softwateronly

With a well tied fg knot, I’ve been fine with anywhere between 12” and 15’ on a shimano reel. With the T-wing, I prefer to not reel in my knot. scott

Keeping track of used rod prices over a couple months is my best guesstimate for true value. scott

Having "un needed" nice gear for your favorite technique has worked out well for me, and I'm sure will for you as well. Look forward to seeing pics of hogs on toads. scott

Is that an Andy’s hair jig? scott

Haven’t done it in muck, but sounds perfect for a light weight Tokyo rig. scott

I fish bigger swimbaits semi-regularly on a clear water fishery and use braid to leader. But there's a lot of truth in the experience on this thread regarding big baits and mono and I might personally move that way in the future. 65lb braid to 25lb sunline fc shock leader or 20lb maxima ultra green is the system I've used the last few years successfully. Increased proficiency casting, 50-65lb braid, combined with a fg knot and san diego jam knot, have eliminated any cast-off issues for me. A great swimbait day is almost a mystical experience, good luck! scott

I still have a few partial bags of poor boys from 8+ years ago, watermelon gold, smoke purple and gp/purple flake. Heard they're not the same since changing ownership, I'll probably find out for myself sometime this summer. Trying some 2.5" netbait this year as well. scott

I was in the same boat and just picked up a major craft 7'9 2 piece MH 1/4-1.5oz. It's designed for salt, but the mod/fast action and weight rating fit my needs. It's a beautiful rod, handled 1/2-1.75oz in casting and retrieving Sunday. Very well balanced and felt as sensitive as my expride 7'7H M/F. I'm stunned at the bang for the buck so far at $150. Unfortunately, no fish yet. TCX-792MH/B https://www.majorcraft.co.jp/roditem/8868 I almost added in their 2 piece Benkei/Days too. The DYC-692M, BIC-692MH, and 702X were very tempting. Shimreels has 15% off and shipping from Singapore included. https://shimreels.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=40107 https://shimreels.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=39892 https://shimreels.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=39896 Major Craft America has 4 piece travel rods and a warranty available. https://www.majorcraft-america.com/collections/rods/products/benkei-spinning-type-1 MC is all new to me, but with @WRB's experience with and recommendation of Iovino's splash it rod and the price point, I'm looking to add another. They're made in Vietnam, if that's important to you. FYI, there's about to be an updated Days360 series released and the fit of the 2 piece looks like this... scott

When the water is below 40 and pre/during turnover I’ve only caught fish on a blade bait. Cold but post turnover, small underspin/fluke and hair jig are also pretty effective for me. All three of these work at all depths for me. scott

Me too. Always thought their body was more elongated or tubular. When I was a kid, they’d wash up dead on the beaches in the summer sometimes. A smell that’s hard to forget. scott

It’s a natural lake on the MI side of Michiana that connects to a small stream that connects to the St Joe which in turn connects to Lake Michigan some 70 miles down stream. I’m privy to our lake assoc water quality studies and the states dnr reports and shad have never been mentioned or stocked. I probably saw a dozen struggling fish near the surface and dozens of successful seagull hunts over the weekend. This lake is part of a flowage and has a robust ecosystem for not being particularly rural. scott The water has been consistently below 45 since late November. Seems like threadfin survival is not possible. scott

Thanks all. It’s nice to confirm what I suspected. The rod fishes great, I’ll know more when I actually get a fish on it. scott

You sure? Michigan? On a lake that freezes solid every year. Water is probably around 37. Ice came off Saturday and water was still turnover cloudy. scott

I picked up a MC Triple Cross 7'9MH (salt) as a secondary scrounger, swim jig, spoon, and occasional deep crank rod to leave at my in-laws. This is the first 2-piece rod I've bought in a long time. This seems to be the proper mating of the sections and I'm fairly confident I've seated it properly, but to my eyes this seems like an odd design choice. Been thinking about one of their travel rods, but three of these might send me over the edge scott ps - in action, the rod cast and felt very similar to an exprideA 7'7H. Just as I had hoped at much better price point.

Weird mild winter here in SW MI too. I've now started something on my water that I never thought was possible, the ice came off in early January for a week or so and then came off again Saturday, and now Ive caught a bass in each month. When I get a March bass, it'll be the first time ever I ran every month on a license. scott

Thanks! You also led me to their flip/swim jig in 1oz. In the summer, I throw a lot of 3/4oz dirty jigs cali swim jig and could use a heavier version for swimming along the bottom in 15' and that faster rof when working shallower. Look forward to using both this year. scott

Bumping all these great posts.... Found this guy and a few others struggling near the surface after the ice came off Saturday. The seagulls were happy and I was surprised. I've been fishing this lake for 15 years here in SW MI and never saw shad. Flathead minnows, dace, and shiners seemed to me the only baitfish available but I was wrong. I assume gizzard shad? scott

Punisher jigs, and all items, are on sale at dale hollow tackle till tomorrow. scott

The 3/4oz cali swim jig is unique and a big player for me. The scott canterbury flipping in regular and finesse and the guppy head are other mainstays. Hook up/land ratio is stellar. scott

I'd add a GLX 843mbr because that's what I want and it's one of the almighty universal rods. You have a great selection already, is there something you want to throw that doesn't have a home? Maybe it's time to get technique specific. scott

I've heard they're highly regarded, but have no personal experience. Comfort was what I remembered as the design highlight. I'd definitely take a swing at that price if it wasn't wrong handed. scott

It does and it seems to help me. With the clear water they seem less shy when the boat has some distance. scott

Love the freestyle, probably my most successful soft swimbait. My best hook up/land set up turned out to be my frog rod, expride 7'3XH. Sometimes I feel like the tail balls up in their mouth and you have to punch through quite a bit of plastic to get past the barb. The powerful mod/fast action of the expride drives the hook yet keeps them pinned on the way to the boat. scott

I haven't but watched this, if you haven't seen it yet.... scott

I bought the Alpha 800S in the early winter for a ML setup. Throwing a 3/16 micro jig on PE.8 in a half frozen river has been good, but no bites before full ice in. The reel feels solid and comfortable and seems like it might fit your criteria, but I don't know enough about the spool and drag for heavier applications. Out of the box, it almost hangs with the zillion g in terms of smoothness, definitely my favorite sub $200 reel that I've tried. I hope I'll say the same thing in a year or two. scott