Dash Riprock

Can't the same question be asked about "jerkbaits"?

Do you have any experience with other St. Croix models? I guess the Triumph is pretty much the entry level, if I moved up the line would the settings stay consistent? If there's something even better than this one I'd love to try it because this rod is kinda the Holy Grail for what I fish.

Oh wow, I had a chance to try this briefly this morning and it seemed to help a lot. It was rather windy so I was fighting that but yeah, it did cut down noticeably on the tendency to the lure to "dive" and seemed to improve distance considerably even with the wind. Not sure about accuracy, I'll have to work on it some more under better conditions and get used to rotating my wrist but yes, this might be a game changer. Thank you.

This reminds me of my attempt to take up golf a few years ago. That sport has its own version of a bait monkey. I tinkered around with different clubs trying to keep up with the latest and greatest and ultimately realized that some clubs just fit your swing, and some just don't. There's a science behind it and oddly enough, it's also mostly a combination of club length and flex. I just need to quit fighting it and move everything over to St. Croix I guess.

No, I haven't moved the Tatula to anything else. Kinda scared to break up that combo even as a test. Lure weights do play a role but I don't think any of this has to do with the reels. Good advice. What started me down this path was a BPS CarbonLite 6'6" MHF that I just couldn't cast worth a squat no matter what I tried. I started moving some things around to see if I could find a combo that would work for it and then everything else I was putting together kinda went sour.

Right dominate. I agree that this isn't an issue with the reel. That Tatula is my favorite reel for many reasons, but I don't think the reel has anything to do with this problem. What you say makes sense but I've tried various lures on various rods and can't ever get it dialed in like I can on that St. Croix. I have noticed that throwing "harder" (i.e. faster), which I thought might help load up a stiffer rod, doesn't really help and often makes it worse. I have to really focus on aiming a long, looping cast at the sky to get the same arc as a flick of that St. Croix produces.

I'm not sure, I'm not really sophisticated enough to be able to tell. But maybe. Next time I go out I'll look for that. That's kinda what I'm thinking, it's got to be either stiffness or length [that's what she said], or some combination thereof. I lucked out with the St. Croix that for whatever reason fits my "swing", so to speak. I guess I'm trying to figure out what that is so I can apply it to future purchases. Or just stick with St. Croix rods, but that's boring...

I have one rod and reel combo (a Daiwa Tatula SV TW103 with a 6'6" St. Croix Triumph, MF) that naturally throws long, elegant effortless arcs almost exactly where I aim. The same casting motion with most of my other combos throw short, jerky "dart-like" casts that tend to pull to one side, usually to the left. I can make the other rods work but I really have to focus on it, and change my casting motion and the timing of my release. The Tatula/St. Croix I don't even have to think about. Is this a function of rod length or stiffness? My other rods are mostly a bit longer, but none more than 7', and most are rated MH instead of M. I've tried switching them around on different reels and different baits, but nothing seems to work. I still fight the "darts". Does this make any sense to anybody? I'm just an occasional bank fisher who really doesn't need all this fancy stuff but I blame you guys for bringing the bait monkey into my house.

I think so. I get confused about what is and is not an "SV" reel and how that does or does not correlate to the braking system (Magforce?), but yeah, my understanding is that you leave the spool tension alone and don't worry about that free fall thing. I have an SV TW103 and all I do is occasionally tinker with the brake dial. It's pretty much idiot proof for me. It's a fantastic reel. Been fighting off the bait monkey for one of those JDM Zillions everybody here raves about which I think is the same system.

Yeah, I saw that SLX deal too. I went in today looking to see if they still had any (they didn't) but when this GLF scanned at $17.49 I couldn't pass it up.

Grabbed this Shimano GLF casting rod at Academy. A couple of weeks ago this $89.99 rod was marked down to $49.99. Today it was marked down to... $17.49. Didn't need it but I couldn't pass it up at this price. I'll find a use for it.

I don't recall ever seeing Ozark Trail branded worms at the Wal Marts here (central Texas). I only recall Ocho's, some Zoom stuff, maybe Culprits if you catch them on the right day.

I used to fish inline spinners a lot, mainly Shysters because that's what my dad used, but occasionally Rooster Tails and a couple of Mepps. I sometimes used a swivel, sometimes not but never seemed to notice any line twisting. Shysters have kind of a bent loop you attach to so you're not really running it in a straight line, maybe that helps with the twist. I also find Shysters easier to "get spinning" than Rooster Tails, maybe that's why too. I've always had decent luck with Shysters and I don't know why I seldom fish with them anymore. I don't know if they're even still made. A local shop near me that has a bunch of old school discontinued stock has some on the shelf but I never see them anywhere else.

I would think it would be much easier getting an Ocho worm to slide into a normal round wacky tool than the other way around. But I don't know that for sure, I've never tried it. Unless I'm missing something this seems like a solution in search of a problem.

I get these more often than I care to admit and I'm using braid. I probably have the spool slightly overfilled but I always close the bail by hand. It seems to happen to me when I make a sloppy/jerky cast or when I'm fighting the wind. I've learned that when it happens, if I can avoid putting much tension on the line I can usually tug at the knot a bit and get it to unwind. If it cinches down, though, I'll usually just cut it off.

Unrelated question but I didn't want to start a new thread - I never see Okuma products on the JDM sites. Is there a reason for this? Aren't they a Japanese company (or is it Taiwan, I couldn't tell)? I see Abu products on there all the time and they're based in Sweden (I think).

Will you guys PLEASE stop posting about these JDM Zillions? I have more reels now than I'll ever need, I certainly don't need another. I don't. I really really don't. I mean it this time.

There's something very satisfying when you get a baitcaster dialed in to where you can take off your thumb and watch the spool regulate itself as the lure flies through the air. Almost as much fun as catching fish.

My primary fishing spot is from the bank of a mucky bottomed creek. I also need to keep things off the bottom so I mostly fish weightless Texas rigs or wacky rigs. Lately I've been killing it with Fat Ika's and they don't get too mucked up even if I let them fall all the way to the bottom. As a bonus they're real easy to cast - might be my new favorite lure. I used to fish there a lot with inline spinners (some old Shysters I inherited from my dad). Not really sure why I got away from that, they worked. Never really had any luck there with proper spinner baits or jigs. Occasionally they like an OG Rapala silver minnow but hardly any other crankbaits work. I was out there once during the winter when for whatever reason the muck had cleared off and I had a great day with Ned rigs, but normally that's not doable.

Almost all the rods and reels I have I don't really need. Truth be told, for as little as I actually fish I could do just fine with one spinning setup and one baitcaster. And even the baitcaster is debatable. But I found this place a couple of years ago and started reading about what the cool kids have and I've been fighting a losing battle with the monkey ever since. Which reminds me - would y'all PLEASE stop talking about the JDM Zillion???

Ha! Yeah, they're pretty hit or miss. Usually the one closest to you doesn't work.

Can confirm. I stopped by my local Academy earlier to renew my fishing license. They had 2 SLX rods remaining which scanned at $38. They also had some Shimano GLF rods that scanned at $49 (sticker was $89). Didn't have time to check anything else.

As best as I can tell, there aren't many weeds in this lake. I know weeds - the reason I haven't fished the Ned much until now is that the creeks I usually fish are super mucked up and I have to keep everything off the bottom. I know what a weed snag feels like, and this isn't that. And I agree with you about weed guards. Those have never really worked for me on other presentations.

I think they were 1/10. Not 100% sure but they were pretty small.