craww

A VERY tight set eliminating tag slippage is key for me. And while folks can scoff about "just learning to tie a proper knot" I still like to massage a bit of gel superglue onto the wraps of the fingertrap.

Get the fenwick...The triumph blank is dead feeling & tip heavy. Honestly those rods are the about the worst value you can get in terms of feel.

Yes it'll work well. Not too fast or slow, a good all around rod that can do alot of things adequately. The blanks on the HMG/HMX seem to be able to take alot of abuse also. I or my wife ahem* will find a way to break a rod or two on occasion & those rods seem to stand the test of time in my quiver where many other brands dont survive our wide variety of screwups.

I love my caras, bucoos, and originals. Everyone fishes comfortably, is sensitive, and some of the power/tapers fill some unique niches that others often dont offer... However- Just wish falcon offered an XF rod or two. While I do like the more moderate tapered approach they utilize overall.... I like a Heavish X-fast for casting jigs, T rigs, and bigger fluke style baits long distance and what falcon calls "fast" is a bit too soft for my preferences on a long cast. I fish this style of application a lot and havent found a rod in the lines that checks this box.

I love em, especially when they're flat on the top and bottom like daiwa does in many cases. I much prefer them over the trend of obnoxiously large bulbous handles we've been seeing.

Keep us posted. I just pulled the trigger on one- Id somehow checked out on the fact these were coming out and was hunting for a clean 300D/E- and at $199, the K looks tough to beat. The VBS & lack of micro module gears are 2 things I like over the 200K I sold....Picking nits- but I do wish shimano would get away from the matte finishes that seem to get scratched up easier...Most of the E’s w/the glossier paint still look good today. Any way with the X-ship support Im sure it feels rock solid with a load on the gears.

Give the caffeine shad a fair shake. Theres a reason I dont buy flukes anymore and its that bait.

I use the LVR D15(?) alot on the river...Its 1oz & will juuuust about spool a curado on a hard overhand cast. I trim the downward pointing trebles to help avoid snags. It seems to draw more strikes on vanilla horizontal cast and retrieve than other methods. We have a small area that has walleye and they absolutely love em for some reason.

Additional options are the strike king comeback jig, bass patrol western football, and outve production but still easily findable online- my personal all time favorite- the booyah A-Jig due to its vertical line tie.

On my ultralight rods that dont see casts over 15-20 yards or so I typically try to get -3- reels worth of 50 yard top shots out of a 150 yard spool. On medium power finesse plastic type setups, (which also dont get more than 25 yard or so casts typically) I split a 150 yarder into -2-. On my Bigger rigs that get max distance live bait casts, see the salt, etc: I put just enough mono on for the braid not to spin, And fill ‘er up.

They catch fish fine...Ive had 2 original ones for I guess 15 yrs now +\-. But IMO they're nothing special. I think alot of the mystic comes from guys being more into inclined to a spook back in the day & the fact these became harder to obtain after people caught fish on them.Theres a ton of options in that category these days- & the vixen doesnt really stand out in the croud IMO.

Lead and tungsten add weight in a specific spot on the bait. There are stick baits that weigh a fraction of a senko, you can add all the weight you want but they will never wiggle the way that heavy, evenly distributed, salt laden senko does on the fall. I definitely agree that some baits are obnoxiously COVERED in salt. Theres a tube I like thats got so much salt & garlic oil on it that catfishing W/cut bait may be neater option.

Man those worms are special arent they? My grandfather’s favorite worm...He couldn't cast one more than 35-40’ w/that old baitcaster lol, but man did that old timer catch alot of bass on them... Just CREEPING that thing along the bank while sitting still as a statue. Like alot of baits I got away from, I need to throw them again. When rigged right theyre a good alternative to a shakeyhead around cover like vegetation and even wood. Maybe I’ll tie some on for the kids to drag.

Those baits cast like a bullet so I doubt it with that small of a diameter jump...Ive noticed a small difference using 6lb Power pro over 15lb for casting ultralight lures like 1/32 ouce shad darts. But thats also a dramatic diameter jump.

Shaggy, had forgotten about this post- but wow, thats an awesome (& inexpensive) solution. Bravo sir! Cant wait to try it out.

Im for the most part a “braid is braid” guy, theres some differences but as long as same diameter vs diameter is compared theres not a ton of difference when it comes to actual fishing.....That said, the fireline 8 carrier braid has been a pleasure to use in 8lb the last couple years...I like it slightly better than regular powerpro and much prefer it over J-Braid, which for some reason has always seemed to result in me getting more wind knots than comparable braids (in thin diameters/spinning gear).

Seriously though, I've picked up a few MG7s and swapped brass gear sets in...In hand and on the water, I see no modern reels Id rather have over them.

Pretty much the only one I use...I like the weight & ability to aggressively power fish it long distances in river currents.

Used 12lb YZH for topwater fishing since approx 2004...Its great for long distance topwater fishing...Hair less spongey feeling than alot of popular monos when walking baits. Wish they made something between 12lb and 15lb’s dramatic diameter jump.

As stated it takes longer for the water to warm vs the air...That said, air temps do absolutely have an effect on alot of life that lives mostly outside of, but adjacent to the water...Insects, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, certain plants, etc, etc. Could there be certain thresholds were a certain critter becomes more active and bass key on it? Yes. Could I, or most anyone else tell you an example where JUST air temps resulted in a certain pattern materializing? Probably not.

Advance is noticeably more sensitive in my hands than basically any nylon based line. Its not as dramatic as going up to braid or anything, but there’s a difference. Beyond that, I like the line but am still reserving judgment on it. No lost fish or anything, but in a few cases my line has seemed to get a little more deformed than expected rather quickly. I think you really need to keep an eye on the line...

Pick up some of the OG ruck clunns or the RTOs while you can. Not sure if its the tungsten rattle over brass or what, but they catch way more fish for me than the LCs and for that matter any other squarebill. The 0.5 has given me 50 fish days. Honorable mention that few talk about has been the storm arashi series...I really like the way they creep through a laydown.

I walk into the yard and make a cast for this very reason...Just divide up a handful of sprays as new line stacks up when reeling in. I also sometimes crank the line through a folded smooth sunglass cloth thats damp w/the stuff. You could probably put a little mark on the spool if you wanted to make sure your spraying opposing sides with ea spritz, but I never get that picky.

The luckycraft BDS 3 would be a good fit...Silent, w/a more rounded bill they have more roll than a squarebill (but similar).. they also have a more shad shaped body than say a LC or Rick Clunn. Im not certain, but they may not be made for the US market anymore...There are TONS on ebay, and online however....Ive bought a 1/2 dozen in the last yr or so.

Of the two- the Yozuri. I used to use the #6 ultra soft for small shallow cranks in streams and rivers...it was pretty good line... ideally (as Fishtank already mentioned) the regular defier is much, much better however. Expensive, but just a joy to use.