WaskaCrank12

Ok - my experience/costs with purchasing JDM tackle thru 7Palms (JPN) Tackle shop (order was placed 03/02/26, it should arrive on 03/10/26) -- The 7Palms website is VERY clunky to navigate, yet you can find some real gems on it -Total Price for the lures - $160 USD (Yen to USDollar) -- if these lures were available in the US (based on my research) this would have been approx. $320 USD (so the initial cost to purchase from 7Palms is approx. 50% of what the cost would be purchasing thru a US shop) -"Shipping" Cost - $52 (Yen to USDollar)-- this is a cost that was placed on the initial receipt from 7Palms (I looked to use a translation of the Japanese words that are on the receipt which seem to indicate this is a "Shipping/Processing" fee) -- so now the total price for the lures has climbed to $212 USDollars (7Palms is transparent on their receipt that they will not "Misrepresent" the items that are being shipped, ie, they will operate with integrity and not fudge the paperwork to get a lower duty/tariff rate) -DHL then sent me a bill for $48 -- which broke down as: (I rounded these to the nearest USDollar) -Regulatory Charge - $2 (USDollars) -Import/Export Duties - $28 (USDollars) -Duty Tax Processing - $18 (USDollars) This brings the total cost for the lures to approx. $260 USDollars (vs. the approximate $320 it would have cost in USDollars if these lures were available and purchased in the US) or approx. a 20% savings (if my math is correct, which it often is not -- and if I purchased in/from a state that charges tax on goods this could shift the dollars a bit) So -- what starts out looking great at a 50% savings ($160 vs. $320) dwindles fast when you add in the "Fees" -- out of those "Fees" it seems the $52 charged by 7Palms is a bit high (yet perhaps that is what DHL charges them ?) and the DHL $18 "Duty Tax Processing" seems like a money grab on their part (where the Import/Export Duties may just be what the US charges them ?) In the end I was able to purchase lures that I cannot find in the US and also save some money (vs. US cost) -- so it was "worth it" to me, yet it very well may not be to others A Digitaka purchase would be much more straight forward -- My hope is more JDM companies will adopt their policies/process

We have been on a warming trend (west central MN) -- low 40's during the day, high 20's at night -- which created heavy dense fog in the mornings this week -- driving to work, especially when going by the lakes, was white knuckle time as deer are out and about and with fog that thick you will not see them until impact -- thankfully I had no close encounters with them -- Our winter has been up (low 40's) and down (minus 48 wind chill) with moderate snow cover (based on the number of times I have fired up the snow thrower - which is 7 this year, so far) -- At it's deepest the local lake ice was right about 24" -- there has been some melt to that and several days of big winds caused movement of the ice, but it is still thick and plenty of ice fisherman are still walking out on to ice with their sleds and buckets -- we got a little over an inch of snow last night -- My hope is with the time change and longer daylight hours that Olde Sol and warmer temps will keep the ice melt going -- My mid-April ice out prediction will hopefully be accurate.......

@Choporoz -- I just bought the KK scale last week on Amazon -- $11 -- some sort of "Flash Sale" - Good to hear you are enjoying it and that it is working out well for you -- I look forward to trying it and hope to experience the same results as you

I have a Mojo Bass and 2 Victory rods - all spinning - M and ML - the ML Victory rod snapped when a fish grabbed the hook and I leaned back slightly and set the hook - not an aggressive hook set at all - snap -- but the communication with customer service and getting a replacement rod was a smooth process -- no issues at all since then with any of those three rods

@MississippiPug - you did very well to get those 4 lures - they went extremely fast - That will be an excellent fish catching color !

I have just ordered a few items from 7Palms (JPN) Tackle shop (I would have used Digitaka as their process in regard to charges is more straight forward/transparent, yet the items I was looking for were out of stock on their site) -- most of the items I purchased are approximately half of what they would cost in the US (based on today's conversion of Yen to US Dollar) -- yet when the shipping/duty is factored in that drops to about 30% off per item (from what it would cost purchasing in the US, yet these are items I cannot find in the US) -- it is my understanding that there will be no additional charges, yet we shall see, I will post an update when the entire transaction is complete (ie, when I have the lures in hand)

Wishing you a successful surgery and positive days ahead !

@Rockhopper -- I just received the Kast King scale today -- in the instructions is states "Press and hold "M" button for 3 seconds" to "Tare"/Zero the weight/s I am going to change out the metal hook for a plastic gripper (I have a few of them laying around so no extra cost to me to add that to the scale) We still have about a foot and a half of ice on the lake here -- so it will be a while before I get to try it on the water/with a fish -- but I will look to check how it works by clipping it to some items/small weights

Amazon.com : KastKing Fish Scale, WideView Floating Waterproof Digital Scale, 2.5” Large LCD Display, 110lb Capacity, Multi-Mode Pound/Ounces & Kilograms, Stores up to 9 Weights : Sports & Outdoors @Rockhopper -- I just bought this (literally just ordered it right now) -- $11 (which is 50% off) -- I figure it's worth a shot -- it's the same scale as @ike8120 posted, but it is Orange -- it says it is "Waterproof" and "Floats" - overall has good reviews, significantly better reviews than scales 8 times that price

As I have been cleaning my spinning reels and watching Youtube videos I have come across several that talk about reel gear ratios and their applications. It seems the majority of my spinning reels are in the 6.1 to 6.4 range, with one at 5.8. Do people find the need for lower gear ratios in their spinning gear (let's say 5.1 to 5.8) ? Do these lower gear ratios/torque help you ? What is your most common gear ratio in your spinning gear ? Thank you

@Dubtee - these are gloves I bought off of Amazon - they were recommended by several people here on BR -- I have used them for 1 season -- so far they have been waterproof (the hand portion and up to the cuff is waterproof, the cuff portion is not waterproof) and reasonably warm -- I did try a few other styles/brands and many leeched water (although they were touted as "waterproof") -- these, so far, have kept my hands dry -- they are clunky to hold and wind the reel with as the palm/finger areas are "grippy" (which is a good thing when grabbing/handling fish, not a great thing when trying to use a reel) and the inside warm lining is a bit thick -- overall I would say they keep your hands dry, they are reasonably warm, but they are a bit clunky to reel with (not sure there is a glove made that is truly waterproof, is truly warm and is thin/fitted enough to allow for full feel/dexterity when fishing)

I have bought most of my gear used -- so I appreciate the @Micro Module Police of the world who take meticulous care of the gear -- so I can purchase "like new" gear at a fraction of the cost of new gear when they sell it :)))) I would say I am in the camp of using the tools as intended -- not being reckless or careless -- ie, if I am not using the rods or I am transporting them then they are in rod sleeves/socks -- I have a few reel covers but only use them intermittently (I should use them more often) -- I keep the rods in rod racks, clean/service the reels each year, ect.... -- and that PB is coming in the boat !!

@gim - Good info. - Good to know - so hard to tell as BOTS or whomever can be tainting/skewing the reviews - Your positive review/experience may have me giving it a second look -- same here, I measure the vast majority of the time, I only weight if I land a 18 plus incher -- The less expensive Bubba ($75) looks promising at first glance yet to use the majority of the functions on it you have to pay a yearly fee ($50) for their app -- so that $75 scale becomes a $200 + scale pretty quickly

@gim -- I looked at that Rapala scale as it looks good and seems to have some good features -- but when I checked out a number of websites (5), the reviews for it are brutal It seems strange to me, as someone relatively new to boat fishing (I have just been using a cheap luggage scale, which rarely works and is not very accurate), that so many of the scales (based on reviews) seem to be trash (ie, between 65% and 75% of reviews say they do not recommend buying or just flat out say "don't buy it" -- it's 2026, with all the technology we have and how many people are looking for a reliable/durable scale to weight their fish it seems odd that there are not a good number of high quality/reliable/durable scales at a reasonable price (ie, $50 or less) @Rockhopper -- I will curiously follow this thread and would like to know what scale you ultimately choose

@gim -- if you trade in a rod/reel do you save money ONLY on the purchase of a new rod/reel or is the savings on any items ? (ie, turn in a rod/reel -- buy $100 worth of gear and save $20 off ?) Thank you

The Megabass Vibration-X in Shrimp color --- Jackall TN50 (silent) in Jakko Gill color --- Jackall TN60 (rattle) in Keimura Bluegill

@gim I am happy to read about the earlier opportunity to fish for bass (Catch & Release is all I have ever done in my short 4 years of fishing) Based on that you have written - I would agree that it would make sense to push all "Harvesting" of bass AND all tournament bass fishing (unless the tournament was immediate Catch & Release) until late May/early June @FryDog62 is correct -- I have found most things revolve around the Almighty Walleye --- then Muskie -- then Crappie/Bluegill -- then maybe Northern Pike -- and that Bass are just some pesky nonsense fish to them, an after thought at best @A-Jay I hope that it does not create more tournaments -- or if it does I believe they need to be immediate Catch & Release -- otherwise, at @gim intimates, it could be a bedding bass slaughter-fest

@dwtaylor -- thank you for the information and link ! this looks like exactly what I am looking for -- except -- I am looking for dull colors/dark colors as the lures I want to color are already bright/flashy/overly vibrant colors and I want to tone them down (I am in clear water most of the time so black, transparent, brown, green pumpkin type colors are best) -- so if they come out with a black, brown, green pumpkin, duller type colors I will purchase them

I am a big fan of Nishine Lure Works - so I have a number of the Chippawa's (RB/Bladed, DD, DD/Bladed, XDD) - I have found the Ghost Shad and Bluegill colors to be best for me here in MN (clear water) - I have found the Bladed versions to be the better fish catchers for me. They sell the blades separately so you could always add a blade to a non-bladed version. I wish they made the Chippawa's in their Yellow Perch and Juvenile Largemouth colors as I have the Baby Albino (spybait/propbait) in those colors and they are awesome smallmouth slayers. I also have the Simcoe (lipless) and the Erie 95 and Erie 115 in Yellow Perch, yet these have only been ok fish catchers (I was expecting more from them because the actions and the Yellow Perch color are outstanding)

I have 5 more rods than I have reels -- so I will switch the reels around as needed

I have used a Zako (3in) -- a DEPS Deathadder -- a Nories Switch-On Trailer -- a Valleyhill Devil Shaker (when I use it on a bladed jig I clip the front two appendages off, when I use it with a regular jig I leave them on) I will have to look into those Gambler Komodo Jr's

I am looking to buy a few "Elastomer" plastic baits -- but the color selection is limited (ie, bright chartreuse , pink, ect...not colors that will generally catch fish in my area). An example is the Jackall Drift Crab Mini -- a difficult bait to find and if any are found they are usually in odd/unpopular colors or they will cost and arm and a leg on EBay. I am thinking about purchasing the baits and then using coloring or dye to change the color or at least dull the overly bright colors. My guess is that a regular dye may not work on Elastomer - might not penetrate into the material -- might not be made to stretch with the material (as the Elastomer will typically stretch and rebound more than regular plastics). Are there coloring/paints or dyes that anyone has used to do something like this on Elastomer type soft plastics ? Could something like this be purchased at a craft store ? Thank you in advance for your time/information.

I use spinning gear to throw these but for small BFS sized lures/baits I have had success with many of the same ones @FishTank uses -- in addition to the following: -Jackall Dera Break - it's a mini chatter bait - killer with a Nories Switch-On Trailer or DEPS Deathadder -Megabass - BFS Griffon -RAID - Libero Head Swimmer (in the 5g or 7g size)

Big ticket items were two rods I purchased when The Hook Up Tackle had their "Buy one, Get one Half Off" deal -- combined with some gifts cards it brought the total into a range I could manage -- other than that I have continued to search the used market -- which can be hit (a nice price on a quality Stradic) and miss (a Vanford that is having bail arm issues) -- and a mix of hard baits/soft plastics from some of the BOGO/ "Buy Three - Get Three" type sales various shops had

Underspin Jig Head with a MB Spark Shad attached