|
|
| All of us tryed out new equipment this year (2009). Lets hear your honest feedback on those items purchased. I'll get it started!
Lowrance LMS 520C- Love it! My first Sonar/GPS Combo so take it from there.. I no longer feel lost in the night!
Predator 9' Heavy action- This is the nicest (Musky) rod i've ever had in my hands but! For mag bulldogs and supermodels it doesn't quite cut it. I will be purchasing a 9' 6" XH Predator this spring to handle the heavier baits.
Trinadad 14- I had a smile on my face for the first hour i used it. Does require a little more attention when using which can be a good thing! Pros- Burn baby burn!
Cons- Be carefull throwing into the wind and hard to slow roll!
Lamiglass 8' 6" XH- Not enough back bone to handle todays baits. When I purchased the rod I loved the feel but very limited in what applications i could use it for. Great rod but with my multi purpose predator H it has been layed to rest at a young age.... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 380
Location: Michigan | Thumbs up
- Controll King kicker motor throttle control (Magma Mfg) - easy install on my Yamaha 15HP kicker, great customer service, and a product that works!
- Texas Tackle Split Ring Pliers - expensive, but worthi it!
- Franks Custom Rods - got 2 Legends this year, and both work and look great.
- Diawa Luna LH 300L Reels - now have 3 and love them - best balance of price and performance
Thumbs down
- Berkly battery powered line strippers - just plain don't work good
Year over year must haves...
- Auto Pilot on my Minn Kota Bow Mount
- Nipex
- Cabelas Guidewear Rain Gear
- Costa Del Mar Polarized Glass lens sunglasses
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 1286
Location: WI | -The Suick topwater is good but the belly hook hanger needs to be epoxied in.
-Both the Diawa Luna and SC 300a (same reel) had anti reverse failures for me. One failed while I was netting a fish. If they could fix that issue it would be an awesome reel.
-MI mag heli dawgs are nice and catch fish.
-MuskyBumber bump board is sweet.
-rad dop #10 spinnerbaits, fish like them but I had 2 break, one on a fish that probably killed it, and another broke in the first couple hours of trolling. Not too impressed.
-Weagles rule. First year of trying them.
-MI rods are nice. No complaints.
Not all new for 09, but new to me.
|
|
| |
|
| My bigger ticket items this past year were a lcx27 and a new "slingblade" rod. After working a few mid-season bugs out of the 27 it worked great. I really like having the units networked, great for the waypoints. The slingblade is a awesome rod and find myself using it with a variety of baits. Its my new favorite rod in the arsenal.
Hopefully I get more time to fish this year, very hectic work schedule in 09, that took away a lot of fishing time. I'm planning on doing something about that this year. No real complaints with the purchases, just their lack of use...
PMV |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1184
Location: Iowa Great Lakes | 9' Predator Heavy, love it for blades
8'6-9' XH Tackle Industries rods, Amazing rod for the money, takes care of my big rubber and big blades and makes casting big rubber fun and not wear me down in an hour like my MI rod used to.
Revo Toro 60, my go to blade reel for anything but burning, Love it and this coming from a guy that swore he would never own another Abu muskie reel. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1023
| • bought a slingblade - love it.
• bought a BassPro Maina 8'6" XH rod for 70 bucks - can barely (if at all) tell the difference between this rod and the slingblade!
• bought another basspro rod as a backup.
That was my biggest and most pleasant surprise this year.
Landry |
|
| |
|
Posts: 335
Location: Minnesota | Bought a new LMS 520c for the console of the boat. Screen is too small - now I want a bigger one.
MI rods and gander rods work just fine. I don't think I need to buy another g-loomis again. I like the 3 that I have but I can't justify the added cost.
Everything I bought from MTO was a good choice at the best price.
One more new Abu7000C3 - I love those reels and have never had a problem with Abu reels. I found out this year that Abu has great customer service. I lost a spring for the pawl on the 7000C3 while cleaning a reel a week before my Canada trip and they sent me one free that very day so I could have it before I left on my trip. (This is the only reel I have ever seen a spring in the pawl assembly)
The old (flat connector) Minnkota foot petals still suck. I replaced 2 more this year. I need to look for a new trolling motor a this rate.
I am sure there is more but that is good enough for now. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 145
| My new equipment in 09:
Trinidad 16N- expensive, but worth every penny. Had to learn to cast without guide, but the reel is bulletproof and is awesome for big blades and decent for big rubber.
MI 8'6" super magnum rod- pretty good rod for $100 and handled big blades and rubber pretty well. Kind of heavy, but for the price it got the job done.
Gander tournament extreme muskie rods- I ended up with the 8' MH and H rods and they also cost around $100. I really like these rods for the price. They are great all around rods for topwater, spinnerbaits, small tails, jerks, and cranks. The H throws the magum dawgs pretty well also. I can't justify the extra money any more for the lower end croixs and loomis. Now if only they would start making a 9' rod. |
|
| |
|
| '09 clearcut winners -
- 8'6" one piece maina rod. Purchased on sale for $70, blindfolded you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between it and a $250 rod. Just awesome.
- 8'6" tourney series gander rod. A small step down from the maina, slightly faster tip, but still a dawg lobber's dream. Snagged that one on sale for $56! Heck of a bucktail rod.
- SuperD's. Gave them a true fair shake for the first time in '09, and simply slayed the 'skis! Most impressive were on several days when no other lure could do squat. Learning how to tune them seemed key for a few, but once they were ready...it was go time! Tough baits for that price too.
Jury still out -
- Tica Caiman. Tried out 2 pretty heavily, all seemed well at first, but one was tough to get the thumb bar pushed after a few 10 hour days. Then a big hunk of plastic finally broke free inside rendering it useless after 2 months of use...sending that one back so we'll see how their customer service is. Other one is still functioning well. Still in search of a musky-tough ~$100 reel offering (Okuma, Shimano, Abu and Pfleuger have already failed the test...)
'09 flops -
- tyrants. I hope it will be a fish catcher for me at some point, but I bought several this year and had all of them crack and fill up with water. I heard that there are stronger ones out there now, but I probably won't buy one for a while if at all.
- topraiders. Haven't need to buy new ones in a while, always been by favorite topwater. Restocked with 5 in 2009, ALL of them spun right out of the box. Heard about this problem with the 'new' ones (an issue with 'new' ones, not 'new-new' ones from what I hear). I ended up threading a topraider tail on a rumbler body and got something out of the components at least...including two 4 footers!
- blue fox double 8. blades need a hard yank to get spinning on like every cast, which is a real turn off for me. Light tinsel wraps around the hooks and blades too often. I was excited when it came out since my homemade double 8's have been killer...but the blue foxes were pure wasted bucks for sure. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 309
Location: Elgin IL | Thumbs up
Super Shad was a real nice trolling lure that tracked well,has a large profile and handles pounding into rocks.
Thumbs Down
I thought the willow blades rotate to far from the shaft and they pulled just as hard as a double 10
Edited by msky3 1/5/2010 8:44 AM
Attachments
----------------
 super shad_1.JPG (41KB - 207 downloads)
willow beast_1.JPG (68KB - 177 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 32880
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | OK gents, a little heads up. NO product bashing is allowed. if you say something is 'junk' or 'sucked', expect your post will be removed. Also, if you had a problem with a product that you KNOW has been corrected since you bought it, there's no necessity to complain about it...get it replaced. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 265
Location: McGuire AFB, NJ | New for me this season,
Thumbs UP---8'' St Croix Top-N-Tail....WOW this was worth the $$$. Extremely light rod that makes casting all day a breeze! Fished multiple days with out getting whooped. Great in the fig 8, really can get some sweet speed that triggered some fish to bite.
-Thimbs Down---Abu Garcia Record, Can't free spool when tension is applied, tough to fight a good fish. No trolling "clicker", To fast for anything I throw..which causes baits to run extremly high.
-Thimbs Up-----Calcutta 400 B, paired this with my OMII custom Fenwick rod and I'll never buy another brand of reel for a larger rod. Wish I would have pulled the trigger a little earlier on this.
-Thumbs Down---Jackpots....way to many blow ups with no hook ups, I know there are modifications but I want to be able to throw a lure NIB
Thumbs Up...WEAGLE...unlike the jackpot stays in the water when blasted! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 164
| I have to say that the Revo Toro 6.4:1 is the best reel I have owned, I like it much more than the 5.4:1
The St Croix Ledgend Big Dawg rod is a fantastic rod does everything I want in a fishing rod.
The Suzy Spin was by far my best producing bait, especially on the Fox Chain of Lakes. (I know I am biased towards this bait).
I also got to use the 5 ½” SS Shad from Smoke Hairy Chest Tackle more this year. If you have not got one, I suggest you get one, a great lure for shallow water.
And Finally the pink Yo-Zuri fluro leaders from Stealth, not sure if the pink makes a difference, buy hey, it’s something new to try! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2258
Location: SE, WI. | HELLKATS IN THE CORK/SHALLOW RUNNER WAS IDEAL THIS YEAR IN CANADA. COLD FRONTS DOMINATED A GOOD PART OF JULY IN THE NORTH. I NEVER WAS A BIG FAN OF LARGE PLASTIC BAITS. BUT THIS YEAR I WAS FORCED TO THROW THIS BAIT BECAUSE IT PRODUCED DAILY IN COLD FRONT CONDITIONS. SHALLOW ROCK WAS THE PATTERN, AND THIS BAIT WAS EASY TO WORK, KEEP FROM GETTING HUNG, AND FISHED FOR 5 STRAIGHT DAYS WITHOUT FATIGUE. ALSO GREAT HOOKUPS FOR A LARGE PLASTIC BAIT. BIG PIKE AND MUSKY DAILY. THEY WERE NOW AVAILABLE IN 09 AT LIMITED QUANTITIES. FRANK WALSH BAYSTORE AND SMOKEYS BAIT SHOP CARRIES THEM...  . THUMBS UP!
Edited by jdsplasher 1/5/2010 11:20 AM
Attachments
----------------
IMG_0031.jpg (197KB - 211 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | msky3-That picture of my Cisco Mag Shad is great! Can you send me a larger picture to [email protected] Thanks!
James
On the lure front, I used the big Suick this year and was very happy with it. Also put a few Shack Attack swimbaits to the test I got from Andy at the 2008 MN Musky show and was very happy with swimbaits (again)! Did very well with my new generation III SuperDs too as well as the new Dominatrix double #10 bucktails in Canada this year. Also went with some Cortland 100# braid and was happy with it on my Red Isis reel. Very happy with my new Red Isis!!!
My thumbs down....well, I won't say....I just won't use those lures anymore 
James |
|
| |
|
| 'New' dominatrixes James? Care to expand...are the blades different than Gen 1?
Also forgot to mention that my favorite cisco mag shad (same as the one pictured above, though I filled it with foam to quiet it down), got CREAMED many, many times in the wash in 2009. Seems there isn't a bad speed or depth to run those monsters at. That one easily makes made my clearcut winners for last year as well... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 742
Location: Grand Rapids MN | I know it's been mentioned a few times but the Mag Shads by James made for great trollers. I didn't get a chance to put them to work on LOTW this year but I did give them a steady rock diet on Vermilion for a few hours. I didn't just bump rocks but plowed these things into them on occassions and come out clean on the other side. They never came out of tune and the paint and lip held up great. Great profile and shape also so I know they will catch fish given some time.
Now I have a bunch of new toys for next year to try out! It's going to be a long winter..... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 4053
Location: Land of the Musky | New Dominatrix: using 032 blades instead of the 040 for better start up but kept them thicker than the 024 blades for the guys who really burn them for hours so they won't warp. Heavier clevises with a slightly larger diameter hole for the wire body and again for better startup. Same for the Booty Tail double #13s. Also using a different painting technique for the blades. Had a few of the red and perch ones with bad paint. The old models are still great and I am selling those out right now on da eBay. New tails and new colors are on my website.
As for those 11" Mag Shads, those were quiet on the boards in 2009 but I know of a lot of guides who used them and boated a lot of huge musky on them for clients. They guys who buy them buy one or two and then 10 after they use them for a month Its been a great bait for my company but funny enough a very quiet bait on the boards. Nice thing about them is they do not blow out at any speed. Neither do my smaller 6" Super Ciscos. Had them up to 16mph. Now thats speed trolling! LOL
Thanks!
James |
|
| |
|
Posts: 814
| Thumbs up!
1. 101 terrova/auto pilot. Flawless still after many years, I'll never go back to a 24v, love the endless pull in big wind!
2. Penn 975 First season with this reel and all I can say is wow. Not one glitch all year, pounded this reel every time out, and always at night. Best buy of 09 for sure.
3. Saltist LW20 Best reel on the market for under 200 bucks hands down! Beat the crap out of this reel with a heavy dose of rubber all year....no hickups or complaints.
4. Musky Magnets/Muskie Train Cranks. Rock solid cranks, build buy some really nice dudes! They have an action (walk) that has to be seen to believe. Awesome wood cranks!
5. Big Joes...year after year these have produced for me and others, no complaints. give these a fair shake and you'll see.
6. Goretex Guidewear, still the best out there imo. going on season 7 with no leaks,rips,tears, etc. Costly but well worth every penny.
Thumbs down
1. Spiderwire Invisibraid, This line started to fray pretty bad quite early in the year, very dissapointed, considering the cost of this superbraid.
2. Daiwa Luna 300 Again had constant anti-reverse trouble all year. I have decided this reel is not meant for any kind of hard jerk/ripping of lures.
3. Hamer Rod. Snapped the handle casting a pounder this year in Oct. not really what I was hoping for especially with all the hype.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 256
| Thumbs Up!
1. Calcutta 700B - I was looking for a bigger real for handling big blades but was nervous about losing the line guide. This was the balance and it has performed nicely. It is great for burning and slow rolling.
2. Super Models - Didn't pull as hard as I thought it would and brought a huge fish to the boat that I choked on and I had friends catch several fish on them.
3. Bitten Warlocks - I only had the old version and bought several of the new ones at the Chicago Show last spring. They work great and fish love them.
Jury's still out
1. Weagle - It seemed to me that it has a hard time in a small chop and if the boat was moving more than a crawl. So I ended up using my viper's more. However, I still have faith in it and it is always with me.
2. Trueglide Guppie - The action was different than I expected and I didn't cast it much for the fear that I would lose it. Great looking bait though and I have heard good things so it probably just needs more time in the water.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 727
| Thumbs up!
Suzy sucker and curly sue-When nothing else was moving fish I could put on one of these two baits and start seeing fish, the nice thing about them also is they last alot longer than bulldawgs.
Llugen tails- both the DC-10 and DC-8 are well built inline spinners that are cheaper than double cowgirls.
Hellz Bellz- Rob peterson makes these bucktails, they are very well built and he is an awesome guy to deal with.
Thumbs down
Bionic bucktail- the thread started to unravel after only a couple hours of use |
|
| |
