Quillback

Thnaks for the tip on the lure saver split rings, I'll have to check those out.

The one on the left looks good enough to eat, where's my fillet knife?

Well the thing about $15 deep diving crank is you're going to get hung up deep because you're going to fish around and run through cover and structure. Lose several of these a day and it gets expensive. You definitely want to have a lure retriever with you if you're going to fish these things. And think about how much fun it's going to be trying to un-snag a lure hung up 25' down on a windy day with a two foot chop, and you're out there by yourself. I'm thinking if I fish these things I'll probably do it on 65 lb. braid and change out the hooks for something thin wire that I can pull on and straighten the hook if I get hung.

Roboworms really float well, so if you use one on a shakeyhead, the tail will float straight up. Most worms don't float as well.

Yep great post Skeletor! I would add, keep an eye on Ebay, you can pick up some great deals from reputable sellers on high end rods.

I have a Dobyns 705CB I picked up about a month ago, haven't used it a lot, but so far I'm finding it works great for medium depth cranks. Reasonably light, but enough power to handle bigger billed cranks like medium divers. It will work deep divers, but I would not use it as a dedicated deep diver rig. Too short for DD's and a tad underpowered. Dobyns has excellent warranty service also. Only had one issue with a Dobyns rod, a 702DX, insert broke out of the tip, called Dobyns, Richard Dobyns answered the phone and got a new tip right out to me.

Good explanation on the soft tip on a dedeicated DS rod. I have fished a buddies 822 NRX DS for a few minutes, incredibly light rod. Of course your wallet will be incredibly light after buying one.

I can't be 100% sure you'll get a non-defective reel out of the box. But it's very reasonable to assume that a Revo S will be fine out of the box. I use a "Reel E Good" spool winder to spool my reels, there's a lot of spool winders out there, and there's methods to use without using a spool winder. Do a search on "Spooling line on a baitcaster" or some similar phrase and I'm sure you'll find some instructional videos out there.

I've got a Shimano Crucial CRC711 (7'11") that works real well for deep cranks. Might be a bit out of your price range, when the sales come around you could probably pick one up for $140-150. If that's too much, you might want to look at a Shimano Compre Crankbait, MH, 7'6" retails for $109, of course you can get them less at a sale. Pair that with the BPS reel recommended by BlueBasser and you've got a decent combo for < $200.

I'd say the percentages are pretty slim that you'll have a defective reel out of the box.

Looks like something I can throw on my A-rig rod during the summer, to keep the A-rig rod from gathering dust..

I liked Ultimate Match Fishing, I hope they have another season this year, but haven't seen them on the schedule. I guess I should Google it and find out.

I'm going to try and call that guy after the holidays. Thanks for the number.

I've got a Dobyns 705CB and I would not use it for deep cranking, for example DD22's. For deep cranks you want a longer rod (for longer casts) and something with a soft tip, but plenty of backbone for hauling those deep divers all day and not wearing yourself out. If you're looking at Dobyns, I'd be checking out that 805.

I was curious and did a search on "Green NRX" to see if Shimloomis had any info out there. I found this quote from a Shimloomis rep, basically when asked about the weight difference he says it's up to us to figure it out! I am not making this up... Justin: “Although there is no change in performance on our side we have heard from consumers and dealers that the rods feel even lighter than before. But the mind is a powerful thing!! When you like what it looks like and already know how good it fishes then your mind takes over. We weren’t worried about it and didn’t weigh them. We will let the fisherman be the judge!!”

They should have saved it for April Fools Day.

It would be nice if the ShimLoomis folks had a knowledgeable rep that was easily accesible and knew the answers to the questions that are being raised here. Instead it seems we have to figure out the NRX quirks on message boards. I find this to be annoying. I'll use Dobyns as an example, I had an issue with a rod tip, sent an email and got a quick response from RIchard Dobyns himself. I'm sure if these questions arose with a Dobyns rod, we could fire them an email and get answers. And this is probably true from many rod makers. And it should be the case for high end rods like NRX. I'm not trying to say Dobyns has a better product, but they are far, far better when it comes to customer service. NRX rods are great, but Shimloomis's attitude seems to be one of "take it or leave it" we don't give a flying hoot.

That's one of the techniques the Table Rock guides use in the dog days of August. It flat out catches bass with bonus walleye, bluegills and catfish.

I'm fortunate to live where the lakes rarely freeze over, so I fish year-round. I love jerk baits in the winter, if the water temps drop below 40, the bass in some of the local lakes will school up over deep brush piles, and you can whack 'em. And the big ones can be caught this time of year, I caught my PB in the winter. There are days I won't go out, if it stays below freezing all day and the wind is blowing, I won't go.

From the ODFW site: Dec. 8, 2012 A service of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Bassmaster Classic on its way to Oklahoma, along with new facilities at Grand Lake The Bassmaster Classic is like a Super Bowl or World Series for fishing, and the event is headed to Oklahoma this winter. Grand Lake of the Cherokees will host the Bassmaster Classic fishing tournament Feb. 22-24, 2013. The event is expected to draw 70,000 visitors and account for more than 20,000 hotel nights in the region. Even more important, the event is expected to pump $24 million dollars into the economy of Tulsa, Grove and other communities around Grand Lake. At its December meeting, the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission heard a presentation on the upcoming Classic. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation will be involved in the event by helping with the live release of fish back into Grand Lake following each weigh-in, through booth participation at the event expo, as well as through an extensive project to help the host community of Grove to develop world class fishing, boating and tournament facilities on the lake. With over 15 hours of national media attention on ESPN and ESPN2, the Classic will be an enormous asset to the local economies and to the promotion of fishing in Oklahoma, according to officials with the Wildlife Department. Weigh-ins will be held at the BOK Center in Tulsa, which will be filled with an estimated 15,000-18,000 spectators at each of three different weigh-in events. The winner of the Classic takes home $500,000 in prize money plus inevitable sponsorships and the most coveted prize in competitive bass fishing. "It really is the top prize in professional bass fishing," said Gene Gilliland, assistant chief of fisheries for the Wildlife Department. "It's easily the biggest fishing event that will ever come to Oklahoma." While expressing the magnitude of the event, Gilliland also noted that the Classic represents a tremendous opportunity for developing the region further for recreational use by anglers and boaters. "The Bassmaster Classic is going to be a starting point for a lot of things that will be happening in the Grand Lake area and 'Green Country' in general," Gilliland said. "As big as Grand Lake is and as popular as it is, it doesn't really have big-time boat launching facilities. The City of Grove has stepped up and is cooperating with us and some other partners to try to make that possible, not only for the Bassmaster Classic, but for the future." Wolf Creek Park in Grove is being renovated to provide six boat ramp lanes, parking for up to 300, restrooms, pavilions, a drive-through weigh-in station, courtesy docks and more. The two-phase project will result in a multi-million dollar, first-class facility for the public to use. "This facility being built at Grand Lake is not just for the big level tournaments," Gilliland said. "But the City of Grove is trying to make something that the local fishermen can use so that they have some nicer facilities to be able to do some of their weigh-ins." Over the course of the two-phase project, the Wildlife Department will contribute about $3 million, which will be combined with several million dollars provided by the City of Grove, Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Grand River Dam Authority - which owns the lake. The second phase of the project could include other partners as well. "It's a big deal," Gilliland said. "I'm hoping that the folks at Lake Eufaula and at Lake Texoma and Ft. Gibson and some of our other major reservoirs get really jealous about seeing all this, because we'd like to do this same kind of project at those lakes and put in some really first-class facilities at other places around the state." A recent episode of the Wildlife Department's Outdoor Oklahoma TV show featuring the upcoming Bassmaster Classic can be viewed on the Outdoor Oklahoma Youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/outdooroklahoma.

That 893 I have must be a blue, don't have a green to compare it to, looks like a greenish blue to me, but from Jeb's description it must be a blue.

I plan to visit on one of the days, just haven't decided which one yet.

I've got a green wrap 893 NRX, the Model and weight/line info is in front of the cork, where you'd expect it to be, and the epoxy is just on the wraps. I can see them moving the weight line info, even though it seems strange to put it between the grips, but epoxying the entire blank doesn't seem right, but I'm not a rod builder. Maybe give Loomis a shout?

Just got an email from Bass Tackle Depot. They are having a 25% sale through the 16th. You can get a Gen 3 STX for $149.99. IMO you can't buy a better reel at that price.

After reading Jeb's comments, I went out and checked my Gen 3 STX, it does have a couple of small rash spots on the top of the frame, but I've used it quite a bit the last 2 months so it is not excessive like I've seen on the Gen 2. I don't use reel covers either. If given a choice between a Gen 2 Premier, or Gen 3 STX at the same price, I'd take the Gen 2. But that being said, I have not seen much in the way of performance differences between the two.