MontclairDave

I’ve had a Quantum Tour S3 for about a year now. The noise doesn’t bug me because I am too busy loving the incredible distance I get on every cast, the smooth drag and the overall fit and finish of the reel. I have a Curado 70 mgl and a Curado DC and I like both but I keep reaching for that Quantum…. And they are very heavily discounted if you know where to find em which makes it a no-brainer for me to buy a few more with my next reel purchase dollars.

Same here. Got it when I was a newbie to baistcasting and within a year I had enough of a trained thumb that I didn’t need the DC control anymore and now prefer my non-DC reels for longer casts. I way overestimated the learning curve but I guess for someone who is nervous about backlashes as a beginner it’s a good place to start. But you still gotta learn to thumb the reel even with a DC reel, particularly in very windy conditions, lighter lures etc. Otherwise you’re gonna backlash for sure.

That made me think of this one: a small popper for back bays in salt. Nice and thick and a huge cupped face for throwing lots of water but only 5” long. Thinking of putting on thinner-wire hooks and trying it on LMB.

Yeah I noticed with the jointed rapala I was getting a lot less distance than most other plugs I usually throw in this particular lake. Thought there was something wrong with my reel or line and then remembered oh yeah, this thing helicopters a bit. I switched to a smoother casting motion to keep the bait more aerodynamic and that helped. I did switch to a MG jerkbait at one point to reach breaking fish beyond where the Rapala couldn’t reach and I did get a few extra fish that way. So there you go—one benefit of some of the newer lures is weight-forward transfer system.

Heading back up to the Adirondacks soon and remember last year I caught a bigun on this beauty (RM Smith Lures, I think what he calls a peanut bunker). It makes a very enticing “v” wake on the surface if fished very slow. Run this thing over grass beds a foot or two below surface and hang on, when they hit it, they hit it hard. Anyone else throw saltwater plugs in lakes and rivers? I’ve got a bunch more and they all are fished at night, mostly all metal-lipped swimmers like this one. Haven’t tried small darters (or daghters for all of you New Englanders) but I bet they slay.

I bought a vintage Devil’s horse on fleabay after seeing Roland Martin tout them on his YouTube channel. Not sure I have the technique down with that one, not too productive for me so far. Gotta put more time in with it.

x2! The Pop Max and PopX have been the reason why all my other poppers, including the Chug Bug, get left in the box. They’ll stay in the rotation but my Chug Bug isn’t gonna be benched any more.

Poking through an old tackle box and came across a bunch of lures with rusted hooks I haven’t used in years, including a Storm Rattlin Chug Bug and a Rapala Jointed Minnow (J11). Used to slay em on these lures, just kinda forgot about em with all the other newer stuff I’ve gotten over the years. Put new Stinger trebles on em and went to my local pond tonight. Mirror calm, no wind and I’m thinking, ooh, perfect conditions for both of those lures. Start with Chug Bug, hits water, one twitch, boom, fish on. Caught 5 more, then the light mostly gone, switched to Rapala, crawl it SLOW so it makes that v-wake that bass love, boom, fish on. Lost count of how many more I caught before the skeeters chased me out of there. Nothing big but boy was it a blast on 10 lb straight braid and a medium spinner. So guys, what do you have lying around that used to slay for you and maybe you’ve left for the new shiny lure, only to realize that newer is not always better? Next trip, it’s time to break out the Hula Poppers and Tiny Torpedos and leave all of my Megabass bling at home!

I’d buy that for a dollar! ?

x2. I was fishing a WP 90 on MHF Kistler Argon on braid with a very small bit of mono leader just to avoid line fouling on front hook and losing way too many fish soon after hooking them. Switched to a Falcon HD medium power/mod fast action casting rod, problem solved. Also use medium spinner if cover is pretty sparse, works like a charm. (But you’re screwed if they take you into any cover.)

I’ve got a Falcon Mansfield spinner and it’s great for small squarebills, WP 90 and other treble hook baits due to its moderate action. Sweet rod.

It was absolute glass. Indeed perfect for subtle topwaters like the MG popper. My buddy was throwing a Whopper Plopper 90 and not getting a single bite. Switched to Super Spook Jr and immediately got bit.

I’ve caught 2 LMB over 5 lbs. out of a local pond near me that I could have sworn only had dinks in them after my first 5 or 6 outings there, when I caught nothing but 1 lbers all day. Ya never know…

On my buddy’s private lake, early morning when the bluegill are sipping bugs on the surface, the biguns are close by. Got this one on a MG Popmax (the smaller one). Jumped 3 times and I dropped the rod tip, kept the line tight and boated her pretty easy peasy. On a medium spinner with 15 lb straight braid. 5.9 lbs on the scale. My 2nd biggest bass.

What are you guys using as trailer for mini-max? I have a RI Little Dipper and not getting a ton of bites. Could have been a few off days… it’s been hot as hades… Baby Goat is one I’ve seen recommended? Others?

All good recommendations. I’ve had a lot of success on the Gambler EZ regular size (I think around 4.75 inches) on a 1/4 ounce 5/0 swimbait hook. You can definitely throw that on any all-around MH baitcaster. The Beast Coast Miyagi Swinmer also has caught me a bunch of biguns. About 5” bait, works good on a 6/0 Owner Beast. Definitely need a wide hook gap on the Miyagi.

Thanks! Since I’ve already got the mgl 70 (love it), as well as a few other Shimanos, gonna itch the curiosity scratch and get the Zillion and give Daiwa a whirl. I also have Youtuber discount code for Omnia…not sure it will work but that would really make this a sweet deal.

Ha, I forgot to apply Physics to the question. Good point!

Looking to get the Daiwa Zillion SV TW and I’m a newbie to JDM. This one seems to be the current model, yes? At 175 grams (6.1 ounces), seems to be lighter than US version. Which I’ve read here is due to aluminum versus brass gearing? A lot cheaper than TW as well. Seems like a good deal? https://www.digitaka.com/item/4/4/2/4550133072581 Kind of torn between this one and a Shimano Curado MGL 150, which would save me about $50. But itching to get my first Daiwa…..

Brilliant! It’s like road bikes, for those who share that other Shimano obsession: you know that dropping 5 lbs of weight off your gut (or wherever) is a hell of a lot cheaper than spending an extra $5k on a high-end carbon frame. And that heavy dive watch doubles as a great punching weight ?

Hmmm… Hazedong (top) and Yum Ned Minnow (bottom) look close enough to try. TW order in! Do you rig it horizontally or vertically?

Not jointed. But very soft and moves very erratically on the fall. Could have been the color and/or length but I don’t think so—the other baits I was using didn’t have quite as much action. I think maybe it’s just what they wanted that day.

I have a Shimano Curado mgl 70 and a DC. Great reels but know what outcasts them both by a considerable margin and is just as smooth? My Quantum Tour S3. Amazing reel for around $170 on sale at TW right now, which I got for $130 when they really cut the price around Xmas. No idea why this reel apparently got discontinued. Almost never backlashes, and when it does it’s definitely user error. I was gonna get the Shimano MGL 150 for my next reel but gonna get a second S3 instead.

Found a Banjo Minnow kit in a box of old fishing gear I hadn’t opened in years. Saw this minnow thing and thought it looked like a nice drop shot bait rigged horizontally. Caught 15 bass in 2 hours on it, after getting no bites on three different drop shot baits (a mix of paddle tails are straight tail worms). So here’s my question: what current soft plastic bait comes closest to this thing? Cause I only have a few more… Thanks!

The smallest size fluke bait, white or green pumpkin, on a 1/0 or 2/0 EWG. Let it fall to bottom like a Senko and if no hit, then work it the usual way you would a soft jerkbait. Killer. Caught a 5 lber along a shoreline dropoff in a golf course pond I was sure only had dinks. Caught another 5 lber, same pond, on an Original chatterbait with a Zako trailer. But Senko by far the most productive bait. Recently hookup ratio improved dramatically with VMC saddle that lets you hook bait cross-wise instead of the hook pointing in same direction as the bait.