jimmyjoe

I like Sam's explanation better. Mmmmmmm.......! jj

When I started fishing, I used a fiberglass casting rod. I used it for everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. You have a rod that is lighter, more responsive, more sensitive and probably better all-around than that fiberglass rod was, even though it might not be as ultimately strong. You'll have to stay away from the slop. Otherwise, look at the recommended lure and line weights on it, and then you go ahead and use it for anything that your little ol' heart desires, and be happy. It'll catch fish just fine. jj

Ouch! That hurts to even think about. jj

What is Facebook? ? jj

Jig? What's a jig? Just pulling your leg. Welcome! jj

For 5 years, I fished with an ultralight, because I had to (arthritis). I used 4lb. mono. I caught everything from crappie to pike. I'm not saying that I didn't lose lures ... sure I did. Chomp/tug/empty line. But I got some niiiiice fish, too. Second biggest bass I got - ever - I caught on a 1/6th ounce Wordens Super Roostertail. And I was twitchin' a 1/8 Lil' Cleo in the shallows one time and a pike came up from deeper water and SMASHED it. Luckily, I got him in the hinge of the jaw. I caught catfish (surprised the heck outta me), sheepshead drum and lots of just ordinary, run-of-the-mill bass. Dinks and keepers, both. I'm of the opinion (which is worth what you paid for it) that it's not the size of the lure, but the nature of the lure. If they're hitting on a #5 Chartreuse Aglia, they'll bite on a #2 Chartreuse Aglia. When they hit a 3/4 oz. Purple Haze Devle-Dog, they'll hit a 1/4 oz. Purple Haze Devle-Dog. Many times other fishermen were raking them in on 1/2 oz. Rat-L-Traps, and I got the same success on 1/4 oz. Mini-Traps. Too many people don't catch bass on small lures because they don't try. And lots of people don't believe you can land a bass on 4 lb. line. Uh ...... yeah. You certainly can. Try it! jj

I'll try that. But I'll have to hurry; waters are warming quickly. Thnx. jj

I think the OP would agree with you WHOLEHEARTEDLY! But for 3 years running, my first bass has been on a spoon run slow in the shallows. And this in the icy waters immediately after turnover, not 2 weeks later. 2 weeks later is a whole 'nother world. I've never - and I mean never - gotten a fish of any kind on soft plastics of any kind whatsoever in that frigid water after ice out. And the OP is in an area with waters as cold as or colder than mine. I came to this site to learn, and to do better, and do things differently. So I ask you .... why do you, @Catt, and the OP (and others) have such good luck with soft plastics at ice out and I have zero luck? Nil. Zip. Nada. Carolina rigged or otherwise. I made a commitment to do a lot more soft plastics this year, and I think that commitment starts right here. Obviously, I'm doing something wrong, but I don't know what it is. ☹️ jj

When you say "power", do you mean upper blank stiffness? Or do you mean the power of the body once the upper portion has been loaded? jj

There are 1) Things I can do, and 2) Things I can't do. One of the "Things I can do" is take apart. One of the biggest "Things I can't do" is put back together ...... correctly. That applies especially to electrical circuits. I think what you're doing here is going great! jj

Yesterday I wanted to try out my new soft plastics. I tried: Zoom super fluke, Baby Bass Zoom super fluke, Shad Berkley Powerbait minnow 6" Creme worm, black and blue 10" Anaconda, Red Shad 10" Anaconda, green pumpkin Betts jig, white and black Nothing. Went to: various spinnerbaits various spinners Rapala Husky Jerk Cordell Super Spot, 1/4 oz, citrus shad Nothing. Decided they weren't gonnas bite. Put on a 3/4 oz. Devl-Dog spoon, White Ghost. BINGO! First bass of the season. (Not first bass of the year, just first bass of the season.) I'm sure things will change later on in the year. They always do. I'm sure that soft plastic will get fish for me, whether rigged Carolina, Texas, nose-hooked, weightless or weighted. And I'm sure that I'm crazy, and that I don't know how to fish, especially in early water. That's OK. You use whatever your little ol' heart desires. I'm using my spoons. jj

I have a Curado 70, and I put it on a Daiwa Spinmatic-D Kokanee trolling rod. DON'T let the name fool you; it's a fantastic rod for UL casting. I use 8 lb. mono. jj https://www.fishusa.com/product/Daiwa-Spinmatic-D-Trolling-Rods

As a spinnerbait gets heavier, the manufacturer puts on more resistive blades, either bigger or more highly cupped. So you can't really compare all things being equal, because they aren't. If you put on a bigger blade without changing anything else, you de-stabilize the spinnerbait. If you put on a smaller blade, you reduce the turbulence that makes the skirt pulsate. You can slow-roll a spinnerbait of any style and with any style blade that is made to be slow-rolled. Most (not all) use a single, relatively large blade, with Colorado and humongous willows being the most common where I live. And yes, they've been heavier examples. I've tried to modify existing spinnerbaits to do certain things that I wanted, but I've had limited .... very limited .... success. jj

In order of proficiency: 1) Chartreuse and white 2) chartreuse and blue 3) Chartreuse 4) black and white I use single Colorado, double Colorado or double Oklahoma,and then sometimes tandem willow/Colorado. And if I'm fishing in the river, I ALWAYS use twisted-eye spinnerbaits, 3/8 or 1/2. In waters with no pike or musky, I use r-bend spinnerbaits. Brands are Northland, J-Mac and War Eagle. jj

Agreed.... very much agreed. jj

If I had a job with extremely high stress levels, and that hobby allowed me relief from that stress, then yes I would. But otherwise, no. jj

I had a ci4+ 2500FA. Smooth under all loads. When the 2500FK came out, I was right on it and got 2. Luckily, I tried them out as soon as I got home. One was smooth, no problem. The other one had a "glitch" (for lack of a better term) as the handle went around. It did NOT have this with no load! I returned it the next day, and traded it for another CI4+2500FA. I still have both FA models, and have no troubles. Not one. When the new CI4+ FB series came out, I got the CI4+4000FB, because it was so light for the line capacity. I remembered what had happened with the 2500FK, and got line put on at the retailer, and immediately went out and casted a lure. Guess what? Noisy. Grindy. And it was bad, but only under load. I took it right back to the retailer and got another one. I took the new one out and casted with it. The new one was fine, and I still have it. Have had no problems with it. For lack of any better explanation, I would say that the consistency of Shimano quality control has fallen off in the last few years. Maybe it's because they have factories outside Japan. Maybe the demands of cost control are creeping up on them, like it is on sooooo many businesses nowadays. I don't know. If all other things were equal, I would say that the CI4+ series would be smoother than the FK series. But not all other things are equal. Beware; watch yourself. And watch the product. The assumptions we could have about consistent quality even just 10 years ago aren't valid anymore. Pay attention to the particular product you have in your hand, and not something else. Good luck! jj

Welcome! Glad to have ya! jj

Rattles/weights frozen inside? Cracked and got water inside? jj

In case you might have questions in the future, this is what you do: Have someone hold your rod. Tie a gallon milk jug, elevated, on the end. Start trickling sand in. The rod will bend ... and bend ... and bend. When the rod reaches full bend or shows signs of wanting to break, then that's the max drag for that rod. Any more and you'll have a broken rod. Measure the weight of the jug of sand, if you wish. I'll bet it's nowhere near 11 pounds. Don't set the drag for the fish. Unless you have light line, don't set the drag for the line. Set the drag for the rod. That way you can tire the fish out and still have a one-piece rod. ☺️ jj

Just got back from the store. Those Zoom Super Flukes are great! Soft and easy to hook. I stopped halfway home at a little pond that was thawed, to see what the action was. I found out I like the action. I can make them walk the dog, or twitch them, or let them sink. Using a weighted 5/0 hook, they sink level. Astounding. I'm giving the Mr. Twister stuff to a friend. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if he threw them away, either. They had Berkley Powerbait minnows on sale, so I got some of those, too. They're not bad, but they're not as good as the Zoom. I can't wait to set up a Lindy rig or donkey rig with these. Good lake north of me only had about 10 feet of ice around the shady side yesterday, so things are progressing nicely. Thank you to everyone who turned me on to these! ? jj

Me, too. Waaaaay out of a kayak. Like ..... standing on shore out of the kayak. Just pullin' your leg, jweller, just pullin' your leg. Welcome to BR! jj

I agree that there are lines out there that handle better than Big Game, and some of them aren't that much money. But the way I think is this: 99% of actually getting the fish in your hands is what happens after the hookset, not before. And that's where Big Game really shines. Timber, pike or musky, rocks and slop. Bring it all on! So yeah, I recognize that Big Game isn't perfect, but when it comes to reliability and utility PER DOLLAR SPENT, there ain't NOTHING that compares. jj

Sounds better. Good luck. jj

Been there, done that. Did NOT have good results. Don't know why, just didn't. Hope you do. jj