BrianMDTX

I took a quick 30 minute trip to the pond after work. Only caught one bass about 1.5 lbs. No matter. Just getting the feel of the new rig. Man, I am truly impressed. I’m not sure what the actual rod weighs (can’t find that spec anywhere) but it is light. But not a noodle. I was caught up in some weeds when the bass took the weightless Senko TR and I barely snapped the rod tip up and the hookset on a 3/0 Gammy EWG went through to the bend. I normally buy something and like it but it’s not often I really like it. I really like it!

Ok, I like those. My local Academy should have those in stock. Maybe lol.

What make/model hook is that?

That’s how I’ve fished a WR since I started. With mono or YZH I rarely lost a fish. When I saw the line move on a semi-slack line, I raised the rod and reeled in the slack and the fish was hooked. It’s my speculation as well. I may either switch hooks or just use another rig spooled with 6 lb Berkeley XL. I may try those.

As I had no issues when I had copolymer spooled on the reel, I’m confident it’s not the hook. Unless octopus circle hooks are great with YZH or mono but not the best choice for braid. I know I don’t want to wait too long to reel in the line to set the hook as I don’t want the bass to swallow the bait.

I’ve done a bit of reading on recommended line for wacky rigs but...I had been using 8 lb YZH with a 1/0 octopus circle hook and recently switched to 20 lb Sufix 832 with a 6 lb YZH leader. What I’ve noticed lately is that I’ve missed a few fish. What I do is when a bass takes the bait is raise the rod tip and reel the line in tight and the hook sets. With 8 lb YZH it was very rare to miss a bass. My best guess is that braid, with no stretch, is pulling the bait out of the bass’s mouth before a good hookset. Maybe. Before I respool with YZH or hybrid, who uses braid w/leader for wacky rigs, and if so, do you have any issues with hooksets?

No, Amazon Prime. $129.99 and free shipping. A lot of rods on their website are out of stock. Like everyone else. Mine is the All ‘Round Fast. Catchy name lol.

I bought mine on Amazon Prime with free shipping. Ordered on 3/22, arrived on 3/26.

That sounds logical.

I’m guessing it’s more storage temps than simple use. If they’re in a tackle box in the shade, they’re likely fine. But left out in the sun, probably not lol. Who knows? Rig one on a EWG hook like you described on a Texas rig and maybe a bass comes up to investigate. Rather than “meh” and swimming off he detects that scent wafting off the Stinky Ball and hits it. Maybe. Maybe the bass noses the bait and thinks OMG that stinks and vacated the area. I’d be willing to try a pack and see.

So do I. Hauling them in skimming the surface is (to me) not much fun. I love it when you have a decent bass hooked and almost to the boat (or bank) and it makes that last hard run and I hear the drag letting out some line. To me, that’s fishing!

That demonstration sounds like it’s more the physical properties of monofilament line over a distance vs drag. Any line over distance that stretches is going to have less of an impact on the drag. Did he try that with straight braid?

Having zero experience with upper echelon rods, I cannot make fair comparisons. I have two Daiwa Aird-X’s, a Daiwa Procyon, two Fenwick HMX’s and a St. Croix Bass-X. Nice rods all, but nothing most would say are mid-tier rods. Not even sure if many would label the Lowrider as such. But there is a big difference in fit, finish, quality of components and even moreso in sensitivity and ergonomics (the grip is really nice-I could fish this rig all day without fatigue). Great balance, too. I’d really be interested in trying out a Cara.

Neither of the two I caught showed any evidence of a remaining hook and both pulled out easily. Makes me wonder if it was truly lodged in its throat, or was it regurgitating it from its stomach during the fight? Yuck! Sounds nasty!

I think everyone should set their drag the way they prefer. Light, heavy, use the thumb bar, etc. Whatever works for you works for me. I’d rather set the drag at 2-3 lbs and take my guesswork out of the equation during the heat of battle. YMMV

Posted in another thread, but I did go with a Falcon Lowrider LFC-7MHF. It is a very nice rod. Glad I decided to give Falcon a try.

Good question. But to be honest, while I have never to my knowledge had a bass ingest my soft plastic after I hooked it, I have lost Senkos, Zoom Tricks, or other similar baits on snags, fell off while reeling a fish in, etc. It’s possible a bass may have come along and inhaled one of those.

The Falcon arrived yesterday while I was out...fishing lol. My wife texted me “there’s a big, long box on the porch with your name on it”. When I got home it was indeed a long box. That looked bent ? Inside the box was a stout tube marked “Falcon”, and I mean stout. I have quite a few cardboard tubes from shipped rods and this one is without a doubt the heaviest and strongest one. Props to Falcon on that point. Inside the rod was wrapped in plastic, with bubble wrap at the grip, midsection and 8” at the tip. I removed the wrapping and looked at it closely. All guides perfectly straight. Cork looks premium, the maroon color looks sharp and zero bubbles in any epoxy. The guide wraps are exceptional. All-in-all it looked like one heck of a rod for $129.99. But how does it fish? Had to wait until this morning to find out. I put a Daiwa Fuego CT FGCT100XS on it spooled with 12 lb YZH. It’s a 8.1:1 ratio which I like for soft plastics to reel in the slack quickly. Took nothing but soft plastics and the winners of the day were Daiwa/GYBC Neko Machos and 5” Senkos (both Texas rigged). Biggest bass was just under 3.5 lbs. It ran into some sunken brush but I had no problems hauling it out with the Falcon. Sensitivity was very good and the grip handle is perfect. Not too long or too short (for me). Time will tell, but as of today I’m pretty impressed with this Falcon Lowrider!

Never before and now twice in two days. It’s a trend!

Better than yesterday. Fished from the bank with my new rig, a Falcon Lowrider MHF and a Daiwa Fuego CT. Took nothing but soft plastics as it is set up as my worm rig. Tried X Zone and Rage craws. Nada. Tried an electric blue Senko TR. Nope. Switched to a Neko Macho TR. Yup. First one threw the hook as like a dummy, I loosened the drag earlier and didn’t reset it, and the drag let out on the hookset. Not a big bass but still lol. Caught 4 on the Neko Macho-all were 1 to 1.5 lbs. Switched to a Fat IKA. Nuthin’. Went back to a Senko TR, using good ol’ #956. Parallel to the bank under an overhanging tree limb. Starting running as soon as it sank. Not a monster but a better fish for sure. Had a old Yum Dinger stuck in his craw! Very pleased with the new rig!

Wow. Two in two days! This one had what appears to have been a Yum Dinger. Thought it was a Senko but it has the hook slot like Dingers do.

Whatta dumb bass! ?

Went out this morning. Caught four (although one on a Senko was maybe 1” longer lol). Biggest was 1.5 lbs. This one was a pounder that swallowed a Zoom Trick. It took the hook deep. I got it out with zero blood loss, but I needed to get the Trick out of the way to see what I was doing. But something else was in its mouth as well as my worm. I had to remove that as well. I looks like a craw bait, but OMG how long was it in that bass’s stomach to end up looking like that? It was very soft and falling apart. I would have liked to have taken a pic of the Trick and this in its mouth, but was didn’t waste time due to how deeply it was hooked.

I like Zoom Mag 2 worms for that. Fished just like @roadwarrior says.

Well, many years ago my dad always told me 7 wraps for an IC. I think most use 5-6 wraps. I still use 7 for 6, 8, 10 and 12 lb mono. Never had a problem.