Hooligan

No. He consulted on Powell Fly rods some years ago. Those rods were never produced for the consumer.

That, really, is the whole of it, in terms of a search bait. More aggressive fish with faster moving baits to find either concentrations or higher activity levels.

Two things, regardless of location, for pre-spawn fish. #1 fish hard, and sort through. Fish a jig, a jerkbait, a senko- doesn't matter. If those females are there and active, the males are more aggressive and you have to get through them first. If you're catching nothing but bucks, back out to your first drop or transition. Move to points, things like that to start. Second, fish hard- they're there.

The Bomber Fat Free was first, then available in the Excalibur line, then made by Xcalibur for a short time, then back to Bomber. Also- a point of reference here. The Excalibur is SOLELY the treble hook. Excalibur rotating trebles are where the whole thing comes from. Now they put them on almost everything instead of just the special colors. Originally, that was the differentiation.

They're light baits. I cast them on spinning gear, most of the time. When I am using a crank stick for them, it's a 7-2 Medium Moderate that loads extremely well with 1/4 and 5/16 baits.

That's my point, though. R2S would have the total number shipped, and have a good handle on the color that they ship the most. Any time I have anything like that, it's really, really easy to track. Most of the time, too, it can be broken down to specific regions and areas.

You're field staff, call R2S and see what they sell the most of in those two sizes...

Agreed. I fish the 894 and 895 more than probably any other rods in my arsenal.

In winter, i tend to search with bigger, louder baits. Single Colorado 3/4-1oz baits with >6 blades, big rattlebaits like Aruku Shad, the LVR, and 3/4 ounce RES. Big swimbaits are also key for me this time of year on certain waters. I also tend to focus on deeper structure with vibrating baits and blades. In some waters, jerkbaits are absolutely essential, as well. Sometimes it's necessary to downsize, but not often will I drop down in size.

Top ten I can do. It's pretty easy to put that to the numbers. 10- PopMax 9- R2S Rover 8- Senko 7- Rage Recon 6- Rage Thumper 5- RoboWorm 4- Cranks 3- Black on Black 3/8 Cavitron 2- Northstar Spinnerbait 1- Northstar Jig/ Rage Lobster

PB+J jig gets either a cinnamon purple twin tail, a PB+J Rage Craw, or a cinnamon purple hand pour. 99% of the time, it's a rage craw.

Search baits are just that: Baits that allow you to cover water more quickly, and pick up those active fish. If you don't use them, you're missing fish that are more easily caught. It, generally, will also allow you to learn what fish are doing in terms of location and activity level. A search bait can be a swim jig to a crank, a spinnerbait to a jerkbait. There are only a few times that I consider bottom contact plastics to be search baits, and those are in very specific conditions. There's never a situation that I discount a search pattern, never. #1 those baits target more active fish, more aggressive fish. More active, aggressive fish generally lead to being bigger than others. #2 anything that I can do to speed my way to five fish, be it one or five, is making better use of my time on the water. If I'm fun fishing- the more and bigger fish I catch the more fun I'm having. After I've really pummeled an area with a search technique, I may or may not go back through more slowly. The secondary aspect of a search, or fast moving technique, is that it allows me to pay very close attention to the 'Bird in the front of the boat. It allows me to pay attention to the moods of the fish, where they are in relation to structure, where they are in relation to wood or submerged vegetation. If I see fish that are placed in a specific way, I'll go back through and fish thoroughly with one of any number of techniques, but generally, it's going to be something very specific that I'm looking for when I do that. That's what a search pattern tells me, above all else.

This is pretty much dead on. Any remaining Excalibur stock out there is older, non-current items.

I'm a total and complete rod snob. I admit it. There's no secret of that in these forums; check my post history and you'll see firsthand. I say that because the diminishing return factor is there without a doubt. The second part of it, is that not everyone will ever be able to utilize the differences in a lot of the upper end rods. There will come a point that the user is no longer able to discern the difference in the rods, and what it is that they're feeling; regardless of experience level. Is the NRX one of, if not the best, rods out there right now? Absolutely, unquestionably, and nearly unequivocally. That said, I'd almost rather pick up my new GLX because I prefer the rod tapers in the series. I'd say that overall, the NRX is the best of the best, but there are also some fantastic rods for the purposes from other makers. Gary Loomis Edge rods are stupid-incredible. I've got two of them, and would like about nine more in respective tapers. The DX series has some absolutely excellent rods, purpose built, as well. The only way you decide what is, and is not, worth it is from spending the time with them in hand.

Too far. Too far. Where's Irene when you need her...

Hey now, that's my bit. I've claimed full rights to that reply chain!

In layman's terms, as you put it, refraction of light is the change in direction of light. In this purpose, it's different than reflection. Reflection is the change of light solely on the surface of the material in question. Refraction, when in the consideration of fluorocarbon line is how light changes direction on not only the surface of the line, but as lightwaves travel through the material. In this case, light is bent at different lengths, better to camoflauge the surface of the line, in this case it's nearly cylindrical. Think of it like this, reflection is going to act like a mirror, refraction is going to act as a lens. In the case of fluorocarbon, that lens surface is very similar to that of the water surrounding it, therefore it has a lower profile. Nylon reflects almost the entire visible spectrum. Fluoro bends light as it enters one side, and goes out at a different angle. Mono bends light as it reflect of the surface; primary difference. There's a large difference between the two. In terms of the refractive index, most finished nylon mono is considerably higher than what you'd listed. In most cases, it's well above the 1.6 marker. The finished material in fluorocarbon, and yes, there's a difference in resins... is generally about 1.41 or 1.42. The secondary aspect to fluorocarbon's refractive index is that it's nearly impermeable to UV degradation, the same cannot be said of Mono. If it doesn't make a difference, and it's entirely a gimmick, then I must be the luckiest guy ever. There are far to many demonstable instances in which I've been on clear water lakes and fished 15lb fluoro and the guy fishing 6lb mono was getting back-boated 9:1. Sure, there could have been other differences, like the fall rate and those sorts of things, however fishing a 3/16 ounce shakey head with the exact same worm, all fish were coming dead-sticked on bottom. It wasn't a matte rof fall rate, it wasn't a difference in baits, or technique. The sole difference was the line in question.

Really? I prefer the Porsche 9FF for braid. I use the 918 for fluorocarbon.

So, an extra bearing supporting the pinion gear is a gimmick? I call that structural integrity and engineering. It leads to better, faster, and smoother spool rotation, and more consistent spool behavior. Gimmick? I don't envision rod sensitivity as overblown, really. Some people will never benefit from the more sensitive rods, yes, but it isn't overblown. To you it might be a waste of money, to me it can be making money. Ever used the hydrowave? Ever seen what it will do with negative fish? Ever seen what it will do with neutral fish? Not a gimmick at all. The HydroWave is an entirely different product than the others in the past. I used to think the same until having spent enough time with it to see the difference. 5-10% less shiny? How do you figure? It's almost the exact refractory index of water, it's far more than less shiny in water. I don't look at most of these as gimmicks. Most of these are real factors in the behaviour of a certain product, or in a group of products. Some will never see the benefit of it, some are incapable of feeling the benefit of it, and some don't understand the way it works and therefore judge it to be a gimmick. Gimmicks to me are the magic bullets, flying lures, banjo, that kind of thing. Even the Livingston, to a degree, has some value on the basis of function. I don't think that it increases catch rates that dramatically when used in the same base. Another gimmick, or magic bullet? Running out to buy the "classic Winning Lure"... Those are gimmicks, the magic bullet sort of things.

Never had a problem with wind knots with any line other than braid. It isn't the reels, either. I fish Sustains, Stellas, CI4+, Stradics... Braid is too limp, it doesn't always get packed tightly on the reel and then causes a problem. Part of the problem is line diameter. It's far more common to have wind knots in smaller diameter lines.

They can be dynamite on a TX rig, too. I fish them a LOT on Southern, clearwater lakes that way. 1/8 or 3/16 bullet weight and a 1/0 straight shank.

Decent stick for the money, competitive components, and a pretty good feel. They're stout, that's for sure. The 7-3 MH feels more like a Heavy XF, and it performs quite well. I tested these last fall, and am reasonably happy with the performance of the series on the whole. They're a pretty good fit in the $150 category.

You like the 110, you'll like the FX9. Both the JDM and USDM are true suspending baits. It's dependant upon water temperature, really. The JDM suspends at a wider range of temps, admittedly. However, that's never been the meat of the argument between the baits. The entire argument has always been that the JDM baits sit at a different angle in the water, and it simply isn't true. I've fished the 110 JDM since well before the US intro of the bait. A good friend was stationed in Japan, and hit a tackle shop there and bought me a whole bunch of stuff before he came home. I purchased a bunch when I was there in 2000, as well. I've noticed no difference at all in the catch rates. Color wise, Pro BLue, Table Rock, Twilight, Oikawa, Hasu, and Ito Wakasagi are favorites. When I can find them, Elegy Bone and Gill are probably the two that I fish the most. The problem with the last two, is they are incredibly hard to get at times. There are also a few JDM colors that I fish a lot. When it comes to the PopMax, if you ever find the Balsa, get it. It will blow your mind.

Oh, don't get me wrong. It's a big fish bait, when big fish are on it. There's no doubt of that. However, under most circumstances, I've had more 3lb averages on the rig than I have anything else. That is to say, I don't choose to target solely big fish with it, because I KNOW I can put 15-16lbs in the boat in a hurry. If I happen to whack a biggun in the same phrase, well, that's just great. But when I've caught a limit on a point, or in open water or current areas, I know I am generally able to upgrade by following the rig with a different bait.

Glad you took that the way it was meant. We anglers... well those that haven't been on liquid water since ice up, anyhow, can get awful crotchety this time of year. Good to see some others realize sometimes it really is just "funnin" with someone.