bigspirit

Awesome; thanks for the info guys

Ha, the guy loves it. Any other day he could lay in bed till 11am but he knows when I get stuff together the night before and gets out of bed as soon as I do. I left him one time it was a little chilly out and he was noticeably upset, so now he has a fancy jacket ?

Tom, the line capacity was my worry because of the specs for 14lb. Worries me that it would only hold 80 or so of 20lb. I’ve actually been a huge fan of braid to leader on just about all of my rods. But I’ve never owned or cast large swimbaits. I know the 300 size would be much better in that regard but for weight and cost was hoping a 200 would work for me. I could go to the 300 Curado though for the same price as the 200 Tranx so maybe that’s what I need to do

Need to go up to 25? Or braid?

Is this a bad idea? Would spool with 20lb flouro more than likely. I imagine most of my fishing will be moderate distance. Not bombing them as far as I can, more of fishing around specific structure. side note, is the 806 a doable rod for baits such as the osprey talon, trash fish, and maybe a Huddleston? I know it’s not the best because of the action, but with a solid hook set is it manageable or a waste of time

Another post I saw yesterday about worms mentioned the zman fattyz and reinvigorated my obsession with them; so I had to make sure they could still catch fish. First spot of the year was a chunk. Catch a couple smaller fish after but nothing really picture worthy

Earlier last year I found a pack of the zman fattyz that I had in storage for probably 7 or 8 years I think, maybe longer? Super long time. Either way, they might be one of the most versatile worms I’ve ever used. Wacky rig, Neko, shaky head, Texas rig, etc. Fish catching machines. I’ve not tried the mag size though but going to find some to use this year. Btw, don’t tell anyone about them so they stay a secret

G Loomis entry level went from E6X at 200ish to the GCX at 250ish now. Hoping shimano doesn’t follow suit

I don’t think I knew there was an SLX BFS?? Thought they just had the MGL 70

That’s what I have heard in the little bit I’ve seen about them! They’re pretty fish from the pictures I’ve seen and if their aggression is half of that of a smallmouth - it’ll be worth a trip!

Ha, now the logo makes more sense. I’ve never used them before but I’ll have to put some hooks on this guy for sure

Found this and cleaned it up. No idea what brand though. Might put new rings and hooks on it

That’s a stud!

First fish of ‘22. Healthy chunky fish too

Perfect, just the kind of information I was hoping for. I use to do really well for smallmouth in rivers on orange jigs and I still have a few tucked away somewhere so sounds like I may just grab a kvd 1.5 and make the trip. From what I gather, I bet a SK pond bug spinnerbait in orange would be killer if they make one

Anybody ever use these and have an opinion on them? Saw them in a shop and had never seen them before - sub $10 jerkbait and looks good in the package.

Ned rig and chatterbait. Granted, I haven’t put near as much time into them as other techniques.

Anybody ever fish for these in South Georgia or Florida? I believe I’ve read they love a live crawfish. Reckon a zman baby goat in hot craw on a jig head would be all I need in the rivers?

Congrats! That’s my hometown, many of the ponds and lagoons you can catch a bass and the next cast catch a redfish or flounder. Getting super crowded these days though

I use 40lb braid to a 15ish foot section of 20lb big game mono. May not be the best but works for me. My worry with going to straight braid is I know the first time I backlash will end in me watching my rig sail into the sunset…

Probably makes a good fish attracting sound when it breaks through too

Same for me. By far my favorite lens and mirror combo. I wear them in any conditions; when the rain starts on a cloudy day I reach for them when driving. Amazing how much glare they cut out

Kershaw or Buck have been my go to. Would love a Benchmade but I have a tendency to make pocket knives disappear so can’t bring myself to pull the trigger. Specifically, the Kershaw Leek is one of my favorites. Very slim and light weight.

Ha, my buddy caught a baby gator this summer on a frog. Fishing from the bank he made a cast parallel to the bank but the bushes blocked his view. Heard a splash and felt the pull, sets the hook and reels in about a 2’ baby gator. The hook was safely removed but we got out of that spot cause where there’s little ones, there’s big ones!

SLX for a rod I don’t use as much but was lacking a reel. Will be nice to have that as a compliment to my others on the boat. gavacho frog, some nichols and R2S spinnerbaits, flouro, fuji hook keepers, zoom finesse worms and some culprit fat max worms