fishwizzard

Has it been confirmed if the Victory rods are a replacement for the Avid line?

Fortunately I rarely encounter bass that big, so it not much of an issue.

For me, an XF rod is ideal, but I found that if you use a split ring/small snap, you can walk almost any lure with almost any rod once you get the basic mechanics down.

Hah, I have the same fear, so the very rare cases where I use a swivel, I stick one of these above it to protect the tip top.

The Avid 6’3” M/XF casting rod is the best walking/popping/twitching rod I have found, it’s got the perfect tip for it and the power strikes a good balance between “light enough for trebles” and “powerful enough for t-rigged flukes”.

A weightless fluke. I love fishing them butI think I unconsciously avoid them now so I don’t confront the awful truth which os that I could probably catch 75% of the bass I do with just a weightless Zoom Super, rendering most of my tackle hoard pretty superfluous.

I mostly use them as jig trailers, so it's not even like I go through them quickly, but they were unique enough that I panicked when I thought I couldn't get any more.

Hah, did the same thing when I got it into my head SK was going to discontinue the Shellcracker plastics, I bought a pile of them. PM me if you wanna swap some Aechelons for some Shellcrackers!

They work well, but can't help me with the part of the FG that I cannot master, the finish. I do think $45 seems very steep and feel like I paid a lot less for mine. Check around on eBay, the Daiichi stuff in general often be found there for cheaper then most tackle shops.

It's a cop-out, but I have no strong preference about pickles in that situation. IMHO the bread is the biggest risk in ordering a Cubano from a new spot, so once that fear has been assuaged, I am not going to quibble over a pickle.

I am waiting for trained cormorants to become the next big thing, way cooler than fussing around with some string tied to a stick.

I will respectfully disagree with this, or at least it's universal applicability. In shallower water, there will be enough slack in the line from the cast to allow the lure to fall without having to pull line, esp if you raise the rod tip just before you stop the lure. When making longer casts, the line will be laying on the water for most of the sink time, which will provide resistance to a free fall, degating some of the advantage of a spinning reel with the bail open. I think things will also depend on how an individual keeps their tension knobs set and what kind of line they are using. In regards to tension, I keep mine backed off to the point of being able to "click" it with side-to-side force, so it's not offering any real resistance to even a light lure pulling line. I also use straight fluoro for anything where I am expecting slack-line bites, so it's generally not effortlessly falling off of a spinning reel.

I don't entirely disagree, but having more specific terms makes the topic as a whole easier to talk about. Like if this was a sandwich-enthusiasts forum, it would be helpful to just be able to say "club sandwich" and not have to explain the entire thing every time.

I do a lot of my finesse fishing with casting tackle, for me the main advantages are: 1) Casting accuracy, the line release movement for a casting reel is a lot easier to make repeatable then for a spinning reel. In addition it is a lot easier to slow/stop a lure with a casting reel. 2) Increased line options. I can use 10lb fluoro on a small casting reel where I would have to move up to a larger spinning reel to get the same performance with line that thick. Line twist is also far less annoying on a casting reel.

I have that model, it’s an exceptional rod, an absolute joy to fish. Extremely sensitive and feels both light and balanced in hand. It’s hard to talk about it’s power/taper without comparing it to other rods, but it’s close to the Loomis 3 power Mag Bass rods, so very much a “lighter Medium Heavy”. Practically, the tip will easily load and cast a weightless Trickworm at 1/4oz, but only slightly load when pitching it. I tried a 1oz glide bait on it, but was using a very soft lob cast. It fished it well and I even managed a pair of small bass with it. The heaviest thing I really throw on it is a 1/4oz jig w/ trailer, so like a 1/2 to 3/4oz total weight. It’s a lot better feeling with the 1/2 ones and I think it’s sweet spot is in the 3/8-1/2oz range. I mostly use it as a lighter jig/worm rod, but I have thrown a little bit of everything on it and it’s been at least “pretty good” with everything.

I would agree, I love the Pixies as well but they are much more of a “ML spinning replacement” then something you would throw smaller trout lures on. The DIY spools lower the sweet spot closer to 1/8oz, but they are not ideal for real UL stuff.

With Skinny Dippers specifically I’ve never felt like the tails being bent really hurts them, they have such a quick, frenzied movement that a little deformation isn’t going to make them look any more “unnatural” then they do when they’re performing as designed.

I use the Jackall Gavacho the most as I do most of my frogging in open water or lighter pads. It’s super easy to pop/walk and are surprisingly durable for how soft they feel. For heavier cover and general dragging I use the Bully Wa 65, it’s really heavy and the hooks can take a lot of force. Paddletail frogs, I bounce between the Sprinker and the Toad Runner, the former for open water and the latter for use in cover.

I’ve walked a mile back to my car to get my glasses before and I would do it again. Once you get used to them there is no going back.

I always use them, both for protection and increased visibility during transport.

I absolutely feel like touching the exposed blank with my fingertip transmits more vibration than holding the grip with my hands only touching the cork/EVA, to the point where I will not even look at a spinning rod that I can’t grip “finger forward”. With the overwhelming majority of casting rods on the market featuring reel seats that allow blank contact, it would be interesting hear the rationale why they went with a different design for this line, esp when the rest of their lineup has blank-through seats. The only reason I actually care is that I have an Avid casting rod (6’3” M/XF) that I am absolutely crazy about and as this new line seems to fill the same price niche as the Avid, I’m wondering if I need to hunt down a spare or two.

That’s a ridiculous argument, if vibrations are not transmitted better through contact with the blank then why does most every other casting rod, including the rest of Saint Croix’s lines, have a seat that exposes it? As for spinning rods, most of the better ones are designed to allow you to hold them in a way that allows one to touch the blank with an index finger. Choosing to use a minimalist reel seat and then filling the middle of it with cork is absolutely “non standard” and it’s worth pointing out, just because Saint Croix is suddenly a sponsor isn’t a valid reason to question an unusual design decision.

Yea, transmitted vibration is way overrated.

I thought the "point" of the Heliums was GLX-level performance at a much lower price point?

It would be better for the Bay if maybe they would wise up a little.