HillCountryFishing

You were right. He got me fixed up quickly. Honestly, one of the best and most straightforward interactions I’ve had with a bait maker.

I was given one of the UFO Bait Co. gift cards that are up on their site. I was told it would be able to be used for self-selecting pre-order baits in January. Does anyone know how I go about this? Am I supposed to send them a message on social media or have the pre-orders via gift card just not been made available?

In! That wake looks like a lot of fun to fish! Thank you for your kindness.

Thanks for all the info. I’ll have to see about traveling for Toxic Day - that one looked great last year. It’s a shame we don’t have more events around Texas. O.H. Ivie and Lake Fork are such great spots that everyone should visit at least once. Anyway, if there are any other events that pop up, feel free to post them here. We can have a thread list of things going on.

Is there any word on what events are happening this year? I have looked around, but I can’t find much news. I’m particularly interested in if there will be another Texas SU Gathering at Lake Fork. I missed last year’s, but I want to visit any in-state events.

IN! Thanks for doing this. This has been a great community to interact with and learn from!

Those are some nice fish! I appreciate your input. Did you use Plat to buy yours, or did you buy somewhere else? Everywhere I’ve found is sold out until April.

Does anyone have experience with Fishman products? I have been looking for a big bait travel rod and this one looks perfect for my applications. Because they’re not readily available stateside, I want to learn what I can before paying for a shipping forwarder. https://www.plat.co.jp/shop/catalog/product_info/language/en/manufacturers_id/173/products_id/73891/fishman/fishman-brist-hydro8-5xxh-free-shipping-in-stock.html

I finally got my most sought after bait: the Sneaky Baits Sneaky Rat. I really never thought I would get one because I believed the maker had stopped. It hasn’t seen water yet, but I plan to fish it heavily in the spring. If I had to pick a bait I don’t have, it would honestly be any hard bait from Marling Baits. His channel really encouraged me to become fascinated with bait making. I can’t think of anyone that is as prolific and transparent about their process.

The Hill Country had a little flooding about a week ago, and I had a little luck on the first clear day afterwards. I didn’t have my scale, but this one felt somewhere north of 3 lb. Not bad for an initial fall attempt with the Baby Bull Shad.

I can say I’ve been doing a lot of the same research as you probably are and that the 711H would be great for the TK - it’s the next on my list to buy. I use the Valkyrie WE 68M for squarebills when bank and wade fishing. It goes with me everywhere and I’ve had a lot of success with it. It has a good, what Megabass calls regular, bend through the rod that still maintains significant power. It’s also worth noting I have had absolutely no issues of quality after a couple hundred hours on it. The dragoon, I feel, is a very nice rod, but not worth the price. I think the law of diminishing returns applies here and the Valkyrie WE series has a higher rate of cost effectiveness. If appearance is important, I think both rod lines are beautiful. If you do go with either Megabass travel rod, go ahead and buy some ferrule wax. Because they use true ferrules, like you can find in fly rods, I’ve found it to be helpful in securing and sealing the ferrule connections. Because I think it helps keep the threads clear and secure through frequent reel removal, I also use diving silicone grease to coat the reel seat nut thread.