ironbjorn

$1,050 on 4 new rods and reels (I still want to get another) $1,000~ on hard baits, soft baits, terminal tackle, and line $250~ on some bags, boxes, and rod sleeves $200~ on a few fishing related tools, fishing related clothing, and a steel half gallon water bottle That's about $2,500~. I "need" another Kaden and Tournament MP. Pandemic "PTSD" from everything being sold out and backordered last year and the winter blues and boredom have gone straight to my wallet.

I emailed Dobyns about something awhile ago and Gary told me that while many companies will take a longer blank and cut it down to make a shorter version, he does not. A 663 isn't a chopped up 703 and so on.

The thread title and the poll doesn't make any sense together. Are you asking what our favorite Senko style stick baits are? If so, it doesn't get better than the original, but most stick baits are good to serviceable.

Who got to keep the jig? ??

If a rod isn't straight as an arrow, that's not necessarily an indication of a rod in poor condition. Blanks aren't perfectly straight; some are just more noticeable than others. I have mid-high tier rods that have slight noticeable curves one way or the other. Also, don't mistake rubbed off paints on the guides as chipped guides; it happens. A rod could look perfect to the eyes, but then shatter/snap when you fish it because you don't know about any impacts it had that damaged the inner integrity that the eyes can't see. Buying used brands from companies like Dobyns is a good idea because of the warranty. If it breaks, replace it for free; at worst, if it's your fault, pay a small fee and they'll send a new one.

Bass are easy to catch. Quality bass aren't so easy to catch, but the why it's what's debatable. Is it that they're smarter and more crafty? Is it that they're harder to find? Is it that they're less plentiful? Depends on who you talk to.

Have you even used them?

The 3 power is a fantastic do-it-all smaller crank/lipless/squarebill/jerkbait rod. But I just can't believe they recommended a 3 power for a bladed jig. I'm not going to tell the experts they're wrong about their rod, but I'm going to tell you that you're almost certainly going to hate a 3/8oz bladed jig + trailer on a 3 power. It overloads the rod. It casts like poop. It doesn't feel solid on a hookset with that heavy hook. You have what you need to cover your squarebills and jerkbaits in the 3 power so get a 4 power next.

It turns them into crackheads and I'm more than happy to be their dealer. The 3" 1/2oz is the 5" Senko; the 3/8oz jig/spinnerbait/chatterbait; the 1/2oz lipless; i.e. "all around"

1. Jig 2. Dark Sleeper 3. Ned Rig I'd say a couple of weeks into it or when the fish are getting more aggressive, I'll transition to: 1. Chatterbait 2. Lipless Crankbait 3. Jig

Indiana. It was 60 here today! High 40s and 50s is the forecast for the foreseeable future. I'm hoping it only goes up. You're still a bit chilly there. As I said above it was 60 today and coming up this weekend we have 3 days in the 50s pushing 60 coming up.

I'm in the north and looking to be on the water around Daylight Savings Time. With this forecast, all the ice on the smaller waters will be melted within a week or two at most.

Spinnerbaits are garbo around here. Chatterbaits win each and every time.

704c, 703c, 702sf, 2x 7.5:1 Lews KVD Casting, 1x Lews KVD Spinning 200

The only lines I use anymore are Big Game, Yo-Zuri Hybrid, and Power Pro.

I throw a lipless from ice out to hard water. Almost always successful.

Get a Dobyns Fury and pair it with a Lews KVD reel. I'm not just talking out my rear, either; I did this exact thing 3x this winter. A 4 power will cover 3/8oz chatterbaits and jigs + trailer really well.

Gotcha. Seems weird in 2021 to have it setup like that. Will they do phone orders, then?

I like my new Kaden 715c so much that I want the 714c, but I can't find it in stock anywhere. It's hard to find any model of the Kaden in stock, actually. I've been told to order directly through Dobyns, but when I try, I only get a PayPal option for payment. Is this really the only method of payment they accept online or am I not seeing something? I've tried on my phone, tablet, and girlfriend's phone. At first I thought maybe the website wasn't user friendly with my phone.

Watermelon Red Flake has historically produced better for me everywhere I've fished and regardless of water clarity, but while I fish some dirty water occasionally, I never fish truly muddy water. Black/Blue or Junebug is the absolute best for me everywhere, though, again regardless of water clarity.

I don't specifically target bedding fish, but when I come across them and they're worth catching, I've historically used whatever plastic I had tied on with mixed results. Sometimes they bite and sometimes they don't, which is just the same old story of bedding fish. I do wonder how a Dark Sleeper would do.

Forums like this: "Let's spend $200+ on a spinning reel for the best drag." Also forums like this: "Let's also back reel instead of trusting the drag we paid for." I've never once needed to back reel.

I'm down to only using ML spinning gear when I do use spinning/finesse, but I do fall back on it way too often with the Ned Rig. If things get even a little tough, out she comes. I'm going to try to use finesse the least amount as possible this season. That starts with leaving it at home.

I was going to recommend this as well. The Green Pumpkin Blue Magic color imitates a bluegill fairly well. With the 6th Sense Divine Hybrid Jig, you can swim it, pitch/flip it, or drag it; and, to be fair, you can do this with most jigs, but this jig in particular does an excellent job at all of it. Try different trailers depending on what you want to do with the jig.