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Hey all, new to the forum, learned a lot from reading already. Looking for advice on a first swimbait rod, starting with the smaller stuff ~2-4 oz. I'll pick up a hud 6" trout and maybe a bluegill, maybe an 8" and as well but nothing heavier than that for bass (for now). Also have a bbz1 rat 50 and savage 3D shine glider 185 i was previously messing around with on a flipping stick. I plan to also use it on my rockfish party boats for similar weighted swimbaits/jigs/spoons maybe more like 3-5 oz, typically in 50-70ft of water. Maybe I'll get lucky and hook a nice seabass or ling. Looking at: Daiwa DX 8ft heavy, Dobyns Fury 806 swimbait, iRod Genesis II, iRod kaimana 8' SB (not a lot of info out there on these but intriguing) From what I gather there are a lot of "2-8 oz" rods that actually feel like they max out around 5 oz, I think that's right for me. Am I in the right ballpark here? Any suggestions? Planning to pair with my Daiwa coastal (200 size) and 50# braid with fluorocarbon leader or mono leader. I'm hearing amazing things about the genesis ii and I had a Fiber series flipping stick i really liked, but I don't want the short handle...which lead me to the Kaimana series, but it's pricier. Anyone know anything there? Any other tips for a newbie? Most of my bass fishing in shallow city ponds. There are some monsters in there. Thanks!

A few days ago I joined Swimbait Underground and yesterday I caught my biggest bass ever... coincidence... I think not! About a year ago I began throwing swimbaits and struggled. In Oregon our bass are not notorious for their swimbait eating ability; however, they still eat them good! Due to this, at first I didn't have too much confidence and I wondered if it could be done. After a few months of throwing a glidebait, I finally connected with my first fish: a 3 lb smallmouth that ate off a concrete wall in downtown Portland. Since then, the addiction has steadily increased. I acquired baits such as the Megabass I-Slide 185 and 262, the Deps Slide Swimmer 175 and 250, the Gancraft Jointed Claw 178 and 230, Working Class Zero 6 and 7 Citizen, and I was lucky enough to find a 3:16 Wake Jr from a coworker (I work at a tackle shop) for a fraction of what they resell for. Since I started swimbait fishing (not exclusively) I have found success throughout a variety of Oregon and Washington waters. Before the events that took place over the past few days, my biggest swimbait fish were around a 3.5-4 lb smallmouth and a 3 lb largemouth. However, after recently finding a Roman Made Negotiator in Oikawa Mesu, I put in a full two days at a local lake that has a fairly healthy population of trout. On the second day at 8:30 in the morning, I made a long cast over deep open water where I had seen trout eating off the surface. I began a slow and steady retrieve feeling the bait make wide turns back and forth and about 10 feet in front of the boat, right as I could start to see the bait, I saw the biggest bass I have ever seen make a beeline towards my bait. My eyes became incredibly wide and it took all I could muster to continue the slow and steady retrieve without yelling in excitement and anticipation. Before I knew what had happened, the bass sucked the Negotiator in head first. There was no hesitation, no doubt in its mind, that bass intended to obliterate that bait. After what seemed like an endless battle of violent head shakes and a terrifying run under my boat, the fish was finally in the net. After giving it plenty of oxygen in the livewell, the fish weighed in at 6.96 lbs of pure northern strain goodness! I look forward to learning and contributing more to Swimbait Underground! Gear used: Roman Made Negotiator in Oikawa Mesu Shimano Curado 200k with 20 lb Seagar Abrazx Dobyns Fury 795