JR Basser

Yes, drag clears the new handle. Looking at pic I can see that it'd be questionable, prob just a weird angle

Spoken from the true BIG bait freak himself @BigSlant! Haha

Just picked up a 301hg, 7.8, did a quick handle swap to the double paddle Posted a pic in review section next to a curado 301. Looking forward to trying it out

Here's a lil sz comparison to a curado 301, it's actually quite a bit slimmer. I went with the 301hg w 7:1, I prefer a higher speed for bigger glides. I didn't even bother looking at the 400, the 300 holds pleeeenty of line for what I'm doing, like Swole pointed out, really only need to cover the distance of your longest cast and then some. Did a lil bartering for a handle swap while I was there, now I need to build a heavy stick for it to sit on!

Good points Justin. I too use a snap on mine, I think it offers another pivot point, giving it a chance to glide "sooner". Spoke to Jason at Phoney Frog and he said he designed it to be tied directly, but I personally like it better with the snap or ring. I've also been playing with a couple low floats I had got from them a while back, working on making more of a suspending model.

Is your priority to actually catch fish, or use cool looking swimbaits all day? I was out there for about 8 hrs yesterday, it's still pretty tough as far as weight goes, but you can catch a limit. The tide was actually a lot better than what I've heard from recent reports, actually moving and not in a state of total flood. I launched from Paradise, I try to avoid big sections of water out there during these conditions, you can end up burning a lot of fuel out there thinking you're gonna find a bite you might not be getting where you're currently at. I'm telling you, save your time and gas and break down smaller sections of one body. I prefer the back portion of small sloughs rt now, grab a map and find some areas that apeal to you, and stick with them. I didn't start getting bit til after the swing from high tide. I threw lots of different baits til I could locate a bite, started with lipless crank, blades, and jig, along with a couple swims for the heck of it. A dropshot rig was my most productive bite, I know, I know, nobody likes to catch fish that way, but personally I could care less about my own feelings and let the fish tell me what they want. The visibility was better than I had heard too, about 2'. Did have a decent fish break water right at the boat trying to grab my jig as I was pulling it out of the water. And although I didn't get anything over 3lbs, doesn't mean good fish won't eat small offerings, especially rt now, I've done really well out there during the winter with finesse tactics. Talking with everyone I saw on the water and back at the ramp, the struggle is common out there rt now so don't feel too bad. Sorry I can't report better swimbait activity at the moment.

Great communication, fast shipping,, would definitely buy some more stuff from him!

Just saw on the news tonight, millions of gallons of water are flowing through a sewage treatment facility, carrying back to the river system "partially treated" poop water... lovely. Hope you're not planning on swimming while you're visiting! And that's why they call it "the dirty d"

Those fish aren't being caught on swimbaits. Not saying it's impossible, but you're far better off setting the swim aside and grabbing a jig, crank/lipless, or ripbait. I was out there a couple weeks ago, in between storms and before the latest batch of torrential downpours, it was pretty tough then and tougher now. And it might even be closed soon due to levee ruptures. Good luck man

Having taken my Phoney apart to tune the glide to my liking, I discovered how well its built. They use a heavy duty stainless center pin, that's gonna be practically un-bendable, the stainless connecting eyelets are pretty damn stout as well, I just can't see them having issues. The rotating hook swivels, may become an issue after numerous fish, hard to tell though,, they seem to be of comparable quality to the other components though. I did lose a couple fins on mine after quite a few fish, one was prob my fault, not gluing it back on better, but after shooting an email to them that was taken care of pretty quick. So really, the jury's still out on how many quality fish it'll take to put this thing into retirement

At least for the IMX 957, I wouldn't recommend going over 7, maybe 8oz. I've tied on a Matt glide and Mom, just to see how they felt, and didn't feel comfortable casting them further than the length of my boat, felt like I'd definitely break off if I tried to cast any further, zero control whatsoever. I always stick to weights in the middle of what a rod's rated to

Phoney shad hands down. No money out til it ships. Exceptional durability, I've caught several heavy 8+ lb largies on the one I have, as well as several striper upto 20lbs, zero issues. And very versatile, has produced in all of the places I've used it, so far. And I hear guys are getting their baits a lot quicker now that the company is rolling. The Hinkles, hph, and a lot of others just simply don't compare,, although I haven't thrown a 3:16, and factoring in the wait/availability along with insane price tag, I don't plan on having the chance in this lifetime. Hahhh! Baits to me are simply "tools", I need them to perform, last, and be as readily available as possible if I need a replacement. I just ordered 4 more phoneys! Good luck

Loomis cranking, cbr 745 for the bigger jet, 16lb sunline mono Buzzjet is one of my most productive night baits!