bigspirit

I’ve heard of mend it but never used it myself. Does it work on most plastics?

Slow day but got these 2 that were nearly identical on back to back casts. Beautiful spring day though

After a few fish and skipping under trees this freestyle started sliding down the hook every few casts. I believe I may have seen this idea mentioned on here? Either way orange was the only color I had. Any other solutions that may be better out there?

Great to hear, I think that trap master/caster whatever it is is my #1 target to check out. Just need to get to academy cause I think that’s the only place around me that carries them

Tom, how is the stretch on that Armillo?

I would imagine a jig rod would be fine for the smaller things you mentioned. For the larger baits with single hooks I’ve heard many good things about the daiwa dx and they’re around $100.

I don’t go out of my way to try to catch a fish off a bed but like others mainly because I’ve wasted more time when I should have been fishing for fish that wanted to bite. My most effective rig has been a Zman green pumpin hula stick. The trick to it was putting a neko weight in the nose and then using a small wacky hook and hooking it in the tail right before the appendages begin. The hook was hidden and it was in the top of the bait where the fish almost always picks it up to move it.

Actually have a Fury 734. I do really like it but I want something shorter and I agree I think I’d drop down to the 3 power if I do so. Perfect, I forgot about these as well. I think I actually looked at one a while back online and liked that it was a moderate fast. This will be one I absolutely need to look into - thanks! I believe these have a shorter handle on them right? I think that would be a bonus. I’ll see if I can find one locally to check out. Sensitivity wise, I imagine it has to be better than this cherry wood!

That sounds like a really good option and especially at that price - looks like they have a 6’7” too which might be handy as most of my fishing with this rod will be around trees or short casts to cover. thanks! totally forgot about these, they’re labeled as fast action, would you say they’re on the slower side of fast?

Certainly helpful, totally forgot to include a budget in my first post. Sub $200 at the top end but the more cost effective the better! I’ll have to check those out in my search

From a utility standpoint, I’ve really enjoyed my Berkley Cherrywood 7’ Medium (1/4-3/4oz) “Fast” action since I bought it a couple years ago. Nothing fancy, it has a black max on it and 15lb copoly but it’s a rod I feel like I can use for many things, mostly being moving baits: - topwater (ploppers and walking baits) - lipless - squarebill - spinnerbait - chatterbait (still trying to figure out how to do the “catching” part with this) It has enough bend and tip to do alright with treble hook baits and haven’t had too many issues with a spinnerbait or walking the dog on a topwater. I’ve lost a couple fish here and there, but I have nicer rods and often find myself grabbing this and a small tackle box for quick trips to a pond and such. With all of that said, I would like to find a rod with a little more backbone but mainly more sensitivity. Looking for any suggestions if any wine has a rod that has a similar niche (or lack, thereof).

Great shells, I’ve been a huge fan of the 3” 6s for years. Farthest I’ve shot with it was 48 yards and it did it’s job well! I try to keep them 40 and under but misjudged a field bird.

Geez. Multiple times this year I’ve driven an hour and a half each way for a half day of fishing. I’ve also driven 4 hours and 15 minutes each way for a day trip - multiple times LOL.

I had a 7’6” Medium that was an extra fast. Rated for 1/4-5/8 I think. I used it for many years for trout and redfish and loved it. In my opinion it was definitely not an extra fast tip but it made it very versatile. Used it for topwaters, plastics, and popping corks. Not sure what the model number was though. I think you’d be happy with it depending on the size of the fish. I caught redfish up to 32” on it but that was the biggest fish. If you’re talking 40” snook and huge jacks that’s not the rod for it, although I assume you would be getting a bigger rod if that was your intended target. Might want to compare the specs I had to what you’re looking at - if they match I would highly recommend the rod I had for what you’re wanting.

Bulldog, I did a quick google…is $90 right for one of these?? If so, sheesh that’s quite a bit more than I was expecting!

Appreciate it!

Probably need to order a scale now! The second pic is my pb but I’ve never owned a scale for fishing in my life. I’d guess 6-7lbs; looking online now to remedy this.

Found ANOTHER H20 xpress - can’t get away from them but not complaining! The plopper was a solid bonus too, was wanting another in that size for spotted bass and guess it was meant to be

Not a bad grab! not that it adds much to this thread but I wanted a DC so bad and thought it was such cool technology so I bought the SLX DC to start. I think I sold it after 8 or 10 months? The reel was totally fine. I just grew to hate the sound of them which is funny because I thought it sounded cool before I bought one and for the first few months. Eventually just thought it was annoying to listen to when using it all day. Can’t complain about the reel itself though, did everything I wanted and expected it to do.

I guess another reason I haven’t felt the need to try them is I’m not fishing much grass. Basically highland reservoirs with wood and rock structure. I’m sure it would still catch some fish but not sure that’s the ideal place for a chatterbait. Especially the wood LOL

First fish on the swaver, saw 2 fish floating off the end of a lay down in the afternoon sun, cast past them and slowly swam in front of them and this one slammed it. One of the coolest bass eats I’ve experienced!

I can tell you I have caught a whopping ZERO fish on a chatterbait. Haven’t thrown it a ton, but I have 0 confidence in it from the times that I have! I honestly think it stems from when I was up by you in northern Iowa. That’s when I started fishing swim jigs and used bluegill colors as that was the forage up there since there were no shad. That’s where I built confidence with one and it’s translated to down here - I’ve used the same swim jigs down here with pretty good success.

Wanted to throw a spinnerbait tomorrow but looking like it’ll be 3mph breeze, which is basically nothing. So I’ll probably opt for a swim jig, which I personally have more confidence in anyways. This got me to thinking though - when I throw a swim jig I normally throw blue gill colored skirts and trailers. However many seem to like a white or chartreuse spinnerbait. I know some of the nuances of each, but can’t say I’ve ever thrown a solid white or chartreuse swim jig. thoughts?

I have a couple Zodias that I love. Feel like you can’t go wrong with an expride either. I’m a big shimano guy so those are my choices

Absolutely, honestly should have tied it on while I was out but just threw it in a bucket. I’ll try it out next weekend and give you some input. If it swims well, I think the spotted bass here will eat it up!