Cgrinder

Oh yeah, that's good catch.

When I was real concerned about Pike, I threw Pline CXX. Tough as nails. Lots of memory, but line conditioner helps.

ALX, baby. Made in South Carolina, US of A. Kistler uses NFC blanks so that is an option. Hammer maybe as well.

4/0 weighted Beast for the 4.8. 4/0 weighted regular Owner for the 3.8 I think.

Currently, Gojira, Be'lakor, old 3 Inches of Blood, old Arch Enemy. In general, death, thrash, new wave British, and folk/fantasy. Also, being from Detroit, I am obligated to own a Black Dahlia Murder shirt. ALSO THIS

Fair play man. Different strokes. I dont disagree with ya on the theory. Whatever gets the fish in!

Yeah, sure, I dont necessarily disagree. I feel you didn't much read my initial comment beyond the first sentence. I agree, keep the pressure on. But how do you keep pressure when the fish suddenly changes direction or jumps? In these situations, sometimes a fast or extra fast rod unloads. Keep in mind I'm specifically talking about true fast, higher end graphite rods with a high recovery rate. For example, the Expride the OP uses. A Loomis MBR, for example, loads deeper despite being also rated as Fast. I don't have issues with swimming jigs or chatters on an NRX MBR. However, I do have issues on an NRX JWR of the same power.

If your trailer moves your skirt, there's no need to shake the rod. This is my main reason for preferring a paddletail when swimming a jig outside of cold water. Straight retrieve, pump the reel handle, pop the rod, pause it, kill it, let it hit bottom, hop it, crawl it, etc. Experiment until you start getting bit, then repeat what got the bite. If the fish are hitting but not committing, change something (speed, color, trailer, so on).

Tatula 3: 3D Tatula: The Revenge Tatula V: The New Blood Tatula VI: The Freaks Tatula VII: Tatula Lives! Tatula VIII: Tatula Takes Manhattan

Two thoughts: 1) fast rod unloading during the fight and causing pressure on the fish to be lost, as described in my post, and 2) fast rod may stop loading before the fish has sufficiently engulfed the bait, especially on a short initial strike, causing the angler to inadvertently take the bait away from the fish. Keep in mind, you can and will catch/land plenty of fish on a Fast action rod throwing a moving bait, especially if you run a bit of stretch in your line (straight fluoro, nylon, etc). However for the purpose of technique specificity and dialing in equipment, I am of the opinion that more Moderate rods feel better during the bite and fight. Of course, this may necessitate a step up in rod power, but that's a different topic altogether I think.

I want to second the grease comment. Definitely worth opening them up if you're handy. Both my SV and Elite felt real dry after a month or so of use. Worth getting your hands on the Elites too if they have them out. Well worth the extra $50.

Big fan of the Northstar Original. I like the light hook and thin weedguard. I also throw the Flip n Swim, Siebert Swim Jig, and Dirty Jigs Swim Jig. I like a bullet head but any pointed head is usually fine. Always 1/4 oz, unless the pike have eaten all your 1/4's, then 3/8 oz. Bluegill pattern strongly preferred. Trailer is a Rage Craw or any paddletail that will rock the jig on a straight retrieve. Little Dipper, Little EZ, Easy Shiner, anything in the 3.5 - 4" range. I trim the skirts just a bit longer than the bend of the hook, shorten the weedguard to just about cover the barb, and snip some strands out of the back of it to maintain flexibility.

Yeah no need to swing. Reel down and lean into it, especially with (sharp) light wire hooks. As far as bites, you get thumps, nips, tap-tap-taps, WHAMs, and why is my line slack? OH.

Check out the ALX Toadface. I have a similar rod in the Enox line, the BMJ, and it's amazing for single hook moving baits and lipless cranks. I imagine it would be a nice 2.5 squarebill rod as well.

Your rod 'may' be a little fast for single hook moving baits. A high quality graphite rod, like the Expride, is very responsive; it will load and unload very quickly. Fish changes direction, jumps, etc and the rod unloads, pressure is off, fish throws the hook. You really have to be on your game and aware of your equipment; it's easy to make a mistake and lose a fish. This is why many folks, myself included, have come to prefer a stout but more moderate action rod for single hook moving baits. Alternatively, a lower end fast action rod will unload a bit slower. I do understand the appeal of doing it all or at least most of it with a single rod. During spring, I often found myself fishing a swim jig on a Loomis XF, just because that's the rod I had with me. With higher end fast action rods, I'm trying to end the fight as quickly as possible; get their head above water and ski 'em in. Keep the rod low and loaded and grind until you've got 'em. Don't be afraid to adjust your drag during the fight if necessary. I hope some of this is relevant and helps.

Rise from your grave! My good buddy has several Powell rods and loves them. I like how the Endurance looks a lot. Purple is good.

Always worth discussing reels at different price points, especially with Daiwa having many similar products priced only $50 apart from one another. When the new Curado drops, we'll talk about that 'til the cows come home.

Yep, lot of discussion the last few months. A forum search will bring up a lot of opinions. Short version: I like it.

You shouldn't have issues keeping up with fish running at you or anywhere on a 6.3:1 ratio. These days I only really look at high speed reels for frogging or in compact frames to keep the IPT up. My starters are all 6 gears outside of the 8 that usually frogs. Since the summer grass came up, I've been all shock and awe with straight braid and heavier rods, but my 1/4 oz and under plastic setup for the spring was similar to what you're looking at: Tatula SV, Loomis 853c JWR, 12 lb fluoro. I personally would not buy the current Curado 70 over the new Tatula SV; I expect an update to the Curado lineup "soon".

I like it a lot; well-balanced and comfortable to palm. The Expride lives up to most, if not all, of the hype.

Bank fishing setups for the rest of the summer! Expride 72H and Bantam MGL, 50 lb Powerpro Enox BMJ and Zillion SV, PG spool, 50 lb FX2

Northstar Original in 1/4 oz and Flip n Swim in 3/8. New Gill, Chris Craw, Salsa.

The ALX Enox are just about the best in the price range. 10% off readily available from ALX or dealers. I have the BMJ and it's good, real good. Balanced, surprisingly sensitive, and has that deeeeeeeep flex. A 5 year warranty is the icing. They have a 7' mag finesse casting rod that you might be into. The Expride is no slouch and I would gladly fish a bunch of them. I have the 72H and it's a hammer. Love the aesthetic as well. They make some 6'10 rods which are a nice option. The Expride is possibly a bit better suited to bottom contact, being what you might call a "true fast". Still versatile, but lacks the deep loading in the blank that makes the Enox BMJ such a good moving bait rod. I feel the Enox is more sensitive but both rods are light, balanced, and a pleasure to use. The Enox also has the blank-through ECS seat, which is the best seat. I do wish there was a Loomis in the price range worth buying because the 843 MBR would be right up your alley.

Nah, get the 894 if you want the 894. There's unfortunately no guarantee the new NRX will be a performance upgrade (though I hope they will be). The NRX rods are still the sensitivity standard for a production rod how many years after release? If you're ready to drop NRX money, don't settle.

For me, the ergonomics on the Bantam were the main draw; it's a very nice reel to palm and it's good on a variety of seats. However the performance is also very good. The reel is a winch and an excellent pitcher with a variety of weights. Tanky is absolutely the word; I use it to frog, flip, and punch. The new Met has a similar frame concept as the Bantam so I want to check it out as well. I feel the Tatula Elite is also worth a look. I have the PF model and it's very solid, surprisingly so. Other users praise the Long Cast for its versatility. Palms great, feels good. Unfortunately if you're not into the T-wing, there's not much in the way of a production Daiwa I could recommend. The Alphas CT seems popular but I do not own one.