GetFishorDieTryin

Yes, I'm familiar with them. They're essentially an import company that uses decent blanks. Initially they made an inshore rod called the Sloopster that was a great all around 3/8-1.5oz artificial rod and the Dark Matter OB Surf which is like a 10' Suzuki rod based off a MB model, which they did very well. Josh from JandH was the original importer as far as I know and started connecting his YT associations/network. John Skinner, Rich (fishaholic), EliasV and a few other guys started getting their own rod made by Dark Matter. Now they all have some kind of rod series, especially Skinner. Honestly I think theyre a little over priced, but they aren't bad. Theres a great 8ft Sp/Darter rod, but it runs about $300, which isn't crazy for a good surf rod with decent components. Dark Matter somewhat reminds me of a company like Ark, just with better looking rods. You can get them in DSG now. I have no idea what their customer service is like, but if you buy them from Josh he's really good about standing behind products. I'm not very familiar with slow pitch jigging and the gear, but those rods dont feel too bad. If I were you I would check out Black Hole out of Korea. They make some great inshore/nearshore rods in just about any kind of layout you would want and they are priced really well. A guy on SOL used to distribute them and would put the rods to work all over the country. Daiwa has a new line of jigging rods and theyre supposed to be really nice. Check out the Black Line inshore rods.

It seems to be more of an issue on spinning reels, being on the island we sold almost 4 eggbeaters to every casting reel and stock reflected that. When I worked at a shop the owner was the one who showed me that. When we bought our personal reels we went through every box until we found a really good one. With the Daiwa reels its didn't seem to matter how much they cost. You could get an Exceler with a perfect tolerance or get a Certate with a 4mm of slop in the knob, but the lateral handle play was generally solid. The problem is when the connection has play it makes the entire reel feel sloppy. I suspect they did it to sell aftermarket. When my boss said something to the sales rep, who he had known most of his life, he said that Daiwa does some strange things. He felt the mechanism for the bail on the BG was superior to the ones on the higher end reels. I wasn't there, Im not sure what he meant by that, if it was better at reducing false or premature closure, or if it was a more positive feel.

I would want at least a 4/0 gap for a bait that thick. You just don't want a longer shaft length, that could stiffen the bait up.

Ive got 10 YO OG superslick on one of my shimanos. Its been on the same reel for 3 years and performs as well as you could expect the older version of SS PP to perform. I don't see anything but UV or extreme temp variation over years hurting PE.

Right so why in the world cant shimano or daiwa do that for a 500$ reel. Thats one thing that ZB and VS do well, the handles are rock solid with parts that won't corrode the second they see SW.

Dont be surprised to hear all kinds of crazy distances. After a little bit of guiding, particularly waterfowl, I've learned that about 7 of 10 people would perish if they're life depended on a quick and accurate estimate of distance. For whatever reason people really struggle with 40 yards. Even when I was still pitching in high school, I could cast about as accurately as I could throw. Pitching a bait is a little different, especially today. If my eyes were better, I would be more effective pitching a bait over 50', but my accuracy and ability to land the bait quietly at 50' isn't great, it really falls off after that distance. Usually, I can get within 35' of a fish without spooking it, at that distance I can put my bait in an area a little bigger than a softball. I put a little more importance on knowing the behavior of the fish and its orientation in the cover. It doesn't matter how accurate you are if you don't know where the fish is or which way he's facing. I guess FFS is a great tool to solve that problem.

SC is really having some issues with a bunch of their lines. I used to be a hardcore SC fan, but in the past 10 years they have tried to do too much or have changed some the best rods they made for the worse. Their lifetime warranty is gone so buying an Elite or Extreme really lost a key benefit. They have improved as far as balance, but at what cost? Some of their newer SC3+ blanks don't have the sensitivity a 25 year old Premier has because of what they have done to the actions. For decades the Avid Inshore was one of the best rods in its class. You would happily pay 300+ for a good blank and the Fuji Ti Sic guide trains which were essentially impervious to SW. SC decided that they would increase the price to nearly 400$ and replace the Ti guides with CC SS. IDC what kind of coating they have, they will corrode over time. I could get 2 Mojo Inshore for the same price, if it wasn't for the fact they ruined the name by skimping on QC and testing the production models. That led to 10s of thousands of defective blanks that break on a deep load. For months they charged loyal customers fees to replace these rods 2 and 3x @40$ a pop, until finally admitting it was a defect in the blank material. The whole trigon thing was a marketing gimmick that again gave a loved line of rods a poor reputation. The first I saw one in my buddy's shop I winced at the clunky plastic, look and price tag. My buddy said, they will be on clearance within a few months if he couldn't get rid of the promo shipment. Hopefully SC comes their senses and loses the trigon grip on the Physyx line, if they dont sell very well. The Black Bass line looks pretty solid. They're using proven components and popular models are available at the PP of the last great Mojo generation. Maybe SC needs to concentrate on their established lines a little more. It seems like they're trying to do too much, too fast and the cracks are really starting to show. Apologies for the rant.

Pointers are solid JBs but one of the first things I noticed was how quickly the ghost minnow rashes up. You don't get the color options, but the quality with Duo is as good or better IMO. Ive got beat up Rozantes, but they've caught well over 50 pickerel. One bait that LC does make that is kind of unique is the wander, which thankfully they started making again. Duo makes a similar bait, but their either too small or too heavy.

Did the same thing when I was younger. A 4" senko was a go to, no matter the season for many years. I always tried to find a better rod as I got older but found that higher end rods didnt always mean better performance. Since the vast majority of bites will come on slack line, not many of those bites will translate very well through the guide and into the blank. The better guide train and blanks were lighter and faster. The light weight was nice, but the faster tip means a smaller sweet spot and often doesn't load as deep so casting distance can suffer. You definitely are on the right track already, spinning gear is the way to go for weightless senko IMO. I would think a MH XF is a little overkill for a 4" senko, but if you like it, make sure you find something that feels good in hand and will get the job done. I suggest looking at the 7' MH F Tatula Elite Shakey Head. Its got the tip of a M power, but the lower end of a MH, essentially you get the sensitive tip, but you have the power to drive a hook through the bait at distance. Try to get one in your hand before you buy it. A Zodias wouldnt be bad either, but I really prefer a rear locking nut to a forward. Using braid you just have to use High viz and line watch. You can switch to FC and get better slack line sensitivity, but FC can be a headache, and its good FC is much more expensive than braid. Going with a lighter reel will give better feel of the overall outfit, just font go too light, a tip heavy spinning rod isnt fun to use.

A bladed jig is one of those baits that was a real gamechanger. If you got into them early, before everyone one and their brother started throwing them you know how effective they can be, particularly on fish that haven't seen them before. While theyre still very effective, you need to have somewhat favorable conditions to get on a real good bite. Several of my buddies started fishing them just from watching me catch them or seeing the quality of fish they produce. Just about every one of them struggled to gain confidence in the bait. They would either fish them on bluebird days, fish them too fast or just mindlessly fish them on steady retrieve or combination of all 3. A bladed jig can catch fish any time of year, but IMO, like many other baits, they really shine just as the water begins to warm late in winter through the prespawn and into the spawn. They are an effective bait in the fall as well, but that bite isn't as consistent. A bladed jig is like at least 3 baits in 1. The profile of a jig, the action of a crankbait and the flash of a spinnerbait. Honestly, I found out real fast that coloring the blade with a sharpie to dull the flash is the way to go, unless it's really a dark day with wind and or rain and Im fishing a white bait. I kind of think of bladed jig as a really aggressive swim jig that is great in the grass, wood not so much. In late winter I fish them like a jig, very slow and on the bottom with a small creature bait as a trailer. Every now and then Ill put just enough tension in the line to feel the blade vibrate 2 or 3 times and ill kill it. As the water warms ill start fishing it more like a lipless, changing up the retrieve from slow and on the bottom to yo yoing. Once the water hits 50, I get a little more aggressive with the retrieve, stopping and starting quickly, tearing it from grass, burn and pause etc. as by that time the fish will chase and the bladed jig becomes a real good tool for covering water effectively. Just like any other moving bait, you want to target the wind blown banks in the last hours of light at the end of the day, particularly withing a few days of the new or full moon. Thats I really hammer them or catch my biggest fish of the year. The actualy weight of the bait depends on depth and fast you want to fish. Most of my water is shallow, less than 6', 3/8 and 1/4 early in the year is what works best.

Scroungers got real big in the early 2ks. I had heard of them, but all of a sudden, they were everywhere. I've seen guys do well on them, but Ive only a seen a couple guys really get proficient with them. They told me that they work best fished like a jig on the bottom or tracing the bottom.

If theyre using chatterbaits under .5oz and FC line they can go with just about any 7'2-7'4 MH F and it would work. If they want to use chatterbaits .5 and over than a H with a some tip would be the way to go. A Mag heavy Sierra or 7'4 H R Tatula would probably work.

I know a guy who swears by Steez over an NRX particularly the 7'6 MLM. The kind of money he spends on gear, I don't understand why he doesn't just have custom outfits built because he's very particular on what he's looking for.

Turnover is much higher on reels than it is rods. When I worked in a shop on the island, the customer base 9 months of the year were avid enthusiasts. During the summer we would have the classic benny and Pennsy tourists or relatives of homeowners that would come back with a broken rod demanding a refund after slamming it in a door pr claim the reel just stopped working for no reason when the gearbox is full of wet sand.

So many great jigheads out there, but with the popularity of FFS buying them is like highway robbery. An excelent head that isnt 2x over priced is the berkey half head. Witha stupid sharp #1 hook its good for smaller profile baits like 3" Easy shiners/SIs, hazedongs and the like.

Used to fish curly tail worms all the time as a kid, so in comparison to now, I rarely use them. Not great in loose grass or real thick cover, but I have grown fond of this one. Like everyone else Ive thrown the Ol Monster plenty of nights, but one worm I used to catch piles on seldom gets any love. Bass Assasians Worm in grape firetail and black bluetail has caught loads of bass for me. They used to come with this really heavy garlic scent. All 3 are great, but with my arm twisted having to pick one, it would have to be....

It doesn't matter how play free the handle is on the reel if the knobs have slop in them, youre going to feel it. It's not a difficult fix and it would be cheap as well, but both Daiwa and Shimano still have problems with that.

Monos dia and density essentially makes it buoyant. It will sink given proper weight and lack of tension. FC has a higher density and smaller dia than an equiv mono, which is why it sinks much faster. PE lines generally float when dry, but the characteristics can vary greatly, particularly the lines that soak up water like a sponge, maybe 832 sponges give or take.

Panfish and trout rods are so light in power they will bend deep into the blank when fighting a fish. With a UL or L rod a Mod action isn't going to do much good for casting distance as you have limited back bone or mid-section to drive the tip, it will just be like a limp noodle. You will get the same effect with a long 7 or 7'6'+ F action UL. As the blank gets longer so does the tip section, which reduces recovery time with a lower end blank. If I were you I would look at a 6'6 or 6' Light Power with a F action. You don't need a very sensitive rod for inlines and spoons so even an ugly stick would be fine.

Theres a guy on YT who compares a few models of the 2. He says both are great rods and he actually likes the Conquest. The difference is in weight. The Conquest isn't a naked blank, which adds weight, but when compared to NRX the resale value is much higher because NRX will show every scuff and scrape where Conquest will not. Basically, if you want a sensitive rod and don't care about resale NRX is what you want.

Ive seen Ike and his son film a bunch of times. A couple years ago he had 2 guys with him, I think they were from TW doing a vlog to promote something. It was one of those weird days where nothing works the way it should. I could tell he was struggling; he kept bouncing back and forth 5 or 6 different spots every 10 or 15 mins. I was looking forward to seeing how they would edit it, but it never got posted.

A good pair of nail clippers

You pretty much got it. When finishing the knot, you weave the tag through the loop and instead of tightening you wrap it 2 additional times around that side of the loop. Make sure the tag end is exiting the loop the same way the mainline is coming in and tighten the knot evenly.

If the picture is oriented with N at the top, that NE most pond looks like it has some potential. If you get a N or NNW wind in the fall or just after ice out, it should stack the fish in the southern corner.

Ive never hear anyone refer to a stiff rod as "having tip." It generaly always means the rod has give at the top. Maybe it depends on the region. For example, I spent all my money on drip, but it turned out to be swag.