Bass Rutten

First, a big thanks for all the hard work Glenn. Loving the dark mode! Not crazy about the sticky menu bar though, wish that still had an on/off option.

Frydog nailed it. The 5 incher really comes alive with a lightly weighted hook. I have used the owner he recommends and it works great but I have bent some out (yeah yeah user error). I now use the gamakatsu weighted superline spring lock hooks, it's a heavier gauge hook allowing to throw it on heavy or hmh rods. The 1/16oz weighted gammy hook weighs overall the same as the 3/32 owner, the thicker gauge makes up for the lighter belly weight it has. I have also had some luck with the 1/8 weighted gammy hook which drops faster obviously, or can be worked faster at a given depth.

Caffeine shad; bombs well on casting gear, skips great, seductive shimmy on the drop. One of my most productive lures when I lived there.

I moved from Illinois to Florida 3 years ago and I flipped to doing a lot of flipping flippin'. Now I just recently flipped back up north to Washington state and now I gotta flip to western style bassin'. Kind of flippin' nuts, but I've done ok!

The most productive lure for me, old school or not, is hands down the worm. Edit: the straight tail finesse worm specifically.

3 years old but I'll chime in anyway. I like the Buckeye Gbuzz (Gerald Swindle model), I used to get them under $5 but I see they're now $7.50, it comes naked, I like it with the big bite baits toad. For Rod nothing too fancy needed, I use a 73mhf or a 73hmhf kistler helium, slings it a mile, gets it on top fast, technique and timing helps with that too. The reel is a tatula 100, good capacity as I like thick line for this.

Agreed, they're awesome, especially when every second counts (tournaments), bait swaps in seconds. I have one rod that always has one on used for squarebills, spooks, finesse spinnerbaits, and small chatters like the mini max.

Try this type, fat finger friendly...

Oh wow I totally forgot he emailed this to me about 4 years ago after we chatted about rod down jig retrieves.

An alphas 800svtw with an sv boost bfs spool could be very interesting, I'm tempted...

Ray's sv spool knockoff? Anyone put mitts on one of these?

First I've seen of that, looks like the ss air frame. --- Shout out to the alphas 800 svtw, smaller profile than the zillion. I have two, one with a rays sv and one with a kkr spool, no complaints with either. SS air is great too but pairing reels, spools, and bearings is more satisfying than buying an out of the box bfs reel.

I love my 2nd gen tat100 w/elite spool! It does it all, I skip just fine with it too.

Glad you survived that terrible event and hope you get out on the water soon. I haven't been out myself since July. Here's to a better 2026! 🍻

Oh wait I thought you were referring to the st croix as sweet haha. I jumped on the kistler wagon in 2023, but yeah that helium blank is all the rod I'll ever need, I got 5 now, fantastic value. I never owned any of the earlier ones.

No complaints, thing was a tank (edit:the st croix), never an issue, that said realistically it's a bit heavy and dull compared to today's mid range gear. I don't know maybe they improved the blank, I hope so! I got mine around the mid 90's.

Thanks to this thread it dawned on me why BFS just works (for me). My first “real” rod was a now old and retired St. Croix Premier medium-light spinning rod, for that first decade or so of bass fishing it handled the majority of what I needed on the water. I pretty much adapted my entire fishing style around that medium-light blank, trying to make lighter gear do more than most people expect. My sole bfs outfit at the moment is a kistler helium med-light/ss air. Light tackle and new technology are fun and exciting, but BFS has also been quietly tapping into a bit of nostalgia for me.

Sad to see that title and click on this thread. His fishing knowledge and experience was remarkable. He was generous as well, he directly emailed me his cosmic clock information a few years back. I hope Tom and his family find peace.

I don’t want to cause a derail here so we’ll have to agree to disagree. My main point is that fine motor control is defined by the precision and control required, not which muscles or the size of the muscles used. Merry Christmas everybody!!!!

Contrarily I don’t really get rhw reels. Reeling is a simple repetitive motion, whereas the rod requires fine motor control for casting accuracy, lure manipulation, and bite detection which are all better served by your dominant hand/arm imo (unless you’re a lefty, of course). I've got plans to pick up a pair of used steez 1016 in the near future, at around $300-400 for near mint seems like a great value.

I understand the hesitation, but it isn't nearly the commitment it used to be. Ark and kastking have budget reels many laud, add a medium-light casting rod of your choice and your in business.

Agreed. I come out here for peace and quiet, not to keep catching fish. Very disruptive.

Just get the tat 100 and pop in an elite spool, you get elite performance with the hyperdrive gears, you won't regret it.

Agreed on entry tier, the 23 tat is a killer value. Agreed also on mid-tier with a very honorable mention (near tie) to the alphas svtw. High tier reels is not financially justifiable to me.