Wish I could chime in with something new, but I've haven't really used much of anything new for the last two years, especially bait wise.

I'm typically an Abu fan, but did blow up three Record 60's this year. I'll get them rebuilt, but I will not rely on them at all next year. Again, not new news. Most people already know that.

I will have to say I like Mike's new rods though. I loved my custom Thorne Bros rod A LOT, so I figured Mike's rod would be my "backup" rod. I was wrong, my Thorne is my second rod.