Bazoo

I'm not opposed to trying a shallow spool. How much line do those shallow spools hold? I am concerned I'll spool them with a heavier lure.

Thanks for all the suggestions. First, I know that casting lighter stuff is easier with a spinning rod. And I use a spinning rod for some things. But, I specificaly want to use a casting rod for these smaller lures. I am already using light lures with my normal casting stuff making overhand casts. The problem comes when I try to do roll casts or close accuracy casts. With my Black Max 3 reel and 8 pound big game line, I am already casting down to the 1/8oz Tiny Rat-L-Trap. I can effectively cast this as long as I can do overhead or side casts in open water. I am able to cast the 1/8oz X-Rap as well, but it's right on the edge of too light. I cannot cast the 1/8oz Strike King Bitsy Minnow. The rods I'm using are Bass Pro Graphite Series M/F which is rated higher than it is, it's more of a ML. And a Proficiency Retro. Which is a cheapo rod with lots of flex. I have replaced this with the BPS rod, and only keep it for backup. Casting 1/4oz lures with these rods and the BM3 reel is not a problem at all. I can run the 1.0 squarebill any way I want. Now, when I move up to my standard rods, which currently are a Black Max M/M and a Lews Hank Parker 6'10" M/F, I can still cast the 1.0 squarebill, but it's getting closer to the low end of spectrum. The lightest I can cast on either of these is a 1/4oz Husky Jerk, but I don't have the control I want. And that's with using either 10lb or 12lb line.

I'll buck the trend. They aren't for me, I can't get past the aesthetics.

I've been looking at the BPS Crankin' Stick in ML as a Shad Rap rod. Primarily the No.5 and No.6. I haven't checked them out in store yet. I am assuming that the medium will not cast the No.5. https://www.basspro.com/p/bass-pro-shops-crankin-stick-crankbait-casting-rod Does anyone have this rod and can offer a review? Any other casting rods that would be suitable for the No. 5 and 6 Shad Rap?

I've not ordered from him, but I like the look of the spinnerbaits that Chris Johnson makes. He has arkansas custom tackle. He has a facebook page, but the link to his website isn't working. Anyone use his spinnerbaits?

So far, one of the things I've been trying to figure out is what to do with my terminal tackle in this bag. In the previous bag, I just put it all in the front of the soft plastics compartment, and while that wasn't ideal, it worked okay. Doing that with this bag won't work because the compartment is deeper and it won't open in such a manner that I can easily dig through my hooks and weights. I have a 3500 box that's a possibility, but it's huge. If it was half the thickness, it'd be better. I'll probably give it a try for a while, but it'll only help me refine what I like and don't like I think.

Thanks @Big Hands, I wasn't aware of that bag. That's pretty nice. Looks like it'd be a bit bigger than what I got, might be just right for a larger outfit.

Thanks. I have looked on TW. I'm thinking about trying a couple of the Plano Thin 3700 boxes. That'd keep the small stuff from getting too tangled up. I don't like the latches they use or I'd been all over them, not only for the thinness, but because they have 5 rows instead of 4. If I did go with 2 of them, I probably omit the 3600 box of flukes, and use about 1/2-2/3 of one of the 3700 boxes for flukes, leaving the rest of the box for hard baits. My idea is that I want to have enough stuff to cover both variety and extra for an all day bank fishing trip where I will walk a ways from the car.

Different day and spot Different yet again.

I haven't had much experience, but I have a jig that was gifted to me. I ain't fished it, but just looking at it in hand, it's very nice.

I got received the 6'6" M/F Aird-X 2 piece rod today. It's just like the 1 piece rod I reviewed in store as far as power. I cast with it in the yard a spell. I like it. I would like a bit more backbone but otherwise I like it. I'd rate it lighter in power than either the Black Max rod or the Lew's Hank Parker rod for action. I'd rate it on the lower end of Medium power, with the Black Max a true medium, and the Lews on the heavy end of M Action, I'd rate it more of a moderate fast than a fast. In the store, I prefered the power of the MH over the M, but I decided to compromise there, rather than get the 2 piece MH because it's 7' in length. I prefer a shorter rod for how I fish from shore. I may end up getting the MH though so I'll have a pretty well rounded 2 piece rod selection for the car.

@BASS302 I think you've figured it out. My bait is not identical to the picture, as the lip is more square in the front, but everything else is the same. The slight difference would be from having different manufacturers over the course of the life of the product and is certainly understandable.

I'm looking at the Berkley triple minnow. Might be the stuff. https://www.berkley-fishing.com/products/triple-minnow-rig-kit?srsltid=AfmBOoqJD8cVjhqzxASIBbBnWdwpXxJl3grQNf4DLAdIMWPCUfqleC2q

@Aaron_H I did contact them, and they said they tried to find the maker also and could not.

Does anyone know of a fishing specific backpack that takes 1-2 3700 size boxes? While I like what I have, I recognize it isn't the best quality. One of the main things I like about what I have is the simplicity. I don't want tons of extra pockets and compartments. A couple more than I have would be okay though.

I got some pictures of my bag earlier. My apologies for the poor pictures. Sling I added, I sewed a piece of webbing in a loop to the attachment for the shoulder strap. This way, I can use the strap for cross body carry, or the shoulder straps should I need to hike a ways. 3700 main box with a 3600 thin box for my flukes. Main compartment will fit 2 3700 boxes with some room to spare, but one 3700 is enough for just about any trip I think. Got plenty of room for soft plastics in the front compartment.

So, what are some of my must have lures for fishing Florida? Frogs, flukes, Senkos?

Didn't catch anything during my quick visit to the lake, but I found a few, including the crankbait I lost previously.

I added the color. I stated that it was solid white when I found it. Those are cheap VMC hooks I added. This is not a Cotton Cordell Super Spot. I am familiar with the spot since I fish them. They have a more rounded nose, this one is more square on the nose. Spots don't have texture on the sides, and spots are not flat sided. Spots have a contoured side, whereas this one is flat on the sides. I scoured ebay a while and I found this, which appears to be the same model. There was no information in the listing. Perhaps someone will recognise this color pattern? The eye isn't the same, but everything else appears to be the same.

The electric hand warmers probably wouldn't be for me. It appears they have magnets in them. I could see them attaching to my gun, or my pocket knife, and bam, pretty soon my shirt is around my neck, or the warmer is out of the pocket.

Interesting, thanks for sharing.

I haven't gotten the Aird-X that I purchased yet, but after checking them out in the store again, I do like the feel of them. For that matter I still like the feel of the Laguna series. It doesn't appear to be cheap or junk, as it's been said that they are. I come very close to buying one yesterday, but held off.

Thanks.

I've been thinking about how to deal with this as well. So far, it's full finger jersey gloves and half finger cotton gloves. I'll have to get some hand warmers I guess when I get serious.