softwateronly

I picked up 2 quake suspending traps on bf, but haven't fished them yet. They seem same size, profile as normal quakes. scott

I'm mostly a shimano person, but think the Tatula 200 might be the better choice. Very solid reel, nice powerful handle, handles 6-7" weedless swimbaits and burritos very well for me. In the end, both are very good reels and there is no wrong choice. scott

The Benkei looks great. Have you ever thrown jerks on the 6'9 MH/RF? Looks like it could be a bit much for vision 110's but probably just fine with some stouter hooked jerkbaits. Kinda looking for a "cheaper, but nice" rod to shore fish Lake MI for smallies, 1/4-1/2oz finesse round/football jigs, 2.5" tubes, 3/4oz dark sleeper, 1/4-1/2oz underspins, and ideally a vision 110+1 jr. The MS-1 7' M/F is intriguing at the same price, but I know nearly nothing. scott

Nah, nowhere else to go but up.

No, just started poking around their line up because of yourself, WRB, and a couple threads on tackletour. But the 6'7MH lists as a one piece, no? Also, the MS-1 M/F on TW is on sale. scott

Here's the major craft bougie version... https://www.majorcraft-america.com/collections/ms-x/products/ms-x-casting?variant=39617623556278

I'm a big fan of that PA 611M+ but I can't tell you if it's too long. If the length does work for you, I can tell you that it'll do all those things pretty well, some even great. Shouldn't the Blade also be on your list? The P5's seem designed for what you're looking for, just not sure which one. scott

I think there's some fatigue when it comes to these open ended rod questions and maybe that's why there hasn't been many answers. Nothing wrong with asking, and nothing wrong with others not responding. I'm just not wanting to see a newer poster get ignored. Specific questions within lines and or brands seem to bring out the most useful details. Also, I just might be wrong. Best of luck, you're in a great price range in my opinion to get a good/great rod. scott

The site sees a lot of these posts, you can search everyone's responses over the years up in the upper right corner search box. Here's my couple and then a short list of ones that get mentioned frequently.... I just picked up 2 Phenix feathers on BF, but haven't really had time with them yet. Feathers tend to fish one power light and more mod, so this is close to a "normal" M/F Phenix Feather Casting Rod 7'1" MH/XF Phenix Feather Casting Rod 7'1" H/F Highly recommended here and elsewhere online, and I'm really interested in them personally, but I've never fished one... Major Craft MS-1 Casting Rod 7' M/F Major Craft MS-1 Casting Rod 7'3" MH/F (has a long rear handle, fyi) Daiwa Tatula Casting Rod 7'1" Med Hvy Daiwa Tatula Elite Casting Rod 7'3" Med Hvy Ehrler Ark Tharp Series Casting Rod 7'3" Med Hvy Money Maker Ark Tharp Series Casting Rod 7' MH/X Fast Hammer Okuma Psycho Stick Casting Rod 7'2" Medium Okuma Psycho Stick Casting Rod 7'2" Med Hvy Irod crusher Dobyns Sierra Powell endurance My current rod for sniper jigs is a Poison Adrena 6'11M+ scott

Same here, hoping it breaks up today/tomorrow. Tuesday high of 60!!! scott

This is more about luck.... Drove 14hrs to TX for 5 days of some sun, warmth, and fishing in early Feb -day 1, no boat, skunked -day 2, first fish of '22 was my pb from the pier -day 3, 20" again from pier. Get boat, got skunked -day 4, with boat ran into shad gettin blown up way back in 2 different creeks, 15 or so fish, cold front blows in late afternoon. -day 5, cold front is there and the wind is rippin, main lake and creek mouths too much for the jon boat. Late afternoon it settles enough to work the structure at the creek mouth, find a dock, brush pile, and deep water break all in close proximity. Catch new pb, after missing that fish twice on 2 different casts. An old, small impoundment in TX gives me 2 pb's in 5 days. Luck. scott

I still use the river2sea dd crank. My lake gets so weedy, that cold water cranking when the weeds have died back is my best time to present a crank. Over 3-ish years I've probably only caught 20-25 fish on it, but I think I've had 3-4 over 20". Here's my best, 11/30/22, glass minnow, I'm guessing 23"ish. scott

2/12/22 - NE Texas 25.25x18.5 4" river2sea D Walker Ice White // owner flashy swimmer 3/0 silver willow 11/30/22 - SW Michigan ?? 23ish ?? river2sea DD crank - glass minnow scott

Sweet gift!!! My Michigan place/lake is close to south bend, so my little google search says your's with the glass eyes might be from the 30's. Could make it more rare. scott https://www.collectorsweekly.com/fishing/south-bend https://michianaoutdoorsnews.com/columnists/louie-s-column/2326-angler-s-challenge-fishin-muskies-and-collecting-antique-south-bend-tackle

Up here in the midwest, I think crappie are specifically targeted by the biggest bass in my lake. If I find crappie, I'm all over, under, and around them with larger crappie-ish looking baits. As a novice to crappie though, I've always wanted to know if they self segregate by size. Do juveniles fear slab crappie canibalizing? scott

If the water was as smooth as glass, Erwin would be more than proud. scott

As someone who fishes alone a vast majority of the time, this kind of day fishing might be almost as frustrating as not fishing. There has to be a better way. Nice fish! Got family that moved near Deland, looking forward to a St John's visit at some point. scott

My 7'6MH A balances just in front of the lock nut with a curado 70, 6.9oz. My 7'6XH A balances just in front of the lock nut with a 7 speed bantam, 7.6oz. I would expect something similar in the Heavy if your reel is in this range. scott

You fish those firework jigs before? Long time ago before they got picked up, I grabbed a few from a fellow fisherman like an open air drug deal on the lakefront. They caught for sure but are long gone to toothy fish and I forgot about them. Just ran into them on tw and about to order a half dozen. Hope/think they didn't change much. scott

Does their action transfer through all the lines? Or is there a specific line you're referencing? Thanks scott

I might be in the minority, but rodwise, the regular magdraft got good hookups on any MH/H I threw it on. If magdraft freestyle, I definitely think a powerful, longer jig rod is best, especially if long casts are the way to get bites or there is a lot of cover. I use a 7:1 reel because I've settled on that as my standard, but the magdraft definitely is a challenge to reel slow enough, so a lower ipt could be perfect for you. Although, I'd be leery of any ipt less than 24-25ish. I need to be able to catch up to the ones that hit it on the way toward me. scott

True. I don't remember a time when exprides existed and Matt wasn't proclaiming it the best. The 610M is my 2nd favorite set up for it now, I use it for vision 110's and LC staysees/pointers almost exclusively. And to me, the expride does do well with the lighter/ more delicate jerks. There might be better, I wouldn't know, but this rod is good at the more finesse jerkbait actions for me. What changed for me was the rerange on the adrena 6'11M+. The slightly stiffer tip/ heavier action allowed me to really dance the jerk on semi slack line. Fishing with a rather loose drag meant a great hookup and land ratio even with a faster rod. Somehow the internet led me to the nishine erie darter 115, and this lure in hologram smelt combined with the heavier rod is just the deal on my lake. It's my number 1 by a mile and really fun to fish. The 15" (TW measurement) handle is something I've learned to work with, though a loose fitting jacket in the forearm can be problematic. scott

My best way to handle this is adding different gloves and changing when pulling the anchor/driving. Fishing gloves, water proof gloves, warming gloves. These are cheap and full water proof and pretty warm. Very useful, Thanks @T-Billy I also keep a pair of ski gloves/mittens around to warm my hands up if I lose them. Intermittent warm ups and staying dry allow for hours of s**te weather. scott

My best guess is that water volume compared to surface area is the main equation to figure out which lakes will warm/cool faster. scott

I'm usually learning about new (to me) techniques/lures here and youtube. That'll probably reflect in the three lures I think people should be more aware of.... - fintech title shot. Very versatile and useful in weedy lakes. Pretty sure it was someone on this site that pointed it out. - dale hollow tackle punisher jigs. A-Jay was the first to post it that I paid attention to. - nishine erie 115sd jerkbait. This jerk in hologram smelt is absolute killer for me in my clear water. I think this was a youtuber for one episode. Mikeyballz? - honorable mention; poor boy baits eerie darter is a drop shot killer. Though I read that quality might have gone down recently and I don't like drop shotting. Then this is more of a notice to the midwest peeps, gambler is a seriously overlooked company up here. Their soft plastic line up and terminal tackle deserve to be considered for our natural weedy lakes. scott