deep

Cheap route: Okuma GS 7'11" MH/ Cardiff 300. (Cheap doesn't mean bad in this case). $$ route: Custom rod / Calcutta 300TE or Curado 300. I love it how every rod manufacturer seems to have an A-rig rod in their line-up now. If you have a great flipping stick, chances are it's going to make a lousy swimbait rod. I think Bill S said that. I'm not saying the Fenwick or the Veritas won't make a good swimbait rod; just that I'm not going to spend my money and time to find out. The key word in most things concerning swimbaits is "proven". Proven rods, proven reels, proven baits. Big baits and big fish will test your equipment and your techniques, Jared Lintner has a video on TW about fishing A-rigs for pre-spawn bass, I think he's using a Loomis swimbait or a BBR (the back-bounce rods have a good following with the swimbait crowd) and a Calcutta 300D. P.S. If you like Abu Garcia reels, the Revo Toro Winches make good big bait reels. I had a Toro Winch 51.

Not sure about the the Endurance Umbrella rig rod, but the Powell Max swimbait rods have handles that are way too short. TW lists handle lengths (along with other specs) for all rods. I don't know how different A-rig fishing is from small (sub 2 oz) swimbait fishing, but for the latter the Okuma 7'11" MH has the perfect handle length (for my preferences that is). The rod I use for similar baits is a Mattlures MH swimbait rod, and that has the same handle length. P.S. I own several Powells too. Good rods for the money; for traditional bass fishing. Great customer service as well.

Hope it's either Ike or A-Mart.

TT has a cool new article on an overall performance metric for FC lines. Be interesting to see what the fluoro-enthusiasts think about this. P.S. Tatsu seems to be in the lead now!

The question seems to be a little too general, but welcome to the forums.

What SirSnook said. SD jam for fluoros, but I use fluoros only as a leader.

Watermelon-red. But that's pretty much my favorite for all soft-plastics.

RI skinny dippers, Original Mattlures Bluegiils.

A couple I'll let out of the bag: First: Changing split rings and hooks and/or adding lead tapes to get custom sink rates and "attitude". Second:

Very reliable company with great customer service. The couple of times I have had problems concerning an order (mostly due to the factors beyond their control), all I needed to do was pick up the phone and call them.

Lipless cranks. Also topwaters around shallow cover.

I have a little experience with the 301A and the 401A if you're looking for any info on those...

Alberto knot for everything.. 30 lb braid to 10-12 lb leader, 55 lb braid to 14-16 lb leader, or 80 lb braid to 20-25 lb leader for me (different applications).

Great catch!

First off, why are you tying such a short leader if the length becomes an issue later in the day? I have a 7-8 feet leader (depending on the length of the rod). I want the leader to be as long as possible, without the connecting knot getting into the reel. **Now, I haven't seen a single person on this forum post a pic or even mention braided line, nor do I ever see it when watching Fishing TV,** I'd look one more time... **Though the reason I picked braided was because I've heard that it has no memory, can stay on a spool longer without becoming a mess, and apparently you feel strikes better and hook sets are better because the braided line does not give** You are indeed correct!

Looks good to me CP!

I like the baby brush hog as a jig trailer (shhhh!, don't tell anyone) when fish don't want the craws, and the Skeet Reese pit boss and the RI beaver (regular size) for pitching and punching. I don't really use creature baits all that often, but when I do, these are the ones I reach for; because, well, I have had good luck with them.

Has to be a Revo STX I had the misfortune of buying. That thing just didn't like me! It was one of those that had mag brakes only. I've owned and fished several baitcasters (all Abu/ Shimano/ Daiwa except a pro-qualifier). This was the only one I could never get to cast more than 10 times in a row without backlashing,

Love my Mattlures MH swimbait rod and the Curado 301E that I have on it! A close second would be my Powell Max 733 spinning rod. The reel on it keeps changing though (from a Sonora to a Symetre to a Sedona to a Sahara). And a not-so-distant third would be my current jig/T-rig setup: Powell Max 753/ Citica 201D. I haven't caught as many memorable fish on this one as the other two setups, but with the unreal balance this combo has, it's practically weightless, and a pleasure to fish with.

You can get a nice Citica or a Curado for that sort of money. I personally own (or have owned) Citica D/E's and Curado B/E/G's for far less than $150. P..S. PQ is a good reel too! I did have one, once, not long ago.

^^ Read the post above yours..

Looking for Tracking Trophies (John Hope) and Spoonplugging (Buck Perry)..

Pretty sure I have KVD's and Ike's books- forget what they're called. Send me a PM for possible trades?

^^ Bottom-contact baits.