figure8racer

Assuming since your new to the fishing game that you aren't looking to spend a weeks pay for rods to match your reels. My suggestion for lower end rods would be to go to walmart and buy a 6'6"-7' medium lightning rod and a 6'6"-7' medium heavy lightning rod. Should be around $30 apiece and In my experience they are super tough and sensitive enough to do the job. Best part about wal mart is that you can fish a rod for 5 years and if it breaks they will exchange it for a new one no questins asked. Agree with the suggestions above for techniques for each rod. And once you are blinded by the fishing bug in a few more months you can do like me and start slowly upgrading you gear (rods/reels) to higher quality equipment one at a time as you can afford it. There is nothing that makes me happier then buying a new higher end rod and reel and heading out to fish it! (Ps if ur married start stockpiling excuses for needing to spend a pile of cash on new fishing gear, and all extra money you find in ur pocket at the end of ur day in a special fishing account) good luck and enjoy!

Agree that you should hold both before you decide. Have them mount the same reel that you plan on using on it while ur at it. They've never had a problem pulling a reel out of the box for me so I can get a true feel. The veritas is lighter/more sensitive for sure and I've beat the crap out of mine with no problems but there are a bunch of horror stories about breakage so look over the rod really close before you buy it if that's what you choose. Either rod is going to be pretty nice so u won't go wrong wither way. Also if you can squeeze a little more money the smoke rod in medium power for senkos is perfect at 129.99. But I throw all casting reels so not sure if they even make spinning versions.

Yeah I could get a new one but was thinking about going higher end. I have other techniques that I can use the smoke for.

J francho thanks for the heads up. I've got another medium rod but its a 5 year old bps rod that lacks in sensitivity and is pretty heavy. I bought it used and the tip had been broken off and replaced by an amatuer. I have another thread I just started asking advice for the best senko rod in the 150-350 range as I may upgrade to a higher end rod and use the smoke for other weightless/lightly weighted plastics and give the bps rod to a buddy that thinks higher end rods/reels are a waste of money. Either way thanks for the reply/advice.

I posted a topic yesterday because I had broken a guide on my rod and wanted to know if it is still fishable. The consensus answer was no so I'm taking it in to be fixed. But I've got about 350 in my secret fishing account (shhh don't tell my wife and was thinking about buying a new senko rod. I typically fish them weightless or with a small nail weight in one end so I need something with an action/taper that will give me good long casts but still has the backbone to horse out some lunkers (in iowa that's 5-8lbs) I'm probably more partiel to medium/medium heavy power rods. I'm thinking $150-$350 price range but don't have to be in the upper range if it isn't necessary. Would prefer something lighter for all day use. I will probably pair it with a smoke, lews speed spool, or curado e7 reel. What do u guys think is my best option? All advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hey guys I really appreciate all the advice. You make a good point that it won't take to long to have fixed so that what I will do. My reasoning to wait was that every winter I take all my reels and have them serviced so I figured I would do it all together. I actually have quite a few techniques that I use based on conditions and the water I'm fishing but I've been hitting a particular pond filled with 3-7lb bass and wacky senko/neko seems to be their preffered presentation. But I would rather do the right thing so ill get it fixed. Plus maybe I can use the down time to convince my wife that its time to buy the duckett rod I've been eying for the past couple months . Thanks for the great advice!

I recently purchased a quantum smoke rod at the local bps a month ago. Today my 4 year old knocked it over and trampled it breaking the 3rd guide above the handle. My question is will this in any way negatively effect the performance/fishability of my rod? I plan on having it professionally replaced but would rather wait till winter if I can. Its my weightless senko/neko rod and I use it probably 50% of the time when fishing so I don't want to go without unnecissarily. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Fished it today for the first time fishing against a buddy of mine. Wasn't able to find any nail weights or screw in weights at the local wally so said screw it, I'll give 1/4" sheet metal screws a try. Dropped it in and the action seemed correct so I started throwing it. My buddy saw what I was doing and laughed at me for being a dope. He was fishing a weightless senko wacky rigged which is what he throws 95% of the time. When I went up on him 10-1 he finally asked me for a screw. We then proceeded to knock em out for the next hour before I had to get the kids from daycare. While I'm not proclaiming it the best ever or even better than the weightless wacky. It is a very effective presentation and today the fish definately wanted it more than anything else.

I would also agree with JacobK. You can find some smoking deals on significantly higher end rods in the flea market. Everybody I've dealt with on here has been honest in regards to condition of everything I've bought/traded for.

If you are willing to spend the extra coin for the all wheel drive model the The last thing I would worry about with the equinox would be boat ramp traction. We have one and it is surprisingly good. I think on a 15 -20 mile trip the equinox would work ok but my concern and reasoning for telling you not to do it is because of the added wear and tear to the tranny and other parts of the frivetrain. That boat would put considerable strain throught the drivetrain. It would probably be fine for a few years but for the price of the equinox new I don't think its worth the risk.

Also forgot to mention that he has the same loomis rod in the 6'9" length and if that would be better suited for frogs I can buy it for the same price of $75 or just trade him the 7 footer for it. They are both in like new condition so I figure at worst I sell one of them and make my money back for one of them. Thanks guys!

I recently purchased a used g-loomis 844c gl3 from a guy here locally. It is 7' heavy power with a fast action. I originally bought it to be my frog rod but am considering trying to find another use for it. Before I bought it I was using a 6'9" veritas with medium heavy power and an extra fast action. I was completely satisfied with the veritas but the loomis rod was only $75 so I figured it was a good deal on a more premium rod so I couldn't pass it up. I do a ton of frog fishing and have taken the loomis out a few times and with both rods paired with patriarch reels the loomis rod feels significantly heavier and more of a chore to cast. So my main question is there a possible better use for the loomis? Maybe for flipping heavier soft plastics and jigs? Or anything else you guys would recomend? Also a secondary question I've got a lews reel that is quite a bit lighter than the patriarch that I could use on the loomis that might help for casting a frog. Also I may just be a pansy and need to use the loomis for casting a frog until I get used to it. Any suggestions or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I would say that if you plan on using it for dropshoitting you should definately go with the medium power choices which also should be available from loomis if you are willing to choose a different model. To me loomis is the cream of the crop when it comes to rods but I have heard great things about the cumara rods so since you want price to be an important factor I would probably stick with them. From everything I've heard about them they are very sensitive and a great choice. As far as the reel is concerned I'm a huge fan of pflueger reels but only use their patriarch reels so I can't speak for the president. But shimano is going to be releasing a new curado/cronarch here in the near future and most everywhere has the curados on clearance for somewhere in the range of 130-150. With that kind of price I would probably go with a curado because its a great reel and a great price. And matched with the cumara you will end up with a great combo for a great price/value. Good luck with the purchase, there's nothing better than hitting the water for the first time with a new combo!

I think the biggest trigger for brauer's anger was the fact that he was leading the tournament. The unwritten rule is that if an angler is leading the tournament you don't go fish the same area they are in unless you are also in a position to win. My biggest problem with that rule is that while he zeroed the first day, he also lost a couple big fish and knew that he needed a homerun to make the 50 cut. With as tough as the river was fishing I don't see how he had much choice but to go back there. It probably wouldn't have hurt if he would have at least asked brauer if he minded him using the area too. By sunday though he was in 4th place with a chance for the win (it was a long shot because brauer had like a 10 pound lead but he had a shot especially with how tough the fishing was). My point is that he may have been in the wring on days 2 and 3 but on the final day as far as I'm concerned that unwritten rule was no longer in effect since jvd was in 4th with a chance at the title. It sucks because as a rookie there are now some anglers who probably don't think real highly of him but oh well. As far as stealing the spot from brauer he didn't for sure. He let the bassmaster writers check his gps and proved to then that he set that waypoint on the first day of practice and apparently that area isn't any big secret. I think denny may have over reacted a bit considering the lead he had on the field and the river was extremely tough (as proven by the fact that jvd zeroed on day on and was still able to make the final 12 cut). But I can also see how regardless of his lead he in no way had the tourney wrapped up, which is also due to how tough the river was. Look at kvd one of the best ever. He caught I think 2 fish on both days 3 and 4 so its possible for ur fish to dissapear over night. To me that rule is pretty silly, I mean there's a $100,000 dollar check on the line and u know for a fact that the fish you need to cash a check are in that area. Also I think it needs to be noted that it isn't like jvd didn't fish that areaarea on day one and then realized brauer was killing them there so he decided to give it a shot. After launch on the first day he went directly to that spot and fished it for the entire day. I think that if it had been a secondary spot that he hit later in the day and not his primary then he should have backed off but it wasn't so I don't see how he did anything wrong. Either way it was a hell of a tournament to follow on the live blog and had a great ending with brauer getting the win.

You've definately got a way with words. Congrats on the donkey and who knows you just might run into her again down the raod.

I ran in to the same problems on maps of the lake. If you go to http://www.sportsmansconnection.com/ they have a map you can buy and print off as many times as you want for like $4-$5. They are great maps and also come with narrative on key points on the lake.

Ok. I'm fairly new to the idea of using snaps on my crankbaits/jerkbaits because I always assumed it would kill the action of my bait. After reading these posts I see that I was obviously incorrect in this assumption and since I have sausage fingers with limited dexterity it takes me longer than most to tie a knot so I'm pumped to give it a shot. Is there a general consensus that I should remobve the snap ring on my crankbaits/jerkbaits so they don't become unbalanced? Especially my suspending baits? Also could I use snaps on my frogs and zara spook type baits as well? This would make it a lot easier for me to utilize the 4 decent combos I have rather than add additional subpar equipment to my lineup. Thanks.

Any other thoughts guys? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Would the Veritas be better suited for Frogs and or Jigs rather than say a heavy texas rig? I do throw a frog quite a bit so that would be an option.

No I don't have to use one for jerkbaits. I've got a rod that is suited for trebble hooks that isn't in use. Just added it because I plan on fishing them quite a bit this year. Thanks for the info and any additional is welcome as I have a lot to learn.

Ok i've got a 6'9" medium heavy xtra fast action veritas rod and a 7' medium zillion rod which is rated on their website as an extra fast taper. I will be using these rods for 2 of the following techniques: weightless wacky rigged senkos, texas rigged plastics, shaky head worms, and possibly the zillion for jerkbaits if it's suited for it. I may do some light tube flipping too but thats not something i do a whole lot of. My question is of the stated techniques which one is my veritas best suited for and which one is my zillion best suited for. I only ask because these two are by far my best rods and i want to make sure i maximize on the investment. I have other rods that are loosely suited for any of the above listed techniques that arent used on my 2 best rods, and besides the wacky senko i pretty much use all of them equally depending on the day and what the fish want. I had also thought about using the veritas for my spro frogs but i hesitate to use it because it is way more sensitive than my current frog rod or any of the other rods i would use and i would hate to waste the sensitivity on frogs when it is less important. If im wrong in that thinking then frogs are also an option. Let me know your opinions and logic as to why one is better than the other for specific techniques so i can also turn this into a learning process ;D Thanks!

Just looking to get some pointers from anybody who has been successful ice fishing for bass. I getting the fishing itch and dnot want to go out and just catch bluegills. I saw on bass pros website some vertical jigging hardbaits that i might give a try. Any info would be great. THanks!

First of all nice fish. Im from Indianola Iowa just south of Des Moines, what lake are you fishing? If you dont want to give up your hot spot i understand but my local lake is junk so always looking for new spots to hit.

Nice work man. Good to see a fellow Iowan here on the forums. I live in Indianola up in central Iowa. Is that a public spot or private? I've heard some good things about the lakes down there but most are from years past and i believe they did some work on one of the larger lakes down by Ottumwa recently so might turn in to an even better area. Last i knew the state record LM came from down there maybe closer to Bloomfield.

Could be. We were weighing it on a cheap wal mart digital and didnt have any way to measure it. Gives me a reason to go out and spend some more money on a scale ;D