Since my favorite lure for trolling is a Rapala Husky 13, I had to try the new Rapala Husky 13 scatter. Great bait for trout and striper. Big plus, not available in any USA tackle shop.

Thank you guys for the suggestions. I tried an xf rod awile back and found that it got into the power too quick. Using braid to vertical jig a fish with a soft mouth that likes to jump, led to a lot of lost fish. Fast taper seems to be a bit more forgiving. Guessing zero comments on the Rod Geeks me...

Hi guys, I am planning on having a local gentlemen build two casting rods for my wife and I, specifically for kokanee jigging. Currently she is using a St. Croix Avid casting 66MLF--great rod but has just a little too much power. I have a custom St Croix SC4 66MLF casting rod built about 10 years ag...

Bantam, thank you again for the info and your suggestions. I am definitely going to re-look at the trolling model. Hopefully the shop I am going to this weekend will have the clarus salmon and clarus trolling rods in stock so I can compare the two rods in hand and see which will fit my needs.

Thank you for the quick response and your answer does help. I am trying to keep my rods at or under 8' because last year when we did hook up, clearing the 8'6" rod and putting it in the boat created a few issues with a hot fish and the angler moving all over my boat. It seemed too big to work around...

Bantam, I have a question about some of the salmon rods Shimano offers. I bought the Clarus cscx86m2b last year to try for fishing the Sacramento river. I troll large spinners and found the action a little too fast for this and the 8-6 length was tough in my 15.5' boat. I am now looking at two model...

Thank you for your quick answer but what would you consider too big? I usually use a back to back uni knot to connect 30lb braid to 8, 10 and 17lb mono. Presently all my reels are non-disengaging level-winds so the knot connecting the lines has not been a issue

I have thought about buying the Tatula and have looked at them at the local tackle shop. When pushing the thumb bar and seeing how the TWS works, I noticed that the wing appears to be lower than the top of the spool. Since I use braid backing and leaders that would be wound onto the spool, I started...

Thank you for the reply. Yes I am using metal jigs but not in a rip and crank manner like saltwater folks.....jigging as in lifting and dropping the rod. I guess the real question is do most on here think a 7.3 ratio reel with the torque, longer handle and better drag of todays reels, while great fo...

Over the past few years, I have been using a Daiwa Bluebacker 200bb for kokanee, trout, inland salmon and river run king salmon. It has been mostly used for vertical jigging (3/8 to 2 oz) and some trolling (flat line and downrigger). But have found that it is over kill for the trout and kokanee and ...

I have and still sometimes do use t-sticks. Yes they do catch some big fish but so do other like lures. Yes the production lures, made in china, have a thin clear coat that water seems to dissolve, causing the foil and lip to come apart. I have had a few implode, multiple lips fall off, and lures th...

Thank you both for the info. I am after river run king salmon that can range from a 5lb jack to a +50lb hog but most are in the 10-30lb range. I'm only fishing in 15-30' pulling large spinners and k15 kwikfish and need something that has some backbone. My rod locker is only 7' so I would like a rod ...

Bantam,
Do you think the new 8-3 trolling rods in the clarus and/or convergence would be able to tackle salmon in the Sacramento river? I'm looking for something around this size that telescopes.

I am just taking a guess here but since it freespool's fine and the gear looks fine, it might be either when you put it back together something was off or the anti-reverse bearing has sand/grit in it.

Maybe someone else will have another idea.

senkoman, here is who makes it: http://www.pro-cure.com/gel.html

You can also buy directly from them.