softwateronly

@LrgmouthShad The 2 things I've learned about a-rigs over the years, is that with or without blades can be the deal that day. I don't know exactly why, but in my clear water 4-5" baits tend to do better bladeless and in the spring whereas 3" baits tend to do best with blades in the fall/winter transition, but it's not a given. The other thing is, if you need more weight for deeper water, the rig seems to run best when just the lowest, center jig head is upped in weight. If you do the outer arms, casting leads to more tangling. scott

I have 2 blitz max dr's, great build quality and action, but I haven't caught with them yet. That's more about me than the baits imo. From what I've gathered they have an amazing reputation for cranks like @webertime was saying. The hook up tackle has done 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 osp promos the last 2 January's, if you can file that away for next year. scott

Many of the stress relief attributes can be had by cbd only. If that doesn't put anything at risk legally, it's very effective. I think you now know enough to let go of the stress intellectually, though it's easier said than done. He basically confirmed all the reasons and concerns you had. I hope things chill out at work for you and this little warm up coming sticks around and melts the lid off of our stress relief hobby. scott

If you have any doubts about passing up the "promotion," I'd try to get a drink with my soon to be former supervisor and hear their side. 15 plus years at one company these days is a recipe for over worked/under paid compared to new hires. I'm an outsider to a direct corporate work environment, but I see aspects of it creeping into my industry and have heard enough from family and friends to know how loyalty has been epically devalued. scott

I haven't unfortunately. These are the 2-piece center breaks that I have and like a lot; MC Days: 6'9 M/F 6'9 MH/RF 7' XXH/RF MC Black Porgy: 7'8 ML/RF MC Triple Cross: 7'9 MH+/RF Abu Garcia Salty Stage Kurodai 7'9 LT-BF RF 7'3 MLS-BF F scott

This url has cost me more money than any other! scott

I'm not saying change your opinion, but the 2-piece jdm models I've recently purchased have almost zero in common with the 2-piece rods of the 80's and 90's. And some of what @F14A-B is referring to is that the usdm has such a distaste for 2-piece rods, that certain jdm rods that are handle breaks in the rest of the world, get glued in place for the US market. scott

I'd guess it has a lot more to do with where you are fishing rather than what you are fishing. scott

My experience, though limited and anecdotal, is the biggest bass use the leading and trailing edges of cold weather to actively hunt on shad fisheries. They possess an enormous advantage in body mass to mitigate the falling temps just as their prey are being most effected by the same environmental issues. Up north, this shows itself more often late in the year, think first multi night cold snap in early october and the beginning of the prolonged/season long cold snap in November. In the south with a prolonged prespawn period, I'd expect and have experienced one week in east TX a similar opportunity. My first pb came from a little cut, halfway up a creek in 6' fow about an hour and a half after the current front moved out revealing clear skies and bright sun. 4 days later, a cold front rolled in overnight and dropped the air temp 35 degrees and 10 hrs later my current pb was caught in front of a dock in 9' fow near the creek mouth. I think that the difficult fishing we encounter around cold fronts is more related to missing the window of change than the cold weather itself. I'm running with this till I learn more.

3/4oz is no problem. That's the heaviest I own. scott

I don't throw a lot of mid-sized crankbaits, but bottom hopping a trap and blade bait on the expride 6'10M is very effective. scott

I wholeheartedly agree. The 7'3ML is so useful and versatile I almost doubled up on it instead. I debated my asian portal cart for a week. I'm hoping the extra length of the 7'9 plays out in a little more distance on the lighter end. Even if it doesn't, I found myself often swapping rigs and or baits with different weights and profiles trying to entice the summer fry chasin schoolies and the fall shad massacre. It quickly became a way for me to improve my catch rate and size at specific, difficult, times of year. scott

I'm still in my anti-spinning stage of life, so I added a 2nd BFS/salt rod combo. I got the Abu Kurodai 7'3MLS/BF w/ a Zillion//roro x-27 on the rec from @bulldog1935 last year and decided to add the 7'9LT version for this year. Figure it'll be a good addition, double up even, for jig and minnow, hair jigs, and small spoons, maybe neds and microjigs too. New spool is still traversing the ocean. scott

I agree with @F14A-B and @Mike L The nrx+ 854 should cover weights from 1/4-5/8oz and be among the most sensitive and respected production lines of bass rods. It would be my choice in that lineup. scott

Or 3" damiki armor shad, I find them more durable. scott

For swim jigs, I've basically settled on alabama bream and crappie from dirty jigs. Then I play around more with trailer colors, from solid darks to 2-tones with lighter bellies. Before the weed growth comes up I lean toward crappie and 2 tones, and bream w/ solids when it's starting to get thick. scott

I'll 2nd @FishTank, my zillion hd on a mb tb feels near it's limit at a 8" 3.5oz spoon. Might be more the rod than the reel, but that's basically my self imposed limit. I have 50lb power pro v2 spooled up on it still. scott

You seem correct to what I'm reading. This is for the wakasagi bait with the tinsel tail instead of the elastomer.... LINE Floating: PE 0.6 / Leader fluoro 5lb (recommended approx. 60cm), nylon 4lb Sinking: fluoro 5lb *This is the recommended line setting for both 65mm and 55mm bodies. Please note that the characteristics of the line and snapping may interfere with the original action.

I have a 735 in the champ series and agree with you that it's a good frog rod. I don't have experience with the lews reel. Seems like you're on the right path to me. scott

In case you want to see it in action... scott

I'm not sure if others will echo this but the rod really came alive for me with a slightly heavier reel. I have a bantam there now, the zillion hd is also really nice. When I was under 7oz I was less happy with the feel. scott I have the DRX 755, it has a bit softer of a mid section imo. Ultimately when you get to the backbone, they are very similar in power though. I find the power pitch slightly more sensitive and slightly more tip heavy. scott

I'm a big fan of the power pitch for this. The tip/power ratio is perfect for getting heavy jigs thru the slop while maintaining control. It's also remarkably versatile, even though it's really hard for me to cut a jig off the end of the line. I haven't frogged with it, but plan on throwing the kaera this year because my expride is too much for accurate casting with it. scott My other jig rod is worthy of consideration as well imo. The Major Craft Days 360 6'6 MH/F. The cross over is 1/2oz, but it's better at 3/8oz. https://www.plat.co.jp/shop/catalog/product_info/language/en/products_id/74032/majorcraft-days-360-d360c-66mh-shipping-is-required.html

Good Luck!! Look forward to seeing some catches! scott

Who needs pants? Priorities my man. scott

I can't disagree more with @gim's assessment. Bass in the north will eat anything they can fit in their faces just like their southern counterparts. Is it always good to throw large baits? Heck no, but there are times when it pays off. Here's a few pics over the last 4 years of MI bass eating something in the 6-8" range. Many of these fish would not have been caught with a smaller profile. I could also show dozens of pics of average to good sized bass caught on 2-4" profiles that would not have bit a large bait that day. scott Gantarel - 6.25" Scottsboro 7" soft swimmer Bacca burrito 6" 7" 5/8oz chicken jig 7" Chad Shad 6.5" Mini-Mag flutter spoon 7" Sakamata Shad 7.5" Flush GP on a free rig 7" Jerky J - jighead minnow 7" Chad Shad in shad color