FryDog62

Our Mitsubishi experience was 3-4 years back but I don't think they've changed the gauge of the sheet metal since. We had 3 cars in the driveway - Grand Cherokee, Toyota Highlander and Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. Hail storm. Jeep and Toyota had zero damage, the Mitsubishi $4500. Neighbor had one too. His daughter drove it up a bit too far and it lightly bumped a parking pylon. Entire front fascia is thin plastic (much thinner than our Toyota for instance) which cracked throughout and widened over time and had to be replaced - $3200. Other than that, the engine/mechanicals were very good and they are known to have a safe frame from a collision standpoint.. just not very good from a body damage perspective IMO...

Not yet, I have a couple legacy versions of the 70 SV reel and I’m sure the new reel is just as good if not better.

Arguably the first yet most forgotten jerk bait of all-time is the Husky Jerk. I use it extensively when the water is below 50 degrees because it has less side-to-side (but enough) action to work exceedingly well when its super cold. Fish don't want something overly erratic in cold water, it doesn't look natural. But the HJ does for that time of year. Plus at about $5-6 per lure I'm not as concerned when they get sheered off by a scud missile pike. Above 50 degrees I use a lot of different jerk baits but am looking forward to trying out the new Berkley Stunna this year...

I have a 702 and also a dedicated BFS rod for Neds. The BFS rod gets the BFS reel, works awesome... don’t need a deep spool for that. However, my 702 gets something with more line and strength... an Alphas CT SV70 - works great for shakey heads, smaller tubes, flukes.

Caught Jan 5 from the yak I said I’d never own ?‍♂️

12 lb YZH

It’s good line, a little thicker and more stretch compared to its competitors.

Agree, there are some techniques it’s an advantage to have the longer handle, tuck and just wind the lure in (i.e. spinnerbait). But to work a fluke, soft jerk bait, twitch a worm or a tube, or anything where you’re putting action into the lure, I like a shorter handle so it’s not rubbing against my forearm or side all day.

Don’t know if you’re looking at the Medium power rods, but in my case I chose the 7’1” Mojo over the 7’0” Premier. Biggest reason was that the handle on the Mojo was almost 2 inches shorter. If working a plastic, tube, etc. the longer handle of the Premier seemed cumbersome to me. If just doing a straight retrieve lure - spinnerbait, Buzzbait, etc. handle length probably wouldn’t matter as much.

Ya’ll leave my man Festus alone! Lol

Where do I sign up?? Sounds like a blast... I’m sure all it costs is money?

What's the rule in this type of tournament? Do you have to use a paddle... or can you pedal like a Hobie Mirage? I'd like to use my Lithium battery and 45 lb thrust, but they'd likely find out

The Phenix Feather 7'1" MH is an extra fast and excellent when using fluorocarbon for 1/4-3/8 Texas-Rigs, jigs. Great bottom contact rod too with fluoro. I'd say its 90% as sensitive as my NRX for 1/4 the price. Used to be $149, but up to $159 now although if you can wait for a sale can get it for less.

I skip all my weightless wacky worms and 1/16th oz weighted Nekos with my 852/Steez SV. Works great!

The great equalizer...

Looks like a 2/0 EWG snap pea to me ?

I routinely start with finesse on higher pressured lakes where I’m familiar with a handful of high percentage spots. These spots will get hammered throughout the day, so I get there early and pick them apart best I can with finesse... then move to search mode (power) as the other boats start to show up.

My T-Rig rod is a MH XF 7’1” Phenix Feather. Weighs just a tad over 3 ounces! Light, sensitive, strong backbone. Extra Fast tip good to “feel” the rig in/around cover. $150-170 ish won’t break the bank.

The secret is out! Eliminator is a good one... it is flat and doesn't interfere with action or hook up percentage - yet it really makes a statement in the water when you need it. Another trailer I use when the water is warm and you are retrieving at faster speeds is a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed craw. When the water is cold and you want minimal movement but something tasty I go with the Powerbait version of the Grass Pig... its a bit stiffer plastic than the original version... oink, oink !

I use a Storm Arashi Cover Pop because I can either retrieve it like a popper or walk it like a wake bait... or vary it during the retrieve. A lot of times with a little experimenting you find what the fish prefer. Great, versatile lure -

The struggle with cardio exercise is real… A friend of mine is an exercise physiologist and helped set me up on a program years ago. One day of cardio, the next day weights and resistance training. Gotta be honest the hardest is the cardio for sure. But he always told me if you’re going to skip a day or you miss due to travel or whatever skip the weight lifting day and stick with the cardio. I try to do that but yeah life gets in the way sometimes. I started on the exercise bike years ago, and it sucks. But I try to do 45 minutes every other day. So in the winter I turn on the DVR and watch fishing shows lol. In the summer I turn on Twins baseball and watch that. It’s the only thing that passes the time enough to get through the workout many days. But with a family history of lots of heart issues, I know I need to stick with it. Whatever you decide to do to keep active is great. Some form of movement every day I think makes a big difference. Yeah easier said than done but you can always find something to do.

I threw about your velocity when I was in junior college. Took many years off and then partially tore my rotator cuff at 41 lifting weights. Never thought I’d throw again... then my boys got into travel baseball and they needed a coach. I started throwing again gradually and eventually 500-1000 pitches a week in batting practice. When the boys got into 9th grade I needed to get the velocity up again. Although I’m sure I never hit 80, I did snap a few curve balls off and froze a couple guys that that were starting to tee off on me. That made it all worth it. Bottom line, if you stretch out ahead of time, get good and warm and don’t try to overthrow, you can get there again. Good luck, stay healthy...

Trick worm guy for many years and made the switch to T-Mac and never looked back. Trick worms seem inconsistent to me, frustrating when some are semi-buoyant, but others are not. T-Mac is great as a shakey head and also Neko.

Am fishing a pit in FL right now... spawn either has or is going on. Best to try to find anything that resembles a "flat" at all, even if just a small area. Drop-shot, Ned, wacky. If they aren't there, go mid-water column like the others above said with a fluke style bait. If you see anything busting the surface out deeper be sure to pull the fluke through that area quickly. Last resort is to drag a football jig down deeper, 10-15 fow, across any rocks you can find.

Skipping a weightless plastic with a b/c was the hardest transition for me. Until I started using a Daiwa SV spool I was 50-50 on skip casts. Now I'm 95%+ with the occasional overrun. After several years skipping with an SV spool, I thought maybe I've just gotten better with more repetitions and its not as much of the SV factor as I thought. Nope, went right back to 50-50 when I experimented skipping again with my Abu's, Lew's and Shimanos.