kickerfish1

The Johnny Morris carbonlite has to be the worst casting reel I have ever used. It was way overhyped coming out. Very grindy on the retrieve and when under load or resistance it is just plain awful. The finish also wears quite easily. When you look at the reel on paper, the concept is intriguing but when fished it just doesn't cut it. Mine is on its second season with minimal use and even after Mike at DVT worked on it it still just as grindy as it was at the end of its first season. It palms well, is very light, and casts quite well but the retrieve/gears is where they went wrong. I have the 7:0.1 ratio so I can speak for the other models, but I know I will be donating mine to a youth fishing club as a tool for them to practice with in a back yard setting.

Dirty jigs and revenge are my two favorites from TW. I catch ALOT of fish on both.

48 isn't much. I have somewhere close to 500 jigs from about 20 manufacturers though the bulk are siebert and northstar. I would keep the color selection simple to about 5 colors and the jig design and weight up to you depending upon waters fished. If you fish during varying water temps say 40° up to high 70s and various water clarity color and profile will be key. For cold-water scenarios I like finesse jigs and hair jigs. When fishing wood I like a brush jig or alien head. When lakes are weed choked I do well on flip and swim styles or bullet finesse jigs. Rock bottom and rip rap I like football jigs.

Also note that on the TW website and even on the rod blanks themselves they will often note a list of suggested baits one can throw on the rod, though the list obviously isn't an "all inclusive" list. Jigs are listed on the rod and I have also fished them on mine in the 3/8 to 1/2 oz plus trailer variety. No problem with that rod for jig usage.

Best way to rig space monkeys for me have been on a Carolina rig, rage rigged, or as a jig trailer.

I really like northstar, siebert and dirty jigs. The quality and performance is spectacular with these 3. Siebert has a good quality jig and price with unmatched customer service. Northstar has a very high quality jig and some of the best components out there but the downside is turnaround time on orders. Dirty jigs has some of the best colors and hooks but the down side is price. These are my top 3 though there are other jigs that will work and produce fish.

Very well put!

I am with ya on this. I prefer standard size rodents, beavers, and d-bombs as craw trailers on jigs that I want a big profile and typically a bigger bite. They also cast very well as they offer much less wind resistance than true "flappy" craw style trailers. Catch plenty of 2-3 lb fish on a 3/8 or 1/2 oz jig with a 4 inch rodent on the back in its full uncut or untrimmed body. Like anything else try various trailers and sizes. The baby rodents and smallie beavers are very good options as well when you are wanting a smallerw profile or using a smaller jig.

Jeb2, I think much of what you said is true. Quantifying something that is not measured by a standard is difficult to pinpoint where as something like a MPG in the automotive industry or something as simple as the weight of an object is something that can be put into numbers. Today's rod manufacturers measure graphite on tonnage, modulous, I-M, and various forms of weave and carbon materials. Various resins, guides, finishing components, etc... all factor into the sensitivity of the rod in its finished form. Add various kinds of paint, unnecessary weight, and bling to the rod and you may lose a degree of sensitivity. As you noted everything becomes subjective. The users fishing experience and their hands ability to detect vibration also complicates things. Some guys have "dead" hands while others have a quick trigger and can feel bites early and often. Also as you mentioned folks can aslo note a rod being more sensitive than another but have no way of measuring how much more. When I think of what a good sensitive rod I think of amplification of vibration. I can feel a fish bite on a $100 rod but that bite seems amplified on a higher end rod. As I noted earlier I want that increased amplification when I am fishing deep, in windy conditions, or when its frigid and I am wearing gloves in 30-50 degree days. Sensitivity is easy yet complex when discussions come up.

I fish rods from the fenwick elite tech and phenix recon on the low end. A fair amount of Gen 1 cumaras in the mid ground, and towards the higher end megabass orochi xx, shimano cumulus, a few champion extremes and an nrx. I believe that the rods I am fishing suit my needs the best and offer the great performance for the price points each are at. None were purchase at full retail price making them more affordable and attainable. For the most part the sensitivity moves up slightly as you move up my rod arsenal. Also the level of crispness and blank quality increase. To an extent casting distance is also better especially with the nrx and megabass orochi rods. I don't have an issue with bite detection with any of them. They all serve a purpose and allow for ease of use for long days on the water. Is my nrx 2x the rod as my cumara or 2x as sensitive. Probably not. However I can feel the difference. In deep water or very windy conditions sometimes that extra bit of sensitivity gives you an advantage. Always buy the best you can afford, take care of your gear so that when the time comes, you can sell it and use the money for an upgrade.

No sniper = not worth it. I am very dissapointed. I have enough braid and mono on hand for next year and the year after.

I am not sure of your budgeted amount for the rod but a look at megabass orochi xx line of rods would be wise. The perfect pitch would be ideal if you think you will be fishing very heavy cover using heavy weights. I have the EMTF rod and I would say the rod is money for baits up to 3/4 oz. It isn't as powerful as the perfect pitch but is possibly more well rounded. From weightless senkos, to small swimbaits, horny toads, football and swimjigs plus standard Texas rigs this rod really does a good job with all of them. Casting distance, sensitivity, and build quality is superb. I own 5 dobyns ... a few from each of the 3 lines and tend to reach for the EMTF over them in most cases. If the warranty was a bit longer they would be even more popular. Also it is really the only megabass line that online retailers will discount unless you find a Rep sample rod of another higher priced line. If you can wait til Black Friday you will find a steallar deal on one.

I get all of my tungsten weights from a place called Bassteamtackle. Each weight is priced separately and not in any pre packaged amount. The prices work to be about 30-50% less than just about any I have seen. They offer both painted and unpainted and with and without inserts. Most of the popular weight styles are available... flipping, bullet, drop shot, etc... plus they offer lead weights as well. I usually place an annual order to stock up on what I am low on. Been using their products for going on 3 years and don't really have any complaints.

The other thing you can do is save the trailers and apply a product called mend-it to the bait. This will get another "life" out of the bait and help off set costs of pricey plastics. Saves me probably well over $100 in plastics a year.

The swing impacts are great on finesse swimjigs. If you want more weight, a bigger profile, more thump, and side to side wiggle try the "fat" swing impact. The 3.8 inch size is the perfect size but I do run the 4.8s when I am looking for a big bite. Great trailers!

No kidding. Work vs "play" time on the lake is always a tough decision. I like to save the tinkering and projects for the offseason once winter sets in. With you being down in Florida, you don't really have that luxury. Thanks for sharing the beautiful creation!

Jig bites tend to feel different than normal Texas rig bites. As much as I enjoy jig fishing I feel the need to have very good jig rods to handle finesse 1/4 oz jigs all the way up to jigs that push the 3/4 - 1 oz range. Dx 742 / custom alphas reel with 10# tatsu - finesse jigs around the 1/4 oz range Dx 703 / curado 50e - with 12# sniper - 3/8 oz jigs mostly the northstar hair jigs Cumara 7'2 mh xf / curado 200e with 12 shooter - bigger 1/2 - 3/4 oz jigs other paddle tail trailers Megabass Orochi xx EMTF / scorpion 1000xt with 12 tatsu - 3/8 - 3/4 oz jigs - most versatile jig rod I own. NRX 873 / custom tdz with 12# tatsu - mostly 1/2 - 3/4 oz jigs

Very nice work with the rack. It turned out excellent, and the wheels for mobility is a nice touch. Factor in the cost and your own labor compared to similar rod storage systems availbale for purchase, and you really came out well!

True, but the cost of a true finesse spool will add another $100+ but likely even more. It just depends on how far someone wants to take the finesse concept and how much they are willing to invest. I think forgoing the spool upgrade would be best at least to start and something to look at as a last resort if the performance still isn't there. I don't drop down to anything below an 1/8 oz on casting gear and my core 50mg7 spooled with 10# tatsu and a cumulus rod handle that very well.

X2 on the under rated value of the eeliminator!

Smalljaw I will "politely" disagree. The champion extremes are between the imx and glx line in terms of sensitivity. When I spoke to Gary this is where he placed the rod. For comparison sake I have 2 champ extremes and one imx and one nrx. It is not close to the nrx but above my imx. The imx might actually weigh less but balance, sensitivity, and looks plus warranty go to the dobyns champ extremes after fishing both side by side for 2+ years. Neither rod lines are slouches in performance but given the choice and roughly $50 difference in price I would opt for the extreme every time.

Like 00mod I also have a a few 50 sized shimanos reels. Starting with the core 50, JDM scorpion 1000xt, chronarch 50e, and curado 50e. They are great all purpose reels that can do the finesse game. Each is going to be slightly better up to the core. The differences may not be all that noticeable to the avergae person. The greatest advantage of the core is that its noticeably lighter and casts the best. It also has the fastest ratio of the 50 sized reels. I read an interesting article on baitcaster finesse reels. Some of the guys that do it right are thowijg baits down to 1/8 and 1/16 of an ounce. The keys are fast spool bearings, a shallow but lightweight spool, and polished internals. If you take a chronarch 50e and throw in the upgrades mentioned above you will be well onto the reel $400+. Best advice would be start with curado or chronarch 50e and flush the bearings and see where that gets you. Add upgrades and tuning options as you see fit and can afford.

Are upgrades to a reel factored in or just the price of the actual reel? Also are we talking retail value of what we paid for each? I have one that tops out just over $900 for what I paid for the everything. If we are talking retail it is over 1k. NRX casting rod 873 - retail at $550 purchased for $385 as a Rep sample JDM tdz 100m purchased mint for $250 90 mm RCS handle for $130 Daiwa cork knobs $50 Custom cast control knob and drag star $70 Carbontex drag $8 Abec7 hearings $25 Brass 6:3.1 gears $25 Total in reel = $558 plus $385 for rod = $943 and if we are talking full retail it would be close to $1100. Most of my outfits are in the $300 - $600 range.

Also yozuri hybrid is much larger in diameter than say sunline sniper or seaguar invisix. It has a high breaking strength but I want to say the diameter of 10# is close to most companies 12 or 15#. For this reason many will run 6# on spinning gear and 12# on casting as the breaking strength is close 1.5x its rating. I bought 8# for a dropshot rod once and didn't care for it. It now serves as emergency backup line and likely backing for next years reels when I re-spool.

During the very tail end of the fall / early winter period I am mostly throwing 3 baits. Usually both soft and hard jerkbaits worked slow, a drop shot with a small profile bait, and a hair jig.