FryDog62

I never feel the need to pre-stretch mono, but I always do fluorocarbon and believe it makes a difference.

I haven’t fished that specific rod, but I have LTB and other SC rods of that length/power. Personally I found much lighter options that were just as strong and not as tip heavy. It can be a long day at 5.6 ounces...

What is your water temp - maybe a 6th Sense Curve 55 or Wiggle Wart?

I don’t know there is any magic lure for green slime - but a weightless Texas-rigged Senko isn’t that expensive if the pike run off with it. And if you push the tip of the worm just up and over the knot if will help reduce slime build up some.

I had St. Croix LTB’s and AvidX for years and was so loyal I never really compared to anything else. But when I did I was amazed how the MH and Heavy power St. Croix rods weighed more and were so tip heavy compared to many other brands in the same price range. I had just bought 3 of them for the coming season thinking they’d be okay and I’d get used to them. But then I was in a tackle shop buying line and decided to check out some other rods they had on sale. After handling and reading the specs of rods made by other manufacturers I started to have some serious buyer’s remorse. I ended up selling my almost new SC rods and several others I already owned the following week at a loss, but I’ve been much happier with a number of other brands since. I now purposely try not to get too many of any one brand and force myself to try new things so I don’t make the same mistake of being brand blind again.

The new Tat is smaller but not as small as an Alphas... I can throw really light stuff with the Alphas SV but it’s $260 ish.

I’m semi-addicted to skipping, really enjoy sliding the lure like a water skier. I used to skip both forehand and backhand with spinning gear - I may be slightly better backhanded. Due to wrist injuries/surgeries, I am 100% baitcaster now. Thanks to SV spools I can forehand skip cast as well as spinning gear. Backhand is just so-so, I can do it without backlashing but lack distance.

Yes, Orochi extra fast rated to 1.25 oz vs Tatula fast 1.5 oz. Difference subtle but there. I liked the PP for light cover flipping but especially 1/2 oz football jigs on hard bottom/rocks. Tatula with 1/2-3/4 oz jigs around grass.

Yes, the extra fast tip didn’t make it a very good frog rod either, much prefer the Toadface for that. Perfect Pitch was very sensitive and good for flipping light/moderate cover... Tatula is rated up to 1.5 oz and a little better in the thicker stuff. All 3 good rods but some excel at some things better than others..

I have a Tatula 7’2” Heavy which is a great rod for flipping jigs, but the tip was too powerful to walk the dog with frog set ups. Toadface is much better - MH tip and then the Heavy power butt section when you need it.

They will migrate quite a bit throughout the year but very gradually until the water really warms. I think your instincts are right and they are most likely in the wider, deeper stretches of the river right now...

In the early part of the year, I do think targeting the deeper pools with slacker water is key. Best are the areas where the fish winter, or nearby pools as they start to venture out. I also think early in the year its best to throw more horizontal moving lures (Beetle Spins, curly tail grubs, etc) because the baitfish are starting to venture out and are moving too. Later on in late spring and into summer when bait becomes more target specific around cover, rocks, laydowns, current seams, then switch to more vertical/target-oriented presentations like a Wacky, Ned, Neko.

Stay small and subtle... Try slower moving, deeper pools on sunny days. Sometimes I have better luck on smaller lures like a Beetle Spin or a Chatterbait Micro.

The Toadface is also touted as a great swim jig and Chatterbait rod. In fact I used my Toadface 90% last year for Chatterbaits and it was excellent. Problem was I used a different 7’2” Heavy rod for frogging and it was disappointing. Bottom line is both the Expride and Toadface are very versatile rods, but if you have to choose one rod and a priority is frogging, I would go with the Toadface. ?

I have a few BFS set ups myself... had always thought of trying Gliss but reviews were many times negative towards breakage, tensile strength. How much have you used Gliss and has it held up well? Any other positives/negatives you’ve found?

I struggled with the same dilemma you are having for several years. I finally decided on the 7’2” MH Expride for jigs and went to a Zolo Toadface for frogging. The Zolo is perfect for that - it has a MH tip to walk the dog, have control/sensitivity in open water or weeds... but also the butt section is Heavy action and has all the power you need in a frog rod to pull the big ones out of the slop when needed. I found a pure Heavy rod too limiting for the kind of frogging I do. Feel like I have the perfect 1-2 punch for rods now...

12 lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid or Sufix Advance Mono.

You only need a small piece of tape, maybe 1/4-1/2 inch wide to do this... just enough to prevent a backlash from unraveling very far if it happens. I’ve seen guys put a piece of tape all the way across the spool and it’s too bulky, plus you lose the feel to learn how to thumb/feather the spool and perfect your technique. Less is more...

My vote for versatility in that price range would either be an Expride 7'2" MH or an Orochi XX Diablo...

I assume with Tax Day being pushed out later that Tacklewarehouse is not having an April 15 sale as in previous years...

In your price range, I would say to nab the Curado 70 which is on sale many places right now. I have several and have thrown light lures (down to 1/4 maybe 3/16 in ideal conditions) on 7 lb Sniper and it’s ok but 20 lb braid casts smoother/farther. A better option would be a Daiwa Alphas SV with either the Sniper or 20 lb braid. But it’s $225+. It casts even lighter stuff as well as anything you’ll find. I use it as my dedicated Ned reel and even can skip a few when using the braid.

I used to throw a fair amount of the dual blade spinnerbaits - The ones I used most I think Joe Bucher made them primarily for muskie/pike fishing but they worked just as well for bass. Slopmaster Tandem I think it was called - in the old days I think there was a size large and and XL. I think I caught more smallmouth on the XL than anything... bronzies have quite the attitude! The Hildebrandt Nugget looks to be much more compact but I'm sure works great...

Has anyone used this knot for Mosquito Hooks or similar? I hear mixed reviews on the long-tag Palomar.

I’ve had a lot of <$150 Lew’s reels and really liked them - for about 2 years. Then, most of them started screeching. It doesn’t seem to affect the reel functionally but it gradually gets worse and worse. Have had them in to be serviced, lubed, etc. but eventually they start screeching again. Switched to Daiwa and haven’t had one issue. Solid reels and seem bullet proof. At your price point, I would recommend either the Tatula CT or Tatula 100. If you can stretch to $200 buy the new Tatula SV TW.

I had that rod and sold it after a year. While the shorter handle was good for the downward jerk motion, when you did hook a fish the lack of handle made it very hard to get any leverage. Ended up fighting the fish with basically just your wrist and a very tip-heavy rod.