JohnFromLisbon

I have! That's how I fished after I graduated from the old original floating Rapalas. My first bass baits were the DT4 and 6, and my first higher end rod was a Loomis 783 CBR. I didn't start fishing soft plastics until like 2010. I had a lot of fun at the time but I wouldn't go back to just fishing crankbaits, now that I know what I was missing out on.

Here we go, one day ahead of schedule. A few things from Roboworm, a couple of packs of Flat Worms, drop shot hooks, line, tungsten weights... And Plano StowAll bags, two of each, and also couple of 3500 Edges plus hook containers to make my own tiny terminal boxes, to take with me with I'm bank fishing and to have a dedicated drop shot terminal box on the someone-else's-boat bag. The 3700 size ones I got a few weeks ago.

@NorthernBasser right? Over here it's a lot easier to get JDM stuff than regular USDM tackle and gear, but luckily these are now in pretty much every single store. And at pretty much the same price, I paid 3.49 EUR for each, that's like 3.80 USD. Good hooks, solid colors... What's not to like?

I use both the 12 and 15lb as leader line and honestly, for the price, it's great. I got larger spools some time back and when I spooled the 12lb on my cranking reel I didn't like the inconsistency in diameter, felt a bit off especially while putting pressure on the line while spooling. You could feel when the line got thicker at times. But for leader material, it's good.

Just restocking on my two favorite colors, PB&J and Green Pumpkin Craw Oh, and I have something else on the way from a little shop in a faraway land called California...

Red/orange/craw type colors. I know they're more of a seasonal thing, but I'm a sucker for these.

Same here. I'm thinking of getting either another 6'10 Zodias or the new Expride B to have a dedicated straight fluoro setup for jerkbaits and a braid to mono leader setup for small topwaters.

@Tennessee Boy that's why I switched to Costas. I was setting the hook on every single rock and bump!

I had a pair of Split Shots with those lenses. Coming from a cheaper pair of polarized sunglasses I really noticed a difference, the lenses were the best part of those Oakleys. Ended up having issues with the metal retainer rusting, Oakley (Luxottica) replaced them, and I sold the replacement pair because in the meantime I'd gotten a pair of Costas. Overall I like the Costas better, but have to admit that the Shallow Water lenses on the Oakleys were just a bit better than the Green Mirror 580P on the Costas. It's hard to describe, but under the same conditions on the same body of water I feel the Prizm lenses had a slightly better contrast. Or I may have read so many "reviews" and seen so many YouTube videos that it's all placebo effect and @jbsoonerfan is right. I definitely wouldn't rule that out ?

IMX-PRO 852S JWR with a Stradic FK spooled with 20lb 832 to an 8 or 10lb Sniper or InvizX leader. That setup also applies for wacky rigged Senkos and 1/0 Flashy Swimmers with 4" Easy Shiners.

Here they are next to each other, and the 70 and 150 spool next to each other where you can see that the braking system is different. You get 4 brakes on the 70 vs 6 on the 150. After fishing all 3 of them I can say that the 150 is definitely the Goldilocks size. It is just barely larger than the 70 and manages to be just a bit lighter - mainly due to a "plastic" star drag and more metal machined out of the handle. Colorwise... I dig it. I like the green tint that only really comes out under direct sunlight. Looks good on the IMX-PRO, but not as good on the Zodias for example.

#1 Decoy Worm 108 "Body Hook Guard Heavy Duty" These little guys

First fish of 2022 Finally got to go fishing yesterday, after a cold front rolled in and brought down both the highs and the lows, on an overcast windy day. Started by fishing the creek but the only fish I saw was a carp and a bunch cormorants going crazy, splashing around and diving 20 feet in front of me, and I just wasn't feeling it. Drove another half hour south to a bigger lake, finally got bit on a drop shot, what else...

Overall, rods and reels for sure. But it varies in intensity. A couple of years ago I bought some nicer rods, paired them up with nicer reels, and then started going down the tackle rabbit hole because they opened up a few possibilites to throw stuff I hadn't considered. Started branching out, trying something other than just DT-6s and Rattlin' Rapalas, bought my first Japanese lures (LC 1.5 and LV-500, Jackall TN60), started fishing jigs properly and matching jigs to trailers (I know, I know...), dedicated more time to the right line, hooks, and soft plastics for drop shots, Ned rig stuff, and so on. This year, because I figured out what I really enjoyed out of all that, it got me back to rods and reels for that stuff. Already got myself a new drop shot rod, a new reel for my jig rod, and it's still February.

40 lb regular Power Pro to a 15 lb mono or fluoro leader, but then again I mainly fish football jigs in rocky highland reservoirs. Might go down to 12 lb fluoro if I have to downsize the jig and trailer.

1/2oz Bass Patrol football jig in green pumpkin craw with a Strike King Rage Chunk trailer in Falcon Lake Craw. A 3-10 is nothing to write home about, but it was the biggest fish I caught all year.

Yeah, they are pricy. To be honest that's it for me for now, I only got handful of them for the someone-else's-boat bag, or to take with me on 2-3 day trips. Most of the stuff is still stored in normal 3600 and 3700s or just regular Ikea plastic bins here at home.

3 more 3700 Edge boxes, this time the Thin version - and about the only thin thing in this house - because why not

Zodias 6'10" Medium, Shimano calls it a "moderate fast" but it's still more than enough to give the bait the right action. Also good for smaller to medium poppers when that bite starts. I have it paired to a Curado MGL 71HG spooled with 20lb PowerPro so it can pull double duty, but I do admit that it performs better as a jerkbait setup if you spool it with 10lb fluorocarbon.

The monkey got me. That monkey got me good. Can't wait to put this thing to the test. I've been using the older 802S for drop shots but as long as I was upgrading might as well get the DSR. The only place on this side of the Atlantic I could find that carried these Plano Edge was a shop in Sweden, thought I'd get the terminal tackle and a couple of standard 3700s to check them out. And yes, from what I've seen so far I will be getting a few more... Also got the last 2 packs of Rage Chunks in "Falcon Lake Craw" from a local shop, by far my favorite color to match the green pumpkin craw Bass Patrol jig, because Strike King Europe only sells the same 4 colors everywhere else. And a spool of 15 lb Power Pro SS V2 to replace last year's 832, because the yellow is sold out everywhere around here.

My Zodias scratches super easy. No peeling yet though

Bass Patrol makes a good living rubber brown and black football jig. I have a couple of those lying around somewhere but haven't thrown that particular color yet.

In late 2020 I bought my first NRX, Loomis updates them in 2021. Last year I bought my first Expride, this year Shimano updates those. Any particular line of rods any of you want to see updated next year? I could use some ideas next time I'm browsing online stores at 1 in the morning. In all seriousness, they look really nice - except for that "autograph" looking deal on the reel seat like the Poison Adrenas have. @NorthernBasser I thought the same thing when they showed the new ones. I have a crazy theory that it was to discourage people from pairing them up with SLXs and giving Shimano more money...

Finally got my hands on this little thing. Can't wait to glue it to my 844 MBR's reel seat where it'll stay for the rest of its life

Here's my lineup: Spinning: IMX-PRO 852S + Stradic FG 2500HG: the "all purpose" spinning setup, also great when I take someone else fishing NRX 802S JWR (older model) + Vanford 2500HG: drop shot, ned rig, and general finesse combo Casting: Zodias 6'10 Medium + Curado MGL 71HG: jerkbaits, poppers, Keitech football jigs, blade baits, shaky heads E6X 845C CBR + Chronarch E5 201: cranks and chatterbaits IMX-PRO 844C MBR + Curado MGL 151HG (the reel is currently somewhere in a DHL warehouse in western Germany, should get here by Monday or Tuesday): jigs, 3.8-4.3 Keitechs on Flashy Swimmers, spinnerbaits, t-rigs Expride 7'3XH + Curado K 201HG: frogs, pitching heavy cover, punching If I'm bank fishing I either just take the MBR and the 802S, keep the one I'm not using strapped to the side of my backpack or add the 6'10 medium once it gets warmer just so I can throw a popper on it. It will also pull double duty with smaller crankbaits. If I'm on the canoe I'll usually bring 4 rods. If I'm out on a boat with a guide I'll take all of them, might even add one of my old Mossybacks with another Curado K.