J Francho

Why do you think 50/12 wouldn't work on a baitcaster?

No they aren't.

So, ask for an exchange.

Yes, and thanks very much for all your helpful info, Catt.

Leaving a mess in the bathroom reflects poorly on your mother.

Fault? So if a tree falls on your car, its your fault for parking there? Not interested in finding fault, just cause. :

Stained and muddy are two different things. For stained, I don't change much, maybe a little brighter, but for muddy I look at sound and displacement as important factors.

I'm generally centered around catching fish, but I take time to smell the roses, occasionally.

I have a few setups for trout, depends on the stream and conditions: 13' UL/Slow and centrepin 11' L/mod-fast casting rig and TD-X with a deep spool 9.5' spinner 7' M/M casting rig with same TD-X 84% of my stream fishing is trotting a float rig. 1% bottom bouncing. 15% swinging spoons or plugs. In open water, I generally use my dropshot rig, for casting spoons, spinners, and small minnow baits.

For the most part, its just the 10# line that is bigger. If you use Trilene XT as a benchmark, you'll find that CXX is actually smaller in diameter in many other sizes. However, it "feels" and "fishes" bigger.

Some pics of the dink fest:

Most bass reels hold no more that 180 yards of line, often much less. Not enough to crush a spool.

KVD Line & Lure Conditioner alleviates the management issues. In general, I stick to 8, 10, and 12# diameters. For super heavy cover, where zebra/Qragga mussels will make mincemeat of braid, I go with 15#. Quite a few buddies use 20# for swimbaits.

Caught a rat dropback Steelhead buck today, about 24". Here some of the better fish from this year: A couple nice fish from last year:

I thought Shimano said they wouldn't be selling G.Loomis anymore?

Why bother with anything expensive, if you're never going to get into it? I can see it with other fishing, but bass?

Depends on the location. Plenty of "serious tournament" anglers up here use spinning gear exclusively, especially tournaments on Lake Ontario and Erie. Use appropriate gear for the appropriate situation.

Good point about the line - hadn't thought about it, but it might help. The line was on it, and no, it didn't damage the line, other than some powdery substance probably left behind from the corrosion. When I transferred the line to another reel, the stuff just came off, leaving behind unharmed line.

I have a couple of Lamiglass salmon/steelhead rods, and they are great, very well made. 80% of my bass gear is St. Croix - Avids and LTBs - and I am very pleased with them.

I can't I can compare anything like that, but I know the feeling. Good things happen to good people. In the meantime, just work on the things you can control, eventually some of it works itself out, and for the things that don't, you can do what you can. Trucks in the mud, things like that are no sweat. Losing a dog is a part of life, and it sucks - sometimes as bad as losing family. Your Stepson is another story. I'm sorry to hear that you have to deal with this. Have faith, stay on the path...you know the deal.

Glad you worked things out, Red. I think if you get the opportunity to fish a longer rod, try it for an hour, you might be swayed. I went years thinking 6' was plenty, and now I wouldn't be without my longer rods. As a follow up, all my 7' rods are 9" from the back of the reel seat. The flipping stick is 13", so we're talking a net gain of 2" to the tip. It is longer, but not by much. The 6-2 is 7", whereas most 6-6 are 9, IIRC. Suppose it depends on brand too.

Premiers are made in the USA.

just get a $10 plug knocker. :

Somewhere in there, you want to put the plug inm LOL.

I'll measure the new one when I get home. I was going to look for a pic of the old one, but none show it clearly. I'd say its at least 12"+. Its definitely longer than any other rod I own. here is a pic of my salmon spinning rod, clearly showing the ridiculous handle, so necessary for bracing against their blistering runs. It's a 9.5, but feels more like an 8.5 with a Michigan Grip. Handle length is why I chose my AVC62MXF for jerkbaits. I had a 6'er for this, but always felt I could use a couple extra inches from the reel forward. The 6'6" rods offered this, but 1/2 the increase was in the handle, and that got in the way. Found the 6-2, and life was grand.