FryDog62

Hand tied jigs are worth the extra price in my opinion - Sieberts and Grassmaster Jig by All Terrain are great options.

Dynamite with Caffeine Shad on 3/32 Owner Twistlock Light. Casts, skips like a dream..

Those 3 rods are very similar in terms of sensitivity. I use the Braillist for 1/2 and 3/4 oz Dark Sleepers and it’s great... can really feel the bottom extremely well. The Helium 3 and Zolo are excellent bottom contact rods too. The Braillist is a little longer, with a very sensitive XF tip and so slight edge there. If I needed to go up to a Heavy for 1 oz+ jigs Or heavier cover, I’d opt Kistler or Zolo.

My wife and I are lifelong Minnesota residents... three kids have left the nest and two ending up in Denver. My wife would like to move there too, I could probably transfer my consulting work there. The winters are incredibly long and cold in Minnesota (they suck, last week -30 degrees) and we’re in our mid 50’s. I had family here up until a year ago when both my parents and brother died. No real reason to stay anymore.. The problem is I would need an outlet if I moved and bass fishing is it. I don’t ski any more, or hunt, or golf. It doesn’t appear there is any real bass fishing in the Denver area. A few reservoirs here and there. Have to admit I’m spoiled with 12,000 lakes in Minnesota... several more within a reasonable drive to Wisconsin, South Dakota and Ontario. It’s great although there’s only about 5 months to fish open water (I don’t ice fish). Am I missing something in Colorado? Are those reservoirs good enough to fish? Are there any world-class lakes within a reasonable drive? I just bought a Lund Pro-V Bass 2 years ago and would really like to continue to fish. Suggestions?

I agree, the first half of my life I was very brand loyal... didn’t matter if it was fishing equipment, sporting goods, cars. Now I’ve pushed myself to try new/different things. Of my 17 casting rods I don’t have more than 3 kinds from any one brand.

Looks like a fun time for a great cause... If I didn’t have a charity tournament coming up on June 1st myself I’d probably register as well.

I like the Pro’s jig but have been gradually shifting over to AT Grassmaster... seems to go through thicker weeds a little better and I like the hand tied skirt.

I throw them on either 3/16 or 1/4 oz VMC Rugby Jig, Texas rigged. Dynamite! https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Ike_Approved_Finesse_Rugby_Jig_4pk/descpage-VMCFRJ.html

I went Hbird to get the integration with Lakemaster/MinnKota. Spot lock, follow the contour, go to waypoint, etc... are great. Plus I like the Mega imaging/side imaging a tad better than Lowrance. Ha, but then I opted for Garmin/LiveScope in the bow over 360 imaging... so I guess I’m not a brand loyalist either. Gotta get what fits your fishing style - -

2 rods: •Dobyns Extreme HP 7-4 Heavy Fast Flippin Stick •Kistler Helium 3 Heavy XF 7-3 I’m 5-9 Xslow, or I might opt for slightly longer rods Am a braid guy primarily 50 lb, half the time time with a YZH 12 lb leader with FG knot depending on water clarity and patience level..

Both are great reels, I have a few of each... perform very similarly. Slight edge to the Zillion for less backlashes with light lures, Slight edge to the Tatula for slightly longer casts maybe. Pretty minimal differences overall to me. I tend to lean Tat for less dough unless I’m skipping weightless wacky worms. That’s a good price on the Zillion so worth strong consideration. But if they dropped the Tat the same amount... well then - -

So is the next Tacklewarehouse sale around the Classic in mid-March? What % off is it usually? Looking to buy an ALX Rod - does anyone else sell them besides TW?

The only time I opt for fluorocarbon over co-poly is if I need sink rate. Even debatable to a degree if fluorocarbon is really that much of a difference in that regard - compared to a co-poly that might be 50% fluorocarbon composition. Visually I don’t think much of a difference, co-poly IMO is stronger, better knots and in many cases stretches less than fluorocarbon. Oh yes, and less of a rats nest threat. FWIW I have Sniper on one rod for drop-shotting and Yo-Zuri Hybrid on 4-5 other rods for a variety of applications.

I wish they also made a second version of this in Gore-Tex for Fall/Winter. I have that in Salomon and they are finally wearing out after 6 years...

I just wish you could switch the handle between left or right on a baitcasting reel like you can on spinning... Alternating hands during 2 surgeries on each wrist over a 4 year period would have been a lot easier/cheaper. But it was good training for the brain to learn to use different hands - my dad said said it is good training someday for my first stroke

For this reason, I started having my deliveries to the local UPS store for pick up - empty it out in the back of my Jeep, throw the box in the trash outside the UPS store, go home as usual. Next time she leaves, place everything in the tackle box. Done. Now you don’t think she does anything like this for her purchases do you? I’m sure there wouldn’t be a shoe/makeup/clothes monkey for women would there??

Anyone know how/when to buy an ALX rod on sale? When is the next TW sale? Anywhere else I should check?

I’ve been a huge St. Croix fan for a couple decades... but have recently traded off or sold all my MH and Heavy SC rods including LTB, AvidX, etc. As an ML or Medium they are light and balanced enough. They also have very good sensitivity. However, to me anything over a Medium in SC is unusually heavy and poorly balanced (tip heavy). I was in denial for years but after picking up friends similarly priced rods in Kistler, ALX, Megabass, Daiwa, Dobyns - I was surprised at the difference. Now I own all the above mentioned rods instead. An expensive conversion but worth it to me. Dobyns is one of the absolute best balanced rods on the market. I can flip a Heavy all day without fatigue, really like the rod. As someone mentioned above, Dobyns are known to be only “average” in terms of sensitivity... For flipping is fine, but I think you would find many St. Croix’s or the other rods I mentioned a bit more sensitive for finesse or bottom contact - there I’d give the edge to St. Croix if those are the only two rod brands you’re considering.

I was thinking of buying some this spring, Roadwarrior wondering from your experience if you can address: •The pound test experience Bassman has had? •”Screech factor” lol... sounds weird I know but I have an aversion for loud braids. I dunno but it makes me think it’s harder on my equipment over time. Probably not with good guides, but I’m curious if you find that it screeches under load when reeling than other braids. Thx

I ended up trading the rod for a Lews jerkbait rod that already has about 4 inches less length in the handle... problem solved and was on time for my trip.

When I first met my future father in law at his house shortly after starting to date his daughter, he found out I liked to fish... ... So off his dock he pre-set a “Popeil’s Pocket Fisherman” pole with about 30 feet of line out in the water tied to one of his old Converse high-tops. As as we walked in the house, he looked out the back and said “Bobber’s down!” And told me to run out and set the hook. So now there is vintage video footage of me “fighting the big one” off their dock with an 18 inch rod. He sure loves to still tell that story years later... and I can’t wait for the old film to finally deteriorate to the point of self destructing..

I’ve found hopping a Ned Rig accomplishes a lot the same as a drop-shot.

I could very easily be wrong, but I think I remember FishinDad is from Minnesota?? If I’m right and you’d ever like to take a spin in my Lund PVB 1875 let me know. The 2075 with a 250 might be a better tournament option, but you could at least see what it’s like in terms of flipping, skipping and jerk baits in a bass type boat versus high freeboard, windshield multi-species boat. And since 80% of Minnesotans troll for walleyes, I get asked all of the time how well the PVB trolls... actually fairly well with the deeper V, IPS, chine, etc... it tracks reasonably well (especially with my “Follow the Contour” Lakemaster chip and MinnKota). With the lower sides than a multi-species - would I want to troll in waves bigger than 2 feet - no. You can do it but will get wet. I have trolled on Rainy and other large bodies of water in 1-2 foot waves and it did fine... and much better than any bass boat. The bow on the PVB does sit up a little higher than your typical glass bass boat, but then again that’s due to a deeper V and therefore takes the bigger waves better and has more storage room. No issue with spearing a wave at high speeds with the PVB either - which I’ve done in a glass boat before and prefer not to do again any time soon

I’m going to go out on a limb here, but I’m pretty sure the Minnesota state record smallmouth caught in 1948 wasn’t 8 lbs. No disrespect to the person and his descendants intended. The fact is, people often didn’t really weigh, or accurately weigh fish in those days. The length of the fish isn’t listed in the record books either. And think of many fishermen (probably me too ) that caught a fish that was 6 1/4 pounds (which is still huge btw) and by that night after a couple of Pfeiffers around the campfire it grew to 7 pounds... and by the time they got home Sunday night, they told all their friends and neighbors about the 8 pound monster they caught! That makes the 8-15 Largemouth caught a few years ago even more credible to me... didn’t round up and left it wide open for someone to smash their record someday with a legit 9 pounder.. Just sayin’...

These are all interesting responses because I’m typically a very early riser to be on the water before other fisherman. But seems like just as many PB’s have come mid-day or other times. Moral of of the story - I need to fish more