Junk Fisherman

I'm not surprised. I know they doubled the cost of a table and it seemed like it was thrown together late in the game. Hopefully, the get a better vendor turnout next year. I didn't go for the simple reason that when I messaged the show asking about a vendor list, they said it would be published in Midwest Outdoors. It never was. When a show isn't prominently stating who will be there, it says a lot about the quality of the show. Plus, the seminar lineup was not impressive and I believe they were asking my bass club if anyone wanted to present. I live right down the street from the Convention Center and I think I made the right decision in not going.

I'll definitely have to check that out in the future. Thanks.

Wish they made this rod in 7'4"-7'6" length. 100% The 843 GLX is a spectacular stick and is my #1 largemouth rod. It is extremely versatile but I use it for pitching plastics, light jigs, Sleepers, Senkos, and more...

They've been my #1 finesse pitching plastic for years. I pretty much always have a Baby Brush Hog or a Super Hog tied on when I am largemouth fishing. A blue fleck Baby Brush Hog with a T-rigged 2/0 EWG hook with a 3/16th oz sinker has put a lot of fish in the boat for me over the years.

Smallmouth Crush is great. Travis asks his guests the exact questions I have.

I have all Daiwa reels except 1 Curado 70 mgl. I am of the belief that all the high-end reels are going to provide solid performance and the slight performance difference between them is not worth chasing. I stick to Daiwa since that is what I'm comfortable with and they have been very reliable over the years providing great performance. I will say that I am not a fan of the T-wing for my braid/fluoro knot which is why I went to a Curado on my last reel since I knew I would only be using braid with the reel. I still use primarily straight fluoro or mono on baitcasters but if that ever changed to more braid/fluoro setups, I would have to consider different reels or a different leader knot.

Wow!!

Anyone have a review on these? Colors look a lot better than Sleepers. Wondering about the hook and your hookup percentage. Thanks in advance.

I was listening to a former goalie who stressed how NHL trainers promoted the cold tub for this very reason. Keeping the inflammation down reduces soft tissue injuries especially the groin and core injuries that goalies are prone to.

I've tried a few of the ballhead jigs with small swimbaits. I don't like the Gammy ones since the bait keeper ridges tear the plastic more than I'd like. I prefer the Owner jigs or better yet the Keitech tungsten jigs. I prefer no keeper or a very small one since I superglue the swimbait to the head. 3/16 oz is the weight I use the most.

For me the question really is what rod only gets used for 1 purpose. Most of me rods get used for primarily 1 technique but almost every one will get used for something else over the course of the year. But to answer your question: Spinning: 761 Steez: I have two of these and a Ned and a Neko are their primary uses but I will use them for hair jigs, tubes, wacky rigs, blade baits, dropshots, ect. The rod has a crazy lure weight range of 1/16 to 3/4 oz so I can really use them for anything I throw on spinning. 742 Champion: I mostly use this rod for 4" swimbaits but I will use it for spybaits, tubes, and most other spinning applications other than my ultra finesse applications. Casting: 844 GLX- Jigs, C-Rigs, pitching in heavier cover 703 Champion- light pitching, Senkos, worming, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits- this is a very versatile rod. 704 Champion CB- mostly jerkbaits but I'll also use it for lighter topwater, squarebills, and mid-diving crankbaits 7' St Croix Tournament Bass MH Spinnerbait Sweeper- chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, swimjigs, buzzbaits, walking topwater 7'11 St Croix Tournament Bass H- A-rigs and punching

lol- I wish all the guys that fished my water followed Randy's advice. On a calm day the water is often so clear you can see the bottom at 20'-25'.

I've tried a bunch of fluorocarbon lines for my finesse fishing leaders and Gamma Edge in 6 lb is the best I have found so far. It has the diameter of 8 lb line. I fish around a lot of busted up rock, concrete, steel breakwalls with zebra mussels and the Gamma holds up well. I still have to retie a lot and break off often but that is due to the water I fish. I lose probably 3x as much stuff fishing around the breakwalls of Chicago than I do when I fish natural lakes. I've used a couple leader lines before, can't remember which ones, but they didn't really stand out. But I go through so much leader line fishing the waters I do that it would get quite expensive using Gold Label or any of the other higher priced leader lines.

I know they get excluded from TW's sales and The Tackle Trap doesn't carry them. Does any online retailer ever put them on sale or do I just have to pay the full price? Thanks in advance.

Anyone have experience with either of these two rods? I have a 843 GLX and love its sensitivity. Going to be using the rod primarily for pitching dropshots especially along breakwalls. I use a 3/8th oz sinker 80% of the time. Going to be upgrading from a Dobyns HP 742c. Any input is appreciated.

Rods definitely get me more excited than reels. I love my high-end Steez and GLX rods yet my assortment of reels are somewhat interchangeable. All of my spinning reels are about the same; $150 to $200 Daiwa reels. While I have a bigger range of quality with my casting reels (Tatula to Zillion), their isn't as big of a performance difference as my rods. My arsenal is complete but it's the rod that I upgrade when I am treating myself.

Not to be that guy but the wind knots are probably something you are doing. I have used straight fluoro for years and the only times I've had wind knots was when I overfilled my spool or if my braid to leader knot was a little big. I have used Gamma Touch in 7 lb A LOT and can't recall ever having a wind knot with that line. 8 lb P-Line Fluoro gave me no issues as well. I only use Daiwa spinning reels and have heard they are good at preventing wind knots so maybe that has something to do with it. Good luck.

I've bought very little this offseason. One order from TW that had some line, hooks, and a couple new plastics I want to try but nothing crazy. Going to buy a bigger lithium battery and add a second unit that I already own to the bow so I can have a dedicated DI/SI to go along with my Livescope. I'll take my 1-year old lithium and use it to run my unit at the helm. No new rods or reels this offseason and I've actually sold 2 rods over the last month. I'll hit up a couple fishing shows and probably make a few impulsive purchases. I'm still trying to recoup from buying a tonneau cover/cap and running boards for my truck back in December.

Thanks. Sold the 742. The 763SF remains. By the way, where did you catch your smallie over 6? Door Co?

Here's my general lineup without the specific application rods (A-rigs, deep cranks, frogs, ect.) Spinning Daiwa Steez 2nd Gen 761 + Tatula 3000- Neds, hairjigs Daiwa Steez 1st Gen 761 + Procyon 2500- Nekos, shakey heads, tubes, blade baits Dobyns Champion HP 741 + Ballistic 2500- finesse swimbaits Dobyns Champion HP 742 + Ballistic 2500- 4" swimbaits on a ballhead jig, spybaits Casting GLoomis 843 + Zillion - pitching plastics, worming, finesse jigs, Sleepers GLoomis 844 + TDX- jigs, C-rigs St Croix 7' MH Tournament Bass Sweeper Spinnerbait rod + Tatula SVS- bladed baits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, buzzbaits Dobyns Champion HP 742 + Curado 70- dropshots Dobyns Champion XP 704 CB + Zillion SV TW- jerkbaits, shallow cranks, light topwater Dobyns Champion 703c + Daiwa TD153- All purpose- worms, Senkos, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits I'm slowly in the process of replacing my Dobyns rods which I feel are overrated. There are more sensitive options out there.

Just wait. They'll send you a renewal for something like $10 in a couple months if not sooner. $10 a year is worth it- $30 not so much IMO.

Been using the Trilene knot for mono- and fluoro for years. I've tried most other knots but I don't anymore. The Trilene knot is tried, true, and reliable. I only use the Palomar for braid. Alberto for leader line on spinning gear and an FG for leaders on baitcasters. Done and Done.

KVD = spinnerbaits

I think playing music can hurt/won't help your fishing. I know several smallmouth gurus that turn their electronics off since they feel it negatively affects the bite. I rarely play music when fishing but I listen to podcasts every time I go out. Listening to podcasts entertains me throughout the day and definitely keeps me on the water longer. I never listen to anything the first few hours but I'm always listening to something the second half of my day. Granted, I am wearing ear buds so no one hears what I am listening to and I would be shocked if it somehow affected my fishing. Personally, I think it is rude to blast music while on the water when others are around. There is a popular lock by me and in the summer you might have 10-15 boats waiting to lock through. Usually, you have some boat blasting their music even though most of us don't care for it. Turn it down. Have some respect for others.

Hey 99- do you know what the story is with YGK? I started using that line a couple years back and it is easily my favorite braid. I have a box left that I have been saving. Have you found anything remotely as good? I love the sinking property since it gets my Neds down faster when fishing deeper water. Thanks.