Danny_716

Do you prefer "shad" shaped heads, ball heads, bullet heads...ect. and why? I've been thinking about getting these homemade 1/2 and 3/4oz jigs with 5/0 mustad hooks on eBay fairly cheap in either shad profile head or ball head, or the conquistador bullet heads from TW in the same sizes. What are your preferences when it comes to swimbait jigheads and why?

Thankyou everyone for the recommendations, I ended up going with the fs905 and cb907. Hopefully they'll do what I'm looking for, and if not I'm sure I'll love them for some other use regardless

I think I'm going to go with the FS905 and CB907, a little stronger for both to make them more versatile

I'm actually holding both right now at a local shop, they do have the same rattles

2 day tournament and a day or 2 of prefish hopefully. But yes I fully intend on have a DS rigged up at all times (One of my favorite methods, only second to flipping structure).My main rigs are going to be cranks, swim baits, DS, t-rig, and jigs I believe

I agree, I've never been a huge crankbait guy but I have a big tournament on Pickwick this may and all my research is leading to deep crankbaits (among a few other techniques) on off shore ledges. Problem for me is I live in New York and would need to have all my tackle prior to ever wetting a line there...And don't know if the fish are going to be sitting at 10', 15', or 20' etc. Untill I'm there. So I guess I can specify from the original question a little for my personal needs.... Out of the dredger series are there any sizes you wouldn't bother with, or any I should get more than others of? I'll list the specs below. Model-->length, weight, dive depth 10.5 --> 2.25", 1/2oz, 9-11.5' 14.5 --> 2.5", 5/8oz, 12-15.5' 17.5 --> 2.75", 3/4oz, 16-19.5' 20.5 --> 3", 7/8oz, 20-22.5' 25.5 --> 3.25", 1 1/8oz, 22-26'

Hello, This is sort of an odd question I'm sure...But what are your key depth classes for crankbaits? For example; 3-5', 6-8', 10-12'...20-22' ect. I know the obvious answer for most of us is all of them, but what if you were to "build" your crankbait assortment from the ground up, which would you focus on? Would you get, say, 1 crank in 2 or 3 patterns in every size of a series (6',10',14',16',20',25'..) Or would you focus on 2 or 3 key depths (10',17',20'..) and get duplicates of the same few patterns? Of course I know the depths vary depending on where you're fishing so I'll use myself as an example... I'm gearing up for a tournament on Pickwick lake and plan to get an assortment of Berkley dredger crankbaits seeing that I receive a ~35% pure fishing collegiate discount. How would you go about building your collection?

I've built one casting and one spinning with the airwave sets, they're nothing crazy but they work as intended. Aren't as appealing on the eyes as others, but they do their job and are easy on the pocket. Also, the "no ring" is similar to PAC bay minimas. Haven't had any issues with them yet but they don't get heavy use.

First off thankyou for the compliment sir, means alot since I'm only 20 and have only put together 7 rods haha. And I wouldn't be shortening any blank, just extending. And the 2" is just the size of the eva butt peice I like to use ( I glue the butt to a section of donor blank etc. Then glue that peice inside the blank giving ~2" extension at the very butt of the rod, maybe even balancing it due to the extra material).

I use a MHX mb843 I extended to 7'2 (so basically the 873) for my jigs 1/2oz and under. Feels great with a finesse 3/8 or 1/2 football head. But it may be a little light for full size skirted 1/2oz jigs with a large trailer( total weight will probably be over 3/4oz).

Hello all, I'm building a pair of rods to use on Pickwick lake hitting the ledges etc. One for crankbaits and one for swimbaits/ bottom "stuff" 1/2oz+. I am undecided on specifically what blanks, but I do know they are definitely going to be MHX. Rod 1: primarily Berkley dredger cranks in all sizes but mostly the 10.5-20.5's (the 20.5 is 3" and 7/8oz) as well as rapala dt-10's and dt-16's. As of right now I am leaning towards the cb905, but am not dead-set on it. Rod 2: building it for use with big bite baits 5.5" BB kickers and 5" suicide shads on 1/2-3/4oz jig heads but would also use it for 3/4oz jigs and t-rigs ( 3/4's feel a little heavy for my mb843). I'm between the FS904, which would appear to be similar to the cashion's f90476 that Michael Neal used for those exact setups on Pickwick, or the mb874 which I'd probably extend another 2". Or any other suggestions... Please help me make a decision, I've been wasting too much time and energy trying to decide. Thankyou!

Update: the tournament is may 25-26, not sure if that makes any difference

I'd be going for a college tournament haha, only reason it's a maybe is because we have to find/fix a boat and drive it from Buffalo, NY.. is yours the Cabela's championship too?

Hello all, I could possibly be taking a trip to Pickwick early-mid may and am looking for any advice (tactics, things to look for, etc.) I've never wet a line south of NY and I'm sure things are quite a bit different down south... any advice would be great, as I'm sure my gear/ tactics will need some adjusting.

Hello all, I have recently acquired a few new rods/reels and am thinking about switching up what reels are on what rods & lines etc... I'll start by listing the rods and reels I'm talking about. Rods: #1) Berkeley lightning rod 7'6" H, fast (heavy jig/t-rig, frog) #2) MHX MB843 7' MH, fast (jig, spin, chat, ect.) #3) Cabela's tourney trail im7 7' MH, mod-fast/fast? ("backup" to #2, deep cranks) #4) Abu Garcia vengeance 6'9" MH, fast ("backup" to #2, jerk, top) #5) MHX CCB834 x-glass composite 7'2-7'7 (adjustable butt) M, moderate (cranks) Reels: #1) Daiwa exceler 100HLA 6.3:1 #2) Daiwa tatula 100HL 6.3:1 #3) Abu Garcia Revo S-L Ambassadeur 6.4:1 #4) Abu Garcia black Max 2 6.4:1 #5) Shimano bantam mag plus 251 (older w/ on-off back-reel) 5:1 Currently have them paired #1 to #1, #2 to #2 etc... But some I haven't gotten to test yet.

Hello all, I am putting a few rods together with the blue Winn advanced polymer grips, and am looking for a best matching thread. I'd like it to be something I can get from mudhole as that's where im buying the other components. Either a color treated nylon or maybe even metallic. Right now I'm thinking the prowrap colorfast 449, but am not sure.

I picked up the P-line fluoroclear in #10, I couldn't find Yo-Zuri anywhere in stores near me. I think it'll do the job fine, if not I'll switch the 20lb fireline crystal I have on another rod to this one. Thanks all!

I went with the lightning rod, they were all out of the Spider-Mans

I could feel my lures vibrate, so maybe it's not as bad as I thought. Would 10lb trilene xl do the trick? I have some of that laying around

What line do you/ should I run on my fiberglass crank rod? Mine has unknown mono on it right now, and the combination of a very 'absorbant' moderate action rod and stretching mono is overall too stretchy for my liking. I hooked a ~2-2.5lb largemouth on a squarebill the other day and couldn't tell if it was a fish or clump of weeds for the first half of the fight, and it wasn't hooked very deep/well. It's a mhx CCB834 6'11 with a MRF adjust-a-butt so it's really ~7'2-7'8. I was thinking something in #10 so most cranks will run true to advertised depth. The reel is an old shimano bantam mag plus 5.3 but I like it because it has an on/off drag, so if I'm 'playing' a big fish on 10lb I can backreel instead of depending on drag. I could really use some help picking a good line for this setup, and I haven't seen much talk about fiberglass here so maybe someone else will find this helpful as well.

Thankyou very much! So it looks like im set for the most part. Also, I stopped by cabelas today just to look around and picked up a floor model daiwa exceler for $50 in the bargain cave. Also I found 2 flippin sticks in my price range and might go back to pick one up. They were both ~$40. Have you ever had experience with either: - Berkley Lighting Rod, im6, 7'6", H/F, 5/8-1 1/2oz - Cabelas Tourney Trail, im7, 7'8", H/F, 1-4oz Both have good reviews online saying they are great rods for the money, more sensitive and durable than expected. I initially liked the cabelas, but the heavier weight rating threw me a little. I've never actually thrown a jig or t-rig over 1/2 oz, and was concerned that it would be far too much rod for my use. What is the minimum weight you throw on your flipping gear?

Thanks guys, so far this is what I'm thinking (may not use all of them in order to save space- there will be 3 of us aboard...me, my partner, and our NYTBF supplied captain) casting: -MHX MB843, 7'0", MHF, 1/4-3/4oz paired with a daiwa tatula 6.3 and 20lb fireline crystal and 12lb fluoro leader. I'd use this for most single hook retrieving type lures (spinnerbaits, heavier flukes/swimbaits) -MHX CCB834, 7'2"-7'8", MM glass, 3/16-1/2oz with an older shimano bantam mag plus 5. something (has on/off anti-reverse, something I really like because I'm use to tightening drag all the way and backreeling with spinning gear) and unknown mono. I'll probably replace it witha good 10 or 12#. This is the "everything treble hook"/crank rod. The length is adjustable with a MRF system so I can adjust for jerkbaits etc. - Abu Garcia Vengeance, 6'9", MHF, 1/4-1oz combo with Abu black max 2 6.3 I believe and 30lb power pro slick 8 and 12lb mono leader. This will be for frogs and heavy (over 1/4oz) plastics/ flip & pitch jigs. Spinning: - I've decided to build a MHX DS821 for dropshot, it's a 6'10" LXF, 1/8-3/8oz, and pair it with a Mitchell 308x with 10lb crystal and 6lb fluoro leader. I'd use minima guides and aero seat to keep it light, sensitive, and comfortable - BASS Outdoor America, 6'6",ML?M, 1/8-3/8oz and an older 2000 shimano with straight 6lb fluoro. This would be for light hair jigs, small tubes, small jerks/cranks. - All Star Pro 2, 6'6", LF (saltwater rating?), 3/16-1/2oz with an okuma 20 sz. reel, 10lb crystal and 8lb fluoro. This is currently my worm rod but I'd probably use it for mid-larger tubes. - Quantum Tenacity AP, 7'0", MHF, 1/8-3/4oz with okuma sz. 30 reel with 20lb crystal and 12lb fluoro. Was using this for heavier plastics and even for salmon on spoons, but might use for just skipping weightless senkos if I'm somewhere with alot of docks (not the st.lawrence) - want to build a replacement worm rod, mostly 1/8-1/4 Texas rigs. I'd use airwaves and aero seat- want something light and accurate. Most likely another MHX blank but I'm not sure which one. I was thinking the MB782 or MB842 maybe

I picked up the 6'9" vengeance MH combo paired with an abu black max 2 for $40 the other day ($60 but a $20 mail in rebate). You can't get just the reel new for that price. I put some 30lb PP slick and 12lb fluoro leader on it and caught fish before I got home fish, literally.

Typically the fat rods are more "empty space" inside the blank. They might be a little less sensitive, heavier, possibly a lower graphite rating (im6, im7, etc.) If graphite. But for the most part it doesn't make much difference. I have a few rods that are fatter than normal; I just build a fiberglass crankbait rod that is pretty big around and sounds like the ones you are use to, but i made it lIke that on purpose. And I built a 14' float rod out of an im6 spey blank for steelhead that's big around.

Hello, I am curious to see what everyone typically brings rod wise to tournaments where you can expect both large and smallmouth. Specifically the st.lawrence river. I've never fished it and have been trying to do as much research as possible for a tournament the end of July. Doesn't need to be brands, but I'm curious to see what lengths, actions, powers, lines etc. and for which techniques. I haven't fished a tournament since I was a kid, back when I wasn't in charge of what gear got brought on the boat. From what I've seen; for smallies I'll definitely need setups for drop shotting, dragging tubes, jerkbaits/cranks, and light (1/16 - 3/16) jigs. And for largemouth, some sort of worming rod, topwater, and Spinnerbait/swim bait. I have access to a fair amount of gear, mostly older-ish, but i also build rods for myself so if there's something i need and don't have, I can put it together. Thankyou to anyone who can give me a quick run down of what they use for this paticular water, or any similar body of water. You'll definitely help this restless mind!