JediAmoeba

I just got a few of the new Lucky Craft H3 100 pointers - same as the old 100 pointers but these have 3 hooks. Buyer beware, the back two hooks that come stock get caught on each other so you need to replace them with shorter shank hooks. At 19 bucks per bait, this isn't something you should HAVE to do... http://www.luckycraft.com/luckycrafthome/Products/jerkbait/pointer100h3.htm

Dude, family matters most. And it's surely worth more than 100 bucks. Anyway, you already have a few combos and you mentioned you have a black max combo - so you already have an equivalent best for the at or under 100 dollar budget. Anything else isn't going to be an improvement, just something equivalent. I would urge you to look at saving money and getting a 150-250 dollar combo. If you can get it during a sale that's even better. For me the biggest improvement was going from those cheap 100 dollar combos up to those 150-250 dollar combos. And when I say combo, I don't necessarily mean SOLD as a combo but the price you would pay for a reel and rod. I think the biggest disappointment in fishing gear is when you go from a 200 dollar combo up to a 500 dollar combo...unless it is an ultra finesse combo it really isn't a noticeable upgrade.

42" per turn in a small low profile baitcaster. Whoa baby.

6'10" Medium Fast 7' Medium Moderate 7' 2" Medium Heavy Fast 7'4" Medium Moderate 7'6" Heavy Fast 7'10" XH Fast Gets me through everything I need and honestly i could cut a few of those out.

Would the best way to measure braid be to measure an exact amount of unstretched line, let's say 150 yards, and spool it on a reel with a set tension - Probably relatively light tension on the line so it doesn't get compacted onto the reel too bad. I would also want to use a high quality reel with a level wind. Once you have reeled the line into the spool measure with a caliper a few times. Grab another line and repeat the process. This should at least make it essier to compare lines to other lines and other points tests. It isn't going to be exact but it would be closer.

As long as they are biting. For me it generally stops once the water gets below 50 degrees. Air temps are really secondary unless there is a lot of wind.

After watching underwater footage of how fast a bass can spit out a hard bait there is no way I would ever have confidence with a single hook. I can guarantee your hook up ratio would go way down.

Everything aside in the mono/fc/braid debate the reason I usually run a FC leader off my braid is because it sinks.

One time I bought some 30 dollar fluoro and spooled it on a new reel. First cast, without really paying any mind, I launched my lure dead into the wind...without having the spool tension dialed in(new reel), I had the worst birds nest I have ever had in my 20 year baitcasting career. I had to cut it off, unspool the line and used what I had left for leader material. Don't be that guy.

Necromancy. Anyway, is anyone still using this line? I bought 5 or 6 spools of this on clearance a few years ago and never tried it - I read all kinds of negative reviews after I bought it and decided against trying it. However, the line really piques my curiosity in regards to the great casting distance.

San Diego Jam is my jam.

I think all these people telling you to go over your budget need to: A. Spot you the extra dough B. Ask their wives what they think of this! ? But seriously everyone here is giving you solid advice and most if us have been down the road of buying cheap stuff only to regret it. It really can cut down on your enjoyment. Look into the facebook marketplace because those people can meet locally sometimes.

If you can't wait for the Holidays to try and get a better combo, just spend 50 or 60 on a Black max combo save the money not spent and get a better combo down the road. Another option would be to look on the facebook marketplace for a used combo - I got a Tatula combo for 100 bucks off there that was only tried out once.

Fourthed.

I just got these and they are great for the big TRD but the head is a bit too big for the regular TRD imo. I have tried a lot of them and the owner blockhead has nice hooks but I don't like the shape of the head. I think it's hard to beat the ZMAN Shroomz - the 1/20 oz head has worked great for me when paired with TRD worms or Ticklerz.

Both these LM were caught out of the same lake on the same day.

Depends on the body of water. When I have the chance I will hit a place for a few hours then drive to another place for a few hours and then drive to another place... I have hit 6 or 7 different bodies of water in a day before.

I was only thinking of the smaller reel to slow down my retrieve. The drag is the same for all the reels 2500 and larger - 22lbs which is ridiculous for the application I will be using. The 2000 only has 11 lbs of drag which is still way higher than I would need so I wasn't even considering the drag to be a problem. You are definitely right about longer casts with the bigger spool though which is food for thought.

The Daiwa Jupiter 7'6" heavy rod is not good for much - it's a flipping stick. I have one and have it dedicated as a punching rod because.it.doesnt cast lures well at all with basically no flex throughout the rod.

Spinning reels are not made to horse in fish. Sounds like you may have some pretty heavy line and your drag is not set correctly. The drag should give before your reel starts flexing.

One thing I will say there are way too many options these days in this category. I like the owner flashy swimmers and the swim n runners but that's mostly what I have... https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Underspins/catpage-SCXH5.html 71 options just at tacklewarehouse...yikes

2 m spinning rods, one 6'6" and one 7'. 1 Heavy baitcaster 7'-7'6" with a HS 200 sized reel. 1 MH Baitcaster 7' with a ~7.1:1 ratio reel. 1 M Baitcaster 6'8"-6'10" with a ~6.1:1 ratio reel. This will cover most everything really.

I am in the market for a new Tatula Spinning reel. I usually use 2500 reels for spinning applications no matter the technique when it comes to bass fishing. I use 1000 size for trout and panfish and larger ones for catfish. This will mainly be used for finesse techniques and will be paired on Tatula Elite Series ML rod I got brand new for a steal($100). There isn't a huge difference between a tatula 2000 and 2500 size reel but the IPT is a few inches less on the 2000. The weight doesn't really matter to me. Is there a noticiable difference in size in your hand? Which would you prefer? Thanks

I use my coastal reel for large swimbaits.