bgaviator

Thanks for all the input. I’m still new to this. I just got into this last year as something to do during Covid. But I’ve really grown to like it. I promise I’ll get a baitcaster at some point. I don’t know why I’m so hesitant. Maybe it’s just laziness on my part. I just wanted to get something in that was already spooled up and ready to throw on a rod and go fish. I don’t just target bass. I’m happy to catch anything. So that’s why I figured a Zebco would suffice for me. I enjoy fishing with it albeit it is super heavy and fatiguing to hold after a short while. Sorry I wasn’t up front with what my reel was in combination with my rods.

I have never seen rods on Bass Pro or Tackle Warehouse listed as just “spincast rods”. There’s either just “casting” or “spinning”. I thought my Zebco Bullet needed a casting rod. Any spincast combo setups I see are using rods just like mine with the spincast sitting on top. Now I’m confused…

But don’t push button spincasts like the Bullet need a “casting” rod and not a “spinning” rod? I thought spinning rods were just for open faced spinning reels?

Ok so what guys are gonna rip on me now for using a Bullet? My question was about rods. I get it, everyone hates spincast reels and think they’re a joke. But I just wanted something easy to get into fishing with. I’m comfortable with spincasts and I intend on buying a baitcast at some point but I’m just not ready to.

It is quite fatiguing to hold after a short time.

Just the mono that came spooled on my Zebco Bullet reel

The Expride is probably next on my purchase list!

Ok that makes sense that it becomes more noticeable with bottom contact stuff. I was just using crankbaits and grubs yesterday. I haven’t done any Texas rig stuff since the spring. Now, I did notice when I was using my grubs on a jig head with the Dobyn’s yesterday, I could feel when the jig head would hit a rock. It would startle me at first cause I thought it was a fish, but then I got used to what it felt like when i would run into a rock. Yes my Dobyn’s did a great job pulling in the big Drum and white bass I landed yesterday.

So yesterday I took my new Dobyn’s Fury rod out to Sardis Lake spillway. This is the most expensive rod I’ve bought so far. It’s a medium heavy rod. I bought it cause I heard so many good things about it being one of the best rods for the price point. I thought it would be a noticeable step up from my cheaper Daiwa Aird-x. Now granted my AirdX is only a medium rod, and this Dobyn’s is a medium heavy. But I don’t think I could tell a difference at all between them. I couldn’t whip lures quite as far I don’t think with the Dobyn’s, but as far as sensitivity or anything else I couldn’t tell a difference. Makes me question why I spent $130 on that rod as opposed to only $60 for the Daiwa. Is there something wrong with me that I can’t tell the difference? What do you typically get from a rod by spending more money? I know there’s rods a ton more expensive than even the Dobyn’s. But I’m just not sure it’s worth it for a casual fisherman like myself to drop that kind of coin on expensive rods I’m not sure I can feel a difference with. Appreciate any input on the matter.

Not really a bass fishing specific question, but just general. I’m used to using those plastic round red/white clip on bobbers. I’ve been researching the pros of using slip bobbers. The thing I’m not quite sure about, is when I was out fishing today and looking at the line guides of my Daiwa AirdX casting rod…the eyelets are super small, especially the last few. How does any kind of bobber stop pass through the guides? They seem like they would be too small. Thanks for helping a newbie out.

I think I’m gonna pull the trigger on my first baitcaster. I’m looking at the Daiwa Tatula CT. Just not sure what gear ratio to select. I’m torn between the 6.3:1 or the 7.3:1 model. I want it to be super versatile. I want to pretty much be able to do all techniques. I really enjoy weightless Texas rig setups and I like fishing squarebills and lipless cranks as well. Also enjoy fishing Zoom flukes. Appreciate advice. Thanks.

Thanks all. I ended up actually getting a Dobyn’s Fury MH 7’

I could also step up to something like the Dobyns Fury. I see great things about it too. Not ready to drop money on something like a Shimano Expride just yet. Maybe a future gift to myself ?

I notice the 7’ MH Procyon says it has an extra fast tip and the 7’ AirdX MH says it has a fast tip. Should that be a consideration in my selection as well, or does that part not matter as much?

About to buy another rod. 7’ MH. I really like the AirdX Medium I last bought. The Procyon seems to be the next step up in the price point at about $20 more. Will I notice any appreciable differences in these rods? Is the Procyon worth the slightly higher price? Thanks.

Thanks! I catch a lot of these but they are usually very small. I don’t think there’s a min size on keeping these though

Can you tell me what kind of bass this is? I catch a lot of these little ones. White or striped?

Oh wow. Ok thanks!

Started off for the first 90 mins using marabou hair jigs and plastic crappie magnet lure under a bobber. Wasn’t catching anything despite seeing huge fish breach the surface constantly. Finally pulled out my bass app on my phone and it recommended a squarebill. I never used one at the spillway before but I figured I would give it a shot. I started off with my little strike king Bitsy pond minnow squarebill. I started catching little white bass left and right. Then I switched to my KVD sexy Shad squarebill 1.5. Whoa baby. First I almost had a Gar. I saw him get to the surface but my hook wasn’t set well and he got away. Then I caught a huge white fish of some kind. Not sure what kind it was but it was ginormous! It didn’t look like it had any scales…almost like a smooth blubber like skin. It’s top fin laid down really flat too…like it didn’t have any spines on it’s top fin. Anyway I got it near the shore and the line snapped. I didn’t think to bring my net! And he got away with my squarebill! I then switched to my strike king lipless crank, and I caught this huge bass. Not sure what kind of bass it is. Can you guys help me identify? Biggest fish I’ve ever caught! The funny thing is people were still using bobbers all around me and I didn’t see anyone catching anything. And here I was with my square bill and lipless catching them left and right.

What’s a “jar of JJ’s”?

So when I got really into fishing last year I started going to Bass Pro and Amazon and ordering every kind of lure under the sun that got good reviews thinking I surely couldn’t lose if I had a bit of everything in my Arsenal. I bought a nice Bass Pro tackle bag and it has 4 of those plastic organizer boxes with it. I’ve already filled up all 4 boxes and they’re almost overflowing. Sometimes I think I have too much. A lot of the stuff I haven’t even used yet. My most productive stuff so far has been just a senko style worm fished unweighted Texas rigged for Bass, and small marabou hair jigs and crappie magnets for smaller white bass. Just curious if you could just have a handful of baits/lures, what would you be taking with you every single time for the most success? I know lures can change with the seasons, and some are specific to that particular time of year, but I’m assuming there are some that can work year round? sometimes I feel I’m wasting my money buying all this stuff, most of which I don’t seem to use, so that’s why I’m curious about possibly downsizing to the most universal, productive stuff.

May I ask what specifically went wrong with his? I saw one review on YouTube that said the button is plastic, despite Zebco saying all-metal construction, and that the button can sometimes break. Sounds like an easy part replacement if it’s just that.

Today I was able to use my new Zebco Bullet paired with a 7’ Daiwa Airdx medium action rod. I had a really light swim bait attached and this thing casts a long ways! I was super impressed. I could only imagine how far I could cast if I had a heavier lure attached. Retrieve is butter smooth. The 5:1 gear ratio really moved baits through the water fast. So much so that I had to learn to slow my retrieve a little as I’m used to normal slower spincasters. My only critique, and I’ve seen this mentioned from others too, is that it is indeed heavy. Before I started fishing with it, when I first took it out of the package, I didn’t think it felt all that heavy. But just after a few casts I could certainly feel it in my wrists. Overall nice reel. Just thought I’d post in case anyone was curious about this reel. I know most avid fisherman use baitcasters or spinning, but it’s just something I wanted to try first before moving on to those setups.

Why one of the lower gear ratios? I was thinking about a 7:1 as it seems like that’s a sweet spot from what I’ve been reading as far as most all-purpose

I’d be willing to go up to $120 on a rod I think.