cdlittle

You may be right. I picked up a BPS reel for $20. Aluminum frame, dual braking, works fantastic as my cranking reel.

If I'm gonna spend more than $85 on a reel, it's gonna be Daiwa or Shimano.

Got an Okuma GS rod at a yard sale for $20, tags still on it. It's become my jerkbait rod and I love it so much.

I literally just finished building a rod for this specific purpose. It has enough backbone to handle smaller bass, but light enough to make panfish super enjoyable. 5lb braid to 4lb mono, throwing baits that are 1/8 oz or less. First outing was mighty successful! http://imgur.com/a/UUATOXH

I spend a lot of time with my BFS gear catching small bass and panfish. It's every bit as fun to me.

Oh h*** no. I would be calling TW and giving them a piece of my mind. That's a $200 rod they damaged.

I've only broken off two fish and both were because I tied the knot in a hurry and didn't cinch it down well enough.

Went out last night since it was in the 50's and we're due to drop back into the 40's again. Caught a beautiful little chunk slow rolling a little paddletail (Donkey Tail from Mule Fishing) along the bottom. First time trying this rod since I built it, so I'm not sure if it's just more sensitive than I expected or if he hit like a truck, but it was a freaking solid bite. http://imgur.com/a/UUATOXH

Never fished a stickbait. The amount of anti-dropshot people is startling. It's one of my favorite ways to fish.

Ken Onion version for me. I use it to sharpen anything that need sharpening. Filet/EDC/kitchen knives mostly

Definitely the top version

I'd Whopper Plopper the everliving crap out of that spot at night

I just got a Worksharp. This is a fantastic idea.

Ah, my bad then.

When the grass gets nasty here in Chicago, I use swim jigs, weedless swimbaits, Texas rig, Super Flukes, and weedless drop shot. If you have that super slimy, neon green crap like we do, I've found that a floating plastic, Texas rigged with a pegged 1/16 weight doesn't pick up much of that.

1) To make a smoother transition from blank to guide. 2) Yep, every rod 3) Some guides come pre-ground 4) All guides 5) The tip of the guide foot will be too thick to make a perfect transition from the blank 6) I use sandpaper, 320 grit 7) Absolutely

Yikes, that doesn't sound fun! Have you seen if cork sealer stops it?

@BaitFinesse summed it up better than I can. As long as it's under 1/4-ish oz and uses a rod like BaitFinesse explained, it's BFS to me.

Agreed here. If people weren't allowed to post something that's already been discussed, then the forums wouldn't exist. Plus, new eyes and new responses lead to learning and innovation. That being said, I would always see if there's a thread that has been active in the last month or so before I post a question. As far as the question goes, it depends. Aesthetically, I prefer EVA on rods with a modern or JDM look. I prefer cork on my fly rods and rods with a more classic look. Luckily, as a rod builder, I get to choose that. The only catch is on the really affordable rods, the cork can be quite cheap and ugly. I prefer EVA in that instance. For example, I use a cheap Berkley Lightning rod as my drop shot rod as it has a wonderfully fast action for $30. But the "cork composite" grips are a very thin top layer over an abysmally crap quality grip. How you hold your rod definitely plays a big part in the functionality of the grip material. The way I hold my rods, my pinky and a slight bit of my palm is all that's really on the grip, so material doesn't matter too much.

Yup. Burn, burn, pause. Right under the surface.

Don't know about the sink rate, but they are supposed to be fished the same way.

My wife got a huge hookup on a Whopper Plopper 60 on Easter. So there's that.

All of it is fun for me, until it comes to putting the finish on. I hate doing the finish.

Thanks for the clarification. Never been anywhere with a bass season.

So you can get in trouble because a bass bit your lure while you were going after crappie?