JediAmoeba

I don't understand the hype for the DRT baits - they don't impress me at all. I have swimbaits that seem to do everything better. I get they are kind of a jack of all trades type bait - which is perfect as plastic injection molded bait - but they are priced like a fine tuned bait. I don't get it. The Rafa glides though, I like those.

For older parts - ebay, Facebook marketplace and local Flea markets. Find old reels that no longer work to get parts.

Try the missle baits or hogfarmer spunk shad. You get a similar action with those

The SV is absolutely worth the extra money. If you prefer a smaller reel, go with the newer 103 model. If not, the old version is great.

8-10 lbs fluoro leaders with a 20lb braid main line. If I am deep cranking I usually have a 30' leader. If it's less than 10 feet, a shorter leader.

The biggest bass I can recall ever catching on a spinnerbait was one that got messed up from a Pike. I was fixing it and bending it back into shape and on a retrieve where the whole bait was literally helicoptering a giant bass inhaled it - the only reason I caught her is the trailer hook. Ever since then I realized it doesn't matter all too much unless you are throwing through laydowns and grass.

I have a whole 3700 deep box with an assortment of colors, sizes and materials of spinnerbait skirts. If I usually use white spinnerbait heads and if I need another color a sharpie does the trick

I get so many baits each year, I don't know what I am excited for this year. The one I am most excited to catch a huge fish on is one of my Black Talon Donks. What's to figure out? Rig them on a swimbait head, and chuck and wind. You can also Damiki rig the smaller ones.

That's why I can't do it - I want to work the bait and that's counterproductive for dropshotting.

Ice fishing is so much fun!

Flukes do one thing for me - catch loads of Pickerel. Water near 60 I can only dream of...We are still holding in the 30's here.

What fish finder is 2 pounds? Jesus

If it is a good bait during the day, it's a good bait at night. I would definitely add a trailer hook on the top of the Hudd though.

Northern swimbait fishing is great...

Lucky craft makes an lv-50 that's 1/4 oz - dynamite pond bait.

As a coangler I take 5-7 rods. I keep them tied together with velcro straps so they aren't all over the place - you never know what the boater is going to decide to do so you have to be versatile.

Because all the swimbait guys I fish with run F5's, Leviathans and other custom rods. I am by no means knocking it, my buddy has a Genesis and loves it.

You will be OK fishing most of those, however the swaver 168s won't be too good - glides fish a lot better with some flex to the rod, a musky rod is, like you say, cumbersome and stiff. $200 will get you a fine swimbait rod - a good one is IROD Genesis is a great beginner swimbait rod, even the 6th Sense Milliken rod is a great strater rod for what you are looking to do.

Buy both and sell the Loomis for 200.

When talking about customer service, you usually get what you pay for...all you can do is keep trying to make contact. I thought they were mostly sold on Amazon?

Musky rods aren't ideal but when you are starting out, they will work perfectly for you! If you like it, get a decent swimbait rod - they are much lighter and generally a bit more parabolic. Do you have some baits in mind?

For an older reel they hold up pretty well against new tech.

I don't own any but have used a bunch- I noticed very little difference between a 600 dollar reel and a 250-300 dollar reel. Casting performance isn't an upgrade so I don't see the appeal.

Well, not that old... but back in the 1997 when i was just 17-18 a friend and I really started fishing hard and I was using a baitcaster I had bought from KMart - A daiwa TriForce. I loved that reel on my 6' ugly stick and I fished for everything from catfish and bass to Muskie and Bowfin. That puppy would throw 3 oz Muskie lures or 1/4 oz baits. One rod, one reel except for my little Shakespeare panfish combo to catch live bait. I always watched the fishing shows and read about tournaments in magazines. I lived on my own and I decided I wanted my first expensive reel, so I settled on a Tram Daiwa-X and mailordered over the phone from Bass Pro. I remember the reel was over $200 which was insane for me at the time - I lived alone and only made $9 an hour so it took a while to make this. I also ordered a 6' pistol grip Fenwick to put it on because those were all the rage. Back then I used straight spiderwire for everything because that stuff was amazing and lasted me forever. Anyway, I loved that reel - it always cast great and I could put a bait wherever I wanted. I rebuilt a few times, even wearing out at least 2 line guide pawls and breaking a handle. I was always able to call and get the parts I needed. 5 years ago I still used that reel, however it was on a different rod since that Fenwick had come and gone. Someone stole all my rods/reels(except one in the car) in the spring when I was spooling them up for the year. It was the middle of the day, I leaned them up against the garage behind the house and went in to feed my kids. I came outside 45.minutes later and they were gone. The only one that really crushed me was losing that Team-X. I told a buddy of mine last year about it and he got me one at a Flea Market but it needed a lot of TLC. This winter I got the bearings, cleaned it up and it's back and ready to roll. Well, I went to my local tackle store to inquire about a good old pistol grip rod - he told me to hold on, went in the back and came out with a 5'6" G Loomis pistol grip and told me to keep it. I am really excited about this and immediately went home, put the reel on the rod and tied on a spinnerbait. It feels like a piece of my bass fishing past is a part of me again...

They claim 15%. I have a Seth Feider JB rod on the way.