Angry John

Most of my experence is in shallow lakes in TN so far so I let it settle for a few a few seconds and slow roll it in. Only been fishing it for two months so I have a lot to learn.

The real truth is you can not change someone's mind if they are ignorant and don't have the means. Maybe they want to be happy with there cheap gear. We waste our time trying to convince someone who does not want to be converted. I see this thread every winter. If you don't want to spend the money dont. We're not communist yet.

Fished mine from 30 to 103 and it was superb. Never hot in the heat but will warm in the cold and cork never did. I like full grips so that's what I got. I feel like the full grips prevent rods from being tip heavy. The full grip weight of the cfx material is not any heavier than the stock cork split grip. The factory legend extreme old model with cork and my rod with full cfx grip weighed exactly the same. I did not use a fore grip as I see no need. I am very tall so I like longer handles. If I were jig fishing the 10 inch like I have would be first choice. If your in a kayak and sitting the baston 9" may be better.

You may have a small weight in there to keep it oriented correctly. Just put a 2 or 3x hook on it and roll...

I am sure he will be pumped as you have hit the point were they get really good. Need a step dad

Good quality cork is getting harder to find and is getting expensive. I love the look of a nice cork handle and there are people who do outstanding job building custom handles. The lightest and best handles i have found are carbon and the one i have right now is from CFX. Its 10" long and on a st croix SC5 610MXF. Its worth a look and the price is no more than a high quality cork handle. If you fish in the cold at all they warm to the touch and have made fishing in 30 degrees a lot more tolerable. Baston also makes carbon handles but i have not used one of theirs. http://www.mudhole.com/Components-Rod-Building/rod-building-component-brands/CFX-Carbon-Fiber-Grips

I am going big this year. I started using the swaiver at the end of the fall and had two fish over 5 in one outing witch for me is outstanding. I will make this my year of the swimbait. Then after a year next year i will make an attempt to put the big bait and the regular baits together.

Does not say which line of rod you have but avids and above are sweeeet. The 6.3 raito is what i use for almost everything and it is a very versatile speed. He should be very happy....

There are a lot of blade changes guys make to do a lot of things. I dont know of one to make it hunt but there are mods you can do to make them different. The hunting on a bladed jig to me is the up and down not side to side.

Step one is to realize that you do not need a 400 dollar rod. Step two is to never try one because the experience may completely change your mind. Stay ignorant and be happy... I dont fish megabass because i cant afford them. I have and fish st croix sc5 rods and i like them a lot. It did not drive me away from the other rods i own but they work well for what i have them for. All of your rods dont need to be high end and you can absolutely crankbait fish with an uglystick and do just as well as anyone else. What i enjoy is some of the finer flavors of life and a nice jig rod makes me happy. The features you compare in rods are total weight, guides, handles, blank material and appearance. Take a look at a high end rod and all of those things will be top end and it makes a difference.

The pheonix x series is good and have short handles like the dobyns if you like that. I have the dobyns 764rm and it only has a 9" handle and I hate that.

5 or 6 ratio is plenty. Most of the reels for heavy baits run that ratio except the newest stuff. I run a luna 253l and it's silk.

S-waiver 168 and 200 to start. 8" trash fish Huddleston gets a lot of love but I have never had a bite. Piz customs shadly or drift. Mattlures gills 9" slammer 2 piece Those are enough to get started at minimal cost most under 100. Three main lines for sb are Berkeley big game, p-line cxx and yhb. I run the 168 on 15 yhb over 2 oz step up to 20.

Never lost a truck but was in a sinking boat. Boater forgot the plug the one time I did not ask. Ask every time now and he just rolls his eyes.

Line is another way to tune your baits. Nylon will help a sinking bait and flourocarbon will help risers. Kinda like like crank baits. If you get slow risers they can be tuned the easiest. Suspension is the goal but sinkers are almost impossible to fix. This is a discovery after hundreds spent. Heavier hooks are easy to find but when they come with lite wire already all you can do is downsize.

What is comfortable is most important. I am right and reel left. I cast right and fight the fish with my right hand. I have a partner that switches hands just to flip. That's strange to me but what ever you want. Left reels are harder to find and the exact same reel in left will cost more. Save money and leave me the lefties

I say this all the time. Mostly at the worst time.

There are diffrent types of baits and spoon bills are great on the pull technique. The only one I have right now is a staysee 90. Look at the lip for action type. Spoon bills work well for deep and slow.

Yes. You are popping the bait. You pop the line and there is always slack. Kvd does a great video on YouTube to explain

Yea that avid x heavy would do well for the frog and even that heavy bait would be no issue. If he has a second rod for the smaller baits it's a win. Trying to get a rod to do a bunch is hard and something always has to give. A megabass power versatile does a bunch but costs a decent ammount and will still not throw spinners.

It's like a contest to see how many knots you can have...funniest the no leader guys who use backing because they don't like knots.

Backing is just putting a layer of mono to get grip before adding braid. I just use blue painters tape and have no issues. I would stick to cheaper line until you get dialed in. The big game, yhb or cxx are all quality and cheap in bulk.

Don't have a ton of experence trawling but slower actions are what I am used to. I used a moderate fast and liked that but each company is so oooo diffrent on how they rate their rods. St croix are more powerful than most and faster than most. I wish everyone posted css numbers for a direct and easy comparison. Only company I know that has is point blank.

I use a 7'4" avid for throwing an swaiver and it's got a lot of power. Rated 1.5 oz but handles 2 great. Don't know that I would trawl with a fast action but it's a great rod. Mine is a custom build so I know the blank well if you like the factory build I would say it is a great choice.

The handle is on the wrong side... The handle is on the wrong side... http://www.tackletour.com/reviewringavsizelight.html