So this guy arrived today.  To be honest,  in hand it's hard to totally distinguish it from the Zillion.  We will see how it performs when spring comes.

 

I put my Christmas gift cards to good use and decided to see what the deal was with the Chatterbait Mini Max.  Also stocked up on some trailers and craws.

7 hours ago, Bankbeater said:

I put my Christmas gift cards to good use and decided to see what the deal was with the Chatterbait Mini Max.  Also stocked up on some trailers and craws.

They are dynamite.   they are picky on trailers, and I've found the 3" Armor Shads are perfect for them.   The ones I bought earlier would be perfect for it. 

 

My local store had a crazy deal today......buy any fullsize 110 which I was going in to buy anyways, get a free Sleeper Gill.    Basically 110s for $15.

 

The problem is that both 110 models don't come anywhere close to suspending.   They both rose a bit slower than traditional floating bait.  My 110 and 110Jr from before suspend perfectly nose down.   Guess I'll ask MegaBass about them, very disappointing but I'm already hooked on them to the Nth degree.  

 

3 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

The problem is that both 110 models don't come anywhere close to suspending.   They both rose a bit slower than traditional floating bait. 

Know what the temp of your fishing spot is...like down where the lure is running?

 

Water temperature will affect the characteristics of suspending lures. The colder the water, the more dense it is, and the lure will rise slowly. The suspending balance is tuned to a specific water temp...could be 45, could be 55.

 

Also, the deeper you run it, the denser the water - so if it's tuned for 55 degrees at 4' - running in 45 degree water at 6' is going make it want to rise.

37 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Know what the temp of your fishing spot is...like down where the lure is running?

 

Water temperature will affect the characteristics of suspending lures. The colder the water, the more dense it is, and the lure will rise slowly. The suspending balance is tuned to a specific water temp...could be 45, could be 55.

 

Also, the deeper you run it, the denser the water - so if it's tuned for 55 degrees at 4' - running in 45 degree water at 6' is going make it want to rise.

Thanks, out of emotions lol. 

 

Yeah I made note of that in the email I sent to Megabass just now.   My temps were 46-48degrees today.     The 110jr +1 has suspends just as well today as it did when the water was 56-58degrees.    The 110jr model was suspending perfectly in 64 degree water.    

 

This caught me off guard, maybe that's why they were giving away a free Sleeper Gill ?

edit:  I'm testing them all the same......I run them about two feet below the surface where I can barely see them, and then observe.     I have no idea what they are doing at 7-9ft.....send me FFS lol.   

 

I imagine it's warmer down there, but by how much I'm not sure.  

8 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

send me FFS lol.   

Dude - I'm running a Garmin Striker cause that's the best I could afford.

 

8 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I imagine it's warmer down there, but by how much I'm not sure.  

Actually - the deeper you go, the colder it gets...long as the water is above 39 degrees, the warmer it is, the higher in the column it is...so your warmest water is on the surface.

15 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Dude - I'm running a Garmin Striker cause that's the best I could afford.

 

Actually - the deeper you go, the colder it gets...long as the water is above 39 degrees, the warmer it is, the higher in the column it is...so your warmest water is on the surface.

Thanks, that's weird because in the deepest parts of my homelake it's the highest temps on my sonar, whereas the shallower I go the colder it gets.    I know I'm only reading surface temps, but on like a flat in 10ft of water it will be 46.5, and then in 32ft of main body water it was 48.8 IIrc.

 

I'm confused, I just want my expensive JDM baits to suspend ?     

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Thanks, that's weird because in the deepest parts of my homelake it's the highest temps on my sonar, whereas the shallower I go the colder it gets.    I know I'm only reading surface temps, but on like a flat in 10ft of water it will be 46.5, and then in 32ft of main body water it was 48.8 IIrc.

 

I'm confused, I just want my expensive JDM baits to suspend ?     

You can always try suspend dots. 

55 minutes ago, NorthernBasser said:

You can always try suspend dots. 

What glue are you using on dots and strips? I don’t wanna use anything that may react to the plastic of the lure.

9 hours ago, Smells like fish said:

What glue are you using on dots and strips? I don’t wanna use anything that may react to the plastic of the lure.

They're pre-loaded with a glue on back. Peel of from backing and apply...so no need to carry separate glue.

 

Designed specifically for lures - so no worries there.

Mine are suffering from AD, adhesive dysfunction ? 

I went in to buy replacement hooks for my Vision 110, but the Sirens song for a couple of new colors…that’s how they got me!

 

got a few Mat colored ones.    

 

have they always been $25?!

A few more Christmas sale items came in today. I’m hoping the 743 will be good for 1/4oz swimjigs and these small finesse jigs. This is my first non cranking Dobyns but it feels great and balances well with the Steez.
Also had to get a couple of Rozantes and Nanahans from the small jerkbait thread ?

So thanks to a couple of purchases this year the bait monkey had lure parts online and Barlows send me catalogs to arrive on the same day to tempt me to stock up on stuff I need and also stuff I didn’t know I need!

 

I know paper catalogs are old school, but for me I can see everything they have much easier and faster than the website. 

The hook up tackle's surprise two day 22% off Christmas sale made a 3 piece PB Rat too hard to pass up. Pink 2 piece was great for me this year, and allegedly the 3 piece is even better for the open deep water I generally fish.

8 minutes ago, NorcalBassin said:

The hook up tackle's surprise two day 22% off Christmas sale made a 3 piece PB Rat too hard to pass up. Pink 2 piece was great for me this year, and allegedly the 3 piece is even better for the open deep water I generally fish.

Haha, that thing is cool.

 

Look forward to seeing you post a fish on it lol.   Thing is wild 

2 hours ago, Cgolf said:

So thanks to a couple of purchases this year the bait monkey had lure parts online and Barlows send me catalogs to arrive on the same day to tempt me to stock up on stuff I need and also stuff I didn’t know I need!

 

Only ever order for myself... but you know they (companies) are collaborating when the wife gets a Mud Hole catalog the same day mine arrives. lol

I wasn't planning on getting another reel right now but DSG had the Shimano SLX for 60% off! It feels way smoother than my LFS and Tatula CT and it casts easier around the yard too. The best $39.98 reel ever made. Period.

2 hours ago, NorcalBassin said:

The hook up tackle's surprise two day 22% off Christmas sale made a 3 piece PB Rat too hard to pass up. Pink 2 piece was great for me this year, and allegedly the 3 piece is even better for the open deep water I generally fish.

 

Some impressive baits, for sure. Love how they're made of resin. I got these two at the beginning of last year. For whatever reason, I only threw them a few times. Didn't get anything on them yet, but did have one monster blowup on the 3 piece, but missed it. And if you ever need to replace the tail and wanna keep that same color, Creme Lures makes some.

 

 

12 hours ago, Jrob78 said:

A few more Christmas sale items came in today. I’m hoping the 743 will be good for 1/4oz swimjigs and these small finesse jigs. This is my first non cranking Dobyns but it feels great and balances well with the Steez.
Also had to get a couple of Rozantes and Nanahans from the small jerkbait thread ?

 

You fish those firework jigs before?  Long time ago before they got picked up, I grabbed a  few from a fellow fisherman like an open air drug deal on the lakefront.  They caught for sure but are long gone to toothy fish and I forgot about them.  Just ran into them on tw and about to order a half dozen.  Hope/think they didn't change much.

 

scott

Relatives came to town last night, and brought my Christmas tackle order down with them.  I set my new record for smallest order, and still be over $50 for free shipping.  Bait Monkey is happy, and looking forward to the day when a single bait will qualify for free shipping. 

 

1 hour ago, softwateronly said:

 

You fish those firework jigs before?  Long time ago before they got picked up, I grabbed a  few from a fellow fisherman like an open air drug deal on the lakefront.  They caught for sure but are long gone to toothy fish and I forgot about them.  Just ran into them on tw and about to order a half dozen.  Hope/think they didn't change much.

 

scott

No I haven't. I saw them mentioned somewhere and decided to pick some up. Apparently these are a collab with Catch Co, if you go to tightropefishing.com they have the same jigs that aren't the collaboration. I'm not sure what is different other than the weedguard and maybe some colors.

"We will see how it performs when spring comes."

 

Could you try it today, while I'm at lunch, so I can order a couple of Steez A2's while they have lefthanded ones in stock? And while my wife is out of the house? 

28 minutes ago, Johnbt said:

"We will see how it performs when spring comes."

 

Could you try it today, while I'm at lunch, so I can order a couple of Steez A2's while they have lefthanded ones in stock? And while my wife is out of the house? 

quick..scan the return policy.  

 

just in case she comes at you hard.  

My ZOLO Dream came yesterday. Very nice build. Just gorgeous. I won't be able to get a true feel for it until spring. But I definitely will have to get used to the carbon grip. It feels 'rougher' than my friends Kistler Chromium rod, which also has carbon grips. Those feel like they have a rubberized coating over it. Hopefully the durability of these hold up. I've never had carbon grips before.

 

The rod is a 7' med/fast. It's definitely more whippy than other med/fast rods I've ever owned. Not a noodle or anything, but it definitely bends deep down into the blank. Not saying this is necessarily is a bad thing. Just wasn't expecting that.

 

Another thing that's a little surprising is it's a little tip-heavy. For a 7' M rod, and for an ALX rod (my 7'1 MH ZOLO Deputy isn't) that's a little surprising. Is a carbon handle lighter than cork/foam? I had a Curado MGL 70 on it and the balance wasn't great. I slapped a Curado 200K on it (which is heavier, obviously) and it was still pretty tip heavy. 

 

Guides are very small, so I'm curious how well connection knots will do on this. May have to go straight fluoro/copoly.

 

I know these sound like complaints, but they're really not. Just my initial observations. I'm quite excited to get it out on the water!