softwateronly

I have no idea, but I’d guess yes. I snagged a demo Xtasy 755 last year for a little less than the price of an extreme. I love it a lot more than my champions or fury’s that’s for sure. To me looking for deals on dobyns is necessary because I feel they’re all a bit over priced, which is probably just the warranty cost. scott

Mine too^ Dobyns 734 for the heavier spooks and 99% of my top water is covered. scott

it’s been a couple weeks and I finally figured it out. If you can get on 90/94 either direction for 2hrs you’ll end up in WI or MI where it doesn’t suck. honorable mention to the Lake Michigan smallies, but they’re hard and expensive to chase. scott

It's mid 30's and raining today, my least favorite weather. These gloves are the real deal! Thanks @T-Billy for a great rec. These are also gonna make work a little more comfortable this winter. scott

It can work, but if they do get kinked, you can swirl them in a pot of water on a low boil. Just a few seconds at a time and always moving, they usually reset in one or two passes. I've only done it once but it worked great. I now keep them in their original packaging and keep the soft plastics in various mesh laundry bags. scott

Terrible pics and no scale yet again, but this big girl is about 24". She loved a crankbait burned/paused just before a 10' shelf on one of our few points. The fat 17-18" grabbed a blade as it ripped from some short grass on the shallow side of a steep break. There were a couple other decent blade bait bass and one little guy on a okashira head w/ 3" spark shad. scott

I can't help you on the difference between the internals of the k and 150 mgl. The 7'3XH is definitely enough rod for the 168. Throw with confidence. scott

I decided to get a couple phenix feathers, one a little under $130 and the other a little over $130. I've heard good things from others on this forum, but these will be my first time handling them. I'm hoping for the best. scott

I have 3 expride a's rated to 2oz, 7'3xh, 7'6xh, and 7'7h. I have a bantam, tatula 200, and a curado dc on mine, w/ 50lb, 65lb, and 30lb power pro respectively. They have all handled up to 2oz just fine. I'm about 3 seasons into using these rods and reels for light swimbait duty, among other things. Throwing 6-7" soft swimmers, burritos, s waver 168's and gantarel jrs, are my main swim bait lures. The larger glides and swimmers are fished on a traditional swimbait set up. Pushing your reels like this could make them geary, but I haven't run into it yet. The other benefit of 300 size swimbait reels besides durability is ipt stays more consistent during the retrieve. For me, I can throw these smaller lures all day with the exprides and enjoy it much more. scott

I'm a fan of all metal reels in general, but especially love them for jigs/bottom contact. A jdm met, bantam, zillion 1000, or zillion hd are going to be tough to beat in my opinion. I'd also say they are the best bang for the buck regardless of technique. My 3 jig rods next year will have a zillion 1000, metanium, and bantam in order of light to heavy. For me, there's a slight diawa advantage for skipping, and a slight disadvantage for braid to leader. scott

My basic understanding is that the river/lake water is used as a heat sink for the refrigerant in the heat exchanger to cool the steam back into liquid refrigerant. Should be a closed loop system. scott

I’ve had some recent cold water success w/ summertime sizes; 3/4oz swim jig with 4.75 D walker has enticed some decent fish. Everything is in play for me till I start getting bites. scott

I can feel bites, thumb a cast, and be waterproof with these. They dry out easily. Durability and cost are the main negatives, but they’ve been the best for me so far. https://a.co/d/89cWEPe scott

I wear gloves for work as well. These have been my dexterity gloves for the last 6-7 years (2 pairs and they're currently shredded) and are good not great, reasonable not affordable. There are compromises and I somewhat recommend but haven't found better yet. Fishing; I can manipulate everything well except I tie knots or pick backlashes bare handed. I'm probably gonna grab another pair for this winter. https://a.co/d/89cWEPe scott

Maybe a tail spin or stroke a tiny underspin as well, so many bait monkey options, hahaha. I hop blade baits and coast or pendulum a lot of little baits in cold water on blind casts, and do pretty well. In my mind's eye, these are bass set up underneath schooled fish but I never really know. Just happy to feel the thunk. Or my fingers. scott

I don't have electronics, but damiki rig looks to be a good choice. I'd also look into blade bait, flutter spoon, jigging spoon, ned, and hair jig. This "advice" is not sponsored by the bait monkey. scott

Wanting a chronarch a couple years ago is what led me to the jdm sites originally. For me, I can't get past the 20 met, 18 or 22 bantam, zillion 1000, and zillion hd. The solid frames just take it to the next level and I choose by application, weight, and availability with the dollar this strong. scott

It's not ideal, but I have left rods, reels, and tackle in an unheated, uninsulated garage all winter without any noticeable problems. So if that's your only option, you should be fine. Usually, soft plastics and reels will come in though. scott

Maybe the blade clicking/banging off the bottom when slow rolled is an added benefit. I sometimes fish light underspins w/ flukes and fish them similar to hair jigs. scott

Me too! Thanks scott

This was my first spring with the nishine eerie darter 115MD. The nose down, slow sink was a huge winner. Many 20+ pre spawn days. Also my first spring with dht punisher jig. Coupled with a beaver it was a great 1-2 punch in the cold water. The only truly new bait for me was a 3/4oz Uoze w/ a 6.5” gambler GZ. The extra large swim jig profile was my best night bite from post spawn thru summer. scott

Burning leaves @ 10 o'clock at night in snow flurries and these girls were hunting the neighbor's docks.... scott

Happy to have company.... @AlabamaSpothunter I'm no blade bait expert, but the vault is fish catching machine. The only advice I have is less is more, just a 2-3 shimmy and drop. Rips through the short grass, vibrates quickly, and gets bites. @A-Jay put me on some good hardware upgrades. The pike up here have been equal opportunity feeders to go with the SM and LM. scott

I fish 2 smaller natural lakes in SW Michigan almost exclusively. Casting: EX610M 20 met 7 20lb/10lb mono PA611M+ 20 met 7 20lb/16lb floro DC734MH cur dc 7 30lb/15lb mono PA173MH 20 met 7 30lb/16lb floro EX176MH cur71 7 30lb/15lb mono PA172H 21 Zln svg 30lb/16lb floro STAGS721 18 ban 8 65Mlb/16lb floro DRX755H 20 met 7 30lb/16lb floro CNQ904H 20 met 7 30lb/16lb floro DC735H tat200 7 65lb/20lb mono EX173XH 18 ban 7 65Mlb/20lb mono EX176XH 18 ban 7 65Mlb/25lb floro P5 TB XH 21 Zln HD 65Mlb/25lb floro DC706CB cur dc 6 30lb/15lb mono EX177H 22 ban 7 30lb/16lb floro MB Onager tat300HSL 65lb/30lb floro FR795SWBT cur301HG 65lb/30lb floro Spinning: AVD70ML STCi4+2500 15lb/8lb floro AVD70M STCi4+2500 15lb/8lb floro This is a list I already have; expride, poison adrena, dobyns champion, xtasy, fury, g loomis conquest, steez ags, mega bass P5 and destroyer, & Avids. I'm squarely in the shimano & diawa camp for reels & I fish braid to leader. I also have another 7-8 spinning rods of various quality for friends/guests/kids. scott

My suggestion is to not go 50/50 in cost. I think spending more on your finesse set up would pay dividends in term of sensitivity. If the baitcaster is mostly for cranks, you should be able to find something really good <$150. I might be in the minority, but I'm also happy buying gently used rods from boards/forums/one nameless online retailer. Most of my rods are shimano, dobyns, and St Croix in this price range and I've been happy. Best of luck! scott