fishballer06

Thanks for the update, John.

Shad Raps, DT's, and Wiggle Warts are my go to's. I've thrown the Little Johns and they're nice, but I have more confidence in the aforementioned baits.

I'm not positive on the internals. I've never been much of an Abu guy. I know quite a few guys on TT bought them, thought they were way too small to be practical, and had a few other issues, and they all ended up dumping them. I thought it was odd how the ALX was on sale for half price after only a few months on the market. I figured it was a flop for Abu.

The ALX had a lot of promise when it was released, and it was quickly found to be disliked by the masses. I've read many stories of guys buying one and immediately regretting it for various reasons. I personally haven't owned one, but I know if you search around the internet you will see many stories about the ALX. As for the Smoke, I don't own that one either, but I did just pick up the Tour S3 which is the upgraded Smoke. I haven't been able to use it on the water yet, but from what I can tell so far, it's a very nice reel for the money.

I'd ask around your local club and see if anyone has those models that you're looking for. Otherwise you might be traveling a little bit to handle that expensive of a rod in person. Not many shops stock too many rods over the $250 price point.

I just saw this thread. This is so scary. I have Clayton's phone number and I was just texting with him in October whenever I was up in his area salmon fishing about meeting up but our schedules never aligned. I hope he has a speedy recovery and that God is looking over him.

Just a reminder guys that time is running out to sign up for the annual Fishmas exchange here on BassResource. If you aren't familiar with how this works, it's basically a Secret Santa tackle exchange program that we run. It's a lot of fun, fairly inexpensive, and the more people we get the merrier. Sign up in the thread above ASAP.

Those Boxer jigs from VMC and Trokar are great. I'll also give Siebert Outdoors jigs a nod as well. I love that he offers some oddball weights like 3/16, 5/16, 5/8, etc. as well.

The 704S and the Daiwa RG is my fathers Christmas gift, so yeah, he'll love it when we go to Canada in May next year.

20% off DSG online today and tomorrow.

For me: Dobyns Champion 734C Dobyns Champion 704S Daiwa RG AB spinning reel About $150 in assorted plastics/lures/terminal tackle

I already got mine. A Dobyns Champion 734c.

There's no way to truly say unless you have actually used a road with a bait that is too much for that said rods power. If you want to experience it yourself, I would recommend taking one of your medium powered rods and tying on 1.5-2oz worth of weight onto the end of your line (this may require tying on multiple baits if you don't have a single bait that heavy). Once you do that, wind up like you're about to make a cast. You'll easily be able to tell that the rod is overstressed and that it could likely break after a few repeated casts. As for buying garage job refurbished broken rods... That sounds like something that I would avoid at all costs.

This sounds like a Neko rig presentation to me.

Every aspect. Blank, cork, weight, balance, action, guides.

Step up to the Chronarch MGL. It's such an amazing reel. I had two Met MGL's, and then I bought two of the Chronarchs once they were released. I sold the Metaniums and bought two more Chronarchs. As for the rods, I absolutely love my Expride 7'2" H, so I would certainly recommend the MH one for you if you can swing the coin. If not, I would say go with the Champion 734 or the Zodias. The Champion is a nice step up from the Sierra series. One thing to note, the Expride and Zodias do not have hook keepers on them. If that bothers you, go with the Champion.

All of those are good reels, but I personally find the Curado K to be a step above the rest in your price range. I'm sure many others here would agree with that.

I own both those models, and I absolutely LOVE the Expride!

Punch out and Biffle Bug are great baits. And yes, invest in some swing heads!

In my opinion, the Zodias has much higher quality guides and blanks than the Okuma line.

Best of luck to Brent!

Get your names in the hat boys. Black Friday deals are coming and it makes for easy shopping for your secret Santa fishing buddy.

I have one of the Netbait football jigs and it seems like decent quality. However, I buy 90% of my jigs from Seibert Jigs. Super high quality, countless color and weight options, great prices, American made, and a site sponsor.

Whelp, the Leveon Bell saga is over in Pittsburgh...

About time for the northerner's to start all the typical winter time threads that come up...