Gazz

That’s great to hear. My 6th sense perch provoke 106 just came in last week so I’ll have it on the water Sunday. Hopefully I have similar results.

So maybe I’m just not placing the bait where there are bass? Do perch, pickerel and bass tend to hang around the same areas? Am I likely to find bass in an area where I’m finding a lot of pickerel and perch?

I have recently been trying to mix in some more perch colored baits into my rotation as my lake is riddled with yellow perch and white perch. The yellow perch seem to be more dominant in the spring and then the white perch explode around summer time. I have always done really well with colors that mimic (what I believe are) white perch but it seems like the only thing that I catch with yellow perch baits are YELLOW PERCH. It’s like they are just dying to eat their own kind. I have also always done well with bluegill colors. Does bass just not feed on yellow perch as often or are the yellow perch so aggressive that they don’t give the bass a chance to get to my bait before they do? Any advice from some experience would be greatly appreciated. For reference, it seems like the majority of bait fish in my lake are yellow and whit perch, bluegill and some type of schooling minnows. I’ve added some pictures below. One is the fish I believe to be white perch. I have also caught a fair amount with a green tint to them.

So you’re saying that I should NOT get my truck repoed to get my next setup?

Shimano Chronarch MGL on a Shimano Expride A - $550 total.

I know how you feel. I am still new in regards to getting back into fishing a bit more religiously. I had an arsenal of 3-4 rods that I really just didn't like and regretted that I didn't know more at the time. I kept a few core pieces and completely rebuilt. It costs some money and takes some time. Luckily for me, I had a bit already tucked away and decided to build on that while researching what I wanted to get instead of just impulse buying things I wasn't sure about. I took it slow over the winter and fell into a nice deal or sale on pretty much every piece of equipment that I wanted to get. They were all on my wish list but I had to wait until the time was right to get a nice deal for most. Now it feels great to get out there with nice gear that I know is going to feel the way I want it to. I am sure that I will continue to tinker and my opinions will change but it's a solid start. I would recommend doing some research and possibly trying a few different brands. As others have said, you can easily round out an arsenal with just 3 rods if they are the right rods. I think a medium/fast or medium/mod-fast, medium-heavy/fast and a heavy/fast would likely cover all your bases for awhile. If you get a few nice rods that feel good, you will feel better about using them for a variety of different applications. There will also be some crossover.

It is very sad to see any piece of equipment lost to the water gods. Luckily for you, you can buy new stuff! I can tell you that I recently got a chronarch and put it on a shimano expride A MH/F and I am struggling with the idea of buying a different rod or reel ever again. It just feels so good. I know it’s a little over your set budget point but I would really consider the extra few bucks to get a supreme setup. The insane sensitivity in the expride will allow you to use it for a ton of things. I’m probably biased at this point as I have fallen in love with this setup.

I have a medium fast and MH/mod/F that I use both for different cranks and other things. The medium is great for smaller cranks and the MH feels better for bigger cranks and deepish diving cranks. I prefer my MH for divers past 7-9 feet.

That’s terrible. Luckily for me my lake is in my backyard and there’s nobody telling me I can’t go out there.

Agreed. Joe’s Sporting Goods has a curado at my door within 3 days of ordering somehow. It was amazing. But when I think of baits I want for my next weekend trip (or now the following weekend trip) I still go to TW and order. I am still keeping an eye out for deals elsewhere.

Unfortunately, it seems like a bit of a wait regularly. I’m guessing that they are just processing them as quickly as they can but it’s been about 4-6 days before I get a shipping notification and I also always pay the $5 or $10 depending on my impatience. I have about 4 different orders (I know it’s dumb to split them up but my mind thinks of things at the worst times) and I just got a shipping email for 2 of them and waiting for the others. However, they did get my expride out in about 2 days so maybe higher priced items are made a priority. It’s still not so bad considering what they are probably dealing with.

I’ve been using my Lew’s 7’ MH/F TP1 Black for chatterbaits/spinnerbaits and it feels great. I feel every little movement through the blank. I think it fishes above the $130 price tag.

I would agree here. I have 2 Curado Ks and an SLX DC. I had intended on getting a Curado DC but decided that I'd prefer to have that extra cost go toward upgrading the quality of the reel rather than adding the DC tech. I really like the DC and it is a fun reel to have but I immediately realized that the quality is my priority. I ended up getting a Chronarch MGL instead of the Curado DC and I am deeply in love with it. I recently got my new expride to slap it onto and I might never look back.

I have an SLX DC and 2 regular Curado Ks. I think the price difference really comes down to some upgraded internals as someone else mentioned. I love both reels and the SLX DC has actually performed beyond my expectations. The curado definitely feels smoother with the better gearing but it honestly isn't an insane difference. I think the real difference will likely be how long it holds us. Those upgraded internals will likely get you more life out of the reel than the SLX but they both feel amazing right now. Also, this ^^^

I would also go Dobyns Fury out of those 3. Bass X next. 7’ medium fast or medium heavy fast. I personally think the fury and pretty close to top of the pack at that price point. I have a fury that I use along side a lews tp1 black, kistler argon and shimano expride and it still holds it’s own for me. 8-10 lb fluoro is nice. If you’re sticking to senkos, T rigs and a little cranking then the medium is probably good.

What do you use it for? I’m in the process of selling mine after replacing it with an expride. It felt so bulky and mushy. Really nice looking but I couldn’t stand the feel. I watched my jig drag over a pile of rocks and could barely feel anything in the rod.

I think you might be over thinking it a bit at this point. Getting both the MH and the H will likely cover everything you’re talking about. Once you get them, try both setups with your desired Jig sizes and see which one feels better to you. I have a H setup that I’ve used for 3/8 oz jigs and it didn’t feel right so I tried it on one of my stiffer MH setups and it feels great. Just have to try different things and fee it in your hands. You will cover mostly everything you need with the MH and H though. Just at a medium spinning rod and you’re pretty well covered until you want to start to get really detailed.

I wouldn't necessarily consider the toadface a dedicated frog rod. I think that's why he mentions it. I should handle frogs and 1/2 oz jigs very well which seems to be what you are looking for. If you are solely looking to stay with the expride then that's different. I personally am getting the toadface to have a really nice frog rod that I can use for jigs and other things while I'm not frogging. I don't frog all that much either so the toadface should be great for heavier jigs when not frogging. It is also designed for swimjigs as well as frogs. Just something to consider.

I’m in the exact same boat as well. My 7’2 MH expride is in the mail and the zolo toadface coming soon after. A buddy of mine swears by the toadface as a frog rod that can do a lot of others things as well so I’m taking his word for it.

Well I ordered my reel late Tuesday night. Then got a shipping notification Wednesday around noon. Now it is somehow in my mailbox as of 9:30 a.m. today and I live in Massachusetts. Joe’s is LEGIT!

I was just about to say the same thing. Ordered late last night and got my shipping notification by noon. Much faster than I expected. If only they had more exprides with different powers.

Sorry. I might have taken the last one. Lol

Yeah no kidding. I just got my new chronarch last week and I have an expride in the mail right now. $200 in baits on the way and I just ordered a curado and a few spools. I'm going to need to sit in the bushes to intercept the mailman so my old lady doesn't feel the need to tell me her thoughts on why it only takes 1 fishing rod to catch a fish. https://www.joessportinggoods.com/1-102341.html Oh look! I found something in close to that speed. Maybe not exactly what you were looking for but it should do. ?

Haha it’s funny you say that. I just did the same thing. Curado and 3 spools of invizx for about $200. Not bad.

Nevermind. After some research I can see that Joe’s is a legit store just not local to me. It also looks like they have a ton of stuff on sale like curados, chronarchs and virtually everything else they carry.