kickerfish1

Sounds good Senkolover. The rage bugs are the bees knees. One of my top creature baits. I may have to order a few more during the sale. They make great jig trailers too!

Rapala braid scissors have worked for me.

Not a fan of the scrounged heads, but chatterbaits are another story.

Generally green pumpkin, brown, watermelon, and black are great choices for clear water and finicky fish. Black/blue, junebug, and chartreuse with another color are great dirty water choices. I like bamabug and okeechobee craw as good compromises between clear and dirty water. There are no cut and dry rules. Just bring a few to try and see what the fish respond to.

Sorry, not trying to dog pile on you with criticism but reeling a lure to the tip puts alot of pressure on the tip and can make it more prone to breakage. Rod guides for that matter, are not meant to be resting places for lures. If your rod doesn't have a hook keeper consider adding a fugi keeper. If you feel you have to lift a fish out of the water and onto the bank over a few shoreline obstacles consider reeling the fish up to as far as you can and then grabbing the line and using it to pull the weight of the fish to safety on the shore. I have been able to lift fish up to 4lbs using similar tactics and 8# Sunline Sniper. Sorry to hear of the rod breakage. Just be honest with the manufacturer and hopefully it will work out.

Just spooled up two 1000 series reels with 6# Tatsu. Very thin and strong. Couldn't be happier.

This thread was started back in 2014 and the original poster has not been active since. Still interesting to see what $1200 would get you a year later.

Nice TW order. I am a huge fan of Keitech baits. I have fished all of their plastics and the results have been stellar. From keel weighted swimbaits hooks, to drop shots, swimjig trailers, and Texas rigged they flat out work. Durability isn't a concern if I am catching fish.

Megabass X-Pod - I think it was about $32 from a local shop. Not sure how many fish as I don't keep a log anymore. It is my favorite topwater bait by a longshot. I don't swimbait fish so if I did I would be in trouble on this question. For the swimbait guys probably going to see a lot of $50 to $150 baits.

Sick of Daiwa using the Tatula frame on about every model of reel they are redoing. They would have been better off incorporating the Alphas frame on more of these especially with the new Sol than the Tatula Frame. I could achieve the same result by ordering a few custom parts off of Hedgehog Studios and add upgraded bearnings and a supertune instead of shelling out significantly more a new Zillion, Fuego, etc... This will also make folks appreciate the classics that were built on the lighter and more palmable previous gen Zillion/TDZ frame.

7# Sniper only. Forget the braid.

Siebert and Northstar. About the only I buy anymore plus a few select Dirty Jigs.

Would this be what you are looking for? More on the rustic side than a true red/black?

Still worth it no doubt. I would trade productivity over durability especially on tough days. There are few knockoffs that aren't too bad but the color and size selection is lacking. Plus the Keitechs have that great squid scent too. I think I have about 20 packs of fat impacts and 20 packs of swing impacts just to use as jig trailers. Really they are a top 3 paddle trailer for me for swimjigs.

Now to find the right rod.

Nice try but these only account for a few controlable factors. Some days I may catch upwards of 20-30 fish over 2 pounds and up to 5 pounds on the same jig and same knot I tied the night before. I lose more fish from a jump and toss my bait than I do from line or knot failure. I see your point check your equipment often and control what you can but let's face it fish especially bigger ones can get unbuttoned fairly easily at times.

The 3.8 fat impact pairs perfect with California style swimjigs like The Dirty Jigs version. The 4 inch swing impact is ideal for your 1/4 oz northern style swimjigs. If you step up in size on the fat impacts to say the 4.3 or 4.8 they tend to tear easily but do create a bigger profile. Between the Keitech offerings, the little dipper, and a partial swimsenko, I can cover all my paddle tail trailer needs. I probably have a few photos I can post as well...

Very nice carpet, eh... Reels!

Goose52 won't like this but I am working on getting the approval rating. Spooling it up tommorow night and will be fishing it for a bit this weekend. Fish slime will depend upon a bit of luck and good fortune!

660 yards of Sunline Sniper. Wait for a sale and your golden!

I would without hesitation skip the SS SV reel. I think your Alphas SV would excel for lighter baits over the Curado I. Plus it would be very tame yet very performance driven in any type of wind conditions. If you buy an Alphas SV it would be worth the gamble. Even very lightly used you could still fetch $180+

If Jimmy Houston had caught it on his show probably be around 4 or 5 pounds. Guessing this fish actually be around a pound and half to two pounds.

Good deal!

Dirty Jigs, Northstar, Siebert and a few hair jigs tied by a member on here are about what I fish 90% of the time.