Angry John

So both work and both work good. How much is your budget? If it is small the spinning setup would give good results for less money. If you have a good budget for this project then you can find a few setups that will work well. How lite are we talking. The pixy is not near the money it used to be and can be found for less than 200 dollars. If thats above your price range stick to spinning...

My top three are spro, r2s bully wa, and live target frogs in that order...

If you want a midrange rod that will do a lot and would make a good match to the python you may want to check out the mb XX perfect pitch. Toss in a mlxf spinning rod and your done other than swimbaits.

Megabass white python for everything with trebble from cranks to glide baits. The power versatile works the same if the handle would work for you.

Even mass produced wood baits are expensive. One i would like to have

Agree with tom 100% if you dont have to use flouro then i would give it up sooner than later. Some people deal with zebra or other problem and decide its worth the pain. If your not in that situation then flouro is just a pain... Jerkbaits is just about the only reason i use it now a days because of suspending...

There are a lot of tat fans but the twing is nothing I am in rested in. Test the waters for sure it's only fair. Use a non twing daiwa before making a final judgement. A very cheap amazing daiwa is the advantage htsa or htsl.

The line is the number one issue. If you are willing to make a switch that would be what I change. Seaguar blue label is very good. Run a test and see if the issue continues. I also like the Alberto knot but I believe the line is your biggest problem.

If your using the same line of rods then you know what you need. My st croix mh rods are powerful and my avid heavy is very powerful. Two heavy rods during the summer for me is nice. One for frogs and one for punching. What tupe of fishing you do will have a lot to do with if an additional heavy will add a good benifit to your lineup.

While watching the same video and I hold the deepest regard for Matt but you do know he is very brand loyal. Shimano and dobyns is just how he rolls. He even said that in the same video. Lots of good products out and people will tell you what they like. If you have liked his recommend equipment before you will again. For me the dobyns rods are slow. My 743 dx is more of a medium fast than a true fast imo. He always uses braid and if you do also the system works well. I disliked the rod before braid and now it's ok. I have a st Croix bias so there tapers are my standard.

Carbon handles for the win

4.8 is my favorite but the trash fish gets an honorable mention. I also like the shad impact when they are looking for small bait fish. The bass assassin baits that clone these baits are also good but seem to get bit a little less. If your killing it and baits are working well i try the switch as they seem to last a little longer.

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Reins_C-Pod_Creature_Bait_6pk/descpage-RCOPEZ.html Anyone try these. At over a dollar a bait there not cheap but they look the part. Might make a good clear water bait???

My custom has some very nice cork work but the rest is supposed to be very plain. Custom builders are like any other group of artists and have a thing they like doing. My builder likes tiger wraps and so do i so it works out well...

If you still have the old one just order a small kit of procote epoxy and glue it back on. I always have some of this around to fix things on rods. The last repair was putting a reel seat back together on a fenwick. Its cheap and you will spend more time and effort on most rod repairs than just fixing it yourself. http://www.mudhole.com/ProBond-Paste-Epoxy

I would if buying for myself do a 12 or 15 up front and a 9 or 10 at the console. Your distance to the screen up front is the only reason to go bigger up front. That's the finder your fishing with. Going all out sounds fun but I would try one and see if you like it before going all out.

I have both and they both work. If your looking at the bait the mb is way more detailed and has wayyyyy nicer paint. Do the fish care most likely not.

That's the cheap one the mother is over 400. You should look at the video I posted on swimbaits. Hand crafted baits are very labor intensive. Deps sells there plastic 250 for a lot of money and it takes no craftsmanship.

Fenwick river is decent. St croix also has a trout series worth a look.

Most of theses guys do it for the love of fishing and the big buisness guys try to charge the same ammount. The labor and time invested in a shadly hinkle matt lures hard gill are way more than a Deps. Not saying they don work well but the time invested is not even the same game.

The bait monkey got me but i could not be happier. The hud shads were finally in stock for like 10 minuets and i grabbed 6. They seem to run out very fast and i was happy to finally get some!!!!!

They are supper cheap unless your talking large Huddlestons and it your getting bit off its not a huge loss. I feel that 4.8 with hook is around 2 dollars and can be a great start. Your right they are soft but the cost of a loss is no worse than any other lure, and maybe a lot less... I guess everyones ideal of reasonable for a loss is different but if its zero then fishing might not be the right gig... Is the devil in the details or are we looking at being realistic... No conflict desired...

You lost me TOM dont know where anyone was talking soft a lot of hard baits mentioned though...

Wish we had a way to create a poll for the top 3 starter baits. Cost is not always a direct factor as some would have you believe but there are more expensive baits that are amazing... Value is very hard to determine as a 50 spro rat is large but costs a lot less than the same size slammer. Both are very well rated in SB communities...

See a lot of rods with a 1-4 or 5 range. Will fish a lot of the baits i am willing to toss. Have no major plans on using this as a work out plan. Some of the glides like the shadly and the hinkle shad are 5 ish so that may be a stretch. The good news is the largest baits are not cheap at all so for my purpose i dont care...