How's your GAS lately?

[Woohoodude11]

I often think I have GAS until see some of Dave's posts. I had a very modest $55 TW purchase a week or so ago.

What kind of spinning rod are you considering?

I had one Dave-esque GAS post in March I believe, ever since then I don't bother

I bought a 13 fishing MH rod yesterday from...you guessed it...Dave! :lol

[HEDDONFROG]

What kind of spinning rod are you considering?

Like you, I’ve just recently discovered how much I like longer spinning rods both from shore and from a boat. So at a minimum I’m looking at 7’ but would prefer a 7’-3” or slightly longer. Don’t think I want to go to a 7’-6”...yet. Rod will be used for light drop shotting, Neko rig’s and for light top water baits. Probably a 1 power rod. I only have 1 rod on the list at the moment a Phenix Feather 7’-1” light. I haven’t pulled the trigger because I’d really like a slightly longer rod. I’ve budgeted $200 & under. I’m also staying away from big name brands, a lot of the smaller companies put out excellent performing and looking rods without the premium price.

[Bassin' Ted]

What kind of spinning rod are you considering?

Like you, I’ve just recently discovered how much I like longer spinning rods both from shore and from a boat. So at a minimum I’m looking at 7’ but would prefer a 7’-3” or slightly longer. Don’t think I want to go to a 7’-6”...yet. Rod will be used for light drop shotting, Neko rig’s and for light top water baits. Probably a 1 power rod. I only have 1 rod on the list at the moment a Phenix Feather 7’-1” light. I haven’t pulled the trigger because I’d really like a slightly longer rod. I’ve budgeted $200 & under. I’m also staying away from big name brands, a lot of the smaller companies put out excellent performing and looking rods without the premium price.

I love my 741 HP for light dropshotting and 702 XP is what I use for Neko rigs but those are more than $200. And you get used to the longer rods quickly. I am looking forward to using my 792 for lakers later this year.

[RonG]

I must confess, yesterday I bought a pair of St. Croix Premier light action rods. 6'0" and 6'6"/

[DasGoby]

I must confess, yesterday I bought a pair of St. Croix Premier light action rods. 6'0" and 6'6"/

Nice! Did you get a good deal on them? Knowing you, you did...

[RonG]

I must confess, yesterday I bought a pair of St. Croix Premier light action rods. 6'0" and 6'6"/

Nice! Did you get a good deal on them? Knowing you, you did...

I stupidly broke one 2 days ago, thus sending me emergency shopping. I originally bought my arsenal of SCs at Dick's. 'Called 5 stores and none had any Premiers. Cabela's had them, but wouldn't honor my competitor's coupon like Dick's does, so screw them.

I've never looked on Craigs, but did and found the exact rod I wanted. A serious miracle! Both in excellent, close to unused condition.

6'6' in stores is $130 before tax
6'0" in stores is $120 before tax

I paid $120 total for both.

[polishfly]

Ron getting GAS again! Love it! Minor spend for me...i broke 2 rods recently so I picked up 2 Daiwa Tatula XT rods...so far love em.

20180913_193201_HDR~2-1.jpg

[Bassin' Ted]

Those bladed swimbait hooks are interesting.

[mike son]

Picked up a 500 count box of q tips for reel cleaning this off season. Does that count as GAS?

[polishfly]

Ted let me tell you. Those bladed swimjig hooks were irresistable to just about everything up north. Caught multiple musky, northern, and smallies on them all weekend with the guys several weeks ago.

[HEDDONFROG]

Picked up a 500 count box of q tips for reel cleaning this off season. Does that count as GAS?

Sure why not... but don't put the wallet away yet. Try these out instead of Q-tips. They're foam, no cotton strands or lint. I have 3 different foam heads that came in a auto detailing kit but I only end up using these two different tips. A lot cheaper off Amazon as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Pointed-Cleaning ... YWKBQF1XJM

https://www.amazon.com/Zetek-Printhead- ... B01DX9OT1A

[Bassin' Ted]

Ted let me tell you. Those bladed swimjig hooks were irresistable to just about everything up north. Caught multiple musky, northern, and smallies on them all weekend with the guys several weeks ago.

Add some of those to my Black Friday TW list.

[DasGoby]

Funny I don't seem them at TW. A couple other brands with similar hooks but not VMC.

[mike son]

Dave - it's easier just to throw out the cotton ones than clean foam ones. I do mind the lint. I use a tooth brush and dawn to deep clean reels. Cotton swabs are used to clean spool shafts, spool raceways, and inside the pinion gear every so often or after heavy use in dirty water. I'm OCD lol. Guess I'll add a real GAS. Pro blue 2, table rock special, and metallic shad 110s

[RonG]

I must confess, I bought a pair of Frog Togg breathable waders this evening. Forgive me for I have sinned.

[polishfly]

I got mine (bladed swimbait hooks) at Dicks in Schaumburg. They are damn pricey...$7 for 2 of them, but with the right gear they will last many many many fish, fish them completely weedless, no problems with hookups and 0 snags. Durable too, except I had one where the weight got a bit loose on me and would shift around a bit.

[RonG]

I must confess, I bought a Lew's CarbonFire reel tonight for one of those Craiglist St. Croixs I picked up a few days ago. 10 bearings...the demo model felt nice and smooth.

$49.99 regular price

Applied:

$20 of previously redeemed scorecard bucks LOL
20% off sale this week on the reel
20% off for using my Dick's scorecard. (special this weekend only. Go get some stuff!)

Final price--> $11.99

DSCF0657.JPG

[Rambler]

Good buy Ron. Those are nice reels.

[HEDDONFROG]

After being on back order for months and guys jacking the prices on eBay as high as $70...jacks are back. Japanese order came in same day as TW. I only know how I’m losing some of these, ahem but a couple others vanished and as soon as we get safe ice I’ll be able to get 2 back (trees) from early in the year, lol.

[Woohoodude11]

I originally thought you were insane spending what you spend on those things, but after using regular chats, elites, customs, and project-z's...I totally get it. Great vibration and effortless starts.

[HEDDONFROG]

I originally thought you were insane spending what you spend on those things, but after using regular chats, elites, customs, and project-z's...I totally get it. Great vibration and effortless starts.

And great skirts and double wire baits keepers, strong hardware and they flat out catch fish but I still take pride in my madness:D

[HEDDONFROG]

It’s amazing how much you save in groceries when 3 teenagers aren’t stuffing their faces anymore. 1 is a stoner face (not mine, hers) why didn’t you other empty nesters let me in on that? Lol. Time for some big boy toys...no, not a boat yet, just some ultra gear. Picked up the all new Dobyns Xtasy 755 Mag-Heavy. Mike_son questioned my sanity for buying a rod of this caliber without any reviews but I had faith Dobyns would get their first Halo rod right. Ryguy asked “does it blows you?” ...sinner. I said it does. It blows your mind. My GF couldn’t decide which was lighter my 6-6 Med-Hvy GLX or this 7-5 mag-hvy. It balances that well. I’m pairing it with a Shimano Bantam MGL HG 7.1:1 in a nod to my very first baitcaster a Bantam BBMVR 2-speed (probably sold to me by Cletedius in 88) and retired this year after 30 great years of service.

Joe, don’t look it up

[joetrain]

Looks sweet.

My daughter and son in law moved in with us and not free loading. I’m making money.
~JOE~

[Rambler]

Nothing like gear porn in the morning.

[Ryguy83]

[Lip_Yanker]

Yeah, when my son went to college our grocery bill went wayyyy down. Then when he graduated, moved out and got a job, and got his own health insurance too $500+ a month back in my pocket!). Woooot! Thought I was gonna reap the rewards and be able to get all kinds of cool stuff- Well, momma bought a new vehicle and crushed my dreams. Oh well.


FWIW- my last two GAS acquisitions I was sucked in to have been a bust so far, so I feel I'm in the hole again anyway.


.

[Brett]

Just stopped at Henry's on 31st and Canal for some trout bait and tiny hooks. Ended up walking out with almost a whole 1500 yard spool of 14 lb. Fireline Crystal for $50. Apparently Berkeley isn't making it anymore? Anyway they have spools in other sizes on clearance too, 6 lb, 8, 20, 30, others. Some full some a little used. Trying Powerboat for the first time for the opener tomorrow.

[HEDDONFROG]

Mostly experimental walleye gas (everything white or chartreuse) Woo likens the white Meg to nothing more than a giant sperm imitation bait...good call. Plus some Jerkbaits that fill holes in my shallow and deeper jerkbait arsenal and some heavier and larger Dark Sleepers.

[Ryguy83]

that is one giant sperm... i thought you didn't like the zako's?

[HEDDONFROG]

[quote="Ryguy83"]that is one giant sperm... i thought you didn't like the zako's?[/quote

I couldn't find any white Strike King Blade minnows and after missing 1,237 fish on a Zako I figured out how to rig them shallower in the body, leaving enough gap, so I no longer have any hook up issues. Always liked the chubby side profile

[Rambler]

after missing 1,237 fish on a Zako

You actually count them? Wow...

[Brett]

$15 bucks at Aldi. Electric heat, timer etc.

IMG_10112018_085252_(800_x_1000_pixel).jpg

[Rambler]

I'm sort of embarrassed to post this but it relates to deGASSing, ReGASing and why I'll continue to shop at Cabelas - at least until they disappear into the darkness that is BPS.

A few weeks ago my brother & I made a late season trip to my favorite small stream in No. IL. Hiked most of the day - he took pictures while I fished. I got skunked - a first for that stream. Not only that, I didn't see any fish - another first. So after a few hours I broke down my rod and stashed it in my backpack.

When we got back to the car I found that the top section of my rod - a 7' Cabelas ProGuide UL had fallen out somewhere along the way. Can't figure out how it happened but it was gone. Too late & I was too tired to go back looking for it. So shit.

Last week I took the butt end to Cabelas to see if I could get a replacement for the top. They said there weren't any spares & that they stopped making that rod (a terrible tragedy - it was a great rod). They asked if I had the receipt which I didn't & then said they'd give me some credit for my loss. This blew me away since I admitted I had lost it & it was my own damned fault. The credit wasn't much - $6.00 - but as I always say, 'better than a sharp stick in the eye'.

I put the credit & some Cabelas points toward the purchase of a 7' UL Fish Eagle. Nicer handle and seems to have better action. Time will tell.

My point is that Cabelas could have told me "tough shit" and they would have been completely justified in doing so. Says a lot about how they view customer service.

It reminded me of how when I was a kid my dad bought almost all of his tools from Sears. One reason was because the old Sears on Lawrence Ave was a 10 min. walk from our house. But the main reason was because every time a Craftsman tool broke or stopped working all he had to do was take it to the hardware dept and they'd give him a new one.

Years later Sears discontinued this practice. Now Sears is about to be discontinued.

[HEDDONFROG]

I'm sort of embarrassed to post this but it relates to deGASSing, ReGASing and why I'll continue to shop at Cabelas - at least until they disappear into the darkness that is BPS.

A few weeks ago my brother & I made a late season trip to my favorite small stream in No. IL. Hiked most of the day - he took pictures while I fished. I got skunked - a first for that stream. Not only that, I didn't see any fish - another first. So after a few hours I broke down my rod and stashed it in my backpack.

When we got back to the car I found that the top section of my rod - a 7' Cabelas ProGuide UL had fallen out somewhere along the way. Can't figure out how it happened but it was gone. Too late & I was too tired to go back looking for it. So shit.

Last week I took the butt end to Cabelas to see if I could get a replacement for the top. They said there weren't any spares & that they stopped making that rod (a terrible tragedy - it was a great rod). They asked if I had the receipt which I didn't & then said they'd give me some credit for my loss. This blew me away since I admitted I had lost it & it was my own damned fault. The credit wasn't much - $6.00 - but as I always say, 'better than a sharp stick in the eye'.

I put the credit & some Cabelas points toward the purchase of a 7' UL Fish Eagle. Nicer handle and seems to have better action. Time will tell.

My point is that Cabelas could have told me "tough shit" and they would have been completely justified in doing so. Says a lot about how they view customer service.

It reminded me of how when I was a kid my dad bought almost all of his tools from Sears. One reason was because the old Sears on Lawrence Ave was a 10 min. walk from our house. But the main reason was because every time a Craftsman tool broke or stopped working all he had to do was take it to the hardware dept and they'd give him a new one.

Years later Sears discontinued this practice. Now Sears is about to be discontinued.

Amen, to customer service. I broke a Cabelas rod, walked in told them it was my fault and they not only replaced it but due to a sale I was able to get the next model up in their line. As for Loomis's Expeditor service, I'm about to replace a rod that I originally bought in the late 90's and have broke this same damn rod at least 3 times since the first one...well, now 4. One of these days they're going to say "Nope, not gonna do it this time" and I'm going to say "Yeah, don't blame you" Idk why I break this one particular rod so often. Some rods I never break

[Woohoodude11]

Amen, to customer service. I broke a Cabelas rod, walked in told them it was my fault and they not only replaced it but due to a sale I was able to get the next model up in their line. As for Loomis's Expeditor service, I'm about to replace a rod that I originally bought in the late 90's and have broke this same damn rod at least 3 times since the first one...well, now 4. One of these days they're going to say "Nope, not gonna do it this time" and I'm going to say "Yeah, don't blame you" Idk why I break this one particular rod so often. Some rods I never break

If its the one I'm thinking, you technically didn't break it

Rambler, BPS customer service isn't half bad themselves. IDK if you remember, but a couple months ago I posted that I went fishing and snapped one of my favorite rods on a hook set. This was the 4th rod I broke this year, so I felt a pretty big sense of doom. My fiance and I went to our wedding venue to talk some stuff over with them (in Wadsworth) and on a whim I asked if we could take a look at BPS and see if they'd replace it. Walked in without it, assuming they'd tell me to pound sand. Approached the counter and talked to a teenaged or barely 20 guy. He asked if I had a receipt...yeah def don't have that. He knew the rod was released earlier this year and BPS carries a 1 year warranty so he told me to grab another rod and we'd get this done. I was even offered to swap out the reel (bought as a combo) but didn't wanna lose the line on it, plus the reel worked just fine anyhow. Like you guys both said, they could have laughed in my face but actually made me quite happy.

[RonG]

I picked up one of these today at Crabela's and some soft plastics. I also brought in one of my half empty spools of Power Pro and got the reel spooled for free.

Pflueger® Summit XT Spinning Reel
$34.97
SAVE 50%



They had a decent stack of them in stock on a table in about 4 or 5 sizes. I chose FRappie-size.

[Rambler]

^^^Another good reel buy Ron. Bought one late last year. Only issue has been with line (20lb braid) getting caught between the line roller & bail seat. The fix is to tighten the shit out of it before each use.

[RonG]

^^^Another good reel buy Ron. Bought one late last year.

I'm liking the Pfluegers. They take an dunking and keep on thunking. I took it out today and landed 18 crappies on it in the cold and it was smooth and performed really well.

About 10-15 years ago, most my reals were Abu-Garcias. One quick dunk of a second or two of an Abu reel and it would stiffen up and barely crank. Then with my Dick's bucks, I picked up about half a dozen or more Okumas that were proprietary models for Dick's for basically free. Great reals...9 to 10 bearings...and great quality and they really could take a beating. 8-10 years of heavy use and they are now wearing out. The Okumas Dick's now sells are pretty crappy.

I've been replacing the Okumas with the Pfluegers and am impressed so far. I often accidentally dunk them while kayak fishing and notice no impact from being submerged. The drag is nice and they are real smooth.

[Rambler]

Yep, Pfluegers are the bomb. My main reel used to be an Abu Garcia Cardinal 862 from 10 - 15 years ago too. It dated from before Abu got bought up by Pure Fishing. Had a dalliance with Lews (really good reels too) but have gone mostly to Pluegers. I never really considered them until I talked with a sales guy at Cabelas who really talked them up.

Pickep up my 1st President XT a few years ago & now have 2 XTs, a Summit XT and a President UL. All really great reels. As mentioned above the Summit gave me some problems but has been great since I started tightening it every time before going over to the DPR - I use it with braid for pike.

And my favorite fly reel is a Pflueger Medalist 1492 I bought in '74. Still works like a charm.

Still like those Lews too.

[big jay]

I picked up a 8" triple trout and 8 & 6 inch bull shad's and a travel swimbait rod.

[HEDDONFROG]

I picked up a 8" triple trout and 8 & 6 inch bull shad's and a travel swimbait rod.

Oh, so now you decide to come back around and post, Mr. Winter poster guy. Have any decent fall outings? Not that there was much of a fall. I had one good jerkbait outing this fall and only discovered it with about 2 hours of daylight left. I know you like jerks from last winters conversations, so if you haven't already, you've got to pick up some Vision 110+1's to try and some regular Vision 110's too. You can get them in your favorite "Pro Blue" color. I actually think they offer 2 versions of Pro Blue. They are sooo much easier to work for long periods of time Vs KVD's, especially the KVD Deep. The +1 won't go quite as deep as a KVD Deep but with the action of the Vision, I don't think the fish have a problem coming up an extra foot or two

Mike_son has piqued my interest in big swimbaits for next year. It scares me to think how bad it might get financially if I really get into them

[HEDDONFROG]

This is shockingly the whole of my Black Friday gas. I actually almost made it the whole day without looking or buying anything...until I get a text late in the day from Mike saying “Hey, Dicks has MegaBass lures on sale” that damn mike_son of a... Didn’t even know they started carrying MegaBass. Oh, well. Can’t have too many pretty jerkbaits and I actually took 2 out of my basket...so I actually saved $40. Yeah, I like that logic

[Woohoodude11]

This is shockingly the whole of my Black Friday gas. I actually almost made it the whole day without looking or buying anything...until I get a text late in the day from Mike saying “Hey, Dicks has MegaBass lures on sale” that damn mike_son of a... Didn’t even know they started carrying MegaBass. Oh, well. Can’t have too many pretty jerkbaits and I actually took 2 out of my basket...so I actually saved $40. Yeah, I like that logic

I think mine got mis-delivered if you got yours already Tracking says delivered to "dock" and signed by "Dorris" (neither of which are at my complex).

That was too good of a sale to pass up. 25% off and free shipping got me 2 of those and a lipless, $56 in product (not including tax) for $45. Moot if I never end up getting em.

[big jay]

I picked up a 8" triple trout and 8 & 6 inch bull shad's and a travel swimbait rod.

Oh, so now you decide to come back around and post, Mr. Winter poster guy. Have any decent fall outings? Not that there was much of a fall. I had one good jerkbait outing this fall and only discovered it with about 2 hours of daylight left. I know you like jerks from last winters conversations, so if you haven't already, you've got to pick up some Vision 110+1's to try and some regular Vision 110's too. You can get them in your favorite "Pro Blue" color. I actually think they offer 2 versions of Pro Blue. They are sooo much easier to work for long periods of time Vs KVD's, especially the KVD Deep. The +1 won't go quite as deep as a KVD Deep but with the action of the Vision, I don't think the fish have a problem coming up an extra foot or two

Mike_son has piqued my interest in big swimbaits for next year. It scares me to think how bad it might get financially if I really get into them

I know I don't post a lot but I'm always lurking around. I had a great fall bite on jerkbaits and lipless cranks. I have some 110's I only use them in certain water don't want a hammer handle pike bite off's. And when I want to go a little deeper I use a lucky craft staysee 90. Maybe this spring you can come up to Wisconsin and I'll take you out on Geneva and you can put your jerkbait skills to the test with the smallmouth.

[big jay]

The swimbait game is addictive here are a few I acquired since spring

[HEDDONFROG]

I know I don't post a lot but I'm always lurking around. I had a great fall bite on jerkbaits and lipless cranks. I have some 110's I only use them in certain water don't want a hammer handle pike bite off's. And when I want to go a little deeper I use a lucky craft staysee 90. Maybe this spring you can come up to Wisconsin and I'll take you out on Geneva and you can put your jerkbait skills to the test with the smallmouth.

I'd totally be down for that, it's been years since I fished Geneva. I've also been really itching to night fish Delevan. I just bought my first Staysee but did not get a chance to use it this fall. Regarding hammer handle pike running off with your expensive jerks we've had the same issue for years and only this year started using leaders. For jerks the one that dampens the action the least but still protects your bait had been an inexpensive Eagle Claw Micro leader in the 5" 12lb model (Walmart 2 bucks for 3) The 8" 18lb works but does limit the baits action some. There are times in early spring where the bite on my lake is literally 5/6/7 pike to 1 bass. Several guys here can vouch for that. I've only lost 1 jerk this year to a bite off while using the 5" 12lb and it was a big pike that came from behind and inhaled the bait up past the leader. Watched it happen.

That's a nice group of swim baits & wake rats/baits Jay. I'm hoping I don't catch that illness, lol

[Woohoodude11]

Those LiveTarget swim a little too stiff in my opinion. The jointed (which you have plenty of) seem to work the best. I totally failed on swimbait season this year, got myself hooked to the chatterbait and frog and didn't use much else in the warm months.

and I'll be one to vouch for what Heddon said. The short wire leaders have little to no effect on the action and immensely help in keeping your lures. my only jerkbait losses this year have been from hard backlashes and I never lost a single one to a bite off. The 5/6/7:1 ratio is a fact as well, bass were my enemy apparently the first couple times out there. So I've caught a fair share of pike to know they work.

The ones I used I found at Cabelas and are a thinner gauge with the same weight (different metal I assume?). They cost a bit more, but the ones Heddon mentioned seem to only be in select Walmart stores as I never saw them in the few I checked. There's always the interwebs, though.

[Phil6]

my only jerkbait losses this year have been from hard backlashes and I never lost a single one to a bite off

Never forget the triple-whammy

[RonG]

Control your gas!

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/florida ... 39089.html

[Woohoodude11]

my only jerkbait losses this year have been from hard backlashes and I never lost a single one to a bite off

Never forget the triple-whammy

That's the one
So pissed that day.