Alex Ball

Newer one. Graphite. Very good reel for $40. Use it for heavy apps. This is just a mental exercise of sorts. I like trying different ideas other than my own. Makes it fun. Thank you for the tips.

This chart is what started it all for me. A puzzle to solve. Just for fun, and because I live in the bfe part of bfe, I'd like to try something with you guys. Below is a list of all my rods and reels. I'd love help pairing them for specific applications. These will be my setups for my first year as a tourney Co-Angler on Bull Shoals, a rubix cube of a lake. 15-20 is shallow here and no vegetation really. Super to crystal clear. Rock bottom. Also, the remainder will be for bankin' and river fishing on the White. My 3 fave species are Bass, Walleye, and Gills. I use P-line Copoly and Flouro and Yozuri Superline Braid. I know we've done this before, but I just love it. Good brain food. I have every lure/plastic you can imagine so don't be shy on odd ideas. Finally, thanks to J. Francho, Bulldog, IronBjorn, WRB, T-billy, RangerJockey and anyone else who has helped me on my way. I'm now the proud manager of the smallest tackle shop in N. Arkansas. You guys took a rank amateur and helped me learn enough to get the job. I'll never forget that. Some pics of our adventures as well. I'm the twig. LOL. Spinning Rods Heddon Mark Magna Graph/5'/1-16_1-4/ULS Abu Cardinal Tournament Grade/5'6"/1-16_3-8/LM Shakespeare Micro/5'6"/1-16_3-8/LM Kastking Crixus/5'6"/1-16_3-8/LMF Denali Pryme/ 7'/ 1-64_1-4/MLF Denali Kovert White River/6'6"/1-8_3-8/MM Ugly Stik GX2/6'6"/1-8_5-8/MFC Abu Vendetta/7'4"/3-16_5-8/MF Lew's Xfinity/7'/3-8_3-4/MHXF Shimano Fightin Rod/5'9"/1-4_1.25/MHMF Ugly Stik Catfish/7'1-2_3/MHMF Reels 501-KK Lancelot 2000/12lb drag/21.3 IPT/8-235 511-Lew's Laser HS 30/14lb/27IPT/10-165 521-Denali Spin 50/10lb/22.4/8-110 BPS Microlite Supreme 20/8lb/22.4/6-90 (x2) Lew's Laser SG 200/14lb/25/8-120 Pflueger President 20/6lb/20.2/6-80 Pflueger President 30/10lb/8-130 621-KK Valiant Eagle 1000/17.6lb/8-115 KK Valiant Eagle 3000/22lb/10-180 Shimano Sahara 5000/24lb/14-165 Casting Rods Denali Kovert CB/6'10"/1-4_5-8/MM Abu Vigilante/7'/1-4_5-8/MMF Denali Kovert SB/6'9/5-16_1/MHMF Abu Conolon Premier/6'/3-8_3-4/MHF Shimano FX/6'6"/1-4_1/MHFC Berkley Air Select/8'6"/1-2_1.75/HM Lew's Mach 2 Pitchin'/7'4"/3-16_1.5/HXF Denali Lithium Flippin'/7'6"/5-16_1.5/XHF Denali Lithium Flip-Rig/7'10"/5-16_3/XHF Reels 531-Abu 5500 C3/15lb/26IPT/12-240/Cent. Brakes 541-KK Megajaws/17.6lb/22.4/10-125/Mag 641-Abu Black Max 3/18lb/26/12-145/Mag Pflueger Summit/15lb/26.4/10-140/Cent./aluminum 711-BPS Johnny Morris XPS/14lb/31/12-120/Dual/aluminum 731-Pflueger Monarch/12lb/31/12-145/Mag Pflueger Trion/12lb/31/12-145/Mag 751-Lew's Reactor/15lb/30/12-110/Mag 911-KK Megajaws/17.6lb/37.7/10-125/Mag

LOL. That'd be a 25km hike.

And they're EVERYWHERE on Ebay. Oh definitely. Took me 3 weeks to get a Denali Rod from the site and I live 15 miles away.

Site is back up but 0 inventory. HMMMM.

Ohh man is this the thread for me! Spinner Rods Denali Pryme MLF rod- A beast for the panfish. Actually has a 1/64oz rating, which is super rare for a sub $100 rod. Will throw a trout magnet 3 miles. $70 on the site. Found mine for $40. Denali Kovert White River MM rod-Local to my area as far as I know. Can't even find em on the website. 12+1 guides, IM8, and soft. A great spinning crank rod. $70 but again got it for $40. Shimano Fightin Rod MHM- Anybody remember these? Got it for $5 in great shape. Love it for walleye. Caster Rods Shimano FX MHF-A $15 cranker! Nuff said. Abu Conolon Premier MHXF- Got it for $30 on FB. Amazing for jerks and drop shot. Berkley Air IM7 HM- An 8'6" xdeep cranker IMO. Very sensitive. Found it for $20 brand new.

Yessir, the spinnerbait rod was my thought as well. I'll post a revised setup list in a bit. Thanks rangerjockey. I was hoping you'd get in on this thread.

I actually like it for crankin, but yes only on XD's and Dredgers. Otherwise it's too much. I'm going to A-rig on it very soon. Getting the 7'10" crank rod for sure but am looking for 1 more. Any suggestions you have would be helpful. Love both rods.

Okay Here we go. My boat series as is. I can get 2 Lithium rods for 1 right now. Help me fill the gaps. Drop Shot-Abu Vendetta 7'4" MF/Lew's Laser SG20 25ipt/8lb Pline Floroclear AP Spinning-Lew's Xfinity 7' MHF/Kastking Valiant Eagle 3000 35.3ipt/20lb Yozuri Superline braid Spinnerbaits-Denali Kovert 6'10" MM/Pflueger Summit 26.4ipt/10lb Pline C21 copoly Crankin-Denali Lithium 7'6" XHF/Kastking Megajaws 22.4ipt/20lb YZ S-line braid Jerkin-Abu Conolon Premier 6' MHF/Kastking MJ 37.7ipt/10lb PLine FC AP Casting-Lew's Mach 2 7'4" HF/Lew's Reactor 30ipt/10lb Pline Flourescent Florocoat

Thanks guys. I have 2 Koverts, the 6'10" MM Cranker and the 6'6" Finesse. I also have a Lithium Flippin Stick and a Pryme rod. I'm with you Suzuki2903 on the softness, their F is MF by most standards. I too use Lew's for my broomsticks, love the neckbreaker action. IMO, the Lithium is a top notch rod. Like vs. anybody it'll win. I live 20 minutes from their main store so it's super convenient too. To Eric, never had a Fission but Southern Reel Outfitters still has em online. Might check em out. I'll post my lineup in a bit. Maybe ya'll can help me out. I finally figured out what I like so now I can streamline. Looking forward to the advice

Hey guys(and ladies), I was wondering if any body has any experience with Denali Rods that isn't a Pro Staffer. I have 4 of their rods. I got 2 from a guy who is a Pro Staffer and 2 from their store. So far, so good but I was just looking for other unbiased opinions. They have a sale right now and I'm thinking of switching over to them exclusively for my days on a boat. I have others for the White River spot I go to. I fish Bull Shoals Lake out of the Bull Shoals Marina if that matters somehow. Thanks.

Ahh rocket science. LOL. Got me thinking bout my Abu C3: 5.3:1/15 max drag/24IPT. Hmmmm.

Picked up a Kastking Megajaws 5.4:1. I have the 9.1:1 and love it so, I'm getting the slow one.

This comment is why I come here. Going to split the two. Given the info, I already have a good setup for LCB. Going to focus on the deep crank. Thanks ironbjorn.

Looking for a reel for a deep crank/lipless setup. Using an 8' Berkley Air HMF rod. Need advice on a good IPT rate to do both.

Got a Lew's Reactor for $30, Denali Kovert White River edition MM rod, a pflueger president 30 for $25 and a friend gave me a Virtus MHM rod fresh off the line.

My Sahara(That I bought cuz of you J! LOL) eats 41" per crank on a 6.2 ratio. Agreed, Spinners are now on a level playing field mathematically. Also, the higher IPT on a lower Ratio satifies the Torque problems with the "rocket" reels, IMO.

Okay here we go. My final setups after testing and taking in the advice from here. Light lures-Denali Pryme 7'mlm/Denali ds50 521 #8 Calamus Bastion braid Light plastics-Lews Xfinity XJ 6'mlf/Lew's XJ10 621 #8 CB braid Tokyo Rig/Bladed Jig-Shimano Speedmaster fightin Rod 5'9"/Shimano Sahara 5k 621#12 P-line Floro Trebles/Topwater-Denali Kovert 6'10 MM/BPS Johnny Morris XPS 711 #10 P-line Copoly Power Rig-Lew's Mach 2 7'4 HF/Kastking Megajaws 911 #10 P-line Copoly

As far as I know, Jim and Del are the guys who design them. I think Jim was Ark's brain at one point. He's a master at building rods. I hope to become a student of his someday if he'll allow it. My buddy lives next door to Del and Jim and I have long talks whenever we meet. Good to know we're talking to the right guys. I also love that Denali is down the road. And Jewel baits. This is Disneyworld for a gear geek like me.

Thanks guys. Wow Phil77, that's the guidance I needed. Thank you for the detail and specificity. I've heard stories about Norfork. Bluebasser86, I love it so far here. I chose this lake because of how it sets up, so I knew I was going to have to start over from a gear/learning standpoint. I've caught a few and man it's a different rush I get here. I'll post my final list of rigs a bit later. Thank you all for the help. This is why I think BR is the only place to go for me. I'm so happy I found this site.

I just might..... sometimes I feel like that's the only thing that'd work. Yesir. Met Del while at Virtus one day. Dude's a computer for this lake. So is Jim Noland. I'll be buying a Virtus rod soon.

Thanks Eric. I was out today and my #10 P-line C21 spooled reel was my go-to. Sufix is good stuff. I love the braid. Need to be mono/flouro on everything here so Sufix is now in my box. I like P-Line but haven't tried the Sufix mono, so I bought some. Spooling it up now. Any suggestions/thoughts on best "newbie" methods? I'm a crappie angler originally, but it's SOOO different here. Bass/Walleye are the targets and while I know my setups backwards, this lake is like Mars. I'm stumped here.

Ya, I definitely got that all sorts of clustered. LOL. Was up all night figuring it all out. I need to learn cranks, jigs, jerks, and ned/dropshot to be successful here. Very tough lake according to friends who fish at the higher levels professionally. I've been told that if you can catch a bass here consistently, you can do it anywhere in America. They also said these are very difficult methods to learn, cranking and jerks. I'm good on toads, frogs, spoons and getting there on Keitechs(In love with em already) which work here as well. My buddy runs drop shot, deep jerk, ploppers, spoons, and jigs. We want to try to cover as much of the strike zone as possible and also I try to compliment and not copy his style. Therefore, he drops, I crank, he jerks, I run swimmers, he goes top, I ned etc. My name is really Alex. Fishing saved my life cuz it got me away from the gang life. I approach this like combat, and I KNOW I'm outgunned for now. That'll change. My nickname is Rainman cuz I'm a steel trap for info. Thanks for the support. I started out in muddy swamps and then moved here where the water is like glass down to 25 ft in some places, so huge adjustments are being made. Agreed on 4. More room on the boat than I led you to believe, but we ride on a relic and everyone here has a friggin Bass Cat or Vexus from the last 2 years. Those boats are massive. Ours is pretty small by comparison. I can carry 5 but that's the limit. Here's where I'm at..... Spinning Light Lures-Denali Pryme 7' MLM Combo Ned-Lews XJ 6' MLF Combo Casting Trebles-Denali Kovert MM 6'10/BPS PQ2 681 Power- Lew's Mach 2 Pitchin Rod 7'4 HF/Kastking MegaJaws 911 Heavy Movers- Lew's David Fritts 7' MHM/BPS Johnny Morris XPS 711 I feel this is a good series. Please help with Line!

Yes! That's exactly what it looked like before I hit post. New computer. I've got it figured out now and will be able to present it right from now on.

Not my intention. The way it formats here versus my computer is a little different. It was far more streamlined on the original. Thank you for the advice. Thank you everyone for the advice. I should note that most of those setups were to cover all my bases for the post. Both of us have a habit of having too much stuff, so we're both trying to trim down. Apologies for the list being so weird it didn't set up that way before I tried to post it here. I will definitely form at it better if I need to do that again. Finally, I've decided on 5 set ups. The 3 Lew's and The Denalis. The heavy crank rod is very specific for two places we go. The smaller Denali is for one very specific place. Otherwise I run the light Denali as a drop shot and C-rig the Fritts. Thank you very much for all the advice. I greatly appreciate it. We may try tournaments next year so I want to get set up now.