PBBrandon

Dark Sleepers and Sleeper Craws are awesome lures. Gonna always have one tied on this winter

The Daiwa Regal LT and Pflueger President are 2 spinning reels that are awesome for 60 bucks. I’ve had both for years and they are still smooth. I have caught some big cats, bass, and carp, and flat out abused the President on my GX2 beater combo. You just can’t kill those things. Speed Spool LFS is the best 100 dollar baitcaster IMO. Can be easily found for less as well

I have the 7’2” MHF Expride B and it’s a fantastic rod. I’ve held the Levantes in store and they feel really nice as well. I’m sure you can’t go wrong.

I love in-line spinners by the spillway, the running water makes the little blade spin even when you aren’t reeling in fast when casting it downstream

The Champion XP 734C is their do it all standout rod 👍

7’2” MH would be your best all-round rod for most things (worms, spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, chatterbaits, swimbaits with jig heads 1/4oz+). Only things it wouldn’t throw as well are deeper cranks and smaller inline spinners. I have a Zodias and a couple of Exprides, never fished the Curado rod but Shimanos are pretty true to their rating.

With how inexpensive top end reels are from Japan, I’ll put more money in the rod and have both lol

Glad to hear you like Texoma! Hard to get away from the striper out there lol. Over by Eisenhower State Park and the dam, smallmouth get pretty hefty. 2-3 pounders are pretty common around there. I’ve caught a 5-5.5 by the dam before. Some decent largies around there too

I’ve used them a couple of times with success. Can fish them like a spoon or a lipless. I prefer them over lipless cranks on deep lakes in the winter

I’ve never fished from a kayak during the colder months and want to make sure I’m prepared. I live in north Texas where it doesn’t get too cold, but definitely cold enough for hypothermia. I have scupper plugs to keep the water out, but what should I wear to keep dry? Any clothing recommendations? Thank you

I can’t think of any advantages of using braid as the leader. Either straight braid, straight mono/FC, or braid with a mono/FC leader

I’ve held the Tatula XT rods in store and they felt a lot nicer than their price tag would suggest. However, the old Mojo Bass rods being on sale makes them hard to pass up too. I’d go with one of those 2

I’ll usually run 40-50lb mainline with a ~6ft 12-20lb FC leader on most of my setups. The FC is less visible than braid in clear water for sure. In murky water, I’ll cut the leader off for the sensitivity boost of straight braid, or if I’m throwing topwater bc braid floats.

I separate my swim jigs and bottom contact jigs. But almost all of my jigs are 3/8-1/2oz SK pro models with a couple of heavier footballs mixed in. A 1/8oz difference on a jig isn’t enough for me to go through the trouble of labeling and sorting lol

I’d personally get a Dobyns Sierra 734c. It says it’s a heavy fast, but it’s really a medium heavy mod fast. (Yes I know, Dobyns ratings are weird like that lol). I threw chatters and lipless cranks on my 734c Champion and it worked them both beautifully. The Sierra is a little slower than the champ but not by much. It’d be great for both techniques and pretty much any moving bait. Spinnerbaits, spooks, squarebills, you name it.

Darn, my DC734 snapped a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been flip flopping on upgrading to the DX744. You might’ve just sold the monkey on it lol

Yeah I just read that it probably won’t be opening until January or so. Supposed to be a high school tourney or 2 in February. I’ll just hit up texoma instead. Gonna be a fight for spots when it opens it sounds like. Looking forward to it nevertheless 😎

Thanks everyone! I’m looking forward to taking the kayak out there this weekend

So there’s a reservoir that just got put in 30-40 minutes from where I live called Bois D’arc Lake. It’s 16,600 acres so it’s no small pond. It actually used to be a 1000 acre lake called Bonham lake that was always pretty good fishing. Anyone who’s fished brand new, big reservoirs, where and how do you start fishing them? And is the fishing usually good right after it’s stocked and the fish haven’t seen any pressure? Or does it usually take a bit to get good? I’m eager to try it out but if I’m better off just sticking with my usual Texoma for a while until Bois D’arc matures, I’m just fine with that. here’s the lake for reference thanks for y’all’s help!

Amazon has the Lews BB1 Pro in 7.5:1 left hand for 100 bucks right now. Said there were 3 left…until I got one of them 😂

Thanks y’all, I think I’ve narrowed it down to 6’10” or 7’3” MLXF in the LTB line 6’10” MLXF, 7’ MLF, or 7’6” MLXF 2pc in the Legend Elite line anyone have opinions on these rods? I’m leaning towards the 6’10” models as I fish mostly from a kayak and sometimes the bank, but am open to a longer rod if it gives an advantage

I have a St. Croix Victory rod that snapped on me while casting and I’m thinking about upgrading to a higher line. I had the 7’3” MXF spinning model. It was a good rod, but I figure I might as well upgrade if it’s worth it. My current spinning setups are: 6’ ULF Premier 6’6” LF Premier 7’1” MLF Kaden 7’ MF Expride B my premiers are on the noodle side and my Kaden and Expride are stout for their ratings. So a true finesse rod seems to be what I need for dropshots, neds, etc. The 7’3” MXF did a fine job because of the soft tip, but it had a lot of backbone as well. What’s finesse rod in the LTB, Legend Elite, or Legend X line should I upgrade to? Thank you

How are y’all storing your soft swimbaits? I have a couple of Dark Sleepers and a Magdraft that have warped tails from being in my tackle box. How can I avoid this and how should I be storing these lures? Thank you

InvizX and Sniper ?

Best palming reels I’ve had in no particular order: Alphas SV 800 Curado 150 MGL Zillion SV 1000 Tatula SV 103 been wanting to try a Curado 70 MGL out. Might get one down the road