Kidflex

Lft hyperworm- blue fleck, my favorite and I have the most confidence in it. Smaller size for finicky fish and the standard size the rest of the time.

Chronarch E series. Palms very well and the metal flake on the rod matches the metal flake on the reel perfectly.

Birdnest is a backlash or overrun. All the same. Doesn’t matter if it happens at the beginnng, middle or the end of the cast. Results are the same. Tighten your spool tension &/or adjust your brakes/magnets and try casting softer until you get better. Sounds like mechanical/operator error moreso than line twist issues

Tatsu is the best. Sniper is also good but I do like the p line tactical fluoro as a very close second, prol first if you factor price. Has less memory than tatsu. All my non braid setups have 15&20 lb tatsu and pline tactical. Tacklewarehouse has buy one get one free on the tactical.

You talking backlashes or are they windknots commonly seen with spinning gear? Are you using a leader? If so the knot might be hitting the guides(esp micro) and causing wind knots. Line twist with braid on a baitcaster usually isn’t a big issue.

No receipt needed, use the warranty and not the expeditor program. Never use the expeditor program unless you just need a replacement in a couple days. You will never be questioned about the damaged rod. You’ll only have to pay out of pocket for shipping.

Here’s a cheap alternative. Eco pro tungsten swing shad. Same action and just as effective as the keitech but half the price.

Their customer service sucks for sure. Good blanks but crap components.

This is the model before they discontinued the line and became the imx pro series. It is a great stick and one of the best jig rods out there. The best being the original imx 844 with weibe reel seat. IMO No need to use the expeditor program unless you need the rod in 2 days. Send it in use the regular warranty and you will receive a new rod no questions asked. I’ve done this many times with gloomis and shimano and have never been questioned on breakage, just a new rod delivered to my door.

Try a fenwick Hmg 7’ med hvy. It has serious backbone and reasonable price. Pair it up with a daiwa exceler reel for pretty cheap and use 20-30lb braid and you’ll be set.

It holds 1 giant I know of! My buddy caught this beauty in his kayak 2 summers ago and released her. No official weight but definitely over 10lbs. Here the fish and the release

Pirates cove was on fire Saturday, my buddy got a nice one 8.2 on the scales. High numbers. All on the edge of grass. today was a different story. It was cold and windy. So I decided to go to 944 to get out of the wind. I launched and immediately started pitching a dbomb. 3rd pitch and I pull this nice one out. my buddy catches one right after me and we though the bass finally moved into the bushes but that would be the last bite in the buckbrush. Had to work hard for few bites. Still better than staying home.

Late report. Fished Toledo this past thursday, fri and Saturday with some decent catches. Fished pirates cove Thursday with only a handful of small bass shallow, hit housen Friday and caught a nice 5lber on a rattle trap, ended that day with about 9 fish. That same day my buddies bro-in-law was in pirates and was in the right spot at the right time catching 26 fish in a 2 hour window (3-5pm) including a 4lber, 6lber & 8.75. That fish went past the end of the golden rule so he took it to army rec to weigh it since he had no scale. 8.75. we decided to hit pirates on Saturday and was a tough bite for us. Only a few fish but my buddy managed to get a 6.4lber on a Texas rigged bottom hopper in 2ft if water.

Late report, fished Rayburn Sunday after fishing Toledo Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Rayburn was good to us. Took some buddies that have never been to this lake before and they were pleased by the end of the day. 2 boats, 40 fish total. We launched out of sandy creek. And within 5 min started wearing them out. I got a 6.6 lber and 5.5 30 min apart from the same area. My buddy got an 8lber at the end of the day.

Quantum pt reels are great. Exo’s are my favorite. Tour mg is awesome too. They are my go to reels. Among many steez, chronarch, 13 ***&kp, Lews bb1 pros. Sv reels past and present. Exos out performs them all for me. Ymmv

I have 2 steez xt rods and a regular steez rod. I’m comparing them to tatula, zillion 1st gen, light and tough series, and team diawa S series rods.

It’ll scratch the reel foot. It’s not as bad as some other DAIWA reel seats though. Just put a piece of tape on reel foot.

Excellent rods. I have the (2) 7’1”med/hvy xt and the 7’4” hvy in original steez. Same blanks just cheaper guides on the xt series.

You can get an edge first strike for $225 direct from the factory. Spend an extra 50 on your max and get a black widow($350). These rods are hard to beat in the sensitivity department.

Lol. That’s my second bundle of the same products. The first batch are in Plano boxes. These are extras

Here’s a few shaky heads, pivot heads and jig rigs I picked up

For me it depends on the size of braid I’m using. 30lb I’ll cut line off and retie as soon as I see fraying. With 50lb I’ll let it slide a little longer. Don’t be lazy about having to retie, you’ll regret it when you lose that nice fish.

Nothing. Just fish it. A lot of rods have a slight bend in them.

DAIWA steez rods have the same handle shape as their older rods but made of foam instead of cork. The xt model will be a little cheaper. The black widow rods has the old weibe style seat but they won't recess the round reel as well as the DAIWA.

Hook sets are free! I used to question fish or cover and sometimes have half ass hook sets which resulted in lost fish due to poor hook penetration. Now i swing for the fences. Some of my best hook sets have been in logs. Sometimes the lures comes flying back at me. But when I do hook a fish it's sticks.