IAY

Use darker color and larger 5.8 inch size. It has good water displacement due to the ribbed structure and wide swinging tail, so it should be pretty effective.

If you want to use it for topwater as well as jerkbait, I would recommend against full fluorocarbon; I just don't like how much full fluoro it pulls down the topwater baits for most of the time. I would use 20-30 pound braid with a 8-10 pound fluoro for jerkbait and 12-14 pound mono for topwater.

Broomsticks are hard to break I hear...

I just cut the corner of each bag, and gently tap the other end to get the worms out. I find that to be most effective. The reason they do this is definitely cost cutting.

Nice collection, I am going to try to get some swimbait bite this fall as well; I really enjoyed throwing Jackall Kawashi Mikey 140 this spring and can't wait for the bite to pick up again. I can't throw anything too big on my set up but I got some decent ones this summer.

I like it on my 6'8" Medium Moderate action with 10 pound mono 7.41 gear ratio. I find it that the extra stretch gives more room for wider turns on the twitch.

One is a prop bait, other is prop/wake/crank hybrid. Different animals.

That has more to do with no industry standards on the power of the rod, not lure weight... At end of the day, lure weight denotes what the manufacturer feels is the appropriate wait to get the desired effectiveness of the rod. You should feel comfortable that the rod will be able to effectively handle things within that rating(ie not breaking and castability)

I second this. They have strong smell impregnated into them and definitely tougher than GY baits which people spend a lot more money on. I enjoy hooking a jig head through the egg sack or use it with nail weights.

Do you fish from the bank? If so, you might want to consider 6 foot 8 rod since its a lot easier to swing around cover.

The lip cause it to dive if you cast it too far and retrieve too fast. You don't necessarily have to make it steady though.

I think you are talking about the swing impact fat, which has a lot more body than regular swing impact and two holes meant for the tungsten nail weights. Regular swing impact is recommended to be rigged with a jig head.

I would take this advice if I were you, as it's the only poster that had extensive fishing experience with both of the rods. I am looking to puchase one my self and haven't heard anything bad about Aetos, plus its effective range of weight it is rated to handle is a lot wider than Avid. I would also look at the elite tech smallmouth that fenwick makes, if you want a ceramic inserts instead of titanium oxide ones. Plus you can pick it up for only 115 dollars if you have a Sportsman's Warehouse near you(shipping charges would bring it up to roughly 150 if you don't).

If you want to spend that much money, you mind as well get a Metanium.

I have been fishing it on 10lb Toray Superhard Super Strong and I haven't had any problems with them. One thing I don't like is that a lot of hooks will cause it to be sinking from what I understand. Tomstung, I know exactly how you feel. I was throwing my brand new Huddleston and it got cut in half by a tiger muskie :/

Congrats, anything over 5 in MD is pretty d**n impressive

Is that a skin mount? Whatever it is, its beautiful congrats

Hmm I see. I don't really buy my stuff from USA so I didn't know. I would still save up another 50 dollars for the XX though... But that's how bad tackle addiction starts... It's only another 50 dollars...It's only another 50 dollars...How bad can another 50 dollars be?... But I definitely think the versatility and the sensitivity on heavier Megabass rods really warrants the price.

Why is only accepting paypal suspicious? If I am buying from an unknown site that is literally the first thing I look for. Btw Japan Lure Shop is good.

I haven't had the chance to fish the XX rods before, and there is no store that carries high end stuff around me so I am stuck to just buying them online without testing them. Only MB rods I have are the F4-68X7 and F6-72X4, so I really can't comment on verstaility of the XX rods you listed, but I felt didn't have any problem with the taper of X4 when I am fishing with treble hooks compared to my X7. I think you can give better advice to the OP than me, and I just wanted to say what I would have done if I was in his shoes, based on all of the good reviews I have been hearing about the XX series and my experience with Megabass rods.

If you are willing to spend 250 dollar total. Save up a little bit more and wait for the labor day sale for Orochi XX Tour Verstaile. I absolutely adore the Medium Fast taper on the megabass line and overall versatility of their heavy rods. I can assure you that the overall quality and sensitive of those rods will enhance your fishing experience.

It felt very very tip heavy, it did not feel sensitive when I tapped it around, and it did not feel very different in those two factors than St. Croix Mojo Bass series. Literally the only thing it has going for it is the overall aesthetics of the rod. It's just like how I tested around with the Revo 3 gen S, SX, STX, and Curado G and was not impressed by any of them. It is silly that magically things will be better "just because I get to take it out on water" when you are so unimpressed by it when you are testing it out in the store.

Is playing around with the rod and finding it completely unimpressive than going on to buy an IMX not enough for you? Testing the rod in a store isn't simply sitting in the car seat, it is more like going out on a test drive. Is it same as taking it out on the water? absolutely not, but you can get a decent idea of how the rod is going to perform and it is decently fair judgement.

Come on please spare us the bull. There is literally nothing good that comes from being compared to a brand that is literally worst in performance rankings among headphones and solely staying above water with its marketing department. I only have the old IMX 843C, which I think very light nice well crafted rod, but I don't think its nearly as good as the Orochi X4 which I got for 50 dollars more. I have only played around with the GL2 in store, and it felt very heavy and unbalanced to me. I don't think I would go for G.Loomis rods if there is a similar item in the JDM line, and I would be scared of purchasing anything G.Loomis put out that is less than the IMX series.

That's assuming that enthusiast people don't find it as a collector's item, and it is not exquisitely made, and it is easily replaceable, but ok...