cjam93

Sorry this maybe a dumb question, but what do you mean since the rod and reel are made to match? As far as I know a 6 Tatula or a 7 Tatula is the same reel other than the speed right?

Hey guys so I had a post on here yesterday about wanting to get a new jig/frog rod. I ended up getting a 6'10 MH F Tatula. Anyways it will mainly be used for jigs and frogs like I said, but at times it will also be used for senkos, spinnerbaits, and chatterbaits. Im leaning towards a Tatula 6.3:1, is that what I should go with?

Between me and my dad we have bough 5 Carbonlite rods and 4 of them have had to be returned for problems with the guides. I have also had to return Bass Pro reels before. I take very good care of my stuff, so I feel like this is a problem with the products Bass Pro is putting out. I will be avoiding their rods and reels for now on.

Thanks for all the replies guys! I ended up getting a 6'10 MH F tatula. I looked more into the Rage rod and realized it was the same price as Tatulas that I already know I really like from the 7'1 mh xf I have used as well as they have better guides than the Rage rods. The reason I was leaning towards the Rage was I could pick it up locally. Either way I finally decided to just stay with what I knew I liked and order the Tat. From TW with 2 day shipping it was only $155 so I cant complain, I didn't realize how great their shipping prices are.

Haha that sounds like the way to go to me then thanks!

Thanks for the reply! Do you have any experience with the Rage rods? I have read through some different reviews of them and they seem very hit or miss for most people. Just holding them in the store I love how they feel, but some of the negative reviews are very negative.

Thanks for the reply! I have done some more thinking about it and have another question. My frogging is skipping under overhangs or around wood cover. I dont have any pads or weeds so the super heavy rod is not as important. So I was wondering if a shorter rod would be good for that. Tonight I found a St. Croix Rage 6'8 MH F that I really liked the feel of. It has a softer tip than their 7ft mh, and I like the shorter rod for walking baits. Would this rod be a good pick for what I want? Also I am new to St. Croix rods so I do not really know about their blanks. The blanks in the rage are SCIII graphite. What would be a good comparison to that for say a IM blank number wise? Thanks again!

I recently purchased the DX MH rod and I bought a BBZ-1 6in slow sink to throw on it. I love it. The combo works amazingly well and the rod feels incredible. I do agree though that it may not be what you want for double duty, but the rod itself is fantastic for what its worth.

Hey guys so I want to get a new rod that I can use for a jig or a frog. I will be throwing both 1/4 and 3/8 jigs. What size/action/power should I look for? Thanks!

Cool thank you!

Thanks for the reply guys. I should have worded my post better, I was in a bit of a hurry when I wrote it, sorry about that. What I am actually concerned with is if the rod has enough backbone to set the hook? I have not fished shakeyheads much, and the only worm fishing I have done has been with a 7'1 mh xf Tatula, so the medium feels really flimsy to me compared to what I am used to. I figured I would rather ask on here about it before I go out and possibly miss a fish because it cant drive the hook home. Also have it spooled with 10lb pline fluoroclear but have been wanting to go to braid.

Hey guys so I was wondering if yall thought it would be ok to throw a shakeyhead on a 6'6 medium Carbonlite? I prefer them to a spinning setup but will go to a spinning if need be. thanks!

Hey guys incase anyone else is interested, I ended up picking up the 7'1 mh cranking tatula rod and tried it out today. I really do not like it. I love the Tatula rods, but the rod is so stiff that I literally felt like I was cranking deep divers while fishing a squarebill. Im going to go back on Tuesday and return it for the 7ft ML cranking rod.

Sounds good thank you! I have thrown cranks for a while, but I am just now starting to use squarebills so I wasnt really sure what to look for in a rod. Thanks again!

the J knot is great and one of the easiest knots to tie that I have found.

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys! I appreciate it! It will be mostly for squarebills, but I had thought about using spinnerbaits on it as well. I would say though 80% of the time if not more it would have a squarebill on it. I just took a look at some of the other tatula rods and I see a 7'1 mh cranking as well as the Tatula Class crankbait rod which is 7'2 mh. Would either of those be a good pick then? I have been fishing them on a Carbonlite 6'6 medium fast rod, but I have other cranking rods I throw cranks that are not squarebills on that are 7ft that I am still accurate with so I doubt the extra length would matter very much. Also how much larger line would you recommend I go to?

Hey guys so I am going to Bass Pro tomorrow to pick up a new rod. Basically I have around $100 in store credit to spend. I can add some money to it, but I would rather not if there something around that price range that you would reccomend. The rod will be for throwing squarebills, mainly Sebile Bull Cranks or Xcalibur XCS100s. I will pair it up with a 6.3:1 Tatula with 12lb Suffix Elite. I was thinking about adding $50 to it and getting the Tatula 7ft ml cranking rod, but I wanted to see what else was out there in that price range. I also had considered a Duckett Ghost 7ft medium cranking rod. Are there any other ones that you would recommend? edit: I forgot to mention the reason I have $100 in store credit is that I am returning a faulty Carbonlite rod. I have had to many problems with carbonlite rods and have returned 3 now, so I will be staying away from them. Anything else I am open to! Thanks!

I usually dont worry about a leader when I am fishing topwater and I have not seen where it matters. However there are many people on here with way more experience than me that may tell you differently, if so then Id go with what they say haha. If you do decide to use a leader though you might want to check out the J knot. It is really strong and I find it easier to tie than a uni-uni knot.

Hey guys so I am starting to throw jigs more often. I was wondering if you are fishing shallow cover say 10ft or less, what is usually the weight that you like to go with? Also what trailers do you like to use when fishing in cover, as well as when fishing a football jig in deeper water? Thanks!

I looked them up they look great thanks! haha i understand that, its all good! I had already been looking at a slammer looks like Ill have to pick that one up. Im actually not, I really wish I was though!

Alright haha thanks Id appreciate it!

Do you recommend all of these different soft ones because they have more water displacement than a hardbody, or you just prefer them?

Hey guys so I was wondering what swimbaits you would recommend me checking out. I will be throwing them on the new Daiwa DX swimbait rod 8ft medium heavy on 20lb test CXX. The rod says its good for 1-6oz lures. I am in North Carolina so a lot of the water I am fishing has 1-2 1/2 feet of visibility on average. The lake I fish the most stays somewhere around that clarity almost all year. I think I am looking for something that will cause a bit more water displacement so it is easier for the fish to hone in on it. So far the only swimbait I have picked up is the 6inch slow sinking BBZ-1 model. I will be targeting Largemouth that feed on shad, bluegill, and crappie the most. I like the looks of some of the glide baits I have seen recently, but with their slow graceful swimming I wouldnt think they put out quite as much water displacement as something similar to the BBZ-1 with its triple jointed swimming motion. Of course that is just a guess as I have so little knowledge on this subject. Oh and I would prefer to look at hardbody swimbaits as opposed to soft. Thanks!

Thanks for the advice! I will have to look into getting that!

Nice fish! When you are throwing topwater in the middle of the day, what type of areas do you like to target? For example do you still target the deeper areas around points expecting the fish to come up and get it even if they are pretty far down?