Eric 26

Keep them pictures coming in the Latest Catch Pics threads? As far as picking up roadrunner heads and gulp alive minnows make sure you’re getting the version that has a barbed head otherwise you will experience the gulp sliding down the hook. Also pick up both 1/32 and 1/16th oz heads. If you’re having a tough go of it my go to setup is a 5’-6” ultralight, 2 pound monofilament with a 1/32-1/64oz jig head with a 1” gulp alive minnow under an ice fishing float. It definitely catches them but you will need a pair of hemostats to remove some hooks or be willing to cut the line if necessary.

First and foremost excellent review @Ryanralston07 although I don’t have any platinum signature rods or reels I have a couple Bionic blade rods, a carbonlite 2.0 b/c combo, 2 panfish elite rods that I highly recommend and feel are an excellent value a carbonlite 2.0 spinning reel and finally a 20+ year old pro qualifier spinning reel that is still one my favorites. I’m not going to pretend to understand the dynamics it takes to run a successful business but hey more power to Johnny Morris. The one thing I miss from Cabelas was their signature line of hunting boots, they were made far above their price point and took the beating from construction sites for many years from me.

I’m going to sound like a broken record on this topic. My suggestions are and will continue to be a 1/16 oz roadrunner plain head with either a crappie tube as a body or my favorite Berkeley Gulp Alive minnows in either 1” or 3”, as I’ve said before the 3” target the larger gills in my area and when they get ripped up which they will I’m able to cut them down to reuse for a few more fish. I’ve also had success on the Creme brand mini rattle traps available at Wal Mart in a variety pack of I believe 5 in the package. Lastly the 1” gulp alive minnows on a 1/32 oz ball head jig under a float will definitely catch them.

Although I haven’t done this in a few years, If they’re only biting top water you can’t beat a rubber legged spider in my opinion. I just use the smallest round clip on float I can to cast them out. They even attacked the float when things got heated ? I agree with @TnRiver46 that they seem to wind up with all 3 hook points in there mouth, I suppose I could do as @bulldog1935 does and replace the trebles with single style hooks. ?sounding like a good winter project.

I know this is so cliché but I enjoy both equally, with that said if I were to only keep one it would be the light powered rod. I prefer a slightly faster rod, but with that said it’s still a panfish rod. Both are capable of and have thrown three of my favorite panfish/dink bass lures equally well which are Northlands slurpy pre rigged boot tail (1/32 oz), an inline spinner (1/32oz) and a favorite of mine the Creme mini rattle traps, not sure about the weight on these. I use 4 pound monofilament on both rods and both protect the line equally well, in fact I was using the light powered rod a couple trips ago and hooked into what in my estimation to be a couple pound largemouth and the rod handled her well until she was able to spit the ultra tiny treble hook. Sorry for the long winded response but I hope it’s helpful. PS here’s one of my dinks on the aforementioned inline spinner?

I’ve been using 2 BPS panfish elite rods. A 6’-8” ultralight and a 7’2” light powered version. They have Fuji reel seats and Fuji guides, they’re priced at $79.99 but maybe they’ll be on sale this weekend. They also come in a good selection of lengths and power in my opinion.

Here’s my contribution ?. My first foray back into fishing specifically for bass was a quantum heat spinning combo I purchased at the old sporting show at the Rosemont convention center ?too many years ago to remember. It was a lower/middle of the road combo but it wasn’t half bad for the money I spent to purchase it which I believe was under$50.00?. The combo in the photos I actually won on a raffle ticket at the Tinley Park fishing show way too many years gone by for me to remember, I just took it out to take said photos and I will say that reel is built like a tank, my plan was/is to use it as a catfish combo. Although I’ve replaced most of my reels from my re entry into fishing this is one that is going to stick around for quite awhile just based on how solid it is built.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. I feel like I’m right next to him when he’s telling the story ?. They’re several members on here who make me feel that way through words or pictures. Thank you @Glenn

I’m going to add this works great, but try to find an empty football/soccer field to do it in. I tied off to a speed limit sign at the end of my driveway and after reaching the end of the spool one of my neighbors wanted to pull into his garage? thankfully he’s really cool and parked in the street for awhile so I could finish what I started. BTW he’s not even a fisherman ?

Went out around 11:30 a:m today, certainly not prime time but just needed to cast. I made around 3 dozen casts and caught 10 all pretty much cookie cutter dinks but hey it was just what I needed?

I’ll admit I had to look up the meaning of Etouffee but it still made me think of the movie? As far as frivolous humor count me in?. Still waiting to see if anyone else got my movie reference ? An all time classic in my humble opinion.

Curious if anyone else thought this: “I just got back from the etoufee, etoufee what’s an etoufee? It’s what you ought’nt do but you do anyway” ??. I realize it’s an obscure reference but it’s been rattling around my head since seeing @bulldog1935 reply.

I’m with you on lefty low gear ratio reels being hard to find. I purchased a Kastking reel for the purpose of seeing how much I wanted/needed/enjoyed having 2 low gear reels. My plan was to sell the Kastking and purchase another Revo X but I’m not fishing as much as I’d like right now so I’m making both work.

If you can talk him into an extra $20.00 BPS has their “ extreme baitcast combo” on sale. It has an aluminum frame with graphite side plates which is quite normal in this price range for reels alone vs graphite frame and side plates. The one down side is it’s only available in 7.5:1 reel speed but it’s available in right or left hand retrieve which is a bonus.

Not sure if you’re anti Abu Garcia but I have a Revo X winch in 5.4:1 gear ratio for the same reason, left hand retrieve. I really enjoy it and find it extremely comfortable. They are being discontinued but are hard to find in the left handed model although I just checked Tackle Warehouse and they still show them in stock at 5+. If I were in the market for another low gear reel I would purchase another one without hesitation. The thing that drives me nuts is the close out price is the same as when I bought mine a few years ago.

I have no insight to offer on their products but I was looking also and I believe they’re offering 40% off for a limited time, through the weekend I believe. Then it drops to 30% and so on.

It’s funny you say that, when I was shopping for the Tat SV one of the workers at my favorite local shop tried steering me towards the older model. In the end I wound up getting a Tatula 80?

? Happy Birthday indeed. Looking forward to seeing the final result?

I’m going to take a good look at these myself, especially if bps does their usual trade in at the spring classic. These are a definite upgrade on my current rods. At right around the $200.00 mark that’s about as high as I’m willing to go for rods or reels, but after the trade in ?

I think you’re making a good decision. I have a 13 fishing fate black 7’-1” med light as my primary Ned rod and it’s awesome. As of now I’m mainly fishing retention ponds (dinks) and it’s a blast. With that said I know when I step up my fishing game(hopefully later on this year) I feel I’m well equipped to handle the larger fish I’m hoping to find.

Just received a E-Mail from Sportsman’s Warehouse, they are blowing out the generation 4 Abu Garcia Revo X’s at $84.99. I personally love my 5.4:1 left hand retrieve which they no longer have. They have the 6.6:1 and 7.3:1 in left hand retrieve and all of the above in right hand retrieve. The frame is every bit as compact/comfortable as my SLX if a smaller frame is important. The other positive is the braking system is adjustable from the outside. The one negative is people have complained about the side plate falling off which I haven’t found to be an issue. With all that said I still feel the Daiwa brakes are the easiest and most forgiving given the technology for the price.

I can’t speak about the Lews but I like my SLX for its compact size. I feel the Daiwa’s braking system is superior and a bonus it’s adjustable without opening the frame, although the SLX has the beetle wing side plate. The only drawback to the Daiwa is the frame is a tad larger, which doesn’t bother me. The Tatula CT is the same as the Fuego with the addition of the T-Wing system.

Although I don’t have a Celilo, if it’s anything like my 2 Okuma casting rods it’s way better than the price reflects imho.

Those are beautiful rods. I wish I had the money for them?. For now I’m going to have to stick with my bps panfish elite rods. Looking forward to hearing how well you like them if you grab one.

If you really want/need bulk spools, Suffix Advance Mono (co polymer) is available in 4pound test up to 1200 yards for $26.49. Although I can’t compare it to Yo Zuri hybrid I for one enjoy it on both spinning and bait cast reels in 10 pound.