ww2farmer

I have had Sedona's and President's. IMHO ............flip a coin.

I think it's going pretty good, but I have never had a "plan" I just take it as it comes. My kids are happy and healthy. I have a job, I still have all my fingers and toes, I fish more than most, my wife has not killed me yet, I have little to no debt, and it appears I am well fed. Sure I wish a few things were different, I wish my sister was still alive, I wish my grandmother would have lived long enough to see my kids, but such is life.

Usually the coontail around here (WNY) grows deeper than the milfoil, but this year I noticed a lot of thick patches of it in shallow. It formed very thick "mini" mats. I have punched, frogged, and flipped the heck out of them all year since I first saw them and have hauled water............they still like the matted milfoil better. Which is odd, because if you can find deep green stands of coontail out side the milfoil, it can often be lights out on that. I did notice those little shallow patches were so dense that often a 1oz. sinker would not get through, and when it did it was thick all the way to the bottom. Maybe because it was in shallow water and there was no "room" to move under them, but for some reason I have not caught crap out of it. Some of my best milfoil mats you can walk across, but once you get through it, it's quite open underneath.

Now that I have a Minn Kota, I don't think I will ever go back to a MG. To be fair, I had a 12v 46lb MG compared to my 24v 70lb MK, but still I have been "around" similar MG's, and I just like MK better.

All of the above can be felt just fine on a Lightning Rod Shock. I was fishing a 3/16 oz. spinnerbait today with a #3.5 willow blade, and could feel it turning in choppy water with 15+ MPH winds. I could also feel every blade of eel grass or stem of milfoil it touched just fine, and some of my biggest bites today came when I popped free. If people can't feel that stuff on cheap equipment, I don't know how better stuff is going to work for them, something is getting lost in translation from the hand to the brain.

I use Mustad, Gamakatsu, and VMC. All excellent hooks. VMC is really giving me the most bang for the buck lately. They have some great stuff at very reasonable prices.

I have two STX's, a Gen1 and Gen2, both were bought used, but are in fantastic shape. When the Revo's first came out I had one each of the gen1 S, SX, and STX, I didn't like the SX, and traded it for another S, the STX I use to have was sold off to buy some thing else, but I always regretted it. My favorite reels are still my Shimano Curado 51E's, I might be buried with them LOL, but I do like Revos better than the 201D and 201E Shimano Citicas I used to have.

IMHO the one #1 thing that is "missed" is keeping it simple.

I have used St Croixs warranty multiple times, no complaints, I don't have any sort of man crush on it, so I am not going to say it's the best, but it's good, reasonable, and they are prompt. I have also used Abu Garcia/Pure Fishing's warranty service a few times now too, and they are top notch as well. IMHO the Shimano over the counter warranty on rods is tough to beat, providing you don't have to drive halfway across the state to the store, or the Shimano retailer has the rod you are replacing in stock. I have had a few rods from different company's that were NOT easy to deal with............I won't name names, but it begins with a "K" and ends with "istler". And I wasn't wild about my lone exp. with G. Loomis 15 years ago either. I break a lot of rods, 99% of them my fault, Abu and St Croix don't care, they cover it, often for nothing, the least I can do is pay for the shipping to send it in, I consider it the cost of being stupid...LOL

No need to spend big bucks on a spinnerbait rod unless you want to. I use Lightning Rod Shocks, they are fantastic for the $$ and are great reaction bait rods. I fish spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, chatterbaits, swimjigs, skinny dipper type swimbaits, square bills, ripping lipless crankbaits out of grass, top waters, jerkbaits and frogs with mine. For spinnerbait specific use, I use the 6'6" M with 20lb braid for 3/16 + 1/4 oz spinnerbaits, and the 7'MH with 50lb braid for 3/8 + 1/2 oz. spinnerbaits. I used to fish all that stuff with various $250 St Croix Legend Tournaments, and they didn't do any of those things any better than the Lightning Rods. I am even going to get a couple more, so I can just have multiple baits rigged up and ready to go.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Unless every fish you catch looks like that. Fish populations are like anything else, there's always a few scrawny sickly looking ones. They don't live forever you know.

Zip it man...lol

When I want bulk.... I use beavers, when I want action I use paca craws, and when I want small and subtle I use Zoom critter craws.

Hollow body frog, I don't care what brand, they all work fine.

No idea on the reels. But Veritas's are very good rods. I have fished with rods that cost twice as much and the Veritas will hang with them on performance, and they are one of the lightest, best balanced rods off the shelf I have ever used. They don't have as long of a warranty, or use top shelf components like more expensive rods, so if that's important to you look at something else.

1. Nothing is going on my wall.... Ever. I am happy with just a picture. 2. Back it goes. Only god knows if it's going to make it or not. Zero fish have ever survived the knife and hot oil. If it doesn't make it in the water, it will be food for turtles, bugs, etc......

I like vendettas a lot, but you said you already have a few. So what does it matter what anyone else thinks. If you like them buy more, if you don't.... don't. If you buy and use stuff because of what other people think... That's silly.

Kind of hard to fish them through the ice, but other than that, I have one tied on the rest of the year.

I guess I have been doing alright lol. I am still waiting for the brown ones to start playing. Water temps have been higher than usual for this time of year, it's made for some great largemouth fishing, and I am not complaining.. But I won't be satisfied until I have a couple decent smallmouth days.

No, but one of the 6-10's that was tied for my previous PB on this lake was on those hooks, just not the ones you sent.

Got done with work a few hours early, and decided to hit the lake............good decision. This fish best's the pair of 6-10's that were tied for my PB largemouth on my home lake. This one barely eeked it out, but she went 6-12, and, like all big WNY fish, was as big around as she was long. The fish in my right hand is a 4-1 for perspective. A tournament win 2 weeks ago, 2nd place in the classic yesterday, a new all time PB last week, and a new home lake PB, I might just put the boat away and call it a year. LOL but I won't.

And to the op, contact Abu, they will take care of you. I have never had an easier company to deal with regarding rod warranty issues.

That's bull crap, they are no more fragile or durable than any other rod. I absolutely abuse the crap out of my rods, and the Abu rods take it as well as any.

Off the top of my head...... Tackle warehouse, Bass Pro Shops, cabelas, dicks, gander mtn., Susquehanna fishing tackle, another site, walmart, and probably a few more I can't remember. Not much in the area for locally owned mom and pop type bass tackle shops or I would buy from them.

The Vengeance and Lightning rod shocks are all you need Bill. I have rid myself from the shackles of "high end" rods, and have gone with Lightning rod shocks, Vengeances, Vendetta's and Veritas rods this year. You could say I do "OK" with them...LMAO