Brian11719

I have a cheap yum wacky ring tool with some vmc o-rings and use them on senkos and haven't had this happen too much...although it still can. Also for the nail weight one thing I saw on youtube a while back (wish I remembered the channel but I don't) is you can put the nail weight in the side of the worm towards the top instead of putting it directly into the top and then pull the worm around it. Doing it this way seems like it helps a bit in terms of preventing the nail weight itself from falling out.

whoops make that 2 new Victory rods...should probably walk away from the computer for a while...

Thanks for the heads up @MN Fisher was waiting for a good one to pick up another Victory...

Love the freeloader but not for forward facing sonar I actually use it for a spinnerbait trailer. Not a fan of the ned rig just because I hate melty plastics. Haven't tried the others yet and some people seem to be complaining that the bronco bug ripped off a JDM bait but that probably wouldn't stop me from buying it and if you are going to make that argument I feel like you should be mad at every company with a senko knock off which seems like it would be a lot of bait companies to be mad at. The craw looks ok but honestly I've already got too many that I'm fine with so probably not picking any of those up any time soon.

1. 7'4" Heavy Fast with braid for frogs and flipping / punching. 2. 7'4" Medium Heavy Mod Fast for bladed jigs and medium - heavier cranks. 3. 7'4" Heavy Fast for spinnerbaits, football jigs, medium size swimbaits and smaller a-rigs. Fluro for both #2 and #3.

btw @TNcreekfishing I actually own a medium extra fast custom lite rod that I picked up on sale (I'm a sucker for rods and reels on sale) and one more thing I'd point out is even though I usually go with a MH F spinning rod for flukes this particular setup can be really fun to throw a soft jerkbait on if you want to give it a lot of action....swim worms also seem to do well on it (I like the mag2 and ultravibe).

I'd go with a medium light for those minnows and a medium heavy for a 3.8 keitech so in this case I guess that would put me right at a medium / fast spinning rod. Action tends to be one of those things where you will ask 5 people about it and will likely get 3-4 different replies. For me it comes down to whether or not I'm going through plastic. So as an example most of the time I'm throwing an easy shiner (similar to that minnow) on a texas rig type setup where it isn't exposed. In that case I like a ML power with an XF action to help get through the plastic BUT if I'm throwing something like a wacky senko or traditional ned rig w/ the hook exposed fast is enough for me. Fast also seems to be enough when you get into heavier power (eg. medium heavy and above) but I'm sure someone reading this will disagree and give you a completely different opinion. Thing is they can both be right and ultimately it comes down to what works for you. That setup seems fine to start with for the swimbaits you mentioned if anything maybe try it out for a while and then adjust as needed...I also wouldn't limit myself to swimbaits that could also be good for a drop shot or hair jig among others...

Honestly I'd say timing. If you start figuring out what length, power and action you want for the rod and speed for the reel and give yourself a few different options and then be patient and wait for a good sale chances are one of them will pop up with a great deal and you will be glad you didn't act too soon. A lot of the best deals are around black friday but they can happen at other times as well. For now I'd narrow it down to a specific rod and reel spec and pic out a few different brands with models that you like around the $100-$200 range and then check the sale thread and google every so often and sooner or later you will see a deal on one of the ones you have your eyes on. As an example last year's tacklewarehouse clearance deal was pretty good and I ended up with 2 TP1 black rods that were down to $75 and had a $25 tw gift card on them. I even used one card for the next rod so that pretty much ended up being $50 for one of those which was worth it IMHO.

They have a lure chart for the victory line and their rod specs are usually about the same across lines. Given that I'd say the 7'3" or 7'5" MH F or the 7'4" H F.

Haven't used a 5 speed before but I've got the 6.8 on my rod that I use for deep cranks and bladed jigs and have been happy with it.

LOL this is pretty much how I feel. I got a Lew's carbon fire MH F spinning rod and reel when they were going for $40 each and it's a pretty good rod and at the time I thought it was a steal of a setup for $80 but I ultimately ended up seeing a need for a MH spinning rod in my lineup and ended up getting one of the new Custom Lite Rods paired up with a HyperMag spinning reel and needless to say I prefer the (somewhat) expensive stuff. The carbon fire is still a good option for friends that visit and want to go fishing and a good backup rod...

Assuming you are wanting a casting rod here. If so and it were me I'd most likely go w/ one of these: St Croix Mojo Bass JOC610MLMF...unless this is the one you are already considering Dobyns Kaden KD610-4CB Lew's Custom Lite CLTWJB All 3 of these look awesome TBH and I've got rods in each of these series that I'm very happy with although I personally prefer smaller jerkbaits so I like a spinning rod...

I don't know that you are going to find one that does both of these in the same rod. Most jerkbaits (at least the ones I throw) are 3/8-1/2oz. A typical deep diving crankbait (eg. a 6xd) is usually about 1oz. I also like a spinning rod for jerkbaits, so I got one that I use for poppers, squarebills, 1/2 lipless and jerkbaits. For larger cranks I use my bladed jig rod, which is a casting rod and also works out (pretty) well for 3/4oz lipless and 6xds. For a smaller one I'd recommend the mojo bass JOS72MM or Lews TP1-BlackTP1B72MHS. These go up to 5/8 or 3/4oz lures so if by deep diving you mean something like a RkCrawler 55 or a River2Sea Tactical Bassin' DD one of these might work. You can find others out there that will go higher on the lure weight rating and might work better for deep crankbaits, but trying to use it as a jerkbait rod might not end up working out so well. Good luck.

I prefer red bug but to each their own. Not really sure I'd switch to plum if they weren't biting it though since they are very similar. If they aren't biting red bug I usually go to green pumpkin magic or junebug red if I think it's because the visibility is lower...

3/8 Dirty Jigs Matt Herren Flippin' Jig in Okeechobee 420 paired up with an Xzone Adrenaline Craw (3.5" TW Grn Pump/Black Blue Flk). I prefer powder coated paint and green pumpkin + black and blue together means I don't have to choose between the two...

If it's not to the point where the only thing I can throw is a frog or a punch rig then a texas rigged ultravibe, a 3.8" keitech weedless on an ewg, bubba shot w/ a trick worm, and a fluke are what I usually go with. I usually prefer a medium heavy fast action rod and a reel w/ a good drag on it in case they decide to bury themselves in the grass. A trick worm on a bubba shot seems to pull through really well a lot of the time and what's nice about that setup is it's still a bit off the bottom so you avoid some of the gunk that you might pick up with a bottom bouncing lure like a weedless ned rig.

Future footage of @NorthernBasser putting away some tackle he recently purchased only to never use and forget about a few years from now:

Realize corporations buying out smaller businesses is looked down on these days but as someone that recently worked for a completely different (not fishing at all) company that also got sold I will say I think Gary is an ok guy from the videos / articles I have seen and his latest post on this reaffirms my view. IMHO you can tell he really wants to make sure the people that worked for him and with him would be ok and there are definitely other people out there that have owned companies and not prioritized that at all when they ended up selling them. I did like that they were a small / american owned business and that was one of the reasons I decided to give them a try to begin with, but this news by itself isn't going to change my opinion on their rods or the brand in general...

Funny I also own a TP1X that I use for frogging. Agree that grip is pretty good but the one they've got on the new Custom Lite series is probably my favorite grip out of any of the brands I currently own (or have ever used for that matter).

I bought the rod and reel towards the end of last year. Love the reel but one thing I really don't like about the rod is the foam grip. If at all possible I'd say try one out first or at least decide if you are ok w/ a foam grip. In my case I have 2 rods w/ foam grips and they are my least favorite as I prefer cork or winn style grips...aside from that it's an ok rod and the reel is nice...bit of a step up from the speed spool lfs...

I usually pay attention to the lure weight rating on the rod rather than the power rating the manufacturer says it is. For example that Ark rod says it's a MH but honestly it feels more like a heavy to me. Either way I've found if you look at the weight rating and then aim for the middle you should be in good shape. So, for example if a rod says its for 1/4-1oz then it will usually do great for lures that weigh 1/2-3/4oz. I also found it really helpful to buy a small digital scale and then weigh my lures (w/ the trailer and everything) just to get a better idea of how much the ones I like to throw really weigh. For bladed jigs I usually like 1/2oz lures so that and the trailer I like (zako) comes in at around .92oz. I also like throwing lipless crankbaits that weigh 3/4oz so both have been a good fit on my rod. Hope you enjoy whatever you end up going with!

If it were me (oh wait it is) and I had a heavy rod that I wanted to explore swimbaits with I'd go with a 6" magdraft freestyle w/ an 8/0 owner beast. Pick your color. Don't plan on catching a lot but if there are bigger bass around and they are eating shad this is what I'd do.

I tend to stay away from topwater unless I actually see stuff happening on the top of the water. Not sure that there's a specific temp for it but if it's a big tumbleweed up there I suspect there's better stuff you could be throwing although there's always a chance you will still get a bite. The only exception is if I go to a pond and it's soooooo bad that a frog is the only thing that seems like it will work...in that case I'd say throw the frog regardless of whether or not you can see anything happening...aside from that in my case I'd probably just throw a fluke instead and consider it an 'almost topwater' that actually got me more than maybe 1 fish that day...

^ same except it's 15-20lb fluoro for me on the last bit with (mostly) all speed spool lfs reels...I don't know that I'd go less than 50lb braid on a casting setup but to each their own...

Suppose that depends on your definition of 'reasonable'. Here are a few I like from highest to lowest (in price): Dobyn's Champion XP DC 736CB St Croix Victory VTC72HM Ark Randall Tharp Honey Badger TS-74MH-G ...that said in all honesty for me it's a toss between that St. Croix and Dobyn's both great companies and either of them would make a fine bladed jig rod that you can also crank with...the Ark is ok for the price but eventually you might start to notice the difference between a $125 rod and a $200 one.