wolfe_ohara

my braid scissors are either "titanium" fiskars craft scissors, i think I paid $6 for 2 pair, or my hakko fine wire cutters. the fiskars are my go to though.

dobyns champ xp: 795 dobyns 836 dobyns 795 travel rod irod genesis 3: 764 and 783 bass pro carbonlite glidebait rod 2x lews super duty 300 6.x:1 ratio (32 ipt) 1x shimano scorpion 300md (42 ipt) 1x abu beast 300 (27ipt) 1x 6.x:1 tatula 200 1x 7.x:1 tatula 200 it took me a while to figure out what my preferred setup style is. Now working on offloading the gear that i picked up in the process since I don't need 6 rods and reels. (not an ad)

If you can't get something going with St. Croix, a rod in a similar price range to the dobyn's fury lineup is the carbonlite technique. I have the glidebait and bladed jig models and I have been pleased with the performance of both rods. I use the bladed jig rod for my bigger topwaters and "small" crawlers, and the glidebait rod gets used for anything with a treble hook within the listed weight range.

when I was having fogging issues some years ago a friend of mine recommended "paintball mask anti-fog spray", I think the company I used was empire. It worked fine, not perfect but an improvement.

literally just ordered another one last weekend. grabbed a new abu garcia beast 300 in 5.8:1 (27ipt) and can not wait for the shop to call and tell me it arrived.

for medical reasons, at 48 my prime is behind me. I honestly believe that if my body would allow it, I could easily out fish 30 y/o me, and 20y/o me would be dumbfounded at the ways we have evolved our skills.

tariff stuff, digitaka is a more seamless experience

also wondering how your experience went and what you wound up buying.

I am a fan of the s-waver 200 and have a few of the 168s that I throw as well. The abs trick shad fishes nicely, they have fixed the hook hanger issue(s) in the more recent releases. while not a single jointed bait, the jackall gantarel and gantarel jr fish like a glidebait. 100% agree with Swimbaitstud's assertion that having the right rod will make all the difference in the world for "comfort". many anglers see the size of a "swimbait" and immediately downsize, because "my fish won't hit that". 2lb bass will absolutely attack a 200mm bait.

can confirm swimbaits are "trophy pike" baits. I would invest in some mend-it if you're serious about soft plastics and toothy critters.

I have been using one for about a year now and I have been enjoying it. I have overloaded it with swimbait gear, and run it with 4 baits and a water bottle, equally comfortable. It is a little warm in the dead of summer, but it doesn't take up a lot of surface area on the body, so moving it around for air flow is fairly easy. Strap is more comfortable than expected. The front work tray/pocket is quite handy, especially when wading rivers. the water bottle holder works great with a variety of shapes/sizes, but I don't believe I would trust it with a fishing rod. all in all, I would buy it again, but would prefer a different colour for visibility while trekking through the brush.

large screwdriver, bulk spool and my feet

my experience was similar to Drew03cmc's experience. I like the concept, but found the execution to be a little lacking. no slight on wcz, just not my style of "topwater" fishing.

same here. a couple drops of acetone and give it the old "shake weight" treatment.

fairly sure they are talking about importing vs purchasing jdm items through u.s. retailers. last time I checked, importing a new ryoga 150 was going to run me about $500, after fees and what not.