Evan K

Brush jigs are pretty much all I use. If I fished a lot of rocks I'd do football jigs but I don't.

Same here- they're always in the cab with me en route. Sorry about the loss, @zachb34! That's terrible.

Good for you! Please report back, I'm pretty confident you'll be just as tickled as I was with my first MBs. Happy fishing!

This is speaking purely for me, and I will say too that I admire your responses to the hard truths the other guys have been giving@JoeLo_Bassfishing, but for me anything I have to do in order to live loses a lot of appeal; i.e., I like my hobbies because I'm not constrained to any of them. Therefore I know tournament fishing is not for me (plus I'm not that great and have a lot to learn!) But best wishes with whatever path you take.

6.x. I find it really hard to fish things like swimjigs, spinnerbaits, etc. with a fast reel.

Almost the same here. Planning on spooling mine with 20 lb. Tatsu and throwing 1/4 to 5/8 jigs and t rigs with it. Had been using 17 lb Invizx for these applications and found that 20 lb Tatsu has the same line diameter.

My favorite walking topwater and popper are the same lure: the Megabass Pop Max. It's an amazing bait.

I have experience with the Tatula and it's a great reel. I am about to get some experience with the Curado, it feels like a good one as well. If you want to save a few bucks and get one just as good as the Tat check out the Lews Tournament MB. Any Lews reel I've used has been absolutely terrific, no complaints at all about them.

I like trying new rods, I know I can resell them if I don't like them, for at least a decent percentage of what I paid. I do have one company that I know I can fall back on if I don't feel like exploring, but we're not allowed to talk about it here, apparently.

Nice setup! I'm pretty pleased to see it looks good because I just purchased the components to an identical setup, got a Curado 200HG a few weeks ago and a MHF AvidX is in the mail right now. What are you using yours for? Regarding DSG... There's only one in striking distance from me and it super sucks. I read about all the insane deals people here get at DSG and it may as well be another planet.

I don't drink, but I may have to now just to do this. It's awesome.

6 lb. P-Line Fluoroclear copoly. Works just fine but probably going to replace that with braid+fluoro leader next winter for the extra sensitivity.

My word. Hope things get better for you. Hang in there!

Tatula Type R Curado 200HG Lews Tournament MB I love these three reels, and they're great bang for the buck. As far as where to get them, ebay is a great choice, and I always send an email to these folks before I buy tackle anywhere else: http://shop.anglersheadquarters.com/ They are the friendliest people on earth and have given me countless great deals on tackle. I'm not sponsored or affiliated in any way at all! I just have been really impressed with their prices and service.

I really dislike the whole sponsor idea myself as well. I get tired of advertising and paid opinions. But I recognize also that a guy has to make a living, and it's kind of a necessary evil. As far as how distasteful the advertising they do is it entirely depends on the person. People who do good at this: 1Rod1ReelFishing, LakeForkGuy, and Jon B. People who do bad at this: Noah Pescitelli (he is the worst by a long, long shot) and Flukemaster. Not to be a downer but kicking their bass TV is just awful. "Here's an unboxing of 50 reels my sponsor sent me". The definition of boring.

Siebert jigs are the best. The paint and skirts are super durable and they're not expensive. Built on a quality hook. I know it's mostly psychological, but tying on a jig I knew looked great and was super well built was a huge confidence booster for me when I was starting out learning jigs (and I still am).

That hurts to look at.

Thanks for that insight, that's exactly what I'm looking for. Valuable information!

Having sold my old rod I used for jigs (didn't like it very much, just never felt right), I'm in the market for a new rod. This will be used for jigs and Texas rigs. As a secondary use I may use it for spinnerbaits/chatterbaits but I am perfectly willing to get a second rod for those. Jigs and Texas rigs are the thing here, so sensitivity and balance are important. At this point I'm torn between a couple models. St. Croix Legend Tournament 7'1" Jigs & Baits Dobyns Champion 734 Kistler KLX 7'3 MH or H St. Croix Avid or Avid X 7' MH F So far from what I can tell, it seems as though pros and cons are as follows: LTB: Pros: Very sensitive, excellent warranty Cons: Very tip heavy, balance isn't the greatest Champion: Pros: Excellent balance, great construction, decent warranty Cons: Not quite as sensitive as the LTB KLX: Pros: Sensitive, great blank Cons: Mid-tier rod, performance not quite on par with LTB or Champion. Avid: Pros: Less expensive, decent warranty, good value Cons: Not as sensitive, performance not on par with LTB or Champion. I'm looking for some guidance from folks who've used these rods. It's the biggest single rod purchase I've made yet and I don't want to wind up with something I don't like! I know this and similar questions have been asked in the past. I'd just like some fresh info and opinions from people familiar with the rods. The reel I'll be pairing with the rod will be a Shimano Curado 200HG, 7.2:1 gear ratio. I'll likely use 17 lb. fluorocarbon for the line. Thanks!

Best to keep it simple and black and white: either ignore them, and if you absolutely can't ignore them, call the police.

I'm using a small 12v 7ah battery. It's in the same box as the trolling motor battery but is separate. Switchfire clear is enabled. I'm using a small 12v 7ah battery. It's in the same box as the trolling motor battery but is separate. Switchfire clear is enabled.

I'm hoping some folks with more experience setting these up and using them can weigh in here. I just took mine out for the first time this evening after correcting a battery issue. I don't know if the things I'm experiencing are because I have the transducer mounted incorrectly or something like that or if I just need to adjust the settings, or what. This is on a 1236 jon boat, with a 55 lb thrust trolling motor transom mounted about 16" away. I was on a pond that averaged probably 6-7 feet deep, anywhere from 3' to 10'. I tried using side scan and saw nothing, just basically heavy light color that grew darker gradually toward the outer edges. No depth differences or such were showing, much less structure (I went past a dock and several brush piles but didn't see anything noteworthy). The down imaging seemed to be a bit funky too. First there was always a thick solid line across the top, no matter if I turned down the surface clutter to 0. Occasionally the depth would suddenly change by a couple feet, go from 5 to 8 or 9 feet, but no change on the graph image (and I know the actual depth didn't change). Then sometimes it'd suddenly go from a fairly normal looking image with perhaps 2 feet deep of bottom showing to 10 or 12 feet of bottom. The pond is pretty consistently muddy bottomed, so I'm not sure why this was happening. The traditional sonar screen showed many of the same problems. I have the transducer mounted exactly as Humminbird recommends; at the stern, parallel to the bottom of the boat, projecting perhaps 1/8" or so below the stern. I should also note that the images aren't choppy or anything, there isn't any air bubbles or such messing it up. I do know that when the motor runs the surface clutter increases a lot and I can see the shaft blocking a stripe on the left side of the side imaging. Any suggestions? This is my first experience with a boat and sonar and I'm not sure what I should try. Thanks.

I use brush jigs in various sizes for 98% of all jigs I fish.

Yeah, but used at a rate of one senko per minute that would only last about three 10 hour days of fishing!

We seem to be in the middle of a Tatsu festival on BR, lol. It's amazingly good line. I'll probably take advantage of the rebate to grab a couple spools of 17 lb. for my jig rod (using Invizx right now, and while it's great line, it doesn't measure up to Tatsu at all for manageability). I'd say if you use backing you can easily justify the cost of using it over other fluorocarbons.