Eric 26

Got out for about 2-1/2 hours Monday with the ultralight setup and caught a mixed bag.

I’m using Kast King 4 pound monofilament on 2 reels, I like that there’s a few different color options, although the blue faded quite quickly the red is holding up extremely well.

I’ve mentioned this place before but my favorite local to me shop is The Anglers Outlet in Tinley Park Illinois with my second favorite being Fishing Connection also in Tinley Park Illinois. The Anglers Outlet carries a wide variety of lure choices from panfish to musky lures and a great variety of rods and reels to fit most any budget with a friendly staff and a sandwich board with the latest area fishing reports greeting you outside the door. Fishing Connection on the other hand is in my opinion a little smaller in size and a sizable portion of the store is geared towards musky or at least was when I was in there a few years back so the selection is not as varied but they still have what you need and again a staff that is more than knowledgeable and willing to help you catch fish locally. Lastly Fishing Connection has been operated by by the same owner since 1995 in the same location which for me shows his love of the sport and although I shop at BPS and Wal Mart I try to make as many purchases from these 2 establishments as I can as I really don’t want to see either go away any time soon.

@Skeeloco Although I don’t target carp even though I have 2 retention ponds near me where they are BIG and would be a great catch as I foul hooked one in the tail a couple years ago and it was a blast before the hook finally broke free, I’ve heard/read they are super smart fish so if you had a cicada hatch near you they may have been tuned into that or whatever else is flying/floating around on top. I just hit a local retention pond earlier today and I only had a mighty mite jig with me and the carp refused my offering even when I put it literally in front of their faces as I was watching them surfacing to suck in the bugs that were enjoying a cool drink from the water. If yours are surfacing maybe try a fly, small popper or even a foam spider. They used to and I’m pretty sure still do make an adjust a bubble made to fish these lures with spinning gear and from the photo you shared I’m sure it would work with baitcast gear although I used to use a tiny round clip on bobber with the foam spiders for bluegills. Just make sure the hooks are super sharp as they are pretty thin. Lastly that is one good looking carp with not a blemish on it and I’m sure one heck of battle 👍🏻

I’m going to agree with the above advice and I’ll add to it with underspins/road runners both with “hair” and “plain” which you can add tubes, curly tail grubs or my personal favorite gulp alive minnows onto, everything in my ponds will eat the roadrunner/gulp alive minnows in my ponds.

Please don’t take this the wrong way and I’m not trying to defend the guide but I don’t get that from his comments at all. I think he’s showing concern that his business is going to go belly up and probably has slowed down considerably since ffs has become more common. I think it’s a serious concern especially as pointed out that crappie have become far easier to catch due to their schooling habits and a reputation for being aggressive feeders. I’m reading the ffs debate as someone who doesn’t boat/kayak fish or fish for food but still finds this conversation very interesting as it’s the biggest fisher person advantage I’ve personally seen in the way it’s changing how fish especially crappie can be caught imho.

I love the look you’re getting there like” what are you looking at”, too cute 😃

The line capacity doesn’t change for the pound strength even the pe/braid which is definitely thinner compared to its mono/flouro counterparts 😬

I’m going to offer my .02 cents for what it’s worth. I’m all over the map with my gear both rods and reels and if you’re patient and don’t mind surfing the web as many others have pointed out there are definitely deals to be found especially during holidays, I have a Favorite Soleus I bought for $50.00 pre tax a handful of years ago on Black Friday on DSG’s website and a Daiwa BG from Midway for $67.00 last year, both were extremely good sales that I was happy to find. In terms of brand new if you’re comfortable with non name brand reels I have recommended and use 3 Piscifun Carbon X spinning reels in both 1000 & 2000 size and absolutely love them, currently $59.99 on Amazon. As far as bait casters I don’t think you can beat either the Daiwa CA80 at $99.99 although for $20.00 more you can get a Fuego which has a much better braking system or and I don’t think I have to sell you on it the Shimano SLX is a great value imho, although I don’t own a Fuego and I sold my SLX I currently have a SLM MGL after having sellers remorse from selling the SLX. As far as rods I love my BPS panfish series spinning rods which although I realize you’re probably looking for bass rods I bring these up as I for one think they have some nicely made rods in the $100.00 range including their walleye prodigy series rods that you can use for bass at $99.00 currently but they do run sales throughout the year, I also think the BPS pro qualifier for $99.99 both casting and spinning models are nice especially when on sale. But my favorite bargain casting rod is my Wright & McGill/Eagle Claw “Pro Insight Advantage” 7’-0” medium powered rod for $52.00 I purchased from Wal Mart, although my local Wal Mart no longer carries them I have found them at another Wal Mart in stock 34 minutes from my house. I just saw BPS is offering their “Fish Eagle” casting rods for $49.98 which brings me to my earlier point of surfing the web for deals.

I got 2 wonderful hand written cards from my children, a wonderful card from my wife with a cool looking bracelet and a $25.00 gift card to BPS and this shirt from my kids that I asked them to get me😃

I’ve also used Japan Lure Shop and highly recommend them.

I just went out a few hours ago and used my Stradic 1000 and cannot recommend it enough 4 pound monofilament on a 7’-0” light powered St. Croix Avid panfish and it’s by far superior to my Miravel 2000 shallow spool fwiw imho.

I’m certainly no expert on this or any other reel for that matter but I believe one of the selling points of this reel is the all aluminum body including both side plates if such a thing matters. @FishTank if im mistaken please correct me as I don’t own the reel and I’ll remove my comment.

@gimruis Those are great when they’re ice cold and I mean on the verge of freezing.

@TRENTON FISH Although it’s out of my price range the Shimano Vanquish has recently been reviewed by @FishTank and he gave it high praise along with @bulldog1935 and I would take their recommendations very seriously. My personal top end spinning reel is a Shimano Stradic FL and I love it.

Hey no shame if you’re in the game 😉 P.S. This would be me trying to weight lift with my 17 year old son 😉

Just give me some time 😉 signed The Bait Monkey

@Glenn For complete disclosure I don’t have nor do I have the desire for a $500 reel from any brand as I’m pretty price conscious and have no shame in saying so. My comment about the buying JDM was for comparison mainly as I’m aware there is no warranty when doing so which is why I’m interested to see if anyone has had any issues that needed resolving and how they were handled. For comparison I have written several times on here my liking of a particular Piscifun reel and the lack of support for both parts and servicing on the reel. As far as the smoothness of the reel I asked a sales associate about how long the particular reel has been on display as they are manhandled on a daily basis from both children and adults alike including being dropped onto the floor which I have witnessed and his reply was “as far as I know it’s the original display reel since they were first released” which for me speaks to their durability as that particular reel was as smooth as many that I own albeit no “on the water” time and again very comfortable in hand.

I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with the aforementioned rods particularly the 7’-6” medium light extra fast action rod? I was killing time yesterday in my local BPS and handled this particular rod and although I don’t need it I’m always kind of looking for something I don’t have to add to my current setups. I’m in zero rush and will probably just keep an eye open for a good sale. I’m open to hearing about any branded rods and anyone’s recommendations for the particular length but one thing I really like about the above rod is the price as I’m kind of a budget conscious shopper, I also like that it’s a 1 piece rod. I’m thinking mainly 1/8 ounce hair jigs with a 1500 sized reel and 6-8 pound monofilament to help offset the extra fast action for pond bass that aren’t particularly big but fight well and bluegill and crappie that are also quite prevalent although the crappie definitely move further from the banks once summer arrives. Thank you in advance to anyone who finds time to respond.

So question for you @12poundbass and anyone else who owns and uses these reels. How do you enjoy and are you still using the reels? Any issues that stand out or conversely any highlights? How about servicing issues if any 🤔 I ask these questions as I was at my local BPS yesterday and finally had a chance to handle the display model and really get a good look at it. At the price point it’s at it’s hard to not purchase any Daiwa or Shimano from Japan but I really like the feeling in hand of the Sevin plus I do like trying different brand reels even though I’m not currently in the market for a new reel. Lastly @Delaware Valley Tackle do you have any experience good or bad with this particular reel?

Welcome from New Lenox Illinois.

@Texas Flood If you’re looking for a Lews rod they have quite a few rods to choose from. You should look up the David Frits crank bait rods, they also have a 7’-3” TP1X available at Tackle Warehouse that is a medium heavy rated from a 1/2-1-3/8 ounce and a TP1 Black 6’-10” med heavy moderate fast rated to 3/4 ounce. I have the previous version of the TP1 and other than the rod being white colored which is not my favorite color it’s a nice rod at its price point. Although if it broke I would replace it with a speed stick custom lite in 7’-3” medium heavy moderate fast rated up to 1 ounce myself. All are showing availability on Tackle Warehouse for an exchange if you’re interested in Lews rods.