kickerfish1

I am fidgety and a have a short attention span. However I hate crankbaits and power fishing. For me I would match rather fish a weightless soft plastic, a jig/t-rig, or drop shot. What does this say about my personality vs my fishing style...I don't know, perhaps I have multiple personalities! Ha!

Lots has been written on this site about the reel. Do a search and you should find more than you will ever want. I believe there was a very extensive review of the reel done tracking its performance and maintenance over x number of years. This would be worth reading as well. It is also well documented this is one of the better sub $100 reels that can often time is on sale for $80.

For prices as a "general rule of thumb" this is what I have found as far as price ranges for common internal tuning parts for casting reels: Deep cleaning oil/lube/reassemble - $20-$25 a reel Supertuning - an additional $5-12 a reel but some may include it with a clean Abec 5 or 7 or 9 bearings- $20-30 per reel Carbontex drag- $8-15 Specialized spools - $70 -$150 There are other external upgrades like cf handles, fancy handle knobs, gears, paint, etc but outside of the gears slowing or speeding up the reel they are all cosmetic. These upgrades are internal and will affect the performance of the reel internally. When you send a reel in start with a basic cleaning and add other upgrades as you see fit.

Contact Mike at DVT directly he can get you precise explanations and prices for what you want done. I have a few supertuned reels and the biggest advantage is ease of casting. Certain reels seem to benefit more from supertuning than others. It basically makes the reel more free spinning resulting in further casts and casting the same distance with less effort when using a stock reel. I have mixed feelings about supertuning but like anything else it boils down to angler preference. Sometimes upgrading the spool bearings and good deep clean and oil / lube is all you really need.

There may be other sales that will occur around Christmas or New Years but they haven't been announced yet and wont until it gets much closer. I don't drop shot after sunset so I can't speak for its effectiveness or lack there of.

Very false. I have lost less than 5 fish this year due to break offs. Keep in mind I have caught around 700+ bass this year with the biggest being 6.5 lbs. I have straightened hooks before the line would brake. I am a huge fan of floro over braid and mono for bottom contact baits.

Back to your setup here... with the given budget in mind and the 20% off black Friday sales you should be able to score and elite tech rod for around $100. If you want the cumara TW has it for $129 and I believe they would give you 20% if you call them. For your reel the president is very solid. It can be had for around $60+/- and I would look for one that holds 130 yards of 8#. Floro is more sensitive, stronger, and more abrasion resistant than mono when looking at premium floro lines. Invisix and sniper are about $20 a spool. That should put you right around your budget.

What type of budget do you have for this set up? What type of depth and cover will you be fishing? I have 2 rods that I really like for this technique. First is 7'2 ML cumara spinning rod and 6'9 ML fenwick elite tech spinning rod. These are great choices when using 1/8-3/16 oz weights. Both rods are light, very sensitive, and can be round for under $130. I would say depending upon budget look at a stradic CI4, stradic FJ, or a Phfleuger supreme or patriarch. Okuma is supposed to have a few light weight carbon spinning reels coming out that will retail for $100 and $140 that I am HIGHLY looking at. I prefer to use the VMC dropshot hooks. It eliminates the need to tie a polamar knot. For most drop shot baits I prefer the size 1 or 2 hook. Simply nose hook the bait for most of your drop shot fishing and you are set. The action of the bait is second to none. Tons of options for baits for this techniques. Tubes, zipper grubs, 4 and 6 inch worms, small minnow imitators, and sculpin baits are most common. For brands you can't go wrong with the roboworm brand. Straight tail worms, sculpin, and the zipper grub are some of my favorites. Keep it simple with color. Typically Aaron's magic is tough to beat in just about any conditions. I prefer the longer vertical style weights over the round ball and tear drop style. Most of my fishing is done with 3/16 oz weights but I will go heavier or lighter at times. When choosing a line 8# is pretty standard. I would use sunline sniper or seagar invisix on the spinning reel. With a good rod your sensitivity will be more than enough. If your rod lacks feel you may opt for braid and a floro leader. I hope this helps. If you have other questions please ask away!

Here in Nebraska water temps are low 40s and dropping. Air temps aren't getting much above 40 with lows in the 20s. Wind has been very gusty... pushing 30 MPH at times. Still catching them here on a drop shot. Just about all other traditional cold water techniques are just plain not producing.

Here in Nebraska water temps are low 40s and dropping. Airtime temps aren't getting much above 40 with lows in the 20s. Wind has been very gusty... pushing 30 MPH at times. Still catching them here on a drop shot. Just about all other traditional cold water techniques are just plain not producing.

All bottom contact baits both larger and finesse as well as weightless soft plastics. I don't do as well as a power fisherman minus spinnerbaits.

The Powell endurance rod is a great rod for its price point. It has many great features and there are plenty of rod models to select from. If you act now you can get them before the black Friday sales are over for 20% off putting them under $140. I have the 6'9 (4 powered) reaction rod I use for large jerkbaits and some crank baits. I love the rod but my only complaint would be the handle legnth is bit too short. Lots of good rods out there with lifetime warranties as well. Both the phenix recon and M1, dobyns savy, and the shimano cumara series if you can fins them.

Depends on the size jigs but I would also add another vote to dobyns champion extreme series. I have savy rods, champion rods, and the extreme rods and the dx rods are the real deal for $250-$260 during black Friday sales. They are some of the best looking rods, very well balanced, and very sensitive. The weights of your jigs would be needed to direct you to the appropriate rod. I would say for lighter jigs the 703 is a great rod but if you drag bigger jigs the 744 or 745 may fit the bill better. Also I would recommend the split grip over the full handle.

The Powell rod will be the better choice. Many die hard Loomis fans are quick to note that below the IMX series, the Loomis the rods just aren't as good. If I were is your shoes I would select the Powell and wouldnt look back.

I would do 8# for spinning and 12# for casting.

I fished it almost exclusively this year on over 10 outfits. Most were casting and some were spinning. Loved the castability and strength of it. I had zero break offs and virtually zero manageability issues. It isn't the most sensitive or the least stretchy but I thought it was a good performer given the price. Next year I am going to take 5 top notch floro lines and do a shootout of my own to get a better comparison.

I believe the rod weighs 4.4 ounces from what I recall. If you stick CI4 2500 on it your outfit without line would check in under 11.5 ounces which is good for spinning outfit of that legnth. I would put 8# sunline sniper or seaguar invisix on it and call it good. Shakeyheads, split shot rigs, and drop shots and even tubes would be perfect for the rod. I would stay within the 1/8-3/16 oz range of baits but wouldn't hesitate to go up to 1/4 in a pinch. This outfit would serve you well for years to come!

Just checked the tackletrap.com and they have a drag star in stock for a 200e. The part is $21.00. I am sure DVT or even Shimano can send you the part. My only concern would be the compatability of the drag star on a 50e. There may be some modifications that need to be made to get it to fit but I am not certain. As far as the materials I believe the 50e is painted plastic while the 200e is aluminum.

Would be a good drop shot rod for sure. A nice birthday gift... happy late birthday!

A combo for $40 is exactly that. It is not going to be good for a quality fishing outfit. It would get you by for general fishing but not as a finesse fishing outfit. The amount of feel will be very poor and the components used in the rod and reel more than likely will not last very long... maybe just a season. If you don't have a huge budget for one I would suggest buying used or waiting for good deals around the holidays.

If you choose floro I would say 15lb should suffice just fine. I rarely go above 12lb and don't have any issues with breakage. I have straightened Gamagatsu hooks in timber with 12# floro. The hook gave way before the knot did. Braid or floro would be fine for this rod and as DVT stated you don't have to rip their lips out to set a hook, just a solid hookset.

Megabass is like the Aston Martin of the fishing world. Their products are priced at a higher price point for several reasons. The first is limited production of such rods and reels with few channels of distribution. Second is their founder Mr. ITO has put his personal touch on the various rods and reels and baits... whether it be hand carved handle designs or tuning or bling added to what are essentially Daiwa reels. Before he started Megabass Mr. ItO was an engineer, hence his creativity and ingenuity in all aspects of the Megabass brand. Their components are top notch and the rods and reels pride themselves in both looks and versatility. I believe it is this vary reason why their hard baits have maintained such a high price tag as well. No one needs Megabsss equipment to be an elite angler in the same way no one needs a Bentley or Aston Martin.

Good quality floro only. No braid for finesse fishing for this guy.

For spinning reels any shimano in the 2500 series will serve you well. I can't comment on the rod but as far as spinning reels shimano makes a quality product, that when properly maintained will last for years. Also there are lots of videos and articles written on senko fishing. Wacky or "normal" Texas rig both produce fish. If you have any worries check them out as a reference point. Just make sure you close your bail by hand and possibly spray some line and lure conditioner on the line and you should be set. This will help reduce line twist and unneeded headaches while on the water.

For me 4-6 on deck with another 8 or so in the locker. Typically some of the rods in the locker are doubles especially if it is a drop shot or c-rig bite. Most of the time I have a general idea of what the bite may be like based on the lake, water clarity, water temp, and weed growth as well as the time of year.