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7lb. 0oz. 34 inches 53.5 inches Those are about the only PB's I keep track of. I have yet to catch a Largemouth I would consider worth tracking as a PB (biggest so far is only 5 pounds).

I tried this rig for the first time today and wow am I surprised at its effectiveness. I caught a new personal best in a relative's pond (I was fishing alone so the picture isn't great). They always seem to hit it as the lure is falling. Needless to say, I am very pleased. I would definitely recommend this to everyone!

It took a full 8 hours for you? I drove threw all 4 seasons on my way home from work yesterday. Started with rain and wind, switched to sleet then snow. By the time I got home it was calm and sunny for an hour of so. Snow on the ground this morning. This weather has been nuts. I still haven't even bothered to renew my fishing licences. Maybe I'll get out this weekend or maybe I'll just drive over a bridge and throw about $10-$15 worth of lures in the river to save the time. That's how the spring fishing has been treating me so far. Tyler

perhaps you should have read 4 more lines down before crying wolf.. "In the event of a needed restroom break or refueling situation at a marina gas pump, partners are allowed to leave the boat; however, in that event, all fishing must cease until partners are back together in the boat "

Needless to say, exceeded my expectations. Looks factory. Works well with the Speciale.

I'm not a ichthyologist but i'm pretty sure that is not a carp. It is a sucker. And not the kind that is born every minute.

A little something I'm working on this week.

I went to my gdaughters t- ball game and got there late for the first game.First thing I asked is What's the score.? The person I asked looked ate funny and said They don't keep score.I looked at her funny and said What's the point of playing the game then?.And she said The kids are just having fun.I thought dang, I had fun when we kept score when I was a kid.No wonder most of the kids look bored.One kid struck out and they gave him a fourth strike and he struck out again.Moral of the story is that most growth in life takes place from hardships and dissapointments.

Many of us damage an occasional rod, although I have been fishing for many years with only a few. Based on your posts admitting you have had many warranty repairs and replacements over the years, I think a case can be made that you might be part of the problem. Yes sometimes rods fail due to defects, but most failures after even limited use are not because of material or manufacturing defects. When buying quality rods I accept that the cost of ownership is higher and if I damage them it is on me. I am an advocate of limited warranties. It seems a more honest way of doing business to me.

finished it up this morning.

This ^^, combined with the fact of how you treat the rep on the line. Last year I had the insert come out of the tip top of my avid. I don't know how it happened and it very well could've been my fault. I called St Croix and the rep told me to send in the rod and they'd fix it, and I asked if they could just send a tip top to me so I wouldn't be without my rod for a few weeks. Within five days I had not one but two tip tops with adhesive in my mailbox free of charge. Also this rod was purchased used from a member of this site and was never registered in my name. So for some of the guys here that had a hard time maybe try being nice. The rep on the phone didn't break your rod nor was it their fault. Treat people as you'd want to be treated and good things happen.

Yeah - and us Ambassadeur guys sorta tunneled off to the side...

That was some really crazy weather Central Indy had last night. I think it went through all 4 seasons in about 8 hours. Still snow on the ground this morning. That ought to mess with the fish patterns pretty good. I might get out this afternoon if I can find my winter hat and dig it out. I'm still trying to find a place where I can try on a pair of fingerless gloves or some sort of glove with a finger alot, that hopefully don't soak up water and get cold.

One question you need to ask is how you are going to prevent the next rod from breaking? If the tiptop was deformed then some kind of abuse occurred. Tiptops don't bend themselves, and they don't bend from simple fishing. The abuse that bent the tiptop also damaged the blank. Anyone who has broken multiple St Croix rods is not treating them correctly. http://www.rodbuilding.org/library/rodusage.pdf

^^^This. Complete slob. Well done! The others are great catches as well, just not fish I target.

I went through phases myself. When I first started fishing I learned on spinning of course and thought casting was ridiculous. Once I finally taught myself how to use casting reels I only used them for a period of time and thought spinning reels were a waste of time... LOL. It took me a couple years to truly appreciate the differences and stop trying to cast light lures on casting setups. There are times where I want to flip/pitch and want an incredibly slow fall so I go to spinning, and can get a heck of a cast out of it. Just about preference I guess.

bass have been slow for me,,,,, pickerel have been very aggressive. 24 inch and super fat

Different tools for different jobs. I like lipless baits until the water gets into the low-mid 50's and the cover is grass.I like to reel it fast enough to "tick" the top of the grass, kill it, then rip it out............or fish it through the grass with a stop and go, or a yo-yo retrieve. Once the water warms a little and the grass gets up off the bottom a couple more feet, I switch to a squarebill...........I like wind it into the grass, kill it, let float away, and start cranking again.......if it won't float up and off the grass, I'll give it a sharp rip as well. Wood cover............no matter the water temp or time of year I use a squarebill. I have used lipless bait in and around wood, and they work well...........but get hung up way more, and are not as efficient at coming through the wood. I don't even bother with them around wood anymore.

Potential fine of $250,000 and up to 10 years in jail. Ask for probation and pray for mercy from the court. Or flee to Mexico with an American wife and become a veterinarian!

It's illegal and voids the "Guaranteed To Catch A Fish" warranty. The package is clearly labeled "jerkbait" not steady retrieve!

Just because a reel is made in japan doesn't necessarily mean all the parts were made in japan

I am looking at your above statement Nick S. You can spin this anyway you want to. I am done here.

Hyundai Accent. I wouldn't trade the gas mileage just so I could get a longer rod in the car. It's that excellent mileage that lets me afford to buy Loomis rods....lol. Hootie

That's my EDC weapon! I have a smaller 380 version covered in $20s for when I need a smaller CCW.

They flat out catch fish . In my opinion a short shank hook gives the lure a lot more action, the whole lure will vibrate similar to a lipless crankbait . I use crappie jigs and carefully open the gap thus shortening the length , but I am severely weakening the hook in doing so . DOA makes short shank jig heads but I have never seen any at the stores . I'll have to order some . I'm referring to the three inch lure bodies .

I don't like your (l)attitude...

Your response is condescending to me. I don't tournament fish so tournament rules mean nothing to me nor do tournament rules define the definition of sporting behavior. I have no agenda against tournament fisherman. I do believe the sport of fishing encompasses more non tournament fisherman than tournament fisherman so the view point of tournament rules defining what is sporting applies only to their members. My apology to the OP for going off topic.

You bring up a good point. The first priority in buying a boat should be how and where it's going to be fished. A guy could buy a new Tracker for $20k to fish Lake Erie, and then go and bad mouth the boat and never purchase another one because of poor decision making on his part. OP, once you choose what boat you want, spend just as much time researching the dealer as he will be your point of contact for anything that may arise. A poor dealer experience could make someone hate a brand even though the boat is not the issue

My PT170 is going into it's 10th season of heavy use.....I fish almost everyday from mid April- early Nov. The only problems, besides normal wear and tear, have been user induced. I don' t fish big water, my two "home" lakes are 3 mile long, and 8 mile long puddles. I don't fish anything more than local beer money tournaments, and have no need for anything "bigger and better"

I thought about it...no benefit to it...it woulda made a mess of the trip. Ignoring him worked better, kept my blood pressure lower. I enjoyed the trip, despite "Bob", enough that I've been back to the same place several years in a row now. There's not much we can do for the purists...they enjoy what they do just for the pure fun of it. Most of them anyway...the folks I can't abide are the one who act like their way is the only way, the best way or somehow morally superior to the way other folks fish. Nah...I washed up real good, brushed my tooth and everything.

Hahaha wow, OP definitely got more finesse casting reel talk than he bargained for! This rabbit hole is pretty deep for 5 pages

Ok again. Raul had it right. The country where the rod is made has nothing to do with the quality. Quality is all based on the PRODUCT MANAGER. The person who developed the rod or reel had to approve it before it left the factory. Poor quality is the Product Managers fault. Not the factory or the country. A good Product Manager can develop great products in even the worse factory in China if he/she knows what they are doing. Even $1000 megabass rods are made in China. And all Fuji Guides are made in China. That's Racist. Then you would not be able to buy a reel.

Yes, but like with some retirement accounts, there can be a severe interest penalty for early withdrawal.

Wide gap hooks have the hook point directly in line with the eye of the hook or slightly above the line eye on "extra wide gap" hooks. When you set the hook, the sinker and the front of the lure clear a path for the hook point to escape a bass’s mouth without imbedding. On straight shank hooks the point rides substantially above the eye of the hook and aims for the roof of the bass’s mouth, resulting in a more hook-ups. The extra wide gap hooks do an excellent job of holding fish if you manage to get the hook through the bass’s mouth on the hook set. There are plenty of times when a bass completely takes the bait and even on a short pitch with braided line, the hook flies cleanly out of the bass’s mouth on the hook set. Missing an extra fish every once in a while doesn’t sound like a big deal, but if that fish is the Lunker of a lifetime, losing it is a huge deal.

Same here. I have all kinds of them except with me when I decide to stop in there quick. Either way awesome work!

I like the Yum warning shot better.

If any man asked if he could follow me into a bathroom, he better be able to run faster than me! Mike

I'm going crazy waiting. Like I told A-Jay, our snow blowers and lawn mowers are playing musical chairs in our sheds!! I haven't used either but I did get some SK Dream Shot bags over the winter. I just gotta wait for the weather to cooperate so I can try them out!

Dream shot works - never fished the Yum Bait. As long as it ends up here - I'm good with either one. A-Jay

Two decent ones after work today both on zara puppy spooks

please delete this post.. giving away my secrets. actually one of my #1 rigs with a keitech.

I would Have the reel deep cleaned by a well respected shop and then revisit any noise if there are any still there. I would also replace any parts that show wear while the reel is broken down, again if there are any that need it. 195 was too much money for that reel. I'll bet you can find a chronarch e unused somewhere online for less than that. That's where I would have been looking for that price. The curado I is a good reel. A great one. Not sure how you came to that conclusion. Either way, service your reel and I'll bet you'll do be good to go.

I have had both St. Croix and Loomis rods. St. Croix has always been fair, Loomis has always been exceptional. I think it depends on the mood of the CS rep you are talking to. Make your calls Friday afternoon, people are in better moods than Monday morning.

Wow ~ Sounds worse than removing a mattress warning label. A-Jay

Nowhere is written like if it were a commandment: THOU SHALL NOT SWIM JERKBAITS. Actually I have caught maybe twice more fish reeling in them STEADILY than jerking the bait.

Not yet. Once I get a color chart and size list I will.

Chinese food and ladles are the only Chinese items I purchase.

Stuck home with a sick kiddo, been reorganizing and cleaning fishing gear all day. I remembered I haven't posted a pic of the quiver lately so here goes. Behold: my four horsemen. (Bottom to top) 7'3" HXF 13 "NV" Black w/ Lew's BB1 Pro & 40# Smackdown. Kicker frog tied on. 6'10" MHF Megabass Destroyer Phase 3 Elseil W/ Shimano Exsence DC & 12# CXX. Biwaa Divinator tied on. 7'1" G. Loomis NRX 852c green w/ Daiwa Ito Ai Alphas &15# Smackdown. Megabass Hazedong Magnum w/ Trokar mag swimbait EWG weightless t-rigged. 7'1" 13 "NV" Black MLXF w/ Shimano Stella 2500S & 9# Gliss (reel is currently enjoying the day spa @DVT) I love these combos. Together they cover so many bases and all are simply a joy to even hold and look at, let alone fish.

Well lets see, I'll bet dollars to donuts that you'll have great results with any rod St. Croix makes that is in the same price range as the Megabass rods you recommend. I also bet you never heard of the cigarette butts in a bunch of super oorochi blanks either?? Yep, $400 rod with no warranty that had a cigarette butt in the blank and it wasn't the only one. My point is there are lemons with anything that is mass produced, it is how the company takes care of the customer when something happens is how I judge and even then it isn't always 100% as you have to deal with a human and sometimes people have bad days. So you broke 3 Mojo rods, which I'll bet they were replaced or your money refunded and after you broke your 3rd $120 Mojo you went out and grabbed either a $300 or $400+ Megabass rod, now that is comparing apples to apples. I' be willing to bet if he traded up to a Legend Tournament or even an Avid he's never look back either, and I do apologize for the little bit of sarcasm but think about what you said, you broke 3 Mojo rods in the same spot, so you go buy a Megabass and you never looked back, the more I read that the more ridiculous it sounds just because of the obvious distinction of a Mojo being a work horse mid tier rod while the other is high end/enthusiast level rod, absolutely ridiculous.

Well, if you can´t see the line then to be a successful jig fisherman you got to feel the bait.