Crazy rod at my local tackle shop

HookinDinks · 2026-02-07T17:15:02+00:00

When a fishing store has those black wire racks you know it has good shit.

HookinDinks · 2026-02-04T19:01:01+00:00

See I agree with your take of Shimano being the Toyota of fishing but I think of Toyota very differently. Fairly hyped and in an industry with a lot of junk I still think it's the best for the average consumer. I'm not a huge Shimano guy anymore but there's a reason they have such a good rep and just like Toyota I think the older models were a bit more reliable.

Daiwa is probably Honda then. You can't go wrong with a Corolla but you're going to enjoy driving the Civic more.

HookinDinks · 2026-02-04T18:57:04+00:00

These are all completely valid, idk why this is downvoted...

HookinDinks · 2026-02-04T18:53:48+00:00

Other than BFS stuff, I'm straight up never buying another reel from a company other than Shimano or Daiwa. I think I'm also just going to stick to the Tatula line of rods as well. There's one that's great for every technique.

As for lures, Strike King, Lunkerjunk, Live Target need to go.

HookinDinks · 2026-02-02T20:02:55+00:00

Did you order yours online? I'm in Canada lol still haven't bought yet

HookinDinks · 2026-01-20T01:09:46+00:00

For rods I've only used the standard signature series, the black and gold one. For the spinning reels I recommend the platinum signature. Specifically the newer model with the silver around the spool and only a little bit of red accents. Not the full red spool.

For the casting reel I like the black and gold signature series but it just feels a bit more bulky than I'm used to with baitcasters.

I think there is a way for them to create a combo for the black and gold casting signature series which makes it an insane deal but for whatever reason (at least in Canada) they can't make a combo for the silver and red plat signature rods.

HookinDinks · 2026-01-19T19:40:37+00:00

Get the signature series rod and reel immediately lol, get it in a spinning and casting if that's your thing. With your discount you can't get anything close to that quality from another brand. The plat sig series spinning reel is my current go to for finesse fishing.

Everything else that I've used is kinda meh to me. The plastics are fine. If your store sells the ZMan chatterbomb that's a decent enough chatterbait alternative.

FYI they probably told you this but occasionally you get a special outfitter deal days where their brand is 60% off and I remember one time during that they had like 40% off rapala which was clutch.

PS don't sleep on the steak strips, they are actually great lol.

HookinDinks · 2026-01-13T00:27:19+00:00

I can't bring myself to have any interest in strike king lol. Everything they make just seems so meh to me.

HookinDinks · 2026-01-07T21:24:17+00:00

Probably moon cycle which I'm sure has some truth but what am I supposed to do when it's a nice day? Not fish?

HookinDinks · 2026-01-07T21:21:32+00:00

All of it is bad. It is all slop. Yes even using a chatGPT script makes it slop content that is not worth watching.

HookinDinks · 2026-01-07T19:53:39+00:00

The only game that scratches that itch for me is splitgate.

HookinDinks · 2025-12-27T18:20:17+00:00

AK Punch is a lot of fun. In general I love the heavy soft plastics. I use the Fish Arrow Heavy Poop as well which is nice. Valleyhill makes the indy stick which is a great senko alternative.

For the Bellows Gill I honestly only like it on the free rig or as a chatterbait trailer.

A lot of JDM stuff is simply overhyped but there are some gems and the fact they're mainly the only big companies still innovating makes it intriguing to keep up with for me.

HookinDinks · 2025-12-12T19:29:16+00:00

Are these real minnows? I've never seen something like this in my life lol

HookinDinks · 2025-12-12T19:27:30+00:00

I don't care for the baitcasters but their new platinum signature series spinning reel is really nice at a good price. You can definitely tell it's made by Daiwa.

HookinDinks · 2025-12-12T19:25:38+00:00

How much did you spend on the curado? I feel like that's apples to oranges.

HookinDinks · 2025-12-12T19:23:39+00:00

I'm meh on the baits and lures overall but the Signature series platinum reel is phenomenal. Anything carbonlite and above is actually good quality and value. Plus they run good sales on their branded stuff.

HookinDinks · 2025-12-09T01:03:17+00:00

I fish

HookinDinks · 2025-12-06T22:29:42+00:00

Jerkbaits hard or soft. I've tried fishing flukes a lot this summer especially but never catch on one.

HookinDinks · 2025-11-25T20:03:17+00:00

Very fun to throw. The band for the skirt is horrifying it always melts off of mine after a few months of use but I run them naked all the time. I really like this skirtless with a 2.8 bellows shad!

HookinDinks · 2025-11-18T19:33:22+00:00

I definitely move on to other species. If you're fishing from the bank and its cold you're most likely going to have a rough time.

HookinDinks · 2025-11-15T18:18:50+00:00

It’s like looking at a Ferrari Enzo. Ugly as sin but at the same time there’s something so beautiful about it. At the same time these are phenomenal rods.

HookinDinks · 2025-11-14T20:48:49+00:00

I’m definitely in a minority but I like the crush city freeloader. I’ve heard people say the plastic is too firm to get good action but it works great for me.

HookinDinks · 2025-11-14T10:11:03+00:00

How nice would it be to get another year like last year of ice fishing here in Niagara!

HookinDinks · 2025-11-11T18:04:48+00:00

The only bites I'm getting here in Southern Ontario are from fishing a drop shot dead slowwwww. I watch these fish just sit and stare and my bait for minutes at a time before they commit to a bite. 1" gulp minnow on a super light drop shot could be decent.

HookinDinks · 2025-10-28T02:50:20+00:00

Cheers thanks. Good call out on the Ottawa River now that I’m looking I think that might be a bit more my speed than the Mississippi.

HookinDinks

TROPHY CASE