Hooligan

Nothing like any braid I've ever fished. It's better than Samurai for body, more supple than 832, and casts better than any other braid I've fished, period. I prefer fluorocarbon for 99% of my subsurface presentations, and likely always will, but this stuff S pretty decent.

Anyone played with the new stuff? I'm curious to hear your results. As anyone that has ever read anything I've ever posted I'm an avowed hater of braid in general, almost refusing to fish it. That said, this stuff is something different! Super body, excellent castability and smooth, supple behaviour I've not experienced. Wondering if my results are the norm, or the exception.

What's up, fellas? And 'ettes, I suppose. Long, long while since be dropped in, lurking around occasionally. Felt like saying hello, where's that Francho dude? Bluebasser? Surely Roadwarrior is still throwing Senkos and Ikas causing mental anguish to those that can't fathom how he does so well? anyhow, wanted to say hiyas. I should be around more frequently. No more insane travel, and all.

Um, yeah. It is. Particularly on a baitcaster.

No. Gary had nothing to do with the design. They put his name on the rods and that's about it. They've certainly not become his mid level entry of anything, either. They (TFO) took what Loomis would apply as far as attributes, and tries to build a rod around his suggestions. That said, they failed miserably. The rods are heavy, lack balance, and have terrible guides. A result of their very heavy feel is reduction in sensitivity.

They don't work in any way. Don't Texas rig them, or shaky head. Don't bother on a swing head either. Just send em to me and I will take care of disposing of them.

I haven't fished it yet, but I've had one in hand. I can't wait to fish it. I've got a couple coming, and look forward to it.

Most is a tie between a Hinkle and a Roman Made. The RM is probably the one I've done the best with, and some the most damage to through the years. I sent it back to have it refinished it had so much rash. I have only thrown the Hinkle a dozen times or so. I kind of forget that I have it sometimes.

S-Waver, Whopper Plopper, Bubble Pop, Rover and Pro Tuned Rover... Just to name a few. Every one of them is a solid bait with super capabilities. I've never fished a bait from them that I didn't like.

BPS hooks are crap at best. I have broken them, had them come out with open eyes, and bent points. They're made by VMC, but that means nothing. There made by VMCs Asian affiliate which, like everything BPS, is made for the cheapest they can. Honestly believe that you can buy ten for the same price as the 25 pack and come out ahead in the long run. I shouldn't have to keep a bunch of rust inhibitor packets or Zerust tabs in my box for terminal tackle alone. I fish hooks from a lot of manufacturers, and every, single one is better than the BPS hooks.

Tatsu is the best of all the attributes combined. There are single lines which do one thing better but lack I n other areas. That said Kureha R18 is unbelievable when you can get it. As is Evergreen. Dollar for dollar, in readily available stuff, it's Tatsu or bust for me.

I really don't fish it much different than a treble hook. Like I said the biggest thing I've found is that before I really lay the wood to a fish, I'll let them hit it two, even three times. And, as much as I hate to admit it, 50# braid on a 7-5 to 7-11 heavy stick is the way to go. I want to move as much line as quickly as possible, and hammer it hard when I do. Braid is the answer for that.

Tuned CH50mg. Megabass Zonda. CU100B(tuned). Other than that, every reel I own. Never have fished the Zonda, though.

More on the 148, but the bruisers have put a hurting on the 178. I've caught 26 over five, with six fish over seven on the 178. I had a two day deal on Table Rock where everything just fell together right and caught close to 220 fish between the two of those baits. I was having to shuck loads of 13-15 inch fish off the 148, so I switched to the 178 and crushed em. I've never had a solid, solid swimbait bite on the Rock before this. I've always caught a few fish, and a few good ones but nothing like that. I really think that is never really mastered how to fish a glide bait up to that point so didn't have all that much confidence in them. My brother was smashing fish on Longs Creek from start to finish, and I was getting smoked. I started fishing a 148, and started matching him fish for fish. When I upped to the 178, I started pummeling him. We started hitting similar spots on the lake and found quality fish in every single location. I'm still not 100% confident of what put those fish there, outside of the structure, and temps. We always catch fish in those locations year round, but not usually stacked in like they were. Brother hooked up with a 10-2 green fish and a 6-15 spot. I caught a 9-5 and a 9-9. Even on local water those two baits have been extraordinary for me. I've been fishing them in tournaments when I'm already on five, and they've added quite a few kickers for me. When I asked Speedbead about the claw, I wasn't sure what to expect. There hasn't been a single time I've regretted them. I've caught more quality fish on them than any of the other glide baits I own.

Sorry! Silly auto correct doesn't think I meant what I meant. I change a lot of my hooks out to Owners Siwash hook. http://www.ownerhooks.com/specialtyhooks.htm Scroll down a bit, they're on there.

What's this you say? I should have two more coming, you say? I'll let you know when I get my 7-2 in hand next week my thoughts.

Huge difference in profiles and shapes. The way the spoon falls and flashes is everything. The f utter and side to side roll is vastly different based on brand. Fall rates are dramatically different. The strike King falls close to a foot per second faster than a Nichols, and the Nichols is about two inches faster than the original. The brass content is also different, which leads to fall rate. As hooks go, I convert a lot of my spoons to a so was hook doing away with the treble, and have actually recorded an increase in hookups. The absolute key to flutter spoons is to not set the hook the first time they hit it. Let them hit it again, maybe a third time before sticking them. Almost every fish I catch will slam the spoon to "stun" it, then turn to catch and eat it. I missed hundreds of fish before I could finally convince myself to not lay into them right away.

Actually, I've seen about 95% of the guys I fish with cast a bait off at some point in their careers while fishing braid. If you haven't, you will. It is not at all uncommon, bordering the more common than not. As DVT states, get a slight dig in the spool and that bait turns into a 600fps missile that's lost its fly by wire. I've cast fifty feet of line off the spool only to have the bait go sailing. I did it with a Roman Made Mother and promptly went swimming. As to the OP, yes, there is some info missing, but there's also an awful lot that could be going on.

Leader material, as stated, is intended to spread the load over a much shorter length, be it mono or fluorocarbon. As such, it is finished harder, has a much more consistent diameter, and more prone to heat warp. The latter is primarily related to fluorocarbon. All fluorocarbon material comes from leaders. We didn't have a reliable wind-on material until very recently. It was invented in the 70's, but we didn't begin to see it in use as leader material until the 90's. It wasn't until the early 2000's that there were mainline fluorocarbon lines available on a great scale. One of the greatest advantages of leader material is it has highly increased knot strength for terminal connection as well as for tag to tag connections. A 20# leader on 30# braid will generally break at the lower terminal knot with true leader material. With fluoro mainline, it will generally be awfully close to 50/50 as to whether it breaks at the terminal or tag. Inline connections are easier with leader material, as well, primarily because of its harder finish. It doesn't have the tendency to roll on itself. There are several very good leader materials out there now, available to us on the market. As much as I don't like to give Berkley any credit for their fluoro, their leader is excellent, and priced right. Rio makes excellent fluoro leader material on the fly fishing side that transfers over to our purposes very well on the finesse side. Seaguar makes my favorite, formerly in saltwater only, but now available in a slightly softer finish in the STS material that matches up really well as far as diameters go. I use the 15 and 25 for flipping and those situations I need to fish braid but want the abrasion resistance, and on finesse stuff where I need the casting distance and, I hate to say it- feel, I fish the 8 and sometimes ten. Sorry for the long winded essay, but that's what I'm good at.

Is it worth the money? I have six of them and say not in a million years. It's no more functional than the Sustain or Stradic. Is it worth the money? I have six of them and they're absolutely flawless in build quality and performance. They are one of the finest finished reels that I have ever had the pleasure of fishing. Depends on who is answering the question, and which should he happens to be sitting on. It also depends on whether I'm actually fishing a spinning feel, or not, when you ask me. When I have an Antares in my hand, nope. Not worth it for the Stella. When I have a Stella in my hand, you better believe it.

GanCraft Claw has been incredible this year for me. The other, I wanted to hate this bait and have had terrible luck with other Savage Gear- the 8" bait has produced a ton of fish.

I believe it makes a difference, yes. That tick, tick, tick sounds an awful lot like a craw moving rocks around. Almost as important as this, is that the bead protects your knot from abrasion by the tungsten weight.

Per the usual, the boys have you covered and I can't help but chime in. Look no further than the original Lake Fork spoon. They're the best of the best. I've tried Nichols, Strike King, Johns, Monster, and always revert to the Lake Fork. Redington has a great video on flutter spoons, as does Kelly Jordon.

Depends on the baits and conditions at hand. In general, a mid-ratio 6.2:1 or 6.4:1 is what I generally prefer.

Daiwa has never made reels for BPS. There was/is a long standing dispute about infringement of patent rights and they refuse to manufacture reels for them. Period. Doyo, Yonh Huang, Dawon, Kaito and a couple others all make reels for BPS, they are not limited to being made by Doyo. They make, I believe, two series of reels for BPS. The remainder are farmed. There are also several large, relatively unnamed Chinese manufacturers that make reels for just about every company except Daiwa and Shimano.