wolfe_ohara

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.

that size 40 spro has been a solid producer for me, for years. smallmouth bass absolutely hammer them in the rivers here. pike, musky and bowfin all seem to love munching on juvenile rodents too.

i have "swimbaits" that are in the $150-200 retail range. do they work better than the abs versions? sometimes, if that action is what the fish want that day, yeah. My KGB chad shad sinks more slowly than my Spro chad shad and some days that is the ticket. Not saying better or worse, but different.

I listen to music or an audio book, but I always wear headphones. The headphone company I prefer has a mode that gives you the ability to hear what is going on around you and still listen to "media".

Indiana friendos, is the water soft around the Purdue University/Lafayette area? I will be traveling down that way for a day or two next week.

it looks like it is supposed to keep the blade from getting blown out during the fight. One of first things i learned, when fishing buzzbaits, was how to re-tune them. Pike are notorious for wrecking the way they run.

actually laughed out loud

in a game of Trick the Fish i will take any reasonable advantage i can get.

for anyone just browsing, these are 3.5oz and 6". they swim pretty well, are durable and the colours are solid. I am happy with my purchase

the bellows gill/bellows swimmer might be worth looking in to. I know several guys who swear by them when bass are chasing gills off beds.

Dobyns MBR-836, bulk spools of 16# and 20# super natural mono, bulk 20# daiwa fluorocarbon, bunch of combat rats, hudd 68s, a savage gear scandal that i just know the pike are going to love 😭and a couple bucca resin baits. Don't judge, it was a long winter.

I did this several years ago and it was all over for me. Now i struggle to bring anything smaller than an spro King Daddy

Low float is the popular choice for sure. I was told to think of it like a really big jerkbait and grab a colourway that suits your local jerkbait fishing.