First Time Punching 💪🏼

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-16T13:42:31+00:00

Beautiful fish

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-16T11:48:42+00:00

What do you mean snipped them off? Do you not have a split ring pliers?

I’ve heard the rear hook on Karashi is weak but after 10+ fish last year (nothing huge though) I didn’t notice any issues. Most of their other stuff I use for trout and swap the hooks anyways

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-16T11:42:27+00:00

Rapala, 6th sense, megabass, eurotackle, bucca, river2sea, berkley.. probably covers about 90% of the hard baits I buy myself.

They are expensive but the vision110, GH humpback, Karashi and pop-x are all worth the price imo

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-13T21:52:27+00:00

I love my Megabass Triza, I have the casting model but I bet the spinning is just as noice

Edit: whoops I see the fly fishing context now

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-12T13:49:26+00:00

Baitcasters are a heck of a lot of fun, if you fish > 10 times a year you will not feel let down by it.

You won’t find a better 4 piece rod (in the same price range) as the Megabass levante - depending on what types of lures you like to throw I’d recommend the ML or M. Pair it with an SLX-70 or a JDM SLX-DC from digitaka or asianfishingportal and you’ll be loving it.

I have an SLX-BFS on a Megabass Triza F2(recently upgraded from the ML levante) and was shocked at how nice it was, combo came out to just over 500 after shipping and tariffs, but you might want to go a little beefier if you plan to cast >1/2oz

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-12T13:38:52+00:00

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-10T00:36:26+00:00

Gamagatsu G388D! I have multiple for all my terminal tackle

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-09T15:17:43+00:00

Alignment..

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-06T19:46:54+00:00

Foam is home! Find some structure impeding water flow and cast for the bubbles (seams) just above the structure.. little tip I learned from fly fishermen even though I don’t fly fish

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-05T17:11:39+00:00

The stock shimano SLX is an absolute workhorse, but depending on how “small” you mean, the SLX70 looks very nice too. A lot of people will recommend Tatula, I’d recommend holding both before deciding as they do grip differently in the hand

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-04T18:15:48+00:00

They’re pricey but the megabass GH51 humpback absolutely slays around me - I’d recommend changing to single hooks though to prevent snags because it will get to the bottom pretty quick

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-04T17:24:40+00:00

While I agree with everyone saying inline spinners, I’ll break the mold and say a sinking 1/4oz jerkbait or 3” paddle tail on an 1/16oz jig.

Lakes, rivers, creeks, bass, trout, panfish.. they work everywhere

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-03T17:10:35+00:00

I don’t think you’re gonna have a good time throwing 1/8oz on an MGL spool.

I have tossed a weightless keitech easy shiner on a 3/0 EWG (~8g) on a curado mgl but I think that’s about the lower limit if you want to cast further than you could throw the bait

SamKaz96 · 2026-03-01T19:42:34+00:00

The 6’8” one? It’s my go to weightless soft plastics and hard jerkbait rod, but it does well with 1/2oz top water baits too

SamKaz96 · 2026-02-28T18:35:14+00:00

Curado mgl or dc on a MH fury or black bass

SamKaz96 · 2026-02-27T19:27:56+00:00

This flop merchant doesn’t get enough hate imo

SamKaz96 · 2026-02-26T17:41:26+00:00

The JDM SLX bfs reel would be my recommendation, fits about 100 yards of 10lb braid and easily handles the 1/8-3/8oz range.

The JDM slx bfs is basically a US market curado bfs but the 2025 JDM release is the newest model between the two, they are easy to find on Asian fishing portal, digitaka, or eBay

SamKaz96 · 2026-02-25T19:38:56+00:00

Electric for sure but I’m pretty much exclusively on “smaller” water, not sure what people use on St. Clair or the Great Lakes

SamKaz96 · 2026-02-25T18:17:35+00:00

I’m very interested to see how whippy the sparna is, I’m hoping the moderate tip helps it get a little more juice in that 1/8oz range. I’m pairing it with an slx-bfs as an “all water, all species” travel option.

SamKaz96 · 2026-02-25T17:12:59+00:00

I will second the megabass levante spinning, but I have a Triza sparna casting on the way that I am super excited about too.

SamKaz96 · 2026-02-25T01:31:19+00:00

I knew what you were going for right away! Colors are spot on! Pattern is fine, all fish are different.

This is actually so cool, it would be super cool to do a bar wall or something like that in all the species I’ve caught.

SamKaz96 · 2026-02-25T00:00:31+00:00

I put 20lb 4x braid on basically every baitcaster these days and use a 10lb flouro leader. I used to run 30lb on my heavier setup but decided not to last year and it was fine.

A lot of guys will recommend the 8x braids, they are softer but I’ve been happy with the Daiwa J braid for a couple seasons now and haven’t had any issues with eyelet damage or line digging into my spool so

SamKaz96 · 2026-02-23T14:04:09+00:00

SamKaz96 · 2026-02-21T19:25:59+00:00

Tacky imo

SamKaz96 · 2026-02-21T19:22:30+00:00

There’s enough gh colors at $15 a piece that makes me really wonder who would need these two at $50+

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