MontclairDave

Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth Bass spinner. Amazing rod, discontinued, a constant EBay search item for me since mine broke in a car door years ago.

Actually moved to West Orange a few years ago but same general area. Good to hear the Bucoo actions are similar; looking for a frog rod and I don’t want to spend a ton; maybe something that would double for flipping into heavy cover. Haven’t tried the Expert for heavy flipping yet but it is one sweet jig rod (swimming, pitching, etc).

I’ve got the Head Turner in the Expert line, which is twice your budget. But same model I believe is available in Bucoo line for around $100? If the action is at all similar, you will love the rod: soft enough tip to really sling baits but a stout backbone to haul em out of cover. I just landed a 5-lber with the rod that would have owned me with my Falcon Medium HD rod (amazing budget rod by the way at $75 or so; could also be your dock skipper for lighter baits—maxes out at around 3/4 ounce but excels between 1/4-1/2)

Can we not call the OP a review please? First impression maybe, but c’mon.

I’ve got the Falcon Expert Head Turner. Rated as a Heavy but lure range tops out at 3/4 and it feels more like a MH to me. Nice tip with enough flex to really sling 3/8 ounce jigs. Love love love the rod. But I agree with other poster that the Finesse Jig Expert rod may be your best bet for the lower end of the range of lures you want to throw on it. I have no experience with the Low Rider so can’t say how much of an upgrade in sensitivity etc you’d get with the Expert line.

This is a perfect rod for fishing senkos, jigs, tubes and skipping docks. Duplicates action of another Senko rod I have, hence sale. Mint condition, fished maybe 5 times. Length:7’1″ Lure weight: 3/16-7/16 Line weight: 8-16 Power: Med/Med. Heavy Action: Fast $125 shipped. PayPal preferred.

Yup, saw that, thanks!

This still for sale?

Just got this old thing off fleabay after hearing Roland Martin talk about it as a precursor to his beloved Devil’s Horse. Piqued my interest so I grabbed one for a good price. The lure is decades old, and though NOS, trebles feel kinda dull out of the package. So I’m gonna replace em. But they look huge for a lure this size (about 3.5”). Not sure but at least 1/0 if not 2/0? Any suggestions for size and type of treble replacement? I’m thinking light wire hooks cause they feel kinda light and if I am goingeven close to the size of the OG hooks, I don’t want to sink the lure with too heavy a hook. suggestions?

Would you say the 705c has a similarly impressive soft tip/stout backbone? I always wonder how much (if any) of a longer rod’s characteristics translate to shorter versions of same rod (an important question for us kayakers who prefer shorter rods).

Nice grab! I’ve been looking for both casting and spinner. Enjoy it! Just bought a Falcon Head Turner so that’s probably it for my rod budget this season. Can’t wait to try this one out on the water.

Lure comes in both versions. I’ve read that silent better for pressured fish. Any experience with both versions? If you were gonna start out with one, which one? I fish some pressured waters, others not so much. Leaning towards silent since most of my walking baits (Shower blows etc) do have rattles. Thanks!

Where??? I have been looking for that rod for years. It’s been like a holy grail for me. I guess I suck at looking but fleabay definitely doesn’t have it. My last one broke about 5 years ago. Best spinner I ever owned.

Me too! Just gave my son my 6’ St. Croix Premier so this will be a good replacement. Obviously not gonna be quite as sensitive but for throwing Senkos under overhangs from my Yak, bank fishing it right spots it should do a fine job. $60 with taxes and shipping. Pretty good deal!

Any good medium spinner will handle jerkbaits fine, and for me at least, cast a lot father than baitcasters. But I do sometimes throw them on my Falcon HD Medium 6’ 8” casting rod, and the softer tip of this amazing budget rod is geat for keeping them pinned. With my Curado 70, a very light and fun setup for MG 110s, Jackall Reranges; etc.

Yup, I was about to pull the trigger on the 150 mgl but during the TW holiday sale saw a Quantum Tour S3 for about $130 so couldn’t resist. Haven’t fished it yet but my first non-Shimano reel, so am interested to see how I like it. Feels pretty good in hand out of the box.

I’ve got the 70 and it is one sweet reel. Great for pitching in close—that mgl reel manages line so well; comes off fast with no backlashes. And it handles a pretty good range of lure weights. I do find I am casting down to the backing with heavier lures on longer casts but that’s not necessarily a bad thing—just shows you can really bomb-cast with this reel. I do think you need to look at the 150 though. Bigger line capacity, lighter, cheaper, and I think a bigger drag? Lots of YouTube vids comparing them. My next reel definitely will be the 150 mgl.

Which Hammer 7’ model? I see three on their site: JAK, Elite and Baitcaster.

Yeah I’ve had my eye on the MB PP but nervous about the extra length. The recent $50 price hike doesn’t help either. If I can find a good deal on a used one maybe worth a shot.

Anyone have this rod and can comment on how it does in various cover (open water, light, and moderate/heavy), and also what other baits you throw on it? I’m not looking for a specialized frog rod; rather, one that can handle medium to regular-sized frogs and also other moving baits—mostly swim jigs, T rigged plastics, etc. Looking for 7’ max (my preferred length out of kayak). Thanks! https://cashionrods.com/product/john-crews-icon-frog/

What lure range do you throw on the yak rod? What type of lures do you like throwing it on? Always looking for rods that have soft tips for good castability but also have enough backbone not to get overpowered by a bigger fish and/or a bit of cover.

Quantum Tour S3 on sale at TW Xmas sale for about $130. Plus a $100 GC at Discount Tackle turned into my first little foray into swimbaits (R2S S-wavers, Magdraft freestyle); my first MG Vision 110 after slaying fish all fall and winter on the 110 Jr.; a TON of new Ned rig baits and hooks; and some FC line. But now I need a swimbait rod!!

Caught my PB on a swim jig with a River2sea D Walker 100. So for me it’s a confidence bait, have caught a ton of fish on it since then. Have the Gambler in my bag and looking forward to trying it in the spring. Easy to get overwhelmed with all the trailer choices out there.

Same here. Started with baitcasting last year and I am a righty and used to casting a spinning rod with right hand and cranking with my left. Just seemed logical to keep that consistent by getting a left-handed baistcasting reel and it’s worked out fine. That whole cast-and-switch hands thing makes no sense to me, but to each his own. I tried my buddy’s right-handed BC setup just for SAGs and I nearly threw it back at him. Felt like I had never casted a rod before. But then again, more than a few well-known Youtubers (Debo, et al) use both left- and right-handed reels, no problem. So who knows?

I’m 61 and was a life-long spinner until I got a Shimano SLX DC as my first bait caster. The DC definitely helped shorten the learning curve—maybe not 20 minutes, but no more than a few hours and I was casting without any backlashes or fluff. So I would recommend it without hesitation. BUT just know you’re spending $50 extra for that DC tech. If I had to do it over again, for my first reel, I would get the Shimano Curado MGL. I got the 70 last year as my second reel and have yet to backlash it; just a bit of fluff now and then when I dial it down to 1 and try to get max distance. Amazing reel, very easy to dial in and IMHO a way better feeling reel than the SLX DC. Plus it handles lighter baits much much better than the DC. After all of that, though, I’d suggest the MGL 150–handles light baits just as well as the 70 but packs way more line on the reel and is around $30 less than the 70 at $199. The MGL 150 would have been my 3rd reel if not for the Quantum Tour S3 I just got on sale at TW for around $130. Time will tell if it’s a good deal ($70 off) but it’s gotten some rave reviews online.