MidwestBassAttack

Falcon Cara Amistad or Okuma TCS 7’3” Heavy which is their Frog/Swimbait rod. I will say that between using the two (among many other brands), the Okuma TCS has become my absolute favorite. Beautiful balance and meaty but with a nice tip. Sensitivity is perfect to me. I can feel every little thing on the bottom and what my bait is doing. Hits are very well pronounced and easily distinguishable. Sometimes an overly sensitive bass rod is a bad thing because any hard structure might feel like that “tick” far too often.

The Champion XP 735 is no slouch for frogs, jigs, and t-rigs!

Happy Birthday to you! That is an awesome combo you got there! I’ve been looking at those Phenix rods pretty close…they might be my end of season splurge so I can stare at them all winter ?

This is why I absolutely love my neighborhood mom and pop hardware store. It’s an Ace franchise but the owner keeps an aisle of fishing tackle….and I mean the good stuff. Missile Bait D-Bombs, Yamamoto, Zoom, and Crème. P-Line, Power Pro, Seaguar (including Tatsu). Ive fished with him a few times and he is a bass head like me. Think I even saw a few Falcon Cara’s in inventory (behind the counter) ??? Nice project by the way!!!!! I need to do something similar for my truck bed to keep the rods off the floor of the bed.

Pleading the 5th on this one…

Not Dobyns or Loomis but I use an Okuma TCS 7’ 3” heavy for Texas rigged and jig presentations. Rod is rated 1/4 up to 2oz. I’ve had the Champ Xtreme as well as a GLX 895 and NRX 873. For me, the Okuma is just as sensitive but at a fraction of the cost.

Ouch!!!!!

Everything I’ve heard has been highly favorable! I noticed in one of Scott Martin’s recent videos, there were about 5 boxes of the Hakai reels in the background that looked like he was fine tuning and getting them ready. I wonder if this might be a return to Okuma for him??

2016 Shimano Metanium MGL with the brass gear upgrade. Such a hot looking reel and I’m still snatching them up as I come across them ?

Yeah I was a bit surprised myself. For some reason the Metanium seemed to absorb heat from my hand better. I’m in the suburbs of the Windy City (Chicago) and our water can be open but temps still fairly chilly. Never had an issue with my Mets. I’ve got a few of the 2016 version that I swapped out the drag to Carbontex and upgraded the main and pinion to brass. I prefer the sleek looks of the 16’ and buy them up off eBay when budget allows.

I had a few of them but sold them and replaced them with more Metaniums. For me, that Bantam was nice but got darn cold when the weather got chilly.

Nice combo and even nicer fish! That smile says it all! Congrats and enjoy!

I love first light fishing. Something about being up before the sun, taking the truck and that hot cup of coffee out on the road. Pulling into the lake with not a soul around. Many times I pull in to the lot, get out with my coffee in hand, and just look and listen at the scene. Pure magic. No electronics, no emails, no phone calls. Just me and nature……. And then the coffee kicks in and I have to high-tail it to the nearest McDonalds.

Classic baits? Don’t forget good ole’ Uncle Josh now

As a bank fisherman, I carry my rods and a backpack which contains my scale, soft plastics, and my tackle box. Any food or drinks I bring with go in the backpack. Whatever garbage I create goes in the backpack and disposed of at a garbage can nearby or at home. Can’t believe some of the crap I’ve seen just thrown right on the bank. 9 times out of 10 it’s usually the guys and gals with bobbers ??

War Eagle Jig-Ju-Jitsu or the Strike King Structure jigs.

Keep the truck and just be patient in your search. I actually just bought my 19’ Silverado for a steal….but after searching for 4-5 months. Ended up being a customer lease which was returned at lease term and is immaculate. Saved serious coin as well. You never know with things. Just be patient and something will come along! But DON’T sell the truck!

I’ve got two of the new TCS frog/swimbait rods and quite frankly…like them even more than the first-release! I have one rigged up as a frog rod and the other is my Texas rig and jig rod. Sensitivity and balance are absolutely perfect!

Awesome and thanks so much!! I know exactly where that is. Used to live in the townhomes just east of there off 59 and 87th. We are now off Washington, just about 5 minutes outside of the downtown area. Ill give the White Eagle pond off 59 a shot today. If I recall, I can access it from those one story office buildings on the north side of it

Any suggestions for the Chicago area? Been to Bussee, Whalon, Braidwood cooling lake as well as the surrounding lakes, Milliken, a lot of neighborhood ponds in my neighborhood (Naperville)………I need me a solid 8 pounder!!

What weight are you using on your Texas rig?

Read your post and the very first rod that came to mind was a Falcon Head Turner. Short and stout gets em’ out!

Shimano Tranx 200 or 150 with 50-65lb braid. Personally, I use 50lb P-Line X braid and really like it.

Anything in the Halo HFX line. I’ve got 6 of them. Sensitivity and durability are absolutely amazing for their price point. The actions are just as stated. Sometimes rods at the price point have printed specs that don’t match the actions during the tip bend test. The HFX rods actually match and are consistent.

I don’t see what the big issue is here. They mistakenly shipped you a rod and provided a return label. FedEx pickups can be scheduled online or via app in less than 2 minutes. It’s not like they charged you for any of it. Seems to me your sour you didn’t get anything for “free”. Honesty shouldn’t get you “anywhere” regardless of the dollars you spent if your truly doing it for the right reason. Honesty is integrity when no one else is looking. Boggles my mind….people do good things then expect something in return, then complain when they don’t. indeed, what is this world coming to?