FryDog62

See if you can find an old link... I have looked and can only find the 100. Thx!

Here's the Ryugi 5/0 that lines up about perfectly with the blister on the side to bury the hook into. Agreed, the CPS would be nice to protect the nose cone of the poop better though...

Where's the best place to find one?

What are everyone’s favorite compact, very palmable baitcasting reels? I’ve always liked the Curado 70 MGL K - any others people really like?

I’m partial to AFTCO shirts for one primary reason… their shirt sleeves are about an inch longer than other brands. So when you cast, you don’t end up with that inch of exposed skin on your wrist/forearm. Used to get a little red line of burned skin there each trip, but not now?

Buddy of mine with a torn rotator cuff is able to flip all day with a Phenix Feather Heavy extra fast. Comes in 7’3” and 7’7”.

What is your preferred baitcasting rod (length, power, action, etc.) typical sinker weight, and line type/size you use for Free-rigging? I use three primary set ups: *Tatula Elite Ehrler 7 foot, Medium-Medium Heavy extra fast, 12 lb fluoro when throwing 1/4 oz + lure. *ALX Enox Decoy MHF when upsizing to 3/8 oz and a heavier plastic like a 3.8 Geecrack Bellows. * I’ve also experimented with a BFS set up - 7’1” Phenix Feather MLF with 1/8 oz and 7 lb Sniper (I’ll do anything not to drop shot if I can?)

I agree with the above too - just beware that you really need to know that what you're ordering is what you want. They do accept returns, but the cost of shipping is up to you and can be well over $100.

2 suggestions to try: Instead of an O-ring, try shrink tubing, and hook both the worm and go through the tubing - this should help you grab more surface area. Your hooks might be a little too big and allow too much "play" when snapping the cast. Try #2 (not 2/0) VMC Neko hooks.

Well, hopefully it wasn't a certain spider... https://www.fox26houston.com/video/1262997

Ooga, wondering if the lake you are referring to is Cane Bay? My wife and I visited there this spring and liked it, we may be in the market. I wondered how the fishing was in that lake - any size to the fish?

If you typically Free Rig at 8-12 fow, what weight do you typically use with the DoLive Beaver? The video looked fairly heavy fall rate to get that fall action at the 5 minute mark, but I agree it looked good. Thx

Brown Bass?

I had St. Croix rods (LTB, AvidX, Mojo) for years and now own a lot of Dobyns rods. Big reason for the switch is balance. Both rod lines are on the heavy side but St. Croixs tend to be quite tip-heavy, especially anything MH or Heavy. Dobyns rods are overall widely regarded as well-balanced. I also have a lot of ALX rods and they are similar to Dobyns in terms of balance, but many times lighter overall.

It depends on time of year... but here are the two lines I use: Spring & Fall: 7 pound Sniper fluoro - use to cast Neds, tubes in shallow areas, rocks, etc. Summer (weed season here) - 10 lb Sufix 832 with 8 lb Trilene XT leader for jig worms, light Texas rigs.

Me too…

Not an issue… my question is about using the same strength/mechanics - which reel(s) cast farther? In the case of the SV reels, you really have to over compensate and whip harder to get anywhere near the same distance as a Tatula Elite or Shimano MGL spool.

Curious to what reel you get most casting distance from? I grew tired of having to whip the Daiwa SV reels too hard to get distance and traded most of them off (except for those I skip lures with). I experimented with several reels that get much more distance - the two best I found were: Shimano Chronarch MGL Daiwa Tatula Elite If I had to rate them in terms of casting distance, I would give the Tatula Elite a 10, and the Chronarch MGL a 9.5. Both are great reels, this is not a Chevy/Ford debate, trying to alleviate chronic elbow tendinitis ~ I am looking to add one more reel and contemplating if I go with another Tatula Elite. I'm completely fine with that, but always willing/interested to try something new/different if it's potentially better. The reels I'm considering are: Shimano Antares. Only cast a friend's once a few years ago, but was before I bought the above 2 reels so I'm not completely sure how it would compare. Plus its dam expensive... Other Shimano "MGL III" reels (Bantam, Curado 200 M) I hear that spool is designed to get even further/smoother distance over the standard MGL. Others? Thoughts?

Both are good - I lean towards the 105 Choppo because of its size - seems to work equally well for largemouth and smallmouth in my neck of the woods. I think it's more the tonal quality of the plop than color, but I like Bone for smb and Bluegill/Monkey Butt for lmb.

I fished the C-rig before FFS. I still use it for what Captain Phil said above - to figure out bottom composition especially in deeper water. Then scrape that gravel or chunk rocks until you get the attention of the bigger fish.

I have both a bass boat and kayak and like them equally. A couple differentiators in your decision: 1) If you get a kayak and are used to having good electronics including a trolling motor, go with an Autopilot. Boat control is key and there’s nothing like spot-lock. I would hate kayak fishing if I was always out of position, constantly paddling/peddling while trying to cast, etc. Wind and current can be your enemy. 2) If you like to fish with others, stay with your boat - otherwise you end up buying 2 kayaks.

Seth Feider approves too...

I would actually vote for the Easy Shiner Keitech trailer instead of the FAT. The FAT has good action too, but the thickness does not leave much of a hook gap and can result in a lower hookup percentage, especially if that fish jumps. It's a lot of plastic!

I'm a native of Rochester, MN Darth - it's pretty much river fishing down there - Mississippi, Zumbro, Root, Cannon, etc. Have to travel a ways to find a lake. Rochester is in Olmsted County - one of only 2 counties in the state of 10,000 lakes without a natural lake! As far as seasons go - I like Spring, Summer, Fall for different reasons. However, since getting 360 imaging a few years ago -I'd say finding off shore rock concentrations in late Summer into Fall and scraping the big girls off of them with Carolina Rigs, Football Jigs, Tubes and even Neds has become very fun and productive. As far as winter here goes - it can pound sand. We usually go South from January-April, but are leaving mid-October this year before the curtain comes down for 6 months of frozen Hell!

One of my adult kids got systemic Lyme disease and attacked the digestive system and ended up with SIBO for a couple years. Started taking Kambucha to re-set the gut, it helped a lot - worth looking into.