DEPS_250

I see they also sell Shimano replacement parts too. Are they pretty reliable for Shimano too? Does anyone know if they are considered/listed as an 'authorized dealer' for Shimano? How come no Daiwa? Is Daiwa too specialized/exclusive?

Does anyone know the diameters for Sunline FX2 braided line? A google search ended up with nothing. I want to give it a try but I also want to know the thickness/diameter before making up my mind. I am hoping someone in here has intel/info or has tested the line for thickness already. Even TackleTour did not list a diameter in their review and they are usually pretty thorough as far as being very technical and providing as much info as possible on a product review.

That is exactly what I was thinking.

Does anyone know if EReplacementParts.com is legit for buying replacement parts for Abu? Abu actually has the site listed as an 'authorized dealer' for replacement parts. On the other hand, a google search for the website has yielded mostly negative reviews and is said to be a scam and is not legit. Luckily, I have a tackle shop that is very close to me and is actually listed on the Abu site as an authorized dealer for replacement parts. Should I just go through my local tackle shop? Has anyone dealt with buying replacement parts from EReplacementParts.com before? Good or bad experiences?

I mostly use glass rods for crankbaits only.

I am looking for a dedicated swim jig rod also. I literally watched over a dozen youtube videos yesterday on swim jig fishing tips. I like to fish braid to a short leader for a lot of my fishing. Does anyone know of a composite or graphite rod that has a good amount of sensitivity but than also has a slow enough action to counter act the braid and not pull the jig away from the fish too fast? Should I be looking for a Moderate Fast action? In my opinion, glass rods are not the way to go for swim jigs, even if your planning to use braided line. Glass rods do not have the sensitivity needed for swim jigs. 100% graphite or composite would be the right way to go. Sensitivity is very important for fishing a swim jig even though swim jigs are not considered a bottom contact technique and are more likely to be labeled as a moving/reaction bait. The best way to fish a swim jig is usually trying to crash/bump/hit it into any kind of cover where you think a bass is hiding in. A good sensitive rod gives the angler the feedback he/she needs in order to tell what the jig is doing and if they are hitting a piece of cover and when they need to pop/rip the jig from a piece of cover in order to elicit a strike. Most of your swim jig bites come from popping or ripping the jig from a piece of cover.

Haha LOL! I get it now. They tie chicken feathers on the jig hence, chicken jig. Did not see that one. Thanks.

Just watched a couple of the Seth Feider videos. Why does he call a hair jig a 'chicken'? Is that word specific to a certain area of the US only (i.e. Minnesota)? l have never seen anyone in Cali call a hair jig a chicken. Seth recommends 17-20lb fluorocarbon. Would 14-16lb fluorocarbon work or would it be too light? I understand weight is going to depend on how deep you are fishing and how fast you want the bait to fall but what would be the recommended weight sizes if your just starting out? I like to fish fast, therefore I tend to favor bigger and heavier baits. Would 1/2oz, 3/4oz and 1oz suffice? Is it mainly a summer or winter time bait? Or is it a year round bait? I fish in Cali and I have never seen anyone fish them in the winter, spring or fall time in our lakes. From my understanding and from experience, a hair jig is only fished in Cali in the summer time when the bass suspend and school up. Are there guys in Cali using hair jigs all the time no matter what season it is and I am just not aware of it or have not seen it?

I have never tried using a hair/buck tail jig for freshwater bass before. On the other hand, I have used them extensively in the salt for halibut, stripers and rockfish on charter boats. I am planning to give hair/buck tail jigs a try sometime this summer in a few weeks. My goal is to learn how to fish them in freshwater and eventually catch some bass with them. For all intents and purposes...A hair jig is 'always' fished with no trailer in freshwater right? On the other hand, I am pretty sure there are many freshwater fisherman out there who have probably experimented at least a couple times with using a trailer on a hair jig in order to stand out or show the fish something different, right? Reason why I ask is, I have always used a trailer on my hair/buck tail jigs in the salt when targeting halibut, stripers and rockfish. And it seems to always work. And yet, I never see freshwater bass fisherman use a trailer on hair/buck tail jigs. They always fished them 'bare'/as-is.

Thank you for the write up. I am actually looking for a budget jig rod with a good amount of sensitivity and backbone while having a soft enough tip for properly dragging and popping football and swing head jigs over rocks, ledges and flats. Out of all those rods you listed, which one would you recommend for 1/2-1oz football jigs and swing head jigs in open water? I was looking at getting the Ark Invoker series. I don't know if I should get the Ark Invoker 7'6" Heavy or the 7'6" Medium Heavy. Which one would you recommend for 1/2-1oz jigs? Do you know if the micro guides are big enough for braid to leader connection knots like a uni to uni? I am also interested in the Powell Diesel 7'6" Mag Medium Heavy. You described it as being more of a punch rod, but would it be good for fishing jigs too? If it really does lean more towards being a punch rod, do you think it would be too fast and too much rod for fishing jigs in open water?

As far as sensitivity is concerned, Does anyone know how Daiwa's HVF/X45 combination blank stacks up against something like Toray's 40Ton carbon? I am looking for a 'best bang for your buck' jig/bottom contact rod that is cheap and still fairly sensitive. Found 2 rods right at $100 bucks. Narrowed it down to... Daiwa Tatula XT 7'6" _ Extra Heavy _ 12-30lb _ 3/8-1 1/2oz Ark Lancer Pro 7'6" _ Heavy _ 12-25lb _ 1/2 - 2oz The Ark Lancer Pro is the cheapest rod series I can find on Tackle Warehouse that uses a 40Ton Toray blank. 40Ton Toray is about as sensitive as it gets as far as a $200 rod is concerned. Most rod companies charge $200+ for 40ton Toray. The Ark Lancer Pro comes in at only $100 bucks for 40Ton Toray! Killer deal and a no brainer if you ask me. On the other hand, I am a Daiwa Fanboy and I really love the action on Daiwa rods. They always feel so dialed and are very versatile as far as action is concerned. I have also heard that Daiwa's manufacturing process for their HVF technology has really improved over the years and has come a long way as far as trickling down into lower price point rods and therefore enabling Daiwa to produce cheap rods that are lighter, faster and more sensitive. Does anyone know what tonnage/modulus carbon fiber Daiwa uses in their HVF formula, when building budget 100 dollar rods? I am pretty sure Daiwa changes the formula of their HVF/X45 based on rod price point/series. Therefore, I am mainly looking for a ball park number as far as a 100 dollar rod is concerned if anyone knows or has any insight into Daiwa's manufacturing process. Is it comparable to 30T, 36T or 40T from Toray? Which rod should feel more sensitive between the two and is obviously the better deal? Does anyone have any experience with both of these 2 rod series?

The way I see it... Short Rod Pros _ More Sensitivity _ Better Accuracy _ Less Fatiguing/Tiring/Taxing Short Rod Cons _ Less line pickup on hook set _ Less leverage on getting fish to the surface and out of cover Long Rod Pros _ More line pickup on hook set _ More leverage on getting fish to the surface and out of cover Long Rod Cons _ Less Sensitivity _ Reduced Accuracy _ More Fatiguing/Tiring/Taxing Height of the angler plays a little too I think. I am short and I prefer a short rod for flipping and punching. 7'4" to 7'6" is about the range of rods I like for flipping and punching sticks. I will absolutely not go over 7'6". Tried a 7'11" flipping stick and it is way too long and taxing/tiring/fatiguing. Taller guys can definitely get away with fishing longer rods if they have the strength and stamina to do so/last. Ish Monroe and Jared Lintner are some of the best modern era pro west coast flippers/punchers. I believe Ish is 6'2"-6'3". Jared Lintner is 6'4". Some of the best flippers and punchers on the west coast are over 6' tall and most of them use 7'11" or 8'0" rods. On the other hand, I also know some short guys around my height who can also flip with 7'11" rods too. I am pretty sure shorter guys can flip longer rods given if they practice enough and get a 'dialed in' setup going that they can than master. I think Dee Thomas is 5'6"-5'7" right? I also know some guys who are tall and that prefer shorter rods also. Therefore, its all personal preference and what you are willing to spend time on and sacrifice with. Are there any anglers in here who are tall (6'0"+) and that prefer shorter rods for flipping and punching? Does anyone know of a pro angler who is short and that likes to flip and punch with a long (7'9"-8'0") rod?

I know that tying to a swivel that is connected to the bait via a split ring prevents line twist. On the other hand, does it also prevent/mitigate the fish from gaining leverage and throwing the bait/hooks too, like what swiveling hook hangers already do/try to mitigate? I was thinking about the physics of a line tie/in line swivel and how it already creates a turning/rotating point against the fish and it got me thinking about swiveling hook hangers that come built inside some hard baits already. Therefore, it got me thinking, if there is already the option to use a line tie/in line swivel that already creates a rotating point/force against a fish gaining leverage and throwing the bait/hooks, than there is no need for 'built in' swiveling hook hangers on the bait, right?

Rod sleeves and socks it is! The replies were clearly a land slide victory! Haha LOL.

Well, I guess the consensus and results have spoken for themselves and it looks like it's solved now. It looks like I am going to have to buy rod socks for my setups too now.

Does anyone in here use rod sleeves/socks? Are there any advantages/pros to using them? I understand their purpose and place but at the same I don't see any advantages or positives of using them. In my opinion, they seem like more work and more of a nuisance than actually helping anything. I mean... 1. If you have a lot of setups in a arsenal that you like to bring with you fishing all the time, then that is a lot of sleeves/socks to take off/on and eventually you will need to find a space to store these things. I feel like it's more of a hassle and just takes away from precious fishing time/enjoyment. 2. If you're somewhat a hardcore/regular fisherman and go fishing a lot, your rod is eventually going to get abused/scratched/scuffed one way or another anyways. Therefore, it's going to get damaged any way no matter what, even if you use a rod sock/sleeve just for the transportation and storage time/places. So...Why waste the money on them if the rod is going to end up getting abused/damaged anyway if your using them day in and day out like your supposed to? I feel like rods being abused/scratched/scuffed is inescapable/inevitable in fishing and will not really help in the long run. I am hard on my gear and I am one of those 'treat my gear like a tool' kind of guy. Therefore, the rod sleeves/socks have always seemed like a gimmick to me intended to take more money away from me and into the hands of other people. Who here feels different and/or can vouch for rod sleeves/socks? Who here feels the same as me? I am all confused and I am trying to see if these things are worth my time and money.

Depends on what kind of swimbaits you are planning/trying to fish with. I currently use a Tatula 200 7.3 for glide baits and it works fine for 1-3 oz glide baits. I have tried a lot of glide baits on it and the 7.3 feels good for those smaller to medium glide baits in the 4-7.5"in/1-3oz range. Any glide bait larger than 7.5" or 3oz and the 7.3 feels too slow. For glide baits over 3oz/7.5", I would definitely suggest going with a faster gear ratio reel in the 8's, like a Tatula 300 in 8.1:1. One caveat, I fish that Tatula 200 with 40lb Daiwa J Braid packed 'tightly' and to the 'brim' as close to the top of the spool as I possibly can. I then tie on a 6-10 foot leader of 15-20lb Copoly or Fluoro based on how fast I want the bait to sink, the cover/structure I am fishing, how much stretch I want and the size of fish I think I will encounter. Since the braid is so thin, it lets me 'pack on' as much braid as I can onto the reel and effectively gives me as much line as possible onto the spool after an average to long distance cast. This keeps my IPT as high as possible or in other words, as close as possible to the reels 'stated' IPT. This effectively 'widens/enlarges/maximizes' my glide baits effective working distance and therefore allows my glide bait to be worked efficiently throughout as much of my full cast as possible when reeling the bait back towards me and therefore gives me the longest working time along with a very large strike zone depending on water clarity and fish activity. BRAID TO LEADER FOR LIFE YO! Only disadvantage is you gotta make sure you're very good/experienced with a bait caster and make sure you don't do 'whip' style casts that can lead to a backlash. You need to stick to 'lob' style casts from the hip/shoulder and make sure you have your brakes set accordingly/perfect. I have already lost 2 glide baits due to being a little too confident and/or having a little too much adrenaline/caffeine and getting a backlash. If you're still a beginner to bait casters and you are planning on using braid to a leader, then I would highly suggest you use a thicker braid to start with, like 50-65lb braid. This basically makes it harder to backlash since your line is so thick and less likely to dig in. I go with the thinnest braid I can get away with because I am just crazy like that but do what you think is right for you. With that said, The 7 will be more versatile and will allow you to fish a wider variety of baits. Like they always say...you can always slow down a fast reel but you can never speed up a slow reel. On the other hand, the 6 is better for soft single/jig hook style paddle tail swimbaits that need to be creeped very slowly on the bottom. With all that said, you're going to need both gear ratios if you're planning on fishing both glide baits/hard baits and soft bait style paddle tail swimbaits. I honestly thought I could get away with just the 7.3 but I don't have the patience and discipline to slow down when fishing soft baits. I need the help of a slow reel to fish soft baits. My next reel purchase will be the Tatula 200 in 6.3 no doubt.

I want to start fishing lakes that have spotted bass and some smallmouth bass in them and I need some tips. I know for a fact that the spotted bass has a smaller mouth than a largemouth. Does that mean the size of the mouth is some what in between a smallmouth and a largemouth? Since both a spotted bass and a smallmouth bass have small mouths, are bigger baits pretty much ruled out when targeting spotted and smallmouth bass? I listen to a lot of fishing podcasts and a die hard tournament angler once said that he could not catch any spotted bass or smallmouth bass when using baits that were too large and that did not fit in the spotted bass or smallmouth bass's mouth. He quickly learned that the best way to fish for them was to downsize the baits that he was using. On the other hand, I watch a lot of YouTube videos on fishing and I have seen numerous videos of spotted bass and even smallmouth bass being caught on large baits even though they have small mouths. Catching a spotted bass or smallmouth on a 6-8in glide bait and/or swim bait seems like a pretty common occurrence now a days depending on the location/fishery. I like fishing bigger baits no matter what kind of bass species or size of fish that is in a lake. A larger bait makes fishing more efficient and usually casts better, fish's deeper, covers more water and usually catches a better quality/bigger size of fish. Therefore, why I am all confused.

With the exception of braided fishing line which clearly has no stretch...will a smaller LB rating/thinner fishing line have more stretch than a bigger LB rating/thicker fishing line when comparing the same line manufacturer and model? I have heard that the thinner the fishing line is, the more its going to stretch compared to a thicker fishing line just from pure physics alone. From a purely physics stand point, it makes sense since the thicker/denser the material there is to pull, the more resistance there is going to be and therefore the less stretch you're going to feel/have. Therefore, a smaller/thinner line should feel a lot softer and have more stretch since there is less material to pull right?

I am having a hard time getting very good/positive hook sets into fish when fishing large soft body weedless/jig hook style swimbaits in very deep water or on a very long cast/distance when using straight fluorocarbon on a slow gear ratio reel. I have lost a lot of fish and I can tell that my reel is too slow and is not picking up line fast enough in order to take up the slack needed for getting a good/positive hook set into the fish and getting the hook past the barb and/or in time before the fish spits the bait out. I have tried using a fast gear ratio reel and forcing myself to slow down my retrieve but they don't work for my style of fishing and the baits I am throwing. I don't have the patience to slow down a fast gear ratio reel. I need a slow gear ratio reel in order to discipline me and help make me fish the bait correctly and therefore get the right action from the bait in order to get bit. It got me thinking, can using braid with a leader on a low gear ratio/IPT reel help mitigate and/or lessen line slack and therefore improve getting good/positive hook sets when a fish bites at the end of a very long cast or in very deep water? Since braid has no stretch, I would assume that it would actually 'make up' for a slow gear ratio/IPT reel and therefore help in taking up line slack in time for a positive hook set even though my reel is slow to begin with in picking up line from the start of my reel set/hook set, right?

Megabass is too expensive for me right now. Maybe later in the future when I can save up more money. I was also looking at the Dobyns Fury 795 Swimbait rod also. Does anyone know if the Dobyns Fury 795 can handle 3-4 oz comfortably? I kind of skimmed over the Tackle Tour review and a bunch of other reviews/posts on fishing forums, but it looks like 1-3oz is the 'sweet spot' for this rod. I am planning on not going over 4oz, so I think I should be good. River2Sea S-Waver 200 is 3.5oz and that is the heaviest lure I am planning on throwing with the rod. I have seen/heard that the Dobyns Fury 795 can handle the River2Sea S-Waver 200 no problem, so I think I should be good. I think the Dobyns Fury 795 would be my best option/choice given what I am mainly looking to do. I am hoping I could find one used on a fishing forum, Ebay or craigslist for around $100.

I actually messaged him on Youtube. He has his own Youtube channel but it looks like he does not have that much content yet. Only a handful of fishing videos and some product videos. He never replied or responded back. I am thinking I might have to go thru FB and see how that goes.

Has anyone in here tried out the Mustad Brandon Lester Instinct casting rods yet? I need some reviews on this series of rods. How is the build quality? Are the guides big enough for braid to leader knots? Are they pretty balanced and light compared to other rods in the same price range? Specifically, I am interested in the 7'9" extra heavy model. Does anyone know if the 7'9" extra heavy can handle 3-4oz baits? I need a rod that can pull double duty for punching/flipping and lighter glidebaits and swimbaits. Tackle Warehouse has the 7'9" extra heavy model on discount/sale right now and I was thinking about pulling the trigger.

Sorry to revive the thread, I started thinking a lot more and now I am thinking its actually the leader and not the braid that is causing my fg knot to slip. I started practicing my fg knots again a couple days ago and now I am thinking it could be the leader that I am using that is causing my fg knot to slip. I noticed my FG knots tend to slip more with 'stiff' and 'slick' fluorocarbons. The braid did not dig as hard or deep into the fluorocarbon. On the other hand, tying FG knots with a soft and supple copolymer was much better and the fg dug and held much more tightly/stronger around the softer line. Looks like I should go with the soft and supple lines if I want to tie the FG. What do you guys think?

Does anyone know if the MHX FP937 can handle heavier weights, like say 3-4 ounces? I am in need of a rod that can pull double duty for both punching and swimbaits. I am looking for a punching rod that can also handle glide baits and hard baits in the 2-4 ounce/5-8 inch range. Specs for the MHX FP937 _ 7'9" XXH _ 20 - 40lb Line _ 1 - 2 1/2oz Lure Rating _ Moderate Fast Action