jimmyjoe

For an all-around crankbait rod, graphite's sensitivity is vastly overrated. The reason is simple; on any steady retrieve, the fish hooks itself. You feel something, and you react. That's true. But what you're reacting to is the pull of a fish that has already hooked itself. The "give" of a good crankbait rod gives you 1) greater assurance that when you do react, you stand less chance of ripping those little trebles out of the fish's mouth, and 2) a better speed-of-blank reaction to keep alignment pressure on the lure so that the fish can't shake their head and spit the hook out. Neither of those things are benefited by a great amount of sensitivity. Here in the Midwest, I can catch sizeable bass on 1 oz. spoons and Mepps Musky Killers. And I can do it with a stiff-blank rod. That's because those lures have MUCH bigger trebles. You can NOT put those size trebles on a crankbait. (Of course, you could buy some saltwater lures with big trebles on them, like Bomber 17a lures, and you could try them where you know there are bass just to satisfy your curiosity regarding large-vs.-small trebles. But that would be a lot of trouble. ) So it's not just that "crankbait" rods are meant to deal with treble hooks, but that they're meant to deal with smaller treble hooks. So where does sensitivity come in? It's important in bottom-contact techniques, like jigging and dragging, and to an extent in intermittent-retrieve techniques like twitching, and techniques where you let the lure fall on semi-slack line, like fluttering. Notice that I didn't include techniques that depend primarily on line-watching. You can use whichever kind of rod for line-watching that you prefer. Most fishermen nowadays have become addicted to the "feel" of a sensitive rod. And that's the "feel" of a graphite rod. And sensitivity is good. I have and use some sensitive rods, and I like them a lot. But their greatest benefit is NOT on steady-retrieve techniques. Hope this helps ya. jj

4" Charlie Brewer worms on one of his weedless heads can be dynamite. I use 6 lb. line.They catch keepers, and yes, they catch lots of dinks. The only reason for that is that there are LOTS more dinks than keepers in a given body of water. No problem. More fun for me! JJ

I've got that reel. I have 15 lb. braid on it, and I won't put heavier braid on it. As for mono, I personally don't put anything heavier than .10 (10 mil) nylon on it, but that's just me. I have a 4000 size ci4+ that I use for heavier monofilament, either nylon or fluorocarbon. Works much better. jj

Yup, that's true. Remind me not to irritate you! ?? ?? jj

Keep it up and maybe someday we'll get that sewer cleaned out! ? jj

I've used more moderate setups on jerkbaits. You just learn to handle the acceleration a little differently. Compensate with a kind of "snap" rather than a jerk. No problem. And as you said, success after the hookset is definitely greater with a softer rod. jj

I need to be a little careful here. I used to use ultralight gear because I had arthritis in my thumbs. So I was using UL gear in the Mississippi, where there were bass, walleye, sandies and wipers, pike and drum. I had to learn how to survive the "chomps" of the larger fish. I was lucky; I had the advice of a flyfisher. Your situation seems a little bit different. Some of the really light gear is "enthusiast" gear. It can be less, not more, durable, mostly because every atom of material had been removed from it to make it lightweight. I wouldn't call it the most practical gear in the world, but man-oh-man is it FUN! And yes, I fell into that once. The other side of UL fishing is what @Rowsdower, @redmeansdistortion and @Bassjam2000 have commented on; get a good rod, fairly sensitive, and a reel that the manufacturer aimed at practical, everyday fishermen. You'll be able to catch fish WITH THE BEST OF THEM, and the "fun factor" is still there in sufficient quantity that you won't feel the need to spend lollapalooza amounts of money to upgrade. For what it's worth, I still have one ultralight. It's a Fenwick Eagle, 7' 2-pc., 1/16th to 1/4 oz. I have a Shimano 1000 Nasci on it, and I have 4 lb. Stren Magnathin on it right now. I've gone through several types of braid, though, and other nylon lines. I'll probably continue testing various lines come spring. I've gotten comments that this rod is too "springy" or "soft". For many people, it is. But I consider one factor of great importance when using light line: you have to actually acquire the fish after you set that hook. If the fish spits the hook, then everything you did up to that point is useless. And yes, I have another rod that lets that happen way too often. Rods are like women; they might have faults but ya still gotta love'em. ? So you've got some decisions to make, and they're ones that only you can make. Test the rods listed above, and put various reels on them, and make your choice. And come spring, GET OUT THERE AND HAVE FUN!!! JJ

Could I ask you a question? Do you anticipate that a higher-priced rig will catch you more fish than you catch now, or do you anticipate that a higher-priced rig will catch what you catch now, but it will be more fun? The reason I ask is that catching more fish is usually between your ears, not in your hands. On the other hand, everyone has more fun their own way, me included. jj

So YOU"RE the one who has been giving us the floods down here! ? jj

You're getting some excellent advice. Slow down, learn more about your fishing and the gaps you have, and most of all, HAVE FUN. ? jj

You don't put lawnmower wheels on a 'Vette. You don't put a Cummins in a VW. The rod, reel and line must match the lure and the outcome that you intend. For ultralight, I have a Daiwa Spinmatic-D Kokanee trolling rod, model SMD 702ULFB, rated 1/16th to 1/4 oz. Above that is a custom rod made on Batson's IP963F blank, 8 ft., M/MF, 1/4 to 5/8 oz. On either one I use a Shimano Curado 70 XG with either 8 lb. Yo-Zuri Hybrid, 8 lb. Stren or 8 lb. Trilene XL. I removed the shields from the bearings in the reel. Now ... you wanna know the real clincher? I don't really know how far I can cast with 1/4 oz. With 1/3 oz. spoons, I can cast 55-60 yards. But I never bothered to worry about 1/4 oz. lures, for 3 reasons: 1) I can cast further than I can control some lures on splashdown. 2) I can cast further than I can feel what's going on at splashdown. 3) I can cast further than I can control the hookset on splashdown. Why cast so far that you can't sense the lure, control the lure or set the hook well? And yes, this would all change radically if I were to use braid. But I don't use braid. jj Surfcasters shooting 4 ounces usually recommend a ten footer, but there is a modicum of disagreement about that. jj

You're right. It's good therapy. Welcome to BR. Good people here. jj

I feel so old-fashioned, listening to you guys. I've used the Rapala Countdown for 30 years. Tried other, more "refined" jerkbaits, but keep coming back to CD9s and -7s. Caught a dink on one today. Water temp somewhere in the 30's. I'm happy being old-fashioned ...... and catching fish. ? jj

Don't know what else to say, except, "Hoping for the best." jj

All I can tell you is what I did. Take a full size bath towel, soak it in water that's as hot as you can tolerate, and WRAP the offending joint. Don't just set the hot, wet towel on the joint, but go around the whole joint. From what I was told, this balances the blood flow both down to and back from the joint. When the towel cools, what I do is put it in the microwave oven to re-heat it quickly. This (plus ibuprofen) works pretty well for me. And yes, no matter what you do, it's gonna take time. Good luck. jj

Okuma has these reels on sale right now. https://okumafishingusa.com/collections/reels/products/50-off-citrix-350-baitcast I've never used an Okuma, much less the big reels. Anyone here use these, or have anything good or bad to say about them? For general heavier lures, this price is tempting. Thnx. jj

Yup. "Show'em something different". That's what keeps a lot of fishermen (including me) interested in the game. jj

You're gonna LOVE that rod! I've got the same one from the Mojo Bass Glass family, and it is superb. jj

Exactly. If you go fishing and see a guy with his thumb wrapped in duct tape, general rule is don't try to out-cast him. jj

I was so pumped up about the rod, I forgot to say anything about the reel. I had told @WRB that I was going to get the Shimano Cardiff that he advised. It was on my Black Friday list, when this NOS 5500c3 came along on fleaby for less than 80 bucks total. I couldn't resist. A lot of people, especially people used to low profile reels, feel that the old round ABU reels are not applicable to bass fishing. They look upon them as surf reels, or maybe catfish reels. Wrong. Yes, these reels sit high on modern blank-thru-handle rods (I had always had offset-reel-seat rods) and yes, they are somewhat heavier than lo-pro reels. This makes them feel clumsy. But I quickly got used to it. What really amazed me was the power of this reel. It feels a lot more powerful than my 5.5 ratio Shimano Curado 200i. I bought this to use on heavy spinnerbaits, and I have no doubt whatsoever that it will do just fine. It feels that it can do a lot more than that. A lot. Yet the retrieve speed is more than adequate for burning traps, so gear ratio alone doesn't explain its power. I don't know exactly what it is, but I like it. ? And I hold a reel differently than most people, because I put 2 fingers ahead of the reel and run the line through them on the retrieve. I've done that ever since I began river fishing, long ago. I used black braided nylon line, and running it through my fingers kept most of the dirt and crud from getting in the spool. It took me some fiddling with hand position, but I can do that with this reel just as well as I used to, no matter that it sits high. I need to get this reel "hotrodded", and I think it's going to be my favorite reel, whether it sits high or not. One other thing. Some people think that the old-pattern ABU reels won't cast very far. If you oil the raceway where the centrifugal brakes run as well as the levelwind gear, you greatly improve the distance. It doesn't take too much to make an old fart happy. ??? See you guys next spring! jj

Since I came to BR, people knew 2 things about me: I had arthritis, and I used 2-pc rods. The arthritis caused me to use spinning gear (until recently) and the 2-pc rods were to prevent theft, as I kept them in my trunk. Due to modern medicine, the arthritis is feeling better. And as for 2-pc. rods, I always wanted 1-pc., but I had no choice. Or did I? I recently acquired an ABU 5500c3 reel on fleabay. It was NOS. I told my retailer about it, and his reply was, "You need a new rod to go with that. I've got rods for sale back there on the clearance rack. They won't be any lower for Black Friday." He had, among others, these 3 one piece rods: St. Croix Mojo Bass casting, 7' H/F, 3/8-1 1/2, 14-25 lb. line. Called the "Dock Sniper". St. Croix Mojo Bass casting, 7' MH/MF, 3/8-3/4, 12-20 lb. line. Call the "Spinnerbait" model. St. Croix Mojo Bass Glass casting, 7'-02" H/M, 1/2-1 3/8, 12-25 lb. line. Called the "Rip-n-chatter". I tried the Dock Sniper. With a 1-oz. lure, my shoulder hurt. It was too stiff. I knew that was a no-go! Then I tried the Spinnerbait rod. It was light, had decent backbone, decent flex, and was comfortable. Just on a hoot, I tried that big 'glass rod, the H/M. To my surprise, it felt great! It wasn't light, but it was not exactly heavy and clumsy either. It felt like it had .... well, authority. And unlike the Dock Sniper, it had give and flex. Call me crazy; I walked out of there with both the Spinnerbait and the big 'glass rod. I immediately went to a local lake (99% iced over) and tried a few casts with the glass rod. I spooled up 12 lb. Big Game on the ABU, and put on a 1 oz. Dardevle spoon. I tried to cast it out into a sliver of clear water just to see whether the reel worked OK, and whether the rod was comfortable or not. I haven't cleaned the bearings in the reel yet, but it casts fine. The real shocker was the rod. I cast the 1 oz. spoon, a 1/2 oz spinnerbait that weighs 3/4 oz. total, a 4/5 oz. spoon, a 1/2 oz. Rat-l-trap and a 1/2 oz. Sonar. Although the 1/2 oz lures didn't travel quite as far as the heavier ones, they all went far enough and were well controlled, with the accuracy being good to better-than-good. Most importantly, I had no pain in my hands or my shoulder. Talk about going "retro"! The thing is, this "retro" gear is a heck of a lot better that the original "retro" gear. And that applies especially to that 'glass rod. Now, when I fish for bass where there are also pike and wipers, I'll have an appropriate tool to use, to go toe-to-toe with them. And I know what I'll do to deter theft. When I use a 1-pc. rod, it'll be the ONLY rod I take that day. I think that'll probably work out fine. We'll see. My list for Black Friday has changed: it's now populated with heavier lures! C'mon, springtime! jj

Unless it hits a major bone in a deer, it goes on through and buries itself in the ground on a side shot. Shots hit lengthwise usually recover the slug in dressing out. On smaller animals like coyote, there is complete pass-through. jj

A spinnerbait is the best lure to start off with. Not only that, but you can get better and better with them. And when you're as good as Jimmy Houston, you can look back and say to yourself, "Man, that was sure a good first lure!" jj

I really don't mind how many screws there are, what I'd like is the ability to access the gearbox without dismounting the rotor. And yes, I had the Mitchell 300a and the 4000-series Penns. It was fast and easy to do a re-lube right in the midst of fishing. You wouldn't believe how much I miss that capability when something goes amiss with the newer-design reels. I checked out new Cardinals on fleabay, but they're the "Anniversary" models made for the JDM market. A little too rich for my blood. I never thought of a regular used reel in good shape, with new parts as needed. I'll chk that out. Thnx! jj

I know where you're at. Here's some advice. Not for forever, but just for now. Watch your line, like @BigAngus752 said. When you see it move, count slowly to three before you swing for the bleachers. That way you won't pull the lure out of the fish's mouth. This is one thing that's a little different from live bait fishing, mostly because of the different hooks used and the way they're rigged. jj