Hogsticker

You crack me up ghoti. Hang him by his fruit. Yowsers!

Depends what I'm throwing with it. If I'm tossing small cranks with it, it's two in front two in back. Tubes, jigs, Senkos and such 1 in the rear three in the front. If you have a well balanced set up it should feel good wherever you hold it. Aside from that it's just a preference thing.

I do believe the only way to resolve this would be buying a left handed casting reel. I shoot hoops better with my left hand than I do fighting a fish with a rod in my left hand. And that's saying a lot.

It's really just a matter of using the right tool for the job. Hook and line used plays an equal factor.

The 1016 is a casting machine with weights above 3/8 Oz. I could put it on long cast mode with the dial on 1 or 2 and smoke it with a half ounce lipless crank. Surprisingly, the Alphas SV put it to shame.

The Tackle Trap just started carrying Jackson rods. A lot of people seem to really like the Trickster series. Seems like a lot of rod for the money.

What weights are you considering finesse? Everyone's opinion seems to vary. I like the 1016 spool for 3/16 and up. You could always sell the 1016 spool and use the money Towards a shallow SV spool. Better yet purchase an Alphas sv. It handles the lighter baits better than a stock 1016. It's a fine reel for the money.

The only bait I'm curious to try is the lipless crank after using the jerkbait. Wasn't to impressed. Kinda hard to get a lipless crank wrong though, you can at least usually find a purpose for it anyways.

I don't know. For blank, components, and build quality my money would go towards a Klx at that price point.

Polishing spool tips can be good. And I also like adding a longer handle if stock is less than 90 mm.

I won't tell you what to get but offer some thoughts. I have owned and used Champions but do the custom thing now. Went out this past weekend with the old man who just picked up 2 EX6 sticks. It felt pretty good throwing some jerkbaits and light jigs. A little tip heavy and sensitive enough. Full cork handle, the only way to go. The guides are a big turn off for me. This is a brand new blank and being a Loomis your not gonna get great guides on it. What can anyone tell me about Dobyns blanks other than being made in China. That's also a big one for me. The Champions fish nice and you'll be hard pressed to find a more balanced rod off the racks.

Sweet

And I'm so happy to be taking one of them off your hands!!

Forever. Fish it a season then reverse it and fish another. Fireline is a fused line. In my experience is doesn't have the shelf life of a quality braid, but it's still close.

On the cheap - Sufix performance braid Not so cheap - Seaguar Smackdown Both are great lines

The best bang for your buck fishing sunglasses are the Wiley X px-70s. You can find them for 75 bucks if you shop around. With the Maui Jims and Costas what your paying for is an extra layer of polarization and glass lenses. I don't care for glass, and find the polycarbonate on the Wiley X very durable and scratch resistant. Plus they are comfortable. If you want one pair and not multiple lens colors to cover all situations, get a smoke gray lens as found on the px70s

I like a lot of reels, but this one DOES IT for me. Love me some T3s. The orange on the flat black is so sweet!

That's awesome!!

Lesson learned. If fishing for prizes, I'd definitely change all the hooks on my hard baits prior to the tournament. Chances are you will tie it on eventually.

Get a lip gripper. You can hold the fish far enough in front of you to snap a pic, or even do it while it's in the water. The coloring on that smallie in the 2nd pic is gorgeous.

Generally speaking a builder will charge more than 50 bucks unless he is a buddy or something. Most people don't build a custom with the intent to sell it later.

Alright. Ordered some Keitech fat swing impacts and Keitech easy shiners. This should get me started. Going to try the Evolve Darkstar swimmer and Sawamura one ups next go round.

Got ya. I'm pretty sure the Citica is riveted if memory serves me correct

The issue I had with off the shelf rods and why I went custom - Very few manufacturers tell you what you're getting in a blank. Rarely could I find a rod that had the exact components, length, and power I wanted. Maybe it had everything I wanted minus the guides, grip length / material , reel seat, etc. Plus they are mass produced meaning at times sloppy work being crooked guides, excess epoxy, the reel seat and grip didn't align perfect, etc. In order to bring out the full potential in a blank it has to be built right. I seriously doubt a large percentage of companies static test, rather mass build off of blueprints. Only the individual can decide if the juice is worth the squeeze. For me it was. Save another 60 bucks and get what you want is my advice. I think the only rods I've seen consistent build quality from are Kistler, ALX, Megabass, and some other Jdm companies. I was at Sportsmans warehouse this morning looking over rods from Powell, Duckett, and Fenwick. The majority of them were far from flawless.

Why couldn't you add bearings if the knobs are removable? I thought the knobs were riveted on this reel handle. I know they were removable on the Curado E though.