Brian11719

4/0 1/16oz gamakatsu weighted superline spring lock. I still like the super fluke but some of my other favorites are the d shad, caffeine shad and dolive stick.

So generally speaking it's ok for them to run an auth to make sure you have the money. That should drop off and regardless of whether or not that happens they would then charge the card and if there was an auth it would be credited against that. What's not ok is actually holding someone else's money for months at a time if they haven't delivered and you have asked for that money back. You could put that in a high yield savings account and keep the interest for yourself which is most likely what they are trying to do with rates where they are right now. If you think they are doing that my first suggestion would be to contact them and basically explain that and see what they say. If they ignore you or their reply is unacceptable then I would contact my card company regardless of the name behind the entity. On the other hand if they were upfront about charging your card I feel like that would also be ok so long as they were willing to refund if their ETA was bad. If they delay in refunding you at that point then I'd argue that's a sign of a disreputable company.

So I do have one question...did they actually charge your card? Because if they didn't that's fine w/ me but if they did that reminds me of a now defunct tackle shop that has the honor of being the only thing I've had to call my c.c. company about in the last twenty years...c.c. company took my side b.t.w. and it wasn't much of a discussion...

Probably wouldn't want to throw any of those lures you mentioned on this one but IMHO the deal of the day is the poison ultima (open box) on sale at Midway for $659 so for just a $159 additional sacrifice to the bait monkey you could walk away with a god level spinning rod. Aside from that if you actually want a casting rod and can wait might be worth keeping an eye on Dobyns rods on Amazon as I've seen several Xtasy models in the $300 range lately and that's actually a really nice rod for that price. Loomis GLXs also look like they are discounted at fish and field although I haven't bought from them before. Either way my vote would be for a rod as I typically stay in the $200-$300 range for reels.

I'll preface this and say I think there are a lot of others in this thread and channel that have more talent than me and this is actually my first attempt at making anything. It's also not something I fully made on my own just a bait I saw and wasn't quite sure what to do with when I got it so figured I'd tinker with it a bit and see what I could do to improve it and make it useful for me. That said I give you my version of a reaction big dipper: If you are curious that's a 5/0 vmc drop dead in it with some eyes I got at bass pro. The dipper series is one of my favorite swimbaits out there and figured I'd give this one a try since I love the colors they've got. They are also not all that expensive and are usually around $6 each for four of them. The hooks are also about the same price and come in a 4 pack. So not counting the eyes or the 3 dabs of superglue that's about $12 for 4 6" swimbaits and if you are like me and completely blew your budget on a couple of high end rods this year the idea of $3 swimbaits can be a bit of a relief. I originally picked these up to be weedless swimbaits but after getting them I didn't really find a weedless hook that I like. Most of the ones I looked at didn't go far back enough and were too close to the head. The ones that did manage to get back far enough were too tall, weighed too much and just didn't look right to me and I worried they would look off to the bass as well. The 5/0 drop dead could probably be used in a pinch but I didn't like the clearance on it although it seemed to fit perfectly in terms of getting into the middle of the bait. Eventually figured I'd try threading one on this way and it looked good once I managed to get it on, so I picked up some eyes at bass pro and here we are. To rig it I took off the screwlock and then put it back on so it's pointing down the shaft of the hook then screwed the head of the bait on. Bit tricky to do that but once you do it's on there and probably not going anywhere for a while. Other than that just a drop of crazy glue for each eye and I also added one where the hook went into the plastic and bent the hook up just a tad to give it a little extra exposure. I'm very interested to see how this does vs something like a Magdraft or a Daingerous...if it can hold it's own I may end up throwing it into my rotation when I want a larger lure with an exposed hook as their lab rat and sexy shad colors are two of my all time favorites...going to give it a go next week even though it's not the ideal time for one and we shall see how she does.

Thanks for the heads up. Good to know if / when I pull the trigger on one and they've definitely made my short list at this point.

I found myself looking into Edge rods lately and specifically their spinning rods. I really don't need another rod at this point but they have a black friday 50% off code on their site right now and it looks like it still works if anyone's interested. I also watched an old icast video about their black widow series and really like the way that rod line looks as I prefer carbon fiber handles like the ones on the adrena series for spinning rods. Will probably end up picking one of these up at some point but doing my best to fend off the bait monkey for the time being...

I walk by these and they seem to catch my eye every time. Already own a good frog rod at this point but if I didn't that 6'9" HF would be on the top of my list as it checks a lot of boxes for me when it comes to a frog rod. Also hard to argue with their warranty at that price...

Enjoyed the review. I also recently picked up a GLX (844c MBR). It's my first Loomis rod and although I haven't taken it out much I managed to get one on a spinnerbait with it and I'm already a bit worried that it may have ruined me on other rods. In my case I ended up pairing it with an old Lew's tourney pro that I had. Mostly because the rod was so much I didn't have a new reel in the budget but as it turns out the colors match up perfectly and the balance with that reel on it is spot on. Plan on using it for spinnerbaits, big worms and heavier jigs for the most part but just wanted to say I also really like this line of rods. Not sure I'll be able to afford another one any time soon but have been very impressed with the GLX MBR series so far...

I personally like the shad rap 7 and 8 in their shad and helsinki shad color. Have tried a few other flat sides but haven't really found any that I like over a plain old shad rap. I don't know that it technically even falls into the 'flat side' category, but it's my favorite by far when the water gets colder or the conditions are tough and I'm on water with shad in it. I also like a lipless (specifically a LV 500 DRS in ghost minnow or the regular one in sexy chartreuse shad or pearl threadfin) around this time of year but there are probably some people that would disagree...suppose the fact that the water temp here is still 66 might have something to do with it.

My main lake is a highland reservoir with a dam and the water level can change significantly over time so my answer would be resounding no, but I also kind of like it that way.

Right now you can get a Lew's Speed Spool on sale for just over that. I'd argue the similarly priced Shimano or Daiwa options have it beat at full price, but at this price that would probably be my first choice. The Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier is normally $100 but it's also on sale right now and I'd argue that one is a good option at $80. Both of these are aluminum frame reels. The drag on the Lew's is a little better from the looks of it but either way those are the two I'd be looking at if that was my budget and I would avoid getting a graphite frame reel at this price level since these two options are available.

What line and lure(s) were you using? I ask because I have a 610 mlxf that I use for drop shots and really like it and don't seem to have that issue. Also do you have a budget for the new rod? I personally like the poison adrenas but I also like spinning rods that don't have a foregrip. Having said that I typically stick to a fast action rod for most presentations but the moderate fast action on the adrena works well with something like a shad rap or a smaller jerkbait / popper.

Agree with @wdp I like both sizes and the size I'll choose depends on the situation. For example the smaller sizes do well in ponds for me and I actually caught one of the biggest fish of my life on a regular size ultravibe earlier this year. I usually like the larger size for bigger bodies of water when I'm using it as a search bait or if the visibility is lower or I think they might go for a larger size bait or just want to try and focus on hooking larger fish. I'm also not in Florida so definitely not just a Florida only bait. For worms I like the zoom ultravibe but I'm also trying out the big bite baits tour swim worm. For colors I like junebug red or redbug (zoom) and for the tour swim worm they also have a color called purpletoma that I just bought but haven't had a chance to try out yet. For weights I'll typically go with 3/16 on the smaller one and 5/16 with the bigger one. For hooks I've really been liking the gamakatsu g-finesse hybrid lately and will go with a 4/0 for the smaller one or a 6/0 for the bigger one. ^ I hear ya man this last month got expensive for me (even with amazon haul showing up) but I'm also looking forward to all the new stuff I've got to try out and should also be good on buying lures for a while (I think that might be the saying that comes next).

FYI for anyone interested amazon has a the 753 Dobyns Xtasy for under $300 right now. That's actually a bit lower than what I paid for it last month (although I got the split grip and this looks like the full) but would argue it's well worth it at that price and has turned out to be an excellent rod for 3/8oz jigs and texas rigged ultravibes.

One of my favorite senko / all around worm colors is red bug. In terms of when it seems to work best I'd put it somewhere in between watermelon red and junebug. That's actually a very interesting chart that @Team9nine posted but to answer your question from my perspective honestly no in murky water junebug or some sort of purple going into black is what I typically go with over any type of red...or if they are on shad then something similar to that pearl white fluke color. On the other hand green colors like green pumpkin (what on earth is a green pumpkin anyway is that like an unripe pumpkin...if so there would be orange in it) or watermelon red can do well, but if you are around a lot of grass and the water is not what I'd call murky but also not clear or there's cloud cover then that might not be the best choice either. That's where redbug (or tequila sunrise if I'm drop shotting a roboworm) do the best for me. Your mileage may vary. ...on another note that watermelon copper orange senko is to this day another one of my favorites so maybe there is something to the not quite ripe pumpkin thing.

I haven't used any googan branded baits. Don't really hate them as much as some other people seem to but there isn't really anything that has specifically made me want to try them either. I do own several bass mafia daingerous swimbaits and believe that's the same parent company as googan...and for the record that doesn't bother me. I personally don't like treble hooks and generally don't use them unless I'm in a tournament (which I don't do all that often) and switch out my treble hooks anyway, so I really like their loaded swimbait better than the magdraft and it's a better choice for me as it's a single hook line through. I also like the weedless versions and have used both and found the retrieve on them is better than a magdraft at certain speeds. Not interested in starting an argument with any megabass superfans but the daingerous, in my humble opinion is one of the best value swimbaits in it's class right now and I'm not about to stop liking it just because other people don't like the googan brand. #doesn't matter caught fish

I recently picked up a couple of more expensive casting rods for my finesse / bottom contact lures and normally add some U-40 cork seal to my rods, but I'm wondering if adding the U-40 to these would dampen my experience with them. What do you think?

The new Lew's Speed Spool RX has me intrigued...sadly they seem to have stopped making it in my favorite gear ratio for the left handed models but if you are right handed they have an 8.3 model that seems like it would fit the bill. Pretty sure you would be able to find it on sale right now somewhere too. I still might end up getting one of the 7.5 models at some point but was disappointed to see they stopped offering some of the gear ratios in the left handed models that they used to. Their new KVD reel is also the same price as that Speed Spool RX. I have the older one and it's a good reel. This one is a step up from the previous gen that I've got since it has the same braking system as that Speed Spool RX and they also offer that one in an 8.3 model. The other one I'd suggest looking at is the SLX XT A from Shimano. That one is well under your budget but a great reel for that price and they have one with an 8.2 gear ratio. The brakes on the Lew's reels are more sophisticated so if you want to learn to skip or try it out then it might be a better choice, but the brakes on the Shimano aren't bad and I'd argue it's the best of the bunch in the price range it's in.

I've got the FL and the Vanford FA 2500. Biggest difference to me is the weight aside from that very similar experiences and I don't know that one feels much smoother over the other. If that's the case with yours it may be trying some basic reel maintenance on it if you haven't already to see if that helps. Aside from that I like them both and use the Vanford for lighter lures.

If it were me I'd take a look at a Dobyns Fury or Champion 806 HSB. If you're still looking the fury is in stock at copperstate and 25% off which puts it well below 200. If you want to setup up to the champ xp that one looks like it's sold out there, but dobyns has a 20% off code on their site right now which gets the price for that one down to 231. If you are going to be using it a lot it might be worth the extra money for the champion xp. Alternatively it looks like St Croix retired the victory VTC710XXHF and has it on their factory store site for $192...only bummer is it's retired so if you broke it and really liked it you would be looking at replacing it w/ something else. Still a good deal though and they also have a lower price one that goes up to 8lb in the Bass X line but if it were me I'd get the Victory...

Agree Amazon Haul seems to be the winner so far... O.O Qty. Item 2 Yamamoto 5' SENKO GREEN PUMPKIN W/ WATERMELON LAMINATE (10 PACK) 1 Berkley Swamp Lord Standard Hollow Body Frog Fishing Lure, Maverick 1 Yamamoto 4'' Zako/Blue Craw (6 Pack) 1 Berkley Swamp Lord Standard Hollow Body Frog Fishing Lure, MF Bluegill 1 Owner 4301 Single Replacement X-Strong Hook, Pro Pack (1/0, 22 Per Pack) 1 Strike King KVD Dream Shot Fishing Lure 1 Berkley Swamp Lord Popping Hollow Body Frog Fishing Lure, Maverick 2 Roboworm Straight Tail Worm Bait (Tequila Sunrise, 6-Inch) 2 BAITFUEL Super Twitch Jerk Bait Infused with Supercharged X55 Formula Gel | 5-Inch, Albino Magic Item(s) Subtotal: $86.68 discount: -$8.67 50% off Haul: -$43.34 Total before tax: $34.67 Estimated tax to be collected: $2.86 GRAND TOTAL $37.53

I think the bobber stop would just slide down the line and you would end up with a jerk bait that has a bullet weight on top of it that the bass would probably not go for but could be wrong. One rig that I've tried out and had some success with is a mini carolina rig that uses a carolina keeper and then a weight and then a bobber stop with a soft jerkbait on the end. That seems to do ok especially with elaztech flukes if there's grass on the bottom but I found I ended up gut hooking them a lot with that rig so have retired it for the most part as there's other stuff I use in that sort of situation that doesn't seem to gut hook them as much. That said not trying to discourage you or anything you just asked what I think would happen so that's what I'd say but I'd actually be interested to see if you try it and what the results look like and it would be funny if I was completely wrong and you ended up with a bag of hogs.

I picked up a Zenon X recently. It's a decent reel overall and good build quality with a good drag system. It's also very lightweight at 5.5oz which is what drew me to it to begin with and the gear ratio is 6.8 which is one of my favorite ratios. It also has that made in Sweden stamp on it but I honestly don't care where it's made as long as it works. For downsides the brakes just seem to be a mag / centrifugal combo similar to what you would get in previous gen Lew's reels in the $150 to $200 range. The brakes aren't really a dealbreaker for me though and work fine for me as I don't need more than that anyway for this setup. Overall I agree it seems a bit overpriced and I'd expect a bit more for the brakes these days at that price, but as an example it's on Copperstate right now and with the sale going the price gets down to $262 which seems reasonable for this reel. I was able to get it for just about the same a few weeks ago so it's not all that hard to find on sale somewhere. I also don't see any similarly sized reels from Shimano, Daiwa or Lew's with a similar line cap that get down to this weight other than the HyperMag or Tournament Lite from Lew's but there are very limited options available with those. The Lew's Tourney Pro weighs a little more but I also have one of those and the brakes on that one also feel very similar to the ones in the Zenon X to me. On a side note I still also really like the Lew's Tourney Pro. The only other one that I found in that weight range is the Steez SV TW. Slightly lower line cap and 5.6oz but not exactly apples to apples at that point as it's clearly in a different league than the Zenon X. I'm personally happy with this reel and got it for it's weight to pair up on a very light rod (Xtasy 753). My other casting reels are all Daiwa or Lew's or Shimano as those have been the best options I've found in the price range I usually like to stick with for casting reels these days. For moving bait reels where the lures are usually heavy / dense enough that I don't care about a fancy brake system my favorite option by far is the Tatula 100 or 150. For other setups I look at a few different factors and pick accordingly and at this point there's still a spot for Abu in my lineup, but agree they could look at stepping things up a bit. In a perfect world I would have paired the rod up with the Steez, but wanted to keep the overall price down.

I'd keep what you got but maybe don't buy any more for the time being. I've got an SLX XT A and can throw it without backlashing and I'm also in a kayak although it is a pedal kayak but since we have that one in common I'll focus on that. Are you using less expensive line? I ask because I've currently got Spro Gouken and don't really backlash that much with that setup but I also like / would suggest Sunline Sniper or Seaguar Invizx and all three of those are (not coincidentally) about the same price. One thing I would say is I typically stick to heavier lures with a baitcaster and usually shy away from anything under 1/2oz but the lure density also plays into that a bit so if it's something like a lipless crankbait that's exactly 1/2oz or a little under that's usually not going to be an issue and there are some other 3/8oz lures that I use as well. But back to the line it might be worth trying out some different line and consider one of the ones I mentioned in 14lb or 15lb. Heavier lures will also tend to backlash less. Spool tension is another issue and that can vary depending on the model but generally speaking for that SLX XT I like to set the spool tension so the lure just starts to sink in the water. Brakes are also gonna vary based on the lure and conditions but if you think it might be break issues I'd open it up to make sure it's set to 50% on 50% off and then just set the dial to 75% on or so and then slowly back off until you get to the point where you start to notice the line loosening when you cast. That's my suggestions (for that reel anyway). Overall I think that's a good reel and haven't used that particular rod but I do own some Shimanos and am sure that one is also pretty nice. Baitcasters are a bit like riding a bike though and takes time to get good at and years to master. In my case I've started to prefer them over spinning reels and have gotten more comfortable with lighter lures but that took years and I usually fish several times a week. I still hate skipping with one but that's probably my own fault as I've gotten used to a spinning reel for docks and have not put any effort into getting away from that approach whatsoever...plus I usually like a fluke or senko type lure around docks and prefer that on a spinning reel anyway.