jdr99a

Thanks so much. Do you know if these were discontinued or are they an exclusive item for particular retailers?

Like many, I’m a big fan of the ZMan bladed jig. I’ve got a bunch and they flat out work. bladed jig assigns numbers to their colors - 01 white, 02 chartreuse/white etc. The numbers go to 29 including a few exclusive TW colors. But… Does anyone have any clue what numbers 19 and 20 are? I’ve scoured all the places I know of and can’t find them. I assume they are some sort of distributor/retailer exclusive but I can’t find any info. Anyone have any info?

30 pound smackdown braid to a 15 pound mono leader - typically maxima ultragreen, but whatever I’ve got handy is fine.

Clinch knot or palomar are the typical knots I tie. I don’t typically have problems with these knots on finesse lures in spinning gear. invisix, suffix siege, daiwa samurai are the ones I’ve used so far for bfs.

I’ve been playing around with bfs for awhile and am having lots of fun. Little treble hooked baits are no problem and are a blast. Where im having a problem is with the soft plastics. I’ve been breaking off on 1/4 of my hooksets or so and I just can’t figure it out. Multiple connection knots same result. I generally go braid to leader (15lb braid to 7 or 8lb fluoro) about 8-10 feet of leader. I re-tie regularly. To be clear- I am breaking off at the lure, not the leader. It gets a little bit better when I go straight fluoro, but I manage the casts so much better with braid and get a bit more sensitivity. I’ve got a jdm slx bfs reel and one of the new bps carbonlite finesse casting rods. Any tips on how to minimize breaking off?

Without getting into the Shimano Aldabaren price range, are there any tiny baitcasters (50 size or so) that are worth having and using for a travel setup? I want an ultra compact baitcaster to throw in the back of the car/lugage when traveling. Ultimately I’m looking for the smallest knock around reel that is cheap enough I wouldn’t feel bad losing/breaking/etc. I’ve got a profishiency tiny but mighty reel…but that’s about as good as you’d expect.

As a fellow bank angler I’ve been in your shoes. My advice is to leave the bulk of your tackle at home or in the car. I suggest building a ‘day box’ based on the place/time/conditions you are fishing. If you’re anything like me, you know the areas you fish pretty well so you know what to expect. I suggest having a smallish terminal box, a single 3700 for hard baits, and a variety of soft plastics in a simplified color selection. If you’re around fish they’ll bite something you’ve got.

Anyone have experience with the 6’7’’ weightless worm casting rod? What else would it be good for? 6’7’’ seems a bit short for a worm rod.

I’ve recently tied a slinko in the okeechobee craw color and wacky rigged it. I’ve had success with it. It seems to be a good worm…but in all honesty it would be hard for Yamamoto to screw up something that simple.

I’ve got a BPS carbonlite 2 in 7’ ML. I use it as a semi-bfs rod for light cranks/topwater and an occasional Ned rig. Works like a charm and fits your budget.

I’m a fan of 10lb smackdown.

I bought that exact for the rare occasions I deep crank. Works great. If I were to deep crank more often I’d probably buy a purpose-built reel for it, but this one works perfectly well.

I’ve got the 6-10 ml for neds and I absolutely love it. I haven’t fished the 7-2 to compare though.

Ditto. But I, too, have switched to the spunk shad.

My favorite bait for small ponds is a little Berkley lunch worm. If I’m just looking to get a bite that’s what I’m reaching for.

I’ve got 3 DC models - the SLX, Curado, and Metanium. Where they excel for me is in the wind and with non-aerodynamic lures like spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. They are not backlash proof, and they aren’t God’s gift to casting reels, but they have their niche. Like others have said, an SLX mgl would be my choice to start with.

Anyone with experience on the 8 or 10xd rods from lews? While they should be able to handle the deeper stuff well, how do they handle squarebill/lipless baits? I don’t do a lot of deep cranking but am looking to add a rod to my arsenal that can be versatile enough to do crank multiple depths with.

That’s awesome information and exactly the insight I need. Thanks for taking the time to respond!

I once backlashed 2 reels on one cast. I was pond fishing with a backpack and had a combo in the rod holder. I had just done some reel maintenance and didn’t set my spool tension on either reel. I reared back and slung my lipless pretty hard…except I caught the line of combo in my rod holder. The reel in my hand blew up like crazy as you would expect but the worst part was the reel in the rod holder got all kinds of tangled as well. Not a good start to the morning.

We’re staying in a nice house on the water this July near Mystic, CT (near the mystic harbor which is saltwater). I’ve got a 7ft MH travel casting rod that I plan on bringing with me. The problem is that I only know how to fish for bass (and then, only sometimes -ha). I don’t care what I catch out there, I just want to catch something. I assume something like a saltwater rattle trap or paddle tail in a jig head would catch multi species out there. Does that sound about right? What kind of line should I spool up? Is 15 pound fluorocarbon too light? Too heavy? Should I go braid? Braid to leader? Mono? I’m clueless when it comes to saltwater, but I want brainless lures that can catch just about anything out there.

I’ve got 3 dc reels that I’ll use in certain conditions. Where the excel for me is when throwing spinnerbaits or buzzbaits. All those blades and skirts can wreak a bit of havoc when the wind shows up and this is where they really excel. That being said, I generally prefer my mgl spools for just about anything else. Also, I may be in the minority, but I absolutely love the sound the dc reels make.

The expride 6’10” is considered a fantastic jerkbait rod. I don’t throw a lot of jerkbaits but would it be as successful as a dedicated popper rod? I’m a fan of the expride line in general but would appreciate your feedback on performance with poppers (or other smaller topwater lures) before dropping the $ on it.

Thanks for the replies. I’m really looking at baits the size of the burrito or magdraft. I’m not planning on using it for the really big baits.

I’m in the market for a swimbait rod specifically for single hook soft swimbaits is the dobyns fury 795 rod a good fit for that application or is that more of the treble hooked hard baits? Any recommendations for an entry level (say $150ish) single hook swimbait rod?

I keep a tfo traveler mh rod and a Shimano slx spooled with 15lb fluorocarbon ready to go. I’ve got a Fanny pack with a few speedworms and paddletails and a small box of terminal tackle. That covers 95% of what I’d need if I got a wild hair to stop somewhere.