Dumbbassanglr

I just wanted to post how impressed I am with the Levante Whipsnake. Although I would say my Nrx+ 852 is slightly more sensitive, it’s not by much. This rod continues to impress me. I liked it so much that I also ordered the orochi version but when I got it I realized it was heavier and less sensitive!!! So I sold the orochi! This is coming from someone who owns all Nrx, conquest and exprides. The levante is my cheapest rod and I wanted people who wonder about higher end gear to know that if I could only have one spinning rod this might actually be it. It has a fast action but loads up well. In the last few days I’ve caught largemouth, smallmouth, crappie and a big ol carp (on accident) on it and it does it all well.

If you can't afford an expride go with the Daiwa or the st. Croix. They will be lighter across the board. I sold my Dobyns champion frog rod for a much lighter expride.

Taking the kayak down next week and will be in dallas bay most of the time but I wanted to try a creek. Maybe a smaller one that would be better for kayaks and harder for big boats.

Only thing I don't like are his titles. Seems like most of them claim 90% of fisherman are idiots.

Yes I had the 7'7" in the A model. Its a pretty moderate/soft rod. Not ideal for what you bought it for. I would have bought the 7'6" heavy.

No, the nrx+ does not replace the conquest. Conquest is lighter and has high power x and spiral x tech. Nrx+ only has spiral x. I don't know what back sliding is but if you are going with 1/2 and lighter the 843 is ok but if you need 1/2 and heavier then 844 would be better.

I have a bunch of metaniums and just bought a curado mgl to try it out. I'll put it like this, I sold the curado very quickly. Metanium is the best reel on the market right now period, especially at the jdm price.

I'm fishing a pretty small reservoir, 3,300 acres. There is no lake below the dam, just a creek so I am referring to fishing the reservoir above the dam. How does this discharge affect the lake was what I was originally trying to ask.

How does dam discharge affect where you start looking for bass? I hear of people starting in lower end (near the dam), mid lake or upper end. Why and when do you make these decisions based on what you see from the discharge info?

I use 20lb and bomb them and catchem no problems at all. A lot of inshore fisherman use 20lb all the time (just watch salt strong) it’s plenty strong enough and casts a lot better and is easy to work also. I’m not making huge hooksets on topwater so I have no breakage issues and with sufix 832 I never have backlashes with heavier baits like top waters.

If your casting crankbaits under a 1/2 oz in windy conditions then yes a dc reel is sweet. If not then the zillion sv tw is a far better reel overall.

Yeah it’s hard to beat a curado 150mgl. I fish mostly metaniums and this reel has really impressed me.

Just got the medium. Btw it is in fact rated 1/4-3/4 oz so you should be good to go. I will report back after I fish it.

I strongly recommend going jdm from digitaka. At your price you can choose between a metanium mgl (one piece mag frame) or a scorpion dc (aluminum frame). I personally like the dc reels for frogging, its the only thing I use a dc reel for because sometimes a frog casts kinda funny and I can bomb it without any headaches with these reels. Some of my biggest fish have been on the end of a long bomb cast. This is also a good reason to have at least a 7:1 gear ratio. You can reel down and pick up that slack better before setting the hook. Then you pull the fish in properly by pumping your rod not cranking the reel. Another benefit of a faster reel is quickly getting the fish above the slop which you only have a second to do but makes landing the fish way easier. A slower reel won't get that done.

I just got the medium light and the lure ratings everywhere are wrong. Even on Shimano's site. The rod itself says 3/16 to 1/2 oz. Shimano's site says 3/16-3/8. I would ask the shop to grab a rod and read the rating to you if your worried about that. Either way this rod was too much of a wet noodle for me, I'm moving up to the medium power just to get a little bit more backbone but I'll be using it for wiggle warts which are still well within the m rating.

If it’s a dedicated frog rod the xh has a faster tip if I recall which makes a difference to me for frogging plus if you ever do run into some gnarly cover you will have confidence.

I actually just ordered the ml for wiggle warts. Should get it this coming week. I’ll try to report back.

Yeah expride or a levante tour versatile

If this is heavier and holds around the same amount of line, why wouldn’t you just get a metanium?

I think most kayak anglers enjoy the sit down fishing. I hate it. That’s the main reason I went with the ap. That and spot lock.

I know the 6xd is the gold standard but I really don’t have a rod for it and I’m trying to learn the deep diving crankbait technique. Are there any baits that are lighter but dive to the same depth? Maybe 1/2 to 3/4 oz. Also they need to be something I can actually find in stock right now.

I think the extra 30% is if you hold the rod with the butt up against your forearm. I just got 2 of the current model for a decent price and I don’t see any reason to upgrade on the casting rods unless you love the butts. But that new handle on the spinning rods in sweet depending on how you hold your rod.

Based on the needs you described I would suggest this one: hand tied skirt, flippin hook and good head for skipping. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_David_Walkers_Crosseyez_Power_Finesse_Jig/descpage-ZMDWCP.html

Tatula elite is a lot lighter all aluminum but that wasn’t my point. I think the new bantam is sweet I just dont see the value. But I think if you do a lot of deep cranking or something I could see it being a cool reel or maybe even for some bigger swimbaits. To me the best reel at that price is definitely the zillion.

It’s so odd to me when you guys say weight is not an issue. It’s not the weight itself that’s the issue, it’s the $350 that your paying. When you pay that much you expect to get tangible features for your money and weight is one of them. However if they dropped the weight of the bantam then it would basically be a cheaper metanium so I get why they didn’t.