FishTank

I hope they keep them separate. I used to like bass pro shops branded gear but lately not so much. Cabela's is Ok as well but the stores seem to have a different feel. The Cabelas by me is nice, they have knowledgable staff and plenty of people in the fishing department to help (usually four or more). The last time I went to a Bass Pro shop they had two people working on a busy Saturday and one of them tried to sell me a vacation package and the other acted like he was scared of water (maybe is own shadow).

Caught a couple of 5-6lb channel cats yesterday on a senko. It seems when they are hungry they will hit on just about anything.

I have the old zillion and it has worked great. I have cast the new one and I think it has a better breaking system. My old zillion is kind of unpredictable when it comes to breaking. It also seemed that the longer I fished it (getting the reel wet) the less effective the braking was. With that said, it is a work horse. It has never failed to produce fish for me.

I picked up a spool of Sunline Super Natural Mono today. Has anybody tried this stuff out. It will probably be a week before I am able to test it out and wanted to see what I can expect.

Tatsu would be my choice. It has been great for me. I would say if it has one down side, it has a lot of stretch but strangely, it seems to improve hook sets when fishing soft plastic.

Daiwa Zillion G Loomis IMX 7' Heavy Medium Fast 12lb or 15lb Invizx

I have couple of the old Curados and love them. They take a beating and keep going. Not sure about the Okuma though. I have fished the Helios Air and it was great. But after a few times of using it, it started to make a clicking noise and was not smooth. I have heard that this was case with a few of the new Okuma reels. I did take this one apart and there was no grease on the main gear. A little bit of grease and a few drops of oil and it was super smooth and fantastic to fish. My mind says Curado even though the Helios Air was quite awesome.

I would say the rod. Rod sensitivity is subjective but can get expensive. I think the enjoyment for me, is the contact with the fish that the rod communicates back to me. Also, if the reel cast the line out and brings in the fish, I'm good. My opinion might change if I was putting a cranking setup together.

Stopped by Dicks today and they had their clearance buy 5 get 5 free. I picked up 10 packs of senkos for $35.

Most of the big box stores have gone down hill. It's kind of disappointing. Most of the gear is over priced and not on the higher end of things. Most of the selections have been of their own brands. I am not sure what is going on with this trend but I miss the way it used to be.

Chompers Lizards. The garlic smell alone makes kind of unwanted.

I like 17lb or 20lb Trilene Fluorocarbon for swim baits that size. I use a 7' heavy G Loomis IMX with a Shimano Calcutta.

Black with blue flake but any dark color does the trick. I have fished tons of these things and it seems patience and presentation is more important than color.

I have a Shimano Crucial (old version with non cork handles). It has been the best I have used so far. I have tried/owned St. Croix Avid, G. Loomis GLX Crankbait, the older G Loomis Crankbait series, and a Powell CB. The Crucial has been the best for my style of crank bait fishing. It's not too dead feeling and not too sensitive.

The Fenwick Elite Tech Rods. I have abused the two I have and they have been great.

Love to fish and workout. I took 3 years away from working out and I am just getting back into it. It's been tough though. I am struggling with what use to be warm up weight. I pray that muscle memory will save me. I have done the 5x5 method but my personal favorite is the 5% method. Worked great when I was into powerlifting.

Yap but based on the equipment and $1200 rain suit, looks like he can afford it.

G. Loomis 803c with a Shimano Chronarch 51e with 12lb Invisix.

My wife teaches and loves it but a friend of mine that teaches in Egypt has one of the coolest DYI rooms I have ever seen.

I have a Jansport that I have had for 10 years. It is beat up but works great. It holds 4 double sided boxes and pretty much anything else. I have been eying a new from Marmot. It seems it was set up with a fisherman in mind.

7.x would be my choice.

8lb Invisix or 6lb Trilene XL 100% FC

8lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid would be my guess.....

7' MH X-fast for worms and jigs 6'6'' MH Fast for jerkbaits 7'+ MH Mod Fast for Crankbaits 7' H Fast for general purpose heavy applications 7'+ M Fast (spinning gear) for finesse applications But,IMHO, I would rather have one good quality setup rather than 5 setups that are just going to get me by. If it is properly taken care of, the following year I would buy another and slowly build on that. Also, again IMHO, you can fish with just one set up.