2 hours ago, KP Duty said:

2lb samurai?!  That's crazy.  I don't need that kind of stress while I'm fishing.  I bet it is quite the challenge though.

It's part of my training from the one that got away, probably about 10+ years ago. I hooked a bull red on light gear, panicked,  fumbled with my drag, and lost it when it started going under the pier. I did some carp fishing and practiced using light gear with big fish. Now with BFS I can adjust the drag on the fly. 

took my two favorite combos out for some Lake Ontario pier action the other day but no fish. Still it was nice to get out there.

 

IMX Pro MBR 903C with Curado 200i PG

IMX Pro SJR 901S with Nasci 1000 FC

Curado Family. MGL 71HG, MGL 151HG, 201K HG

26 minutes ago, Rockhopper said:

Curado Family. MGL 71HG, MGL 151HG, 201K HG

57 minutes ago, Rockhopper said:

Curado Family. MGL 71HG, MGL 151HG, 201K HG

The Curado's? Never heard of them😉 They look good though!

On 6/19/2024 at 4:58 PM, Rockhopper said:

Curado Family. MGL 71HG, MGL 151HG, 201K HG

 

Looove the 70 and 150 MGL's. I think I'm up to 9 now. I do love my Daiwa's as well, tho. 

I'm not going to show my fishing outfits because I power fish with spinning gear. I know, I know, I'm doing it wrong. Plus, some of my spinning reels are thirty years old and my braided line is also 30 years old. However, it all works, so take that, rod gorilla and reel chimp!

 

Caveat: I did buy MH spinning rods. My whippy M smallmouth rods couldn't wrassle largies from weeds. 

2 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I'm not going to show my fishing outfits because I power fish with spinning gear. I know, I know, I'm doing it wrong. Plus, some of my spinning reels are thirty years old and my braided line is also 30 years old. However, it all works, so take that, rod gorilla and reel chimp!

 

Caveat: I did buy MH spinning rods. My whippy M smallmouth rods couldn't wrassle largies from weeds. 

I fished every lure i do now with a MH st croix mojo bass (gen1) since before I could drive up until about 2 years ago. Is it the best tool? maybe not but it works and if it fits your fishing best who cares. 

 

Post em up! 

2 minutes ago, Functional said:

but it works and if it fits your fishing best who cares. 

 

It does work. You know I fish a lot of heavy cover and I can hit tiny pocket after tiny pocket after tiny pocket with my spinning gear. Some fishing trips, I don't miss a single pocket and stout bass are in many of those pockets. It's when I start thinking about not missing that I miss. 

7 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

I'm not going to show my fishing outfits because I power fish with spinning gear. I know, I know, I'm doing it wrong. Plus, some of my spinning reels are thirty years old and my braided line is also 30 years old. However, it all works, so take that, rod gorilla and reel chimp!

 

Caveat: I did buy MH spinning rods. My whippy M smallmouth rods couldn't wrassle largies from weeds. 

Hey, if it works for you that's all that matters! You obviously have no problems catching fish. There's no rules to this. 

My new jerk bait/lipless setup! I can't wait for fall/winter to use this combo!

 

I told myself a few years ago I would try a Megabass rod before I hang it up. Thanks to a timely offer, I ended up with two. 

On 6/30/2024 at 12:22 AM, T2DM said:

My new jerk bait/lipless setup! I can't wait for fall/winter to use this combo!

 

 

Why wait? You can catch 'em on jerkbaits all year long. Orrr, I also use that rod at times for some top waters and even 1/4 oz finesse jigs. 

2 hours ago, NorthernBasser said:

 

Why wait? You can catch 'em on jerkbaits all year long. Orrr, I also use that rod at times for some top waters and even 1/4 oz finesse jigs. 

Right on, there's too much moss and junk where I fish during this time of year for jerk baits, but 1/4oz finesse jigs sounds good! I went out to try the new rod the other day using weightless fluke and I can tell I'm going to enjoy this setup. It's a little bit stiffer than my old jerk bait rod which is the original SLX 6'10 medium, definitely more versatile than it though.

35 minutes ago, T2DM said:

Right on, there's too much moss and junk where I fish during this time of year for jerk baits, but 1/4oz finesse jigs sounds good! I went out to try the new rod the other day using weightless fluke and I can tell I'm going to enjoy this setup. It's a little bit stiffer than my old jerk bait rod which is the original SLX 6'10 medium, definitely more versatile than it though.

Flukes, definitely. Forgot to mention that. 

A combination of old and new.

 

Old: Daiwa Triforce-153iV reel dad bought me 25 years ago for good grades.

New: 7'0 Lew's Xfinity speed stick 

 

I LOVE this set up for the kind of bass fishing I do most days(catch bait fish such as bream, use them for love bait) the reel has good pulling power and a good retrieve speed, and the rod at 7'0 allows me to cover a good amount of water, and it using upwards of 20 lbs line allows me to live bait fish this kind of medium thickness cover I like to target. The hook sets with this combo have been very solid.  And I like the brighter color on the rod so it's easy to find if I were to lay it down for whatever reason(rarely, but have done it before)

Finally put the new SLP knobs on my Steez sv 6.3's (w/ blue zpi parts).

 

On 7/1/2024 at 8:01 PM, Columbia Craw said:

I told myself a few years ago I would try a Megabass rod before I hang it up. Thanks to a timely offer, I ended up with two. 

It wasn't too long ago I picked up my first megabass rod (p5).  I had always thought megabass rods were 'more show than go', and an ugly loomis meant you were a savvy angler.  Times have changed, and megabass rods have become lighter and more sensitive in general.  You should post up your thoughts on the x10.

I was on Zzeta Italy website last month, upgrading a couple of C3CT surf reel spindles to carboloy.  Discovered they offer a barstock CT frame now for mini-Ambassadeur.  

Since I already had this multipiece rockfish baitfinesse rod for bike-pack shore fishing niche, decided I could make a really cool match with a custom 2500CIT - mini surf reel.  

 

Already knew it was cheaper to bypass a donor reel, and build entirely from a few OEM parts and balance of upgraded aftermarket parts.  I ordered the frame and handle from Zzeta; CIAR side plates from ereplacement parts; spool, mag brake, trim, brake plate and complete drive from Avail,

including ball-bearing pinion, 6.1 gears, alloy mainshaft and drag click-plate with integral roller-bearing sleeve.  Since the Avail mag holder snaps into the frame L/S boss, this also lets me run a 2- or 4-pin centrifugal for also casting heavier weights. 

 

The barstock frame built a little tank, with wide-open thumb access.  

 

Currently has about 100-yds 5-lb Ultragreen mono, but after the brakes are dialed in and it casts like I want, will load it with PE#1 Varivas Si-X (22-lb).  An opportunity fishing reel, mostly about casting fun.  

A few more photos to show off.  

 

I set the mag brake casting 2-g with 5-lb UG mono.  Final brake-set result casting 1/4 oz to 140', which nails my shore fishing target, and I couldn't make it backlash with intentional wrist snap.  Happy with this result on mediocre pack rod.  Also got the braid loaded, but haven't cast it yet with my 3-g low-end target - not worried about it, fixed brakes are set.  

Nobody has asked about fishing non-level-wind (CT surf) reel, so I'll volunteer it.  

Line management depends on getting a good tight hand-LW base wrap when you first load the spool.  If you're fishing mono, you under-fill the spool, may need to correct line lay some during fishing.  When you get down to PE#1 threadline braid, narrow spool with a capacity of 100 to 200 m, this gets a lot simpler.  The concave (hourglass) line lay is intentional, and goes deep in the 4-mm spool.  You can fish your working line mindlessly, because it falls to the middle of the spool and self-corrects on wind.  The only time you need to re-do the hand-level-wind (when you get home) is after a big fish takes you deep.  

All my rods Dobyns fury and sierra and my baicasters are lews. Keep it simple and not that expensive. Loll

@WackyWormNedRig Keeping it simple and cost effective is something that still deserves a couple pictures 😉

Two new cheap reels to try out.  They are aluminum frame 6 gear reels with 36mm deep spools and a 110mm handle with big foam knobs.  I've fished the silver one on the Lightning rod and it's a free casting reel for a linear magnetic.  15# BG flowed out of it easily with no spool tension.  I liked it so much I bought a black and red one for the Lightning Rod and a 76H Vengence to try out as a cheap deep cranking rod.  

 

Reels are the $37 Seasir Megacuda and $40 Leydun G6.  Both are the same reel in different colors in diffrent brands.  You see that a lot with Aliexpress reels.  I suspect Leydun might be the OEM but I have no idea.  The Seasir one is popular with many reviews on Aliexpress if you want more info.

Palming plate side view.  The spool dimensions are the same as an old 36mm spool TD-Z or TD Zillion but the reels feel more compact like 36mm Tatula 80s if that makes sense.

from my last fishing adventure (while on vacation in Montreal)

my three main rods all Loomis with shimano reels

the IMX pro SJR901 with nasci 1000 FC reel slays smallies with 6 pound Sufix Siege and  Mepps #3 black fury!