kickerfish1

That RW fella doesn't mess around. A generous guy for sure!

Bluebasser's are the best I have used by a wide margin. I have about 20 of his and will probably be getting more prior to the start of next season.

I would also add they are a personal favorite on swim jigs. Bullet/northers style finesse swim jigs I like the 4 inch swing impact. Cali/Flip and Swim style jigs I prefer the 3.8 and 3.3 inch fat impact.

I was going to get the new I but now I will probably just wait for this one. Guessing it would probably be about $20 more than the starndard size I. As I recall the Curado 50E was more than the 200E when it released.

Edit, Found the post containing the 70 sized reel info.

The problem I have with chunks is two fold: 1. They have little action making them ideal for negative/neutral fish and better suited for cold water. Not something I will use for majority of my fishing. 2. Chunks lack the necessary length to extended very far between the outer portion of a skirt. They tend to get lost in the skirt and what movement they offer isn't all that visible. For that reason I am only using the Lobster and Regular sized Rage Craws on standard sized jigs.

Nice write up on the basics of jig fishing! Should serves as a nice starting point for a lot of folks just getting into jig fishing that feel lost or overwelmed.

A very good rod for the money. I have the Maestro spinning and and am quite happy with it as a General purpose/utility spinning rod.

He doesn't make a bad color. I have probably bought between 1 to 5 of about 75% of the colors he offers.

I wonder how many more reels Daiwa will bring to the U.S.? Never thought it would be quite this many.

This 100%. For $120 you can't get squat. He has to ship the rod and charge for the build. Figure $25 for shipping and about $50 for the build. Now actually build that rod for the remaining $50. Unless you find a blank and parts at blowout prices you will be getting a very average rod.

I believe he is sponsored by BPS so that is probably part of his love for the bait. I am personally not a fan of BPS baits.

I agree, I have no idea how someone could NOT catch something on them in areas that hold fish at least. A friend uses one year round (black/blue) and he has caught fish on it from March through November.

What size? The older 5.8 size baits are good weightless. The smaller sizes are great drop shot baits.

In the back of a sled pulled by an Alaskan sled dog team or seasonally Santa's reindeer.

If you aren't a reel weight weenie and don't mind ordering from Japan get the Exscence DC for $250 new shipped from Digitaka. Yes, it is $50 over budget but this reel will wow you from a performance standpoint. No other reel you have owned can do what the DC system can. A clicking drag as fish pulls line, a sweet sounding DC wine, all external adjustments, modes for every line type, and a mode that can fast without using any thumb, and reel capable of casting far with plenty of line capacity. You won't find another $250 reel that will do this. I just recently ordered a 2nd as I was so impressed with the first. Good from anything 1/4 and up!

I like mono for hard topwaters with treble hooks and braid for hollow body frogs.

I like the Excalibur One Knockers and the LC lipless cranks. This year in the early fall I burned a gold LC lipless bait back as fast as I couod with a 8.0:1 ratio reel and had a bass hit it. Amazed me how fast bass can be when they really want a bait.

There is talk that they are moving locations or possibly closing down. Neither I have seen confirmed. Keep in mind they are a small shop with just a few people working at any given time. Stocking shelves, helping customers, and filling web orders between a few people is the likely reason for the delay. Give it another week or 2 to see where things are at...

Longevity, reliability, performance, resale value, and reel choices from round reels, to finesse to long distance not to mention tuning options and even super light weight reels. Seems to also have every price point covered from budget to rich folks.

5/16 on the northern style or bullet heads and 3\8 to 1\2 on the Cali style heads where I am fishing them deeper.

You are probably correct. The TI series was probably a bit much at $350ish and I don't think they sold well. Their Endurance rods were widely popular and performed well in the sub $200 price point. I still have one that I use and it is a very good rod. Perhaps an updated Endurance series between $225-250. Sort of a competitor in the market with the Dobyns Champion, Thrirteen Envious, MB Levante, etc. Just a guess since it seems like people are still looking for the discontinued Endurance rods and it seems like brining them back with and updated look and components would be a wise move.

I have mixed feelings on the Alphas SV. I should note I first bought the SV spool for an Alphas I have been working on for years. I tied a 1/4 oz practice plug and 10# mono on it and went out for the usual back yard casting. It was casting incredibly far that the plug was landing in neighbors trees. I decided to take it to the park for more room where I did the same thing with the casting plug. On the third attempt and zero thumbing I spooled the reel. Not sure what the distance was it was far. I then removed the Alphas SV and stood in the same spot and mounted a Curado 50e on the same rod and casted the same plug. My distance was a good 10 yards shorter using a friend to mark the distance. Impressed I ordered an Alphas SV from Japan. I was expecting similar results. However this time my results varied. It seemed like I was either more prone to a backlash or limited distsnce in the yard. Tied a tube on there and fished an area lake and got many more backlashes then usual. A friend told me to lightly oil an internal part (can't recall which part) and it has been working great since. Very good distance and no overrun issues. Perhaps it needed some breaking in. I haven't upgraded or flushed the bearings so that may be in the works this winter. Seems like a good reel but I got mine later in the year and need some more time to see where they fit in...

Mike is top notch and has really been able to expand his product offerings because of the support he gets especially from members here. His jig customization, styles of heads, and additional products like bullet weights, jig trailers, apparel, etc all set him apart. When I order a jig from him I can pick the head style, head color, weight, wire tie or band collar, rattles, hook type and style, and skirt color. How many places allow that kind of customization? I can also just order skirts, jig heads, and other msc products. He really does a good job of giving the choosy angler plenty of options. Keep up the good work. I think you have many fans here!

I have something like 20 of the 3700 series boxes: 1 box finesse hair jigs 1 box bigger hair craws 1 box hippy jigs 2 boxes of silicone and living rubber combo jigs 4 boxes of California style flip and swim style jigs 3 boxes of northern bullet style swim jigs 1 box football jigs 1 box grass jigs 2 boxes of finsse jigs like the Eakins style 4 boxes of brush style jigs If you count chatterbaits or blade baits I have a box of those too. And about 150 more jigs I am working on finishing up that will be needing new homes. Sort of a big collector and did hard jig fisherman. I recall one day on a northern lake where I had 8 jig rods rigged on the deck. It was pure heaven!