both the BPS Carbonlite Technique Specific reel which I’ve been told is a upgraded Daiwa Regal LT or the Johnny Morris Signature Series reel which again I was told is a repainted Daiwa Fuego. I own the white and gold Carbonlite 2.0 and I bought a JM Signature Series reel last year around this time and I love them both, my reason for not buying the Daiwa models is I don’t need the line capacity of the Daiwa’s but you may not be bothered by that.

To all of you who have been posting on this thread for at least the last month all I’m going to say is DANG IM JEALOUS!! But in all seriousness @thediscochef, @ATA, @Lottabass, @Bird, @T-Billy & @Fried Lemons those are some gorgeous bass and I can’t wait until I hook my first one of the season even though I know based on where I’m currently fishing they will be nowhere near the size you guys are posting.

I’ve been out twice in the last week at my favorite retention pond and the water is just downright COLD. I will say the banks are filled with young bluegill but I’ll be darned if I can find where the bass are hiding. I am planning on trying again tomorrow for a bit after work as it’s supposed to be in the mid 70’s and I’ll report back regardless of what happens by the weekend.

🤯 That looks like a Jello dish with chopped up nuts inside.

That is an amazing looking home and I wish you nothing but good thoughts going forward with the project. I know it goes without saying but please keep us updated on the progress as myself and many others I’m sure are eager to watch the whole project take place. I will add as a former framing carpenter it’s really exciting and satisfying watching a house go up and was even more satisfying when the future home owners would stop by to see the progress.

I’m really looking forward to reading your thoughts once you receive the spool. Is it just me who can’t see the images?

So I had the day off this past Tuesday and decided to do my annual BPS Spring Classic Sale trade in. I went in knowing I was buying a Carbonlite Tech Specific Rod which I purchased and as I mentioned before I was going to look at the Concept A2 reels they have on sale, I’m quite happy to say I was able to keep the reel 🐒 at bay due to me realizing I have more than enough reels but satisfied him with the rod purchase in my mind. I also realized I have quite a bit of tackle that I haven’t even opened so although I feel I let the tackle 🐒 down I walked away extremely happy as I walked in with $175.00 in BPS gift cards and walked out with $30.00 in BPS gift cards.As a p.s. I saw this post from a young lady angler I seen in a fishing show seminar and it reminded me that although I could have saved a couple bucks by buying from BPS I’m planning on a couple rod purchases this season and will be supporting my local shop when I do.

I pulled the trigger on the 6’-9” light power Super Finesse rod this week. I’m very excited to get this rod out on the water this upcoming season.

I’m a neighbor of yours in Illinois in a South West Chicago suburb and this has been one of the craziest springs I can personally remember in a long time. I threw a rod in the van this morning but didn’t get a chance to stop after work but I’m definitely going to try again tomorrow.

Good point @MN Fisher and definitely a reason for the OP to keep his eyes open especially for a sale on them. Another one I overlooked and although I’m not a cold weather fisherman I myself along with a few others on here appreciate the slower gear ratio as well. I will also add knowing the quality and size of fish @Bluebasser86 catches if he says it’s legit especially at that price point it’s definitely worth looking into.

I have both a Miravel 1000 and the B&G in 1500 size and will say they are on completely opposite ends of the weight scale. If I could only have one though I’d pick the Daiwa as it simply feels bulletproof. I also have a Shimano 1000 Stradic and if asked the same question as above I’d probably still pick the Daiwa again weight and all but after thinking about it it would be really hard giving up either one. Don’t overlook BPS’s house branded spinning reels which are made by Daiwa or more likely Tica which I’ve learned from @bulldog1935, I was informed by a BPS salesman the BPS JM signature series which I do own is a silver painted Daiwa Fuego and so on and so forth based on the price point. I also have the Carbonlite 2.0 which is currently running $90.00 but I’m not sure which Daiwa model it would compare to. Besides the paint scheme the biggest difference between the 2 brands is the BPS reels have what I would consider standard spool depths vs the Daiwa having deep spools on many of their spinning reels.

I am definitely someone who can be considered a budget conscious fisherman and I make no bones about it. As such I have 10 pound Seaguar 101 Basix on my Tatula 80 and I can say I absolutely love it.

I almost pulled the trigger twice in the last month as at least my local BPS has had them on sale that long. I’ve been able to keep the monkey at bay as I don’t really need another reel but we all know how that goes.

Oh you are definitely ruined👊🏻😆

although I don’t need one if they have any left when I go next week I just may give in to the tackle monkey.

@Drew03cmc I haven’t handled any of the Shimano lineup as they’re usually a bit out of my price range which is subjective but if I may ask what is your favorite Ark series? And I will definitely agree that the Abu Garcia rod’s tend to be a bit stiff and load rather fast along with having minimal give anywhere in the blank if that makes any sense. The older ones at least to me felt like they were all way to soft or usually way to stiff although I did purchase a Veritas LTD as the deal was too good to pass up last season.

@Drew03cmc If I may ask what is your choice in Extra-fast? I have handled the St. Croix Black Bass, Mojo Trigon, Victory and a handful of other branded spinning rods that are “Extra Fast” and I feel they aren’t what I would refer to as Extra-Fast. For some kind of reference I do have a 6’-3” Extra Fast Light Power Cortland CTR spinning rod that I’ve had for many years that I really enjoy and it’s definitely what I would consider Extra-Fast.

With the amount of big fish @A-Jay posts here I would seriously consider his recommendations.