plawren53202

I was also going to say that for a Texas rig I would tend to go with a MH. Unless you're using really light hooks, you're going to want a little backbone to drive that hook home. Also agree with the above, a lot of people say Dobyns rods fish a hair lighter than their rating. A Dobyns Fury 703C or 733C would be a tad on the lighter side of MH and would get you in just a tad over $100 ($119 list or $109 on Karl's). I'm a big fan of my 733C. I would also recommend either of my two finalists for another MH casting rod I just bought, either the Falcon Bucoo or the one I went with, the H2O Xpress Ethos HD. I got the micro guide/cork handle version which lists at $79. Just fished with it for the first time this evening and I am super impressed by this rod. And appropriately enough to your question, my first fish on it was on a Texas rigged worm with a 1/8 oz. bullet weight. No problem casting that relatively light weight, yet it had plenty of backbone to set a 4/0 EWG hook. Seems to be very sensitive for a rod in that price range as well.

Or a Ned rig...which I resort to often ?

In my experience the taps are almost always sunfish, so if I feel them I will give the line a slight pull. If I feel weight, then regular hookset. Seems to me that the bites I get on a Senko are more often just weight on the line or the line starts moving off to the side. Of course, when in doubt, hooksets are free. No doubt that in certain locations I do have sunfish nibbling sometimes, especially wacky rigged.

Thanks guys. This is exactly the kind of detailed info that makes BR and its members so valuable!

Yeah, as far as fishing it. I've driven over it for years but never heard that there were any catchable fish other than cats and rough fish and the occasional white bass run. From the tourney results I guess there are a few, not giants and not a lot, but some.

Super excited because I'm going to start fishing tournaments (found a longtime tourney angler/ boater looking for a co angler). First tournament we're going to fish is a local bass club Tuesday evening tournament, just down the road from both of us. The river where it is flows into the Mississippi just downstream of the launch point (less than a mile). The Mississippi is off limits for this tournament. The river is slow, stained, not a lot of current. Weird because 100 miles upstream it is a great stream, clear water and a good number of smallmouths. Down here where we are it is really more of a backwater of the Mississippi. It's the kind of place where you would typically find more catfish, drum, gar etc. but looking at the tournament results from prior events they catch some, not a great number and not giants. Mainly largemouths, a few spots here and there; there are some white bass in the river from in the Mississippi, but those don't help for the tournaments of course. My partner is going to try to do some recon in the next week or so (it's not prohibited under the club rules). Anyone have any advice for fishing somewhere like this? This is new territory to me, totally different than anywhere I've fished before. Trying to get a handle on what kind of structure and cover to look for. I'm sure the current, although there's not a ton, still plays a role; I'm assuming eddies behind cover, laydowns, mouths of feeder creeks are good places to look. Also add in that it's hotter than heck here right now. Let me know if there's other info that would help with my question. Also I'll take any pertinent YouTube links, prior posts (searched but couldn't find any), etc.

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm halfway there; I found a Daiwa Fuego CT on sale on Walmart's website for $79 so that's on its way to my local WM via free 2 day shipping. I'd had my eye on that reel for a while and that's $20 less than most places list it for, so I felt like that was a solid deal on a well-liked reel. So that leaves the rod. I could still go up to $60-70 and be within the ballpark of where I needed to stay (hopefully I have enough spare line in the garage to spool it and don't have to buy a new spool LOL). Here are my contenders so far that are in that ballpark range, rods that I've heard good feedback on and seem to feel good in the store: H2O Xpress Ethos HD; Daiwa Aird-X; Shimano Sellus. Based on my good experience owning a Dobyns Fury I would include a Dobyns Colt in that list as well, though it doesn't seem to get the same love that the Fury does.

Good questions. As an initial matter, are you fishing from a boat or bank? Bank only changes the answers slightly; for instance as a bank angler there are certain situations where squarebills just don't work. --Topwaters: to some extent it is a guessing game, or rather letting the fish tell you what they want. Obviously some topwaters don't work in certain settings, like Whopper Ploppers aren't good where weeds are at the surface. Frogs are typically thought of for weeds/muck/etc., but don't entirely neglect them for clean water as well. I use topwaters in any situation where the fish are shallow enough to see the bait on the surface (which partly involves water clarity). Most often early morning/late evening, but again that's just a starting point; few weeks ago I had fish dive bombing a WP at 11:00 a.m. My general starting rule is that I like noisier topwaters like WPs and buzzbaits for water with a little chop or breeze, and might try "slower" baits like a frog or a popper in calmer conditions. But, I have had fish blast a WP in calm water and low light like early morning/late evening. Also my experience is if you're bank fishing highly pressured areas, those fish are less likely to hit a topwater than fish in less pressured areas under similar conditions. Start with the default, let the fish tell you, and topwaters are great because the feedback from fish (blowups or no blowups) is pretty obvious. --Chatterbaits and crankbaits: definitely use a leader if you are fishing braid with these. Both for visibility purposes and to provide a little stretch and cushion to keep the fish pinned. Chatterbaits I fish much like a spinnerbait; not so much in clear still water; more so in low light or if there is a breeze putting a chop on the water. Certainly in dirty water where the thump is important in reduced visibility. Chatterbaits you can fish up in the water column like a spinnerbait or hopped more on the bottom like a jig. Let presentation and trailer choice depend on what prey you are trying to imitate: swim it, and use a swimbait-style trailer, if imitating shad or bluegill; hop it and use a craw like trailer if imitating a crawdad. Squarebills I would fish in similar conditions to chatterbaits. Squarebills bounce off wood a little better than chatterbaits. You usually want any crankbait to be digging in the bottom, so that means weedy bottoms might not be best unless you want to swim it over the top.

I know it's a hair above the Sienna in price but give a look at the Daiwa Aird-X spinning rod. They make an UL model as well as the ML which I have. It's $54.99 regular price, I'm sure you can find it on sale at some point or a discount code to use, and it is very highly regarded for that price point. Search "Aird" on this forum and you will see, I listened to all of that advice and am glad I did. For a spinning combo I think the rod should get a few more bucks, sensitivity is very important for a spinning rod whereas I have a little more leeway for spinning reels (as compared to baitcasters).

Thanks, I should have jumped all over that one (plus an additional 10% off code because I have never ordered from them) a few weeks ago when it first came out but this tournament opportunity hadn't come along yet. As of today unfortunately all they have are 7'5" and 7'10" H options and I really want to go with a MH for this. ☹️

Well that's good to know. Definitely was not scanning the price but I will start!

Good suggestion...last time I was there a few weeks ago they were regular price, $69, but I'll be sure to check.

To date I've been a mainly bank angler. I usually carry 1 baitcaster and 2 spinning rods. I'm going to start fishing buddy tournaments with a guy who has a boat, and also going to be doing some coangler dates on BFL or similar. I know that at the very least for starters, I need to have another BC because I've got to have at least two of each type of rod to account for disasters as well as have quick change options on the deck. Obviously I recognize that the ideal situation is to have several of each, but I'm at a point where the budget is tight and every last penny counts (especially if I'm going to be factoring in entry fees, sharing gas $ for the boat, etc.). My jack of all trades BC has been a Dobyns Fury MH/F and a Lew's Tournament MP. I like this combo a lot, and I'd love to just go out and pick up another one. Unfortunately the budget requires me to come in quite a bit lower than that. My ideal budget price point would be $120 for the combo, which I recognize is pretty low. I've tentatively landed on Academy options as the best quality at this price point: the H20 Xpress Ethos HD rod, again as a "jack of all trades" in MH/F, and an H20 Xpress Mettle M3. Even at regular price (I'm going to be starting this soon so I can't sit around and wait for sales) this gets me in at just over my budget, at about $130. I haven't used either of these but they seem to get good reviews and I liked the feel of them a lot in the store. Anyone else have any suggestions for a similar balance of quality at my price point? I just want to make sure I'm not missing thinking of anything. And, please work off of regular prices because as I said I unfortunately don't have time to sit around and wait for a sale (which I did with my current BC combo, I got the Fury for $99 on sale and the MP for $99 on sale).

This is the general rule of thumb that I follow as well...BUT it is important to remember that this is only a general rule. I think of it as a starting point especially when I am fishing a new body of water. The good thing about soft plastics is that it is very easy and fast to swap on a different color and then let the fish tell you if they like it or not. Couple of cases in point. The body of water I fish most often is my subdivision HOA pond. The water is generally fairly clear to only slightly stained. I have had a lot of luck with a couple of more natural colors, "Bream"/"Moon Juice" which is a pumpkin green and blue--and I've found that they like more subtle versions of these than the bolder blue of an Okeechobee Blue--and in a Super Fluke, the Bluegill Flash pattern which is again more natural. But, sometimes they prefer Morning Dawn in the ZMan/TRD products, which is the furthest thing from a natural color. I only happened on that through trial and error, and most of the time the fish will very clearly let me know which one they want. Case in point #2, at the MLF at Sturgeon Bay last week, where the water is super clear, many of the top finishers were using Berkley PB Flat Worms in natural-ish colors, but one of the top 10 finishers (I forget which one) was using that same bait in black. Definitely not a color that would be my first choice according to the "general rule" for that super clear water, but he obviously let the fish tell him they liked it.

I'm exploring tournament fishing options with the added caveat that I don't own a boat so it must be as a coangler or team up with a boat owner for buddy type tournaments. Obviously I've looked at the BFL and other similar coangling options and I may do some of them. Have also been networking here in the area to explore more local options. I talked with a boater who fishes buddy tournaments with a local BASS affiliated bass club, and he also fishes some Angler's Choice tournaments, and he offered to let me team up with him. I have not heard of the Angler's Choice circuit before. I have read through their website, rules, looked at results at local lakes, all of that kind of stuff, but I'd like to hear from anyone who has fished their events. Just trying to get a feel on the climate, competition level, that kind of stuff that's not instantly apparent from websites and rules. Any info or experience on these tournaments would be great. Thanks much.

This is exactly what I was going to say. Not sure what your budget is, but if you can go a little over $100, the Dobyns Fury 703C is a great rod that fits the MH/F category. If you're more in the $50-60 ballpark, I recently picked up a Daiwa Aird-X spinning rod, and if the casting rod is as good as the spinning rod, it would be a great deal in that price range.

I would suggest that as your first baitcaster, you should aim for something very middle of the road/jack of all trades. To me that's a 7' or 7'3" MH/F action. As you said this would also complement your M spinning outfit. I think it might be easier for people to suggest specific rods/reels if you throw out a ballpark budget figure. Having said that, the Lew's combo you mentioned is certainly a solid combo. For line, I would suggest for a beginner a copolymer. I use Sufix Advance after lots of people here recommending it, and it is a great choice. It is the best of mono and fluoro, soft and supple like mono but much more sensitivity and less stretch, like fluoro.

Thanks a lot for the review. I have been looking at several of the H20 Express lineup (the TAC40, the Mettle reel, the Ethos HD rods) and I hear a lot of good things about them but just haven't pulled the trigger on any of them yet. Not sure why, because they sure fit into my budget better than a lot of gear. Anyone know how the TAC40 compares to the Mettle bc reel? Just wondering in particular if there are certain characteristics that make the extra $40-something for the TAC40 worth it. It sure looks to me that a TAC40 (or even a Mettle) on an Ethos HD rod would be a pretty solid combo for the money.

Ditto on the Aird. Got one a couple of months ago in ML, paired it with a Daiwa Regal. That Aird has re-energized fishing my local, highly pressured bank spots with mainly dinks. It is so much more fun with that rod, partly because the ML makes catching dinks fun, but largely because the Aird is super sensitive for a rod in that price range and I can feel so many nibbles and light takes with it. I dig my Dobyns Fury spinning rod in M, but I'll be preaching the Aird to anyone looking sub-$100 for a great spinning rod for a long time.

Add me to the list. I recently picked up a Regal LT to pair with a ML Daiwa Aird, as I wanted to add a ML combo to my lineup but not spend a lot. I was extremely impressed by the Regal. Sahara was my other most recent spinning reel acquisition. Paired with a Dobyns Fury. I was likewise extremely impressed by it. For wacky rig and dropshot applications, I would put most of your budget toward the rod since sensitivity is going to be key for that use. Either the Regal or the Sahara should be a perfectly good reel to supplement a top-notch rod.

Anyone use the Missile Baits Ned Bomb as a dropshot bait? I was in the store this evening looking for some new dropshot baits and the Ned Bomb seemed like it might work well even though it's not marketed as a dropshot bait. When it comes to true Ned baits, it's hard for me to use anything other than Zman just because of the buoyancy.

...mainly because it seems to happen so rarely ?. Late yesterday afternoon we had a gully washer, a typical summer late afternoon storm. "The book" says that the fish in my subdivision pond should be in the storm sewer inflow, with all that oxygenated food-laden water pouring in, and by golly they were. They were stacked like firewood in the drain where the storm sewer comes in. Couple of weeks ago, I had one blow up on a Whopper Plopper and miss. "The book" says to immediately throw a worm or some similar bait where it happened. I tossed in a shaky head and by golly, that fish nailed it and was the biggest of the morning. Only problem is these two examples aren't remotely representative of my usual experience. Usually "the book" ends up being thrown out of the boat or into the pond by the end of the day.

I'm sure it has some effect on casting as the knot passes through the guides, but so long as I am tying a good tight knot and the ends are trimmed as closely as possible, it is certainly not noticeable. However, what did cause me problems when I started using braid/leader was if the leader was long enough to sit on my spool when casting. No matter how closely I trimmed the ends, eventually the knot would grab a loop of line as it came off the reel and cause big problems. Based on that, I make my leaders just short enough so that the knot sits between the reel and the first guide when ready to cast. As someone else said, for fishing purposes you could probably go shorter but that just leads to more often having to retie the leader from tying new baits/hangups/etc.

https://shopdunns.com/product/daiwa-revros-freshwater-spinning-combo-rev25-4bi-g662m/ Daiwa Revros M spinning combo on sale for $49.99 at a local sporting goods chain here in St. Louis. Please buy all of these up so that the rack of them in the store will stop tempting me every time I go in, even though I have absolutely no need for another M spinning combo right now.

Just a couple of weeks ago I wanted to get a "cheap" spinning reel to fill with copolymer and swap out with the Daiwa Regal on my ML spinning rod, which is loaded with braid, when I use that rod for crappie fishing. I got the Shimano Sienna, and to do the same thing on my son's spinning rod, a Lew's Laser Lite spinning reel. Both are $29.99 at Academy and seemed to get the best reviews in that price range. I guess at this point I shouldn't be surprised by the quality of any Shimano product, but I was really surprised and impressed by the Sienna. Can't speak to longevity yet, but it seems like an unbelievably solid and smooth reel for that price point...and at that point longevity is not really an issue. Actually the Lew's Laser Lite seems like a really solid product too, though it's funny b/c it is great in a "Lew's" kind of way, while the Sienna is great in a "Shimano" kind of way, if that makes any sense. I'm really happy with both.