West Fishigan

Where was this?

Seems like the Tranx 300s all have 18-22 lbs of drag, while the K 200's drag is 11 lbs. Would this K 300 have drag similar to the Tranx 300, or just a larger line capacity?

Yes. This. Currently 4 3600 size boxes, 1 ziplock gallon bag full of soft plastics in clamshell packaging below. 2 10" tackle binders with soft plastics (worms in one, creatures, craws, etc, in the other) in the top with some ice packs to keep the plastics from melting, and a 3700 thin slid down behind it all for my terminal tackle. Plus scent, leader line, misc. tools. Stuffed into a spiderwire backpack I got from Meijer.

Just experimented. If I turn it over and shake it, there is definitely some migration of hooks up to the 3/0s. It seems to be minor, and I did shake the crap out of it, but trying to give an honest review.

I actually don't have the Terminal box, which has the inner boxes; I have the 3700 Thin. I tried the Terminal box before getting the Thin. The box sits vertically in my backback, and I've not had issues with hooks spilling over, but I only really have two sets of smaller hooks, the 2/0 EWGs and 2/0 & 1/0 dropshots. There is a small gap between the lid and the top of the dividers that very small hooks might be able to get through if the box was really flipped and really jostled around. The Terminal box with its inner boxes would definitely prevent that.

Ha! That is exactly what the significant other told me. I told her if I started with label making, there would be no end to the madness. Up to and possibly including the label maker itself. I appreciate it, but full disclosure, there were a number of reprints. My everyday handwriting looks like a 7 year old was given five cups of coffee and told to write out the chinese alphabet in ancient Sanskrit on a dirty paper towel. I saw another post on this forum about that Terminal Box from Academy and took a look at it online for comparison. I really like the box as displayed, especially at that price, but the nearest academy is a loooong way from me here in West MI, and I do try to buy from my local small tackle shops as much as possible. I picked up the thin 3700 edge for $25 at a local place, and I feel pretty happy with that price point. If I lived in range of an Academy, it might be a different story. Also, I found those labels for $1.50 at my local meijer. They are "reuseable" which i took to mean they wouldn't leave too much sticky residue when peeled off to readjust the box layout. I struggled as well, and only spent the money after trying some cheaper, less satisfactory alternatives. I also looked at how many of the super cheap boxes I had that were not as durable or as functional and would need to be replaced every few years. This Edge box is incredibly sturdy and customizable, and I can't imagine it breaking down for years if not decades. I have not yet been able, but intend to use them for this "Powershot" technique I have read about, but I couldn't bring myself to actually write out a label that said "Powershot" because it sounds like a bad action movie title; definitely starring Jean Claude Van-Damme. Is 5/0 getting crazy for that technique? P.S. I used your handy rubber band technique for hardbaits/treble hooks storage and 3 months in I am quite pleased with results. Have good impressions of Nunica because I got my golden retriever from a family there about 10 years ago this February; real nice area, reminds me of the small town I grew up in on the east side. Definitely looking to absorb knowledge about this stuff, especially drop shotting, so any advice is welcome.

Taking some of the suggestions on terminal tackle storage from the forum, I opted for a Plano Edge Thin 3700 box. Did this take me an entire evening? Yes. Did I have to peel off, rewrite, and reposition each label so they were near perfectly straight? Yes. Did I enjoy every moment of it? Also yes. Does anybody enjoy the preparation and organization part of fishing almost as much as the fishing itself?

Post-weekend update: Not many catches (cold front passed through late last week), but my dreams were punctuated by the pleasant whir of the digital braking system. ? Also, the sensitivity of the AVS68MXF is fantastic!! All in all, very happy. Thanks everyone.

Never forget the stores that offer price match. If its on sale at Cabelas/BPS, Sportsmens Warehouse will match the price, and vice versa. Just did this Thursday at SW, all I had to do was show them the Cabela's ad on my phone and boom, $80 of a Stradic Ci4+. I am guessing there are other regional chains who have similar price match offers.

Thank man! If you are in Wisconsin, I would guess the conditions you fish are fairly similar to mine in West Michigan, ie, lots of clear natural lakes. Out of curiosity, where do you fall on rod length preference for an ML/XF used for dropshotting? Do you prefer a 7'?

Thank you! I can already hear the bait monkey whispering about how a medium light spinning rod would make a great dedicated dropshot rod. He also likes boats, which seems a little out of his bait related territory and is, IMO, just being obnoxious. Thank you man, I'm so pumped! I started about 2-3 years ago, so I've had a lot of time to absorb knowledge found on the web, especially this site and especially the helpful videos. I honestly think Glenn is one of the best all around presenters in this format out there, and there are a lot to choose from. One of the first hurdles is just absorbing the terminology so you can understand the dialogue. It's a big hurdle, because there is a lot to take in and sometimes different things are called by different names, ie splitshot rig/mojo rig, not to mention the disagreements between very knowledgeable folks about techniques, equipment, and so on. I find I am hitting a point now where I can understand more than half the conversations going on, so my rate of learning is increasing. You'll get there too. T-rigged stick baits are what really got me going with fishing!

Thank you man! I can't even sleep, I'm so excited about the weekend. Your advice makes a lot of sense. I actually created a fishing log spreadsheet early in the spring (not proud of this level of nerd-dom) so I can track results, see what works, when, where, etc. The reel maintenance point was even better. When i was rolling with big box store combos, I didn't think about it much. The shimano reels all came with some oil, I'm going to put this insomnia to work and find some reel maintenance vids right now. Also, document retention is no problem; still have the bank statements from my first "Young Saver" or whatever account at my local credit union from 25 years back. You know, just in case. Ha! Receipts go in the "Fishing" file folder in my actual file cabinet. Dang things are really adding up to.

I supply the catnip. I know a guy. Actual pic of the cat.

After much research on this site, reviews on TackleTour, etc., I completely overhauled my mostly cheapie starter rods and reels with the intention of upgrading while also incorporating the practical 3-rod approach roadwarrior suggested some years ago. Made the final purchases today; feels like freakin Xmas. Here's where I ended up: AVC70MHF paired with Curado DC (7.4:1) - All purpose rod with 30-40lb braid to a 8-12lb leader: heavier T-rigs, carolina rigs, jigs, spinnerbaits, large plastics, large swimbaits, topwater, light pitching/flipping (two techniques I haven't used much yet). AVS68MXF paired with Stradic Ci4+ C3000HG (6.0:1) - All purpose finesse rod with straight 8lb invizx: light plastics, light t-rigs, small swimbaits, jerkbaits and crankbaits 1/4 oz or less, neds, nekos, wacky-style, shakeyheads, splitshots, but most of all, dropshots. CDCC72M paired with Curado 200K (6.4:1) - Primarily a cranking stick with straight 12lb invizx, but really most treble hook applications, jerkbaits over 1/4 oz, etc. Went with the Avid over the Avid-X because I prefer the full grip. If the Curado cranking rod doesn't work out, I'll look to replace it. I hesitated on the finesse set up for 2 reasons. Cabelas in my area was sold out of the Ci4+ 2500s by 10AM for the big father's day sale. Sportsmen's Warehouse offers price match, but they only had 3000s. I was concerned about the balance with a sub-7ft medium powered rod, but the weight is actually the same (6.7), so I went with the 3000. I could probably hold out until I can find a 2500 if I had to, but is there a reason to? Second was length and action of the spinning rod. Knew I wanted medium power, but wavered between fast and x-fast, as well as 6'6", 6'8" or 7', especially because I love to dropshot. Countless discussions and comments on this site about dropshot specific rods versus dropshot capable rod, etc. etc. The AVS68MXF was specifically mentioned a few times and I chose it over an AVS66MF and an AVS70MF. They all feel great in my hands, balance seems fantastic, and I think they cover the technique spectrum fairly well; I cannot wait to try them out. If there any techniques I'm missing, or you think would be best tried on one of the other rigs, please let me know. Thanks to all out there for sharing their knowledge and experience.

Welcome brother. Live in Grand Rapids, but grew up in the Irish Hills; beautiful area with a lot of lakes to explore. Will be on Round lake one week in July, and looking forward to it! Tight lines man!

I picked up a Shimano Curado K (6.2:1) about a month ago for a Shimano Curado M/M cranking rod. I liked the feel of the Curado reel so much, I went out and got a Curado DC (7.4:1) which I intended for my all-purpose Fenwick MH/F casting rod. A lot of reviews/posts I've seen seem to say the DC excels at tossing crankbaits; should I consider moving the Curado K to my all-purpose rod and putting the DC on my cranking rod? (Set aside the gear ratio aspect of the analysis; I could always exchange the 7.4:1 DC for a 6.2:1 DC). Any thoughts/advice are appreciated.

Had this problem yesterday on the river in downtown Grand Rapids. Struggled for 10 minutes before searching site which helped me solve the problem in 10 seconds. Yay Bass Resource.

After buying very basic rod/reel combos in my local Meijer (where I also buy my groceries) for years when I wasn't fishing much, two summers ago I decided to purchase some better gear since I was becoming much more interested in the sport. I didn't have much experience with baitcasters at the time, so I went with the simplicity of a spinning setup, with a shorter rod to better accommodate me as a shore fisherman. Ended up with a Daiwa DXW 661MXC, 6'6" Medium Power, Extra Fast Action Spinning Rod, paired with a Pflueger President PRESSP30 Spinning Reel (5.2:1 ratio). Mostly using this setup with a light braid mainline (no more than 15 lb), with some type of fluoro or mono leader (between 6-10lb), depending on which finesse technique. The Daiwa rod is actually marketed as a "Walleye" rod, but of course the bass don't seem to know that. While this gear is certainly better than supermarket rod/reel combos, it isn't as nice as it some of the higher end rod and reels I've used. Last summer I forced myself to get over my fear of baitcasters and picked up a Fenwick HMG70MH-FC, 7'0' Medium Heavy Power, Fast Action Casting Rod, and paired it with a Daiwa Tatula 100H Baitcasting Reel (7.3:1 ratio). Mostly used as an all-purpose set up (carolina rigs, heavier T-rigs, jigs, topwater frogs, etc.) Again, mostly with a braid mainline (usually 30-40lb) and some type of lighter leader. I am fairly happy with the Fenwick rod, but the Daiwa Tatula reel is rather loud, not very smooth, and the use of leaders causes issues with the T-Wing system because of the knot. Clearly, I should have done more research on an appropriate reel for my "All-Purpose Rod." This year I added a Shimano Curado CDCC72M, 7'2" Medium Power, Moderate Action Casting Rod, paired with a Shimano Curado 200K Baitcasting Reel (6.2:1 ratio) that I intend to use for my treble hook lures. Right now I have that spooled with pure fluorocarbon (10lb) since I primarily use this set up for crankbaits and jerkbaits. While working a baitcaster with fluorocarbon has presented some challenges, with some tweaks to the braking system, I am in love with the smoothness of the Shimano Curado reel. Seriously like butter, at least compared to the Daiwa Tatula. I assume the Curado rods are set for a new model, because I got it on clearance for about $100, down from $160. With the above options, I think I can cover most techniques, though I may be missing a few. Regardless, the bait monkey seems to have his hold on me at the moment, and I have been looking to upgrade my spinning set up to something a little nicer, and also considering replacing the Daiwa Tatula reel because of the aforementioned issues. Is it worth the money to upgrade my spinning set up? Any suggestions for a good baitcasting reel to replace the Daiwa Tatula on my all-purpose rig? Am I just letting my desire to have a perfect set up drive me to feed the monkey? Would appreciate any feedback.

Made that same trek around Pickerel myself looking for the non-existent 2nd boardwalk seen on old images. Oh well, figure a short hike on a nice trail is never a total loss. You ever have any luck fishing off the short dock on the east-ish side of the lake?

Welcome brother. I am in Grandville; have lived in/around GR for the most part for 20 years. Your story is a lot like mine; started fishing a lot about 3 years ago and have really got into it. I have learned almost everything from different websites; mostly here, but I have seen some of the bassresource stuff. It's amazing what you can learn from online videos and forums. I also like the guy from Thundermist who has a "Boatless Angler" series of videos that were pretty helpful. I don't have a boat, but I fish from the shore and use waders, so I can cover a decent amount of water. Have tried a number of spots around Kent and Ottawa counties. There are 2-3 Open Spaces (like huge County parks) within 15ish minutes (Bend Area Open Space; Grand River Open Space; Bass River Recreation Area). Each of these has a number of large ponds or small lakes, some bayous, creeks, and all have frontage on the Grand River, if you don't mind a bit of a hike sometimes. https://www.miottawa.org/Parks/bendarea.htm https://www.miottawa.org/Parks/grand_river_open.htm https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/parksandtrails/details.aspx?id=436&type=SPRK Pickerel Lake just north of Cannonsburg has a nice boardwalk across the water, and I've caught some fish from there. I'm going to go wade there soon, but further back off the trails where there are less people. https://www.kentcountyparks.org/PickerelLake/ That thing you said about not liking to try new things, I just want to say I feel personally attacked by that very relatable content. Ha!!! ? I am not very familiar with river fishing, and I have a lot to learn there. I was down on the Grand River just below the dam this afternoon and the fish were very active; caught one fish that I still have no idea what it was. Going to head back soon and throw some topwater stuff since I could see fish breaking the surface all over. Hit me up if you want to talk locations, techniques, equipment, etc. I've picked up a few things I can share, and I am sure I could learn from you as well.

Thanks a lot man. Took the day off and I'm headed out to give it a try!

Truer statement was never made!

Safety definitely comes first; my golden retriever would be real upset if I didn't come home. Luckily for me Glenn is correct; I'm around 100 miles WSW as the crow flies from the chaos. Just hoping no one up there gets hurt. Thank you for your responses. Thank you for your response. Do you primarily work the edges of the brush line with something like a slow rolled spinner or crank, or get right into the thick of it with something weedless?

According to the Bass Forecast ratings and the lunar fishing calendar, the next few days are rated highly and I was looking forward to getting out there. However, the last few days have rained like crazy, and the water levels are very high. Question: is it worth trying to fish in such conditions, if so, are the fish in their usual areas or does the heavy rain/high water level move them to unpredictable locations? Any help is appreciated.