Hooligan

Yes, but get something good. Not Megabass. Kureha or something in that class. (R18 is decent, but there's better...)

I like the Crucial just fine, it's a good stick. I like the Rage an awful lot for that rod. It fits my hands extremely well, and I have no problems with the guides with fluorocarbon. The Crucial is probably a little more stick, in terms of actual power.

Pretty much what I always do. I might make exception, but I doubt it. I do like my Metanium reels...

One of my favorite reels of all time. I used to use them for a lot of the same as above. I use them now for spinnerbaits and jerkbaits. Love em.

The Kistler line is about the only one that I've spent very, very little time with. Most of what I have spent time with in that, too, is the Zbone. What time I have spent with Kistlers outside of the ZBone, I've found that they do tend to be a little more moderate in feel than others in the same class. As far as being close to the actual action, again, they're a little light, typically.

The new IMX are pretty nice sticks. I'll be getting a couple, for sure, to replace a couple in the NRX line that I don't feel are the best built in that line.

It's smack in between them, Ghoti. It's not as light as a Loomis MH, but not heavy as a St Croix. It's more in line with what Daiwa has traditionally done, I'd say. You remember the old Heartland S series of rod? Those were as close to a true MH as I relate to, and these are very similar to that line.

Yeah, I've visited that one before. Looking more for specific data with twist rates and bullet/powder combinations. I'm fairly comfortable with the .223AI and where it is, but curious to work up a couple odd ball loads for it to see how it shoots. Would like to compare it to others, is all.

Wondering if anyone has any experience in the AI rounds at all. I shoot a .223AI, a .243AI, and am looking at getting a .280AI. Curious if anyone has ever worked up any loads for the .223 and .280.

I don't get down here as much as I should... Anyhow, I've seen this round, first hand, finally. I actually got to fire some of them as well. I'm not at all concerned, as I was just like you, about the collateral aspect of it. The thing won't fragment until penetration. After that, it stops pretty quickly, at least that's what we noticed. All that being said- DRT has a new frangible handgun round that is devastating with ZERO pass through. It does absolutely insane damage to a soft target but then falls apart in a hurry. Should look into that one.

The 7-1 MHXF is about the only in the line that really is a good plastics/jig stick. I REALLY like the taper on that rod.

Constant. I cannot open the website from my laptop without it hanging Firefox, to get it to open in Chrome, I have to use safe mode regularly. IE? Forget about it.

Shimano Sherriff notwihstanding, at least the good captain is able to finitely, and capably explain why it is that he prefers one over the other, and does so without being critical of others choices. Which, when it all boils down to it, is choices. There are reasons that I can't stand some Lew's reels, and love some of the others. The same goes for Daiwa, even Shimano- though according to one particular post I'm nothing but a Shimano Fanboy... Anyhow... I don't disagree with you at all, Bob. They're not the same as the Pure and BPS reels. There's NO comparison between the Lew's and those two. I debate the validity of your argument that, should we take comparable reels in the Lew's line and Shimano, that the Lew's are unquestionably better, and better value. I've seen the opposite of your findings in my experience. But then, there are also reels from Daiwa that I prefer over both. As has been pointed out, numerous times, one of the most highly recommended combos in a baitcaster for the past couple years has emerged to be a Lew's on a Dobyn's. this silly notion of a Shimano Posse is pretty silly...

I tend to agree with you Brian. BPS has, for several years now, really tried to push the internet business as much as possible. Remember days of old when they had color listings for all the baits? Remember last years catalog that had "for more available colors, go to www....?" They tried to push people to the internet to make those orders, rather than through the catalog. The process was a failure. Not to mention that if you try to access the website with IE, Firefox, and Chrome, it's almost a guarantee that it won't load. The design, as well, is terrible. There's no effective way to make a comparison on three rods, let's say, without either opening three windows, or having to go back and forth through three links or more.

Uhh, what? Any fish that isn't a Northern Strain is outside its native environment. So, that rules out CA, TX, LA, and pretty much anywhere they grow big. That's an ill formed argument at best. Apples to apples is genetics to genetics. Environmental factors are going to both affect, and effect, those fish in the same way. The environs they inhabit in any situation is extremely similar. They are not growth limited by environment. They're growth limited by genetics. That's it, plain and simple, there's no arguing otherwise. I tend, also, not to think Dottie was the biggest ever. There is anecdotal evidence of CA anglers and TX anglers seeing legit 20lb fish that were dwarfed by other large females in a pack. I also don't believe that we will ever see a 25lb fish in captivity for any length of time- at least not one that was wild, then captive. I firmly believe that there is a 25+ out there. Very likely more than one. It's all a game of chance.

I'm not going to dig deep in the preference thing, versus materials and construction and engineering but, the way you often state you're looking for the metal drag star- why? What difference does that make? There are so many upper end reels that use material other than aluminum for the star, I'm curious as to why you think it makes any difference? I know why it couldn't be any less a concern to me, but your insistence baffles me.

The 3.5 sold out awfully quickly in the squarebill. The DD series and XD not so much. I don't think, however, many are stocking the RTO or LC 3.5.

Love these threads. Always give me the ten magic bullets at least once a week.

Purple hatchet blade 2oz spinnerbait Chartreuse red flake 14.5 worm 1.25" Crazy Craw in MT Purple Supermag Bulldawg in orange tail Hot pink 1 oz backwards buzz 1/8 ounce hit pink mag flash w/ #8 black nickel blade BadonkaDonk 6oz red head 1/100th oz fluflu jig in Kelly green Little Stinker Teardrop w/ chicken blood scent Super Sand Eel

Pitboss and DBomb are far and away my top creatures.

Now the LC Series, formerly the RC series. http://www.luckycraft.com/luckycrafthome/Products/crankbait/lc3-5.html They also do the DD version. Favorite cranks are BDF8 Fat Free, LC 3.5XD, Jackal Muscle, Megabass Knuckle, and a few other odds and ends.

If you have shiners where you are, at all, the Stealth Bait is a really, really good bait to throw, too. It's also excellent for fish that are a little hesitant to really get after a bait on the surface. It's sort of like the old clear spook. When they want to push the surface but won't fully commit, a lot of the time the Stealth will turn over the edge. I tease people about not really liking to fish topwater baits, and while it isn't my favorite, when I throw one, it's usually a Popmax first.

That's cool. Being published is something to be proud of. Continuing to be published is really, really cool.

Definitely not of the Micropterus Genus. If I had to venture a guess I'd say it's a saltwater species. They ALMOST look like they could be cobia, if the gills weren't shredded out. The tail is right, and the dorsal location and coloration is accurate. Wish there were a better shot of the head.

I think it's a JDM limited run color, now. I know tha Samurai had some last time I ordered from them, but then when I was ordering some other stuff this winter it wasn't listed in the catalog. The one that I really like, color wise, is HT Ito Gill, and HT Ito Wakasagi- next to Tonosama Frog and Stealth Bait. Those are the four colors that I would have to have in PopMax. I have something like twelve of the things and almost all are of those colors. I'm also very fond of the PopX when the smaller bait is called for.