webertime

Good "starter" Jerkbaits: L.E.S. Rick Clunn STX's (replace the hooks with Gammy EWG Trebles!!!!!) $5-$8 Bomber Suspending Long A $4-$8 Rapala Husky Jerks $3-$8 Smithwick Suspending Rogues $4-$6 Get comfy with those then get a Luck Craft Pointer (or Slender Pointer) and see if you can tell the difference.

2013 Post of the year so far! Thanks DS40

Winner! 20lb Power Pro is awesome. If you have sketchy fish, then tie on a leader. I use this set up for Ikas & Senkos with a lot of luck

It's pretty nice. It's a big rod for sure. Sold mine because I realized I didn't need something so big.

Just get skirt material and wire. Hand tie them and have no worries.

Vermonter here, I bring the reels inside and loosen all the adjustments to the max to keep the drag washers and spool tension springs "fresher". It's probably mental but I want to make sure the lubes/line on the reel don't go bad/thicken due to the cold/dry air. Rods are fine out in the cold that you/I see.

Punkers and Sammies.

Sellus, BPS Crankin' Stick, Berkley Lighting Rod Shock, and Powell diesel for new rods. Used, look at Veritas Winches, and St Croix Mojos.

Should be good for those baits, that set up is a pretty popular way to go in the swimbait crowd. I'd consider 20lb P-Line CXX, 20lb McCoy mono/copoly although braid should work just fine, I like the abrasion resistance good mono/copoly has and at those diameters, stretch is pretty negligible. Enjoy! I have a very similar set up and really like it.

I use trout baits in ponds that are nothing more than glorified bogs up here and there have never been trout in them. They got bit just fine, if you go trout and gill or baby bass you at least have two color schemes.

I use the Ghost Gill G2 up here and it's actually a pretty dark color, I've caught some beauties on it. The colors for the S-Waver are great choices. I like the sexy shad color (whatever they call it) or the Carp Color for the floating BBZ's. I think the herring my be a bit flashy for a bait that is: (A) fished slowly on the top ie subtle, or ( burned in, the water this thing moves is more than enough of an attractor, the flash may be too much. ALL great baits.

Floating 6" Spro's (obviously just tie on) Hudds (6", 6" weedless, and 68's, work good looking spots slowly... long casts help too.) A certain Japanese soft swimbait rigged on a 5/0 1/4 oz screw lock hook worked slowly over rocks or weeds. Rig on a football or biffle head and grind/drag on the rocks. Take a "tube-style" paddle tail and insert a Mojo Carolina rig weight (use megastrike as lube) and abbra cadaberra...! A line through bait that you can run very deep. I can get a 5/8oz mojo in a 5" Paddle tail and use a size 1 treble to SLOWLY work in deep areas above weed beds (16-20 fow). Try it...

So... at this point I think every rod in the $100 price range has been mentioned except for Gander Mountain, Wright and McGill, Carrot Stix or Quantums...

Brad, you're making me misty here... thanks dude!

2008 I think

I got one for under $75 basically new... So I don't mind a little $ going into it. Thanks man!

X-Craftic is a coating/treatment for the aluminum, all alloys of Aluminum with corrode at roughly the same rate relative to exposure to salts, etc. (used to work in the cycling industry). This is all really helpful. Anyone ever try or heard if you can add the centrifugal brakes (new spool, sideplate and sideplate "guts")?

So I am going to be building my first rod this winter. I am going to try a rod to use for Jerkbaits and some TW (6'6"-6'8"). This will be my first build and was wondering if anyone had a suggestion on a good entry / "serviceable " blank (not NFC/K2 level) for throwing pointers and other ~1/2oz baits.

Starting with the original premier on up through today's. How have they changed or been updated?

I have the Gen 1 Recon 715 and 766. The 714 regardless of generation may be a bit light. Are you using braid or a face smashing hooksetter? Yes then I'd go Recon due to a bit softer top section (still has tons of power). The M1 is a great rod by all accounts too, just stiffer throughout, and I think a little uglier, but if ugly mattered to fish then I'd wager most of us would go home empty handed a lot more.

"Best Little Hair House In Town"

This is where I'd put my money.

what he said

Throw some 70lb Daiwa Samauri braid on it and keep some 20lb CXX on hand to attach leaders if needed. Great set up for 8" Hudds, BBZ's, and Lunker Punkers. That being said the reel may be a bit small for the baits in the rod's weight range, you should be fine though for occasional use. Or you could probably sell the Curado and get a Cardiff 300 for little no extra outlay of $$$. The 300 size will still be fine in the salt, but give you more capacity (ablity to run ~100yds of 20lb mono) and have a bit more strength in the reel.

Lipstick Red... hmmmm