softwateronly

You'll never eat a banana on a cross country flight again! scott

Mine are a couple years old now, but I remember that wheel being awfully stubborn when it was new. My uninformed suggestion is to be absolutely positive you've put a lot of force into it. scott

Nichols and War Eagle with the bullet heads are most of what I use, but I found the Picasso inviziwire double willow and a gambler ez gives some great thump for real slow rolling in that 10' range. I think the pivoting swim head has a lot to do with it. scott

Sounds like a worthwhile experiment to me. Hope we get to hear about the successes. scott

I don't know what to tell you. Shimano themselves calls it a mod/fast. I agree with them. I think this is the truth down below from @jbsoonerfan I have 3 exprides that say mod/fast according to the Shimano site; 7'6MH, 7'7H, and 7'3XH. The 7'6 and 7'3 feel crisp yet soft tip. The 7'7 is definitely slower than those other two. I crank, open hook swimbait and scrounger with the 7'7. My guess is the 6'10M falls in line with the mod/fast that is the 7'6MH and 7'3XH. scott

I foresee myself loving to hate all of these baits that I will donate to the Pike gods. scott

What you think, might be worth using a cps and texsposed or exposed hook through the body? It should allow you to keep the weight low and centered for that almost damiki rig horizontal swim. Killer bed bait? scott

To me it doesn't really feel that way because it's such a powerful stick, but when you really push it, it becomes more obvious that a mod-fast rating is appropriate. IMHO the mod-fast is what gives the XH backbone the ability to be so versatile and helps keep fish pinned when hooked. I'm a fan of the rod. scott

I saw the same thing as @mrpao Shimano itself has always rated it this way. https://fish.shimano.com/content/fish/northamerica/us/en/homepage/Shimano_Product_Page.P-EXPRIDE_CASTING_17.html If you get the B, it'll be tradeable for an A with me scott

There's a rumor on the internet that their jerkbaits can't catch a cold in Florida ponds... scott

T-rig for me, I have the same issue with wacky, nothing but weeds and I lose interest... scott

The XH has turned out to be super versatile for me and we don't have giant bass either. I frog and run large weedless swimbaits with mine. I also pitch 3/4oz jigs into heavy weeds during the summer. scott

Fair point and you're right, I bomb 3/4-2oz all the time on jig rods, braid to leader, and 100 size spools because to me, they're way more comfortable to fish and I have better feel for the tail thump which helps control ipt speed issues. Long casts are my norm to be effective, not reservoirs but some of these midwest inland lakes remain 8'+ visibility through the year. Currently looking for a 7'6-7'9 sensitive and light weight H or XH just for this role. In my defense, 20lb floro on 100 size spools would severely limit my effectiveness and I couldn't recommend it. scott

High in the water column w/no wind has been the least likely time for me to do well with spinnerbaits. If visibility goes down, my spinnerbait success goes up. Fishing mostly clear water means I use them most for deep weedlines and night fishing. scott

Best hand warmer I've ever bought was a harbor freight 4" angle grinder. scott

hogfarmerbaits.com still has some if you want to punt your decision..... scott

I've been cycling between .33 and .40mm based on price/availability. I haven't seen a noticeable change in head wag. 8/0 beasts on 14lb might make me a little nervous around cover, I tend to swing for the fences on weedless swimbaits. Not sure if this is helpful. scott

Hey! there's a long line for that... scott

My confidence is to start with a swim jig and back it up w/ a spinnerbait or bladed jig. I put that on water clarity, less is more type thing. I'd flip the order with clarity less than 3' Somewhat surprisingly to me is that heavy versions of both have been very effective for me in deeper water, but the 3/4-1oz spinnerbait seems slightly better, especially at night. scott

I get it, it's my one place to get away from screens. scott

I'm sure you're right, knowing your water is most important in my mind. But to me, mega 360 looks really useful. Deep weedline turns and changes give me the best fish in the summer, but are challenging to line up with triangulation and long casts. I think 360 would be super useful for that. scott

Someday I'm gonna go full bait gorilla and get a little more current than my 1993 lowrance flasher, but I think a truck to get off my lake would be first. And then there's the rehab we've been putting off. I guess it's gonna be awhile. scott

I know there's haters in every corner of the world, but I'm always taken aback when I run into it in the fishing world. JJ is capitalizing on a niche opened up by new technology and absolutely destroying everyone else in terms of numbers. It'll be studied and talked about for years. Congrats to him. scott

Personally, I don't think SAL does that much except it's proof that the FL stocking is working and traceable. So in the end, it is working and rather genius. Unless they are always paired up with large FLLMB males, then you do kinda get a 2 for 1 genetically speaking. scott

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/action/stock_bywater.php?WB_code=0688 Where I found it, so a 2014 FL or a 2015 F1? scott My edit, probably between 2010-13 really. 17 is giant!