Bass Rutten

The legalis, while a good value, has through-body handle design, whereas the fuego has screw-in handle design which will be less prone in the long run to becoming loose and causing play. The exceler though could be described as a fuego without magseal, and it’s also the lowest priced daiwa spinner with a screw in handle and the best value daiwa reel feature for feature imo

A $200 rod with a $50 reel will serve you much better imo than a $50 rod with a $200 reel, all that to say I think the rod is much more important than the reel.

Combining the above tips with thin braid (20-30lb) should accomplish your goal.

I have 30lb sufix 832 on the reel with a 14 lb sufix siege leader which is pretty thick for it's rating at .38mm, equivelant to some 17lb mono lines. It's on a rod I've been throwing poppers and walkers on quite a bit on hence the thick leader, and to my surprise the knot, a crazy alberto, slips smoothly right onto the reel without issue every time, the opening doesn't look any bigger to my eyes but it works. One small detail I should mention which may or may not make a difference is I finish the leaders tag with a 3 turn uni around the braid back towards the leader and snug it up to the knot which gives it a taper. I've been meaning to take my micrometer to it to measure the opening it but it needs some obscure battery I've been putting off getting, so take this all with a grain of salt, ymmv.

From what I've seen that hellraizer seems to be the only thing even remotely innovative.

I wouldn’t call the workout I’ve been giving it heavy duty though, lots of casting but mostly topwaters with 30lb braid, I say go for it. I’ve got a jdm major craft rod on the way (a short mh/modfast) I plan on mating with it as a dedicated topwater rod.

All good, been getting a workout too, quite enjoying this little guy with that paddle handle on it.

I seem to have a pretty good hook and landing % on wp 110's and 130's with stock hooks, I attribute it to using a heavy power mod-fast rod and copoly/mono line, and as rdb said wait for the full weight of the fish, just keep on steadily reeling no matter what your eyes see, easier said than done sometimes!

No one's really pushing any "special" rods here, all that's really being talked about is a rod blanks power and taper in regard to a specific lure. You can call it splitting hairs but there are advantages to be gained by a well thought out balance of rod length, power, taper, lure type, line type/diameter, hook gauge/style etc

Been toying around with these lately myself. For anyone curious about the blade sizes below is a pic of a jackhammer next to one I made with a queen large size blade and a 1/2 oz terminator swim jig, a super value jig at $3.50, and being a lot less pointy than many swimjigs it has a great clack against the blade. I was also able to rig the blade up with a tactical anglers style clip which I'm really liking.

Sounds like an amazing trip! Would like to do lotw some day. This year I've caught 1 muskie and tons of pike, one thing I've learned is pike sure like chatterbaits.

The zoom swimming chunk is the schizzle on the mini max. Doesn't look like much but it really is amazing looking swimming through the water. Makes for a very compact overall package.

Like ammoguy said it depends on application. I picked up a coastal 150 last year but sold it off a few months back as I didn't like the braking, it had that choked off feel and I could never seem to get it dialed in for distance, perhaps that was my fault. A jdm zillion could be had for not much more, or an alphas 800 for less. I got the new zillion a few weeks back, it's not as compact in hand as the 150 but it's effortless casting, free floating spool is where it's at performace wise, that said this new coastal tw80 peaked my curiosity being that it's not an sv. It might make a good pitch/flip reel.

Been through a few myself. I recently found what I’m confident is the "one” and I found it of all places in my own closet, a rod I put away a few months ago, go figure. It's got a taper that can bomb casts and prevent slack with enough power to set the hook especially at distance. My biggest dilemma has been losing fish on the initial jump due to either slack and/or not getting the hook buried especially on distance hooksets.

DOUBLE HYPER? Take my money!!! lol Aluminum sideplate too, interestingly no mention of the brake system.

True dat sir, but sometimes they "almost" want it, and that tiny bit of delay created by line stretch and/or rod flex is enough to give it to them.

https://daiwa.us/products/coastsl-tw80 Higher line capacity, this could be interesting...

Received 3 of them recently, I’ve caught a few but the last one was a doozy. I was burning it, bouncing and grinding through some shallow rock (about 3’ deep) and got one of the most aggressive strikes in recent memory, it was only 17” and just under 3lbs but geez I wish every hit was that vicious. After some time with these I could see it working just as well if not better as a swimmer than a jigging lure, especially shallower where it’s weight lets you work it at higher speeds without blowing out while staying in contact with bottom/cover. Hookup ratio does not seem to be a problem for those that are concerned, the whole area in front of the hook is hollow and collapses unlike the solid construction of the dark sleeper.

Yeah I actually don’t care for them, I have four and gave up on them myself I had to tweak the balance with insert weights and they still only kick well at a particular speed, too slow and it stalls, too fast and they turn on their side, I’ve heard boiling their tails helps, never got around to trying it.

Why pay $15/pair for a premium swimbait designed to fish weedless and then put it on a jighead when there’s great bodies available for waaay cheaper made for this application? (Big hammer, lunker city shaker, basstrix). Not trying to be a negative nellie, genuinely curious, seems like a waste. That said when I have fished 6” soft swimbait bodies on jigs I’ve used the saltwater bullet style from either owner or kalins, the 3/4 & 1 oz comes with 5/0 hooks.

Agreed, I haven’t owned the vanford but compared to the tatula the tolerances on the mq ballistic feels tighter and overall more rigid, but at the same time smoother. It’s also heavier and more tank like, but I don’t mind the weight and actually find that rock solid feel reassuring. Definitely worth the small premium over the tat imo, I got mine with a discount for just over $200 from a local store. I’d also consider the jdm luvias which can be had around $250

Follow the wind…

Warbaits

Omnia sale ends 7/12

I use the springer knot on lines .40 mm or bigger, worth checking out, it’s an excellent knot for larger diameter line, fast easy and strong.