Bass Rutten

The step down in power does not affect the taper which is where the blank of the rod bends. I use an old st croix avid x 7ft med/fast exclusively for spooks, traps, mid-divers (dt6), and squarebills (+/-1/2oz), combined with a 10-12lb mono or co-polymer line I have an exceptional hookup/landing ratio. I used to use a dobyns 705cb (7ft mh/mod-fast) for the exact same applications. While the med/fast may technically give up a little power it's barely noticeable in use, but what I feel I gained was better hookset power which is what I attribute to my high hookup/landing ratio. The x-factor here is that different rod companies can vary a bit on their power and taper ratings.

A bit off topic... @FishTank love the adrenaline craw as a jig trailer too, does that xzone bug have the same tall meaty body or is it kind of thin like most other beavers/bugs?

Lots of those "duplicate" listings are actually third party sellers or brokers. As long as the seller has lots of transactions and positive feedback(99%+) there's nothing sketch about it, also ebay is known for siding heavily with buyers should something be off with the product.

See my other comment above. The standard 24 tatula 100. For the record I'm not saying the tatula is a better reel, just that I don't need the zillions refinement for the applications that particular rod will be used for. The alphas is an 80 class sized finesse reel with an sv free floating spool. The tat elite is tuned for distance.

While true, the majority of backseaters/co’s are not competing at that big time level anyhow. Regardless of what’s going on at the top level tournament scene I think your article idea would still have value as it could apply to fun as well as tournament fishing, especially if the focus was specifically about the strategical (and psychological?) aspect of fishing from the back. I say that because it seems most related articles/videos/chats focuses on the getting started / what to expect / etiquette etc aspect which has already been discussed ad infinitum.

No, you join us, I like when fish tug on my line. If I knew where you lived I'd sneak in your garage and setup every rod you own with a dropshot rig

Welcome from central Florida! My dad had a pair of yamaha xt 550's when I was a kid, I've actually been thinking about getting into dual sport bikes myself when finances allow.

Bird is right. I assume by adjust the hook you mean adjust the dropper length. If you have the hook held in place by a bobber stop it will slip on the hookset down to the weight and the whole rig and your fish will be held on by whatever means you used to secure the weight, not a good idea. What I do is tie on hook as usual, then put the weight on your dropper (sometimes a bullet/worm type and sometimes a closed eye dropshot/free rig type), followed by a bobber stop below it, then tie a double overhand knot or a split ring to hold it all on should you hang up and the weight/stop slides down. That will allow you to adjust the dropper length by sliding the bobber stop up or down and still allow you a solid hookset. Edit: and yes if you try that you are crazy.

I like the rod glove micro guide rod socks, been using them for years. They're much smaller than the regular ones which I find bulky and awkward for my co-angler tournament travels where I have to wrap all my rods together for one handed carry, I'd imagine they'd make life easier for boat rod locker storage too over standard size socks. I find they fit just fine even with rods that have semi-micro guides (up to about size 5 runners).

Impossible!

It's the first tat with sv boost, I believe it is the same platform/frame as previous sv w/32mm spool. It's an intriguing one for sure but I prefer a free floating spool for lighter lure applications, my current favorite daiwa sv reel is the alphas sv tw.

The new tat is pretty solid and very underrated imo, I'll be springing for a new reel soon for a mh rod and am having a hard time justifying another zillion when the tat has better ergos (imo), metal non-handle sideplate, and the same hyper drive digigear drivetrain. It's giving up a little weight, smoothness, and lighter lure weight handling to the zillion (unneeded for a mh rod anyhow). I think I'm ok with that for an extra hundo in the bank.

Always interesting too see how it's done in other parts of the world. @AbelG would love to see some pics of those fish you mentioned, I've never heard of any of them.

I own both, the new tatula is definitely more compact, it's a touch narrower and shorter, and palms better than the zillion, but still bigger than the 80.

My bait of the year was the jackall 5.8 flickshake worm on a 3/32oz gamakatsu g-finesse wacky head.