@softwateronly I am of the opinion most of the Dobyns rods are lightweight, sensitive & have plenty of backbone, at least from the Champion XP line on up (price-wise). Their XP 704CB is an awesome topwater rod, especially for smallmouth. I wouldn’t be afraid of a 703CB for smallies. Their 5 power rods could easily handle 8+lbers in moderate cover IMO. Good looking rods, too.

so i’m keeping things very basic this year.  only real things on my shopping list are lipless cranks and deeper +1 and +2  jerk baits.  i’ve got twins on the way so i don’t really know how much fishing i’ll be doing past june.  

 

plan building one bass spining rod and walleye vertical jigging rod which, i already have reels for. 

 

these all came from walmart In St.johns.  that OG6 is a replacement for one i lost on the titabawassee last year.  

 

bottom to top

 

googan lipless 1/2 oz 

rat l trap  1/2 oz 

shad rap rs-7 in perch 

shallow shad rap -7 in perch 

og-6 in silver black back. 

 

i’ve got some lucky craft 3/4 lvo’s on thier way which i win on ebay. 

 

 

On 12/21/2023 at 10:31 AM, gimruis said:

Guess I didn't even realize is was a jerkbait.  I thought it was a crankbait based on the shape and size of the front lip.

 

Either way, it will definitely at least get tried next spring.

i used to catch a lot of fish using jerk baits as cranks baits.  when I am small stream trout and smallie fishing that is how i still fish the smaller rapala’s like f5-7 and the j-7 jointed rapala’s. 

 

Been a couple years since I added a new setup. Finally pulled the trigger on a dedicated "cold water" setup for jerkbaits mostly.

 

Diawa Alphas 800, Phenix Feather 7'1MH with 40lb Daiwa Samurai. 

 

That’s a sweet little haul when you know what you’re looking. Congrats on the twins. Get out when you can. 

I took this masterpiece (Conquest 101 and a Megabass P5 Z-Crank) out for its first run and it was a blast.  My wife confiscated this set up for Christmas and I've been wanting to fish it for quite some time.  I tried a jerkbait, a shallow crankbait and a topwater popper at my local pond.  I caught one on each. 

 

This one has that magical feel to it. The reel is amazing but the rod is perfect for 110s and 110jr's. 

 

 

@FishTank …with a Megabass jacket as well? (Noticed the cuff).

Got it last year. My wife wears it all the time as well.  Great jacket but it is JDM sized. It blocks wind and is good in the rain. It's a stretch fit and is good in 40-50 degree weather. 

@FishTank This would be me in that jacket 😉😆

Oh geez! I didn't really need another bait caster but when I saw this Daiwa Coastal I just had to get it. I didn't know it existed. I have a few Tatulas and a Zillion already. My wife saw this and I had to get her one as well. Lord, stop me before I buy again!

The main differences between the Coastal SV TW (there's also a Coastal 80) and the Tat SV TW is it's larger handle (100 mm vs 90 mm) and deeper spool. And color, obviously. Where you getting your Coastal's from? 

6 hours ago, Eric 26 said:

@FishTank This would be me in that jacket 😉😆

Man, I miss Farley. 

1 hour ago, NorthernBasser said:

Man, I miss Farley. 

 

When I buy a new rod my wife tells me.....

 

@NorthernBasser Me too😉

@FishTank I literally laughed out loud when I saw this 🤣😆

2 hours ago, FishTank said:

 

When I buy a new rod my wife tells me.....

 

 

Tell her that's fine, lots of smallies in that river.

Scored a new PFD for next season, enter the one and only NRS Chinook

@NorthernBasser I have feeling you have a whole library of comebacks for your wife when it comes to tackle purchases.

 

Thanks Santa, I owe you one!

 

 

15 hours ago, NorthernBasser said:

The main differences between the Coastal SV TW (there's also a Coastal 80) and the Tat SV TW is it's larger handle (100 mm vs 90 mm) and deeper spool. And color, obviously. Where you getting your Coastal's from? 

Man, I miss Farley. 

I miss Farley as well.  I guess departing with cocaine and prostitutes isn't a bad way to go 

Depends who you ask.

A-Jay

2 hours ago, RipzLipz said:

@NorthernBasser I have feeling you have a whole library of comebacks for your wife when it comes to tackle purchases.

 

 

I'm not married, which explains why I can make so many irresponsible purchases. Also explains why I probably won't retire as soon as I'd like when the time comes. 😅🤦‍♂️

Apologies for my assumption. Not sure if I should offer congratulations 🤣. Not married here either, and fine with that - more time for chasing the green variety of fat bottomed gals. Much fewer headaches but not sure which is worse on the wallet.

 

11 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Depends who you ask.

….and what is "caught". 😷🤧🤢

 

On 12/24/2023 at 7:18 PM, MassYak85 said:

 

Been a couple years since I added a new setup. Finally pulled the trigger on a dedicated "cold water" setup for jerkbaits mostly.

 

Diawa Alphas 800, Phenix Feather 7'1MH with 40lb Daiwa Samurai. 

 

Now that’s a nice set up

A couple of Japanese wood plugs I couldn't leave alone (think mullet)

 

Wood continuity added to my Bright River super short grip Concorde/ 4500C combo

(before)

22 hours ago, NorthernBasser said:

I'm not married, which explains why I can make so many irresponsible purchases. Also explains why I probably won't retire as soon as I'd like when the time comes. 

Also explains why you have an entire SHED full of tackle.  The rest of us sleep in the doghouse when we upset our wives and you get to sleep in your shed because you want to. 

here is a major score from my favorite ebay vendor from alabama.  4 lucky craft LVO’s 3/4 oz ( 2 gold & 2 striped gill).  bottom 3 right side 3 magic-man 75 3/4oz in louisiana frog cakes.  and 3 magic man 65’s 1/2 oz in chicken of the sea.  got it all for $70 shipped. 

 

that translucent gill color should be killer early spring with a lot of the clear lakes that i fish.  I always like throwing gold on cloudy days 

 

 

First impressions of the 13 magic man lipless cranks is very favorable.  these are well well made.  I like the color line up that 13 has.  havnt fished them yet though.  i think im set on 3/4 oz lipless baits but, i could buy more of those 1/2 oz.  I could see me buying a few more 1/2 oz rattle traps as well. 

 

lousiana frog color could be a bunch of different bait fish up here. chicken of the sea, i don’t like super bright chartreuse baits.  i like the chartreuse to be more subdued.  best time to throw chartreuse is the last hour-half before the sun goes down.