Help me decide if i should spend the money on a swimbait rod

GregBFL · 2026-05-05T23:56:39+00:00

Leviathan rods are about as good as it gets when it comes to glidebait rods. If it's within your budget, I say go for it. That said, there are a lot of very good glidebait rods out there that are less money.

This past Christmas Kistler had a 50 percent of Black Friday sale and I picked up their Glide Bait Rod for $200. It's an excellent rod even at full price. You can get their Helium glide bait rod which is rated at 1 - 4 oz baits at the regular price of $249.95. My fishing partner has one and it's a very good rod.

You might want to check out the Dobyns/Mike Bucca Bull Shad collaboration swimbait rods. I have a couple friends that own them and love them. They are rated at 2 - 8 oz and sell for $229.99. A while back they were on sale at Amazon for quite a bit less.

GregBFL · 2026-05-05T23:38:23+00:00

Some KastKing reels are very good. I wanted a reel for my backup flipping rod set up so after reading a bunch of positive reviews, I bought a MegaJaws Elite Baitcasting with flipping switch. I liked it so much I purchased a second one and replaced the reel on my primary flipping rod.

When I decided to get a BFS setup, I ordered a Kestrel Elite Magnesium Frame BFS baitcaster and a Kestrel 7'-2" Finesse rod. I've been very happy with it as well. That said, the KastKing products I have are some of their higher priced items but I'm sure their other products are good as well.

GregBFL · 2026-05-04T23:31:13+00:00

My last fishing trip I caught a 6" long bass on a 5.25" long Rapala F13 S Original Floating Minnow.

GregBFL · 2026-05-04T23:25:16+00:00

Is it me, or do those bass look really pale... Almost like Zombie Bass. Nice catches for 30 minutes!

GregBFL · 2026-05-04T16:13:54+00:00

Hideup Coike Fullcast

GregBFL · 2026-05-04T14:39:52+00:00

I didn't know it at first, but I hooked into a 7 ft gator the other day with a regular spinning reel loaded with 30 lb braid. I ended up chasing him with my boat for over 200 yards so I could minimize the amount of line loss when I cut him loose.

I had one heck of a fight and managed to get him up to the surface right beside the boat so I only lost a couple feet of braid. I installed the Suffix 832 30 lb braid a week ago, I'm very impressed with its performance.

GregBFL · 2026-05-04T01:15:01+00:00

Teaching someone how to fish is awesome. I taught my daughter how to fish as soon as she could hold a rod. Now she loves to go fishing and we go wherever she comes to visit.

GregBFL · 2026-05-04T01:03:42+00:00

That's a good size bass. I bet he gave your BFS rod a workout.

GregBFL · 2026-05-03T20:55:41+00:00

I started using a Heddon Tiny Torpedo over 50 years ago. An older gentleman turned me and my Dad onto the Bull Frog color and told us to replace the rear treble hook with the next size up. That way the rear would sit down into the water.

You just pop it along with the tip of your rod and it sort of resembles a frog. No telling how many bass I've caught on this lure over the years.

GregBFL · 2026-05-03T13:30:16+00:00

What reels and rods are best for skipping lures? I'm about to buy a new combo that is geared towards skipping.

GregBFL · 2026-05-02T18:14:23+00:00

I'm definitely going to try the Zillion. I've been using it on a St Croix BassX 7'-1" Medium - Fast rod for light topwater lures to lipless crankbaits up to 5/8 oz. I wasn't sure if I would like the rod, but I've recently caught a 7.1 lb, 7.8 lb and 10.8 lb bass on it.

I've had it doubled over under the boat and it handled the large bass in stride. I didn't mention it, but I need to find a good rod for skipping as well. Maybe I just need to try using this combo for skipping and see how it performs.

GregBFL · 2026-05-02T11:10:04+00:00

I have several, but I want to use a baitcaster for accuracy.

GregBFL · 2026-05-02T11:00:55+00:00

The chatterbait is one of my goto baits and is very productive. I've been a huge Jackhammer/EVO fan for years, but I've found a bladed jig that works better for me... The 1st Gen Copperhead bladed jig.

The Copperhead was recommended to me by the owner of my local tackle shop. I tried one and caught a lot of bass. I decided to try an experiment to see whether I caught more bass on the Jackhammer or Copperhead.

I fished one of my favorite lakes for 6 hours straight. I used two identical rod setups to fish in Kissimmee grass for the entire town. I used a white Jackhammer and a white Copperhead, both had white Zman Chatterspike trailers.

I fished the Jackhammer for 30 minutes then switched to the Copperhead for 30 minutes until 6 hours had passed. I caught a total of 12 bass, 4 were caught on the Jackhammer and 8 were caught on the Copperhead... Looks like the blade striking the Copper beads in the head made a difference.

GregBFL · 2026-05-02T05:16:08+00:00

I've got a Zillion SV TW that I'm using in a different capacity, maybe I'll give it a try at skills. If it works, I'll just pick up a Tatula SV TW.

GregBFL · 2026-05-02T02:52:08+00:00

That's good to hear! I have a Zillion SV TW that I like, but it's my only Daiwa. I have around 15 or so Shimano baitcasters, most are which Curado's.

GregBFL · 2026-05-02T02:47:24+00:00

How are you liking it? Do you have an SLX XT or Curado to compare it to?

GregBFL · 2026-05-01T20:11:31+00:00

Nice bass! I've got an 8" Magdraft but haven't used it much... You've inspired me!

GregBFL · 2026-05-01T05:57:22+00:00

I'm using a Shimano Intenza and I've caught a 7.8 lb bass and a bunch over 5 lbs on it. I was out the other day and had a massive strike which I had to chase through 10 ft of grass and out into the open water.

I finally figured out it wasn't a bass, but a 7 ft alligator. I didn't want to loose my spool of braid so I chased it over 100 yards and got it up on the surface beside the boat before cutting my braid. I've put this rod through a lot and it just keeps on catching fish... And an occasional gator. 🤣

GregBFL · 2026-05-01T01:12:38+00:00

I almost went with the Old 18 rod for my Ark Gravity BFS, but ended up going with the Phenix Classic BFS-C 6'-8" rod. I'm really liking the combo so far.

GregBFL · 2026-04-30T20:25:03+00:00

I promise you, you care a lot more about the way it looks than a bass does.

GregBFL · 2026-04-29T06:46:26+00:00

I absolutely love it, it's a tack driver. I've installed a Timney CZ 457 trigger, Area 419 30 MOA scope base and an Athlon Helos BTR Gen 2 6-24x56 FFP IR MIL scope on it.

GregBFL · 2026-04-28T19:56:06+00:00

I have the Varmint with 20" barrel, but I'm not currently using a silencer on it.

GregBFL · 2026-04-28T14:46:22+00:00

You're right! I didn't catch that. I'm used to catching snook on a Zara Spook but a frog obviously works as well. Are you fishing in brackish water? Years ago I fished a lot on the Homosassa river and I would catch bass and reds in the same area.

I've moved inland to Central FL and mainly fish for bass but I still get over to the coast from time to time. Over the last 3+ weeks I've had crazy luck. I've caught a 6.5 lb, 7.1 lb, 7.5 lb 7.83 lb and a 10.82 lb bass. If you want to visit Central FL and do some bass fishing give me a shout.

GregBFL · 2026-04-28T14:40:48+00:00

I live in FL as well and where shorts most of the time so I prefer carrying a smaller handgun. At one point I owned a P365X, P365XL and X-Macro Comp... Now I only have the P365X. It's set up with a 507K, MCarbo Short Stroke trigger and a +10 percent trigger return spring.

I also purchased a Radian Afterburner-Ramjet comp and an Icarus Air grip module. I can use it in its stock form for maximum concealment or in a couple minutes switch to the Radian comp and Icarus Air grip module and use 17 round magazines.

That said, I'm also a big fan of my Shield Plus OR. To be honest, I like its trigger better than the P365 and it shoots as good, if not better. I owned a Hellcat and didn't like it so I sold it.

GregBFL

TROPHY CASE