J Francho

I will say that farm raised stockies taste a lot different than smoltified steelhead. I don't actually care too much for trout myself, though many in my family love it when I make my famous baked, macadamia nut crusted steelhead fillets.

I love it when people say, "you'd like it prepared right," or something similar. There's also no way to prepare mushrooms, ham, cauliflower, or lamb in any shape or form that will get me to "like" the taste. Black bass taste gross to me. Has nothing to do with the prep. Has to do with my taste buds, bud. Look up the five fillet method. Leaves a bit on the bone, which is okay, since I use the carcass to make a fish base for sauces and reductions.

We eat walleye, king salmon, coho (silver) salmon, steelhead, brown trout, yellow perch, walleye, northern pike, and smelt. All are far superior to any crappie, bass, or sunfish.

It's the line. Most people that complain about fluoro tried a cheap brand first time out.

Delicious pike steaks!

I throw square bills in late spring, and early fall. No need to get a specialized setup. I use one of my cranking sticks that fits the bait size, or step up to a faster rod if there's weeds I need to pop off, or wood I'll have to maneuver through. Reel speed doesn't actually matter for this either, though sometimes I like to burn the bait over rocky shoals.

I hate braid. Still have it on a dozen setups.

Who struggles with 12 oz. curls?

Largemouth bass are gross. We have so many better eating species up here, bass don't even register on the radar.

I have one rod that I have added weight for balance, and that is an 8' custom swimbait rod with a 300 series round reel on it. I can assure, it's not always about putting a heavier reel on the rod. Funny thing is, this rod is still one the lightest rods I own. The conventional wisdom displayed on this subject is so all over the place, that it defies convention. Here's a tip: Feel it for yourself. "Balance" can be measured, but "Feeling Balanced" is subjective. Put the rod in your hand, and go fishing. Chances are it's balanced just fine.

Let go of the mouse, and go fishing.

A 10 footer is tight quarters, but if you keep it simple, you should be fine. Start saving for a better seat. Nicer seats are $60-80. Is a fully decked out ATAK 140? Not quite, but like BB said, getting off the banks will totally change your fishing. Wear a PFD, and good luck!

Its a dense bait. It will always sink, pulling the hook down, especially a light DS hook. It's how the bait is supposed to work. It's meant for much more aggressive rod input (KVD is not known to sit perfectly still for more than a few milliseconds). If you want the bait to suspend straight out from the hook at rest, use a bait that floats. It's as simple as that.

No, you can find what you need on the internet.

Anytime you DO NOT want the bait to sink. Suspending jerkbaits, topwaters, areas of high risk of abrasion. Some things you figure out with time on the water.

The bait works fine. I use a floating bait for tight line DS presentations, and a sinking bait when I allow the bait to drop on a slightly slack line, and then lift/repeat. In all cases, I use a much heavier weight than 1/4 oz. 1/2 oz. is a starting point; it's usually a bit heavier. Once the weight is in place, I do not want it to move. Hard to accomplish with a 1/4 oz. weight.

No, fluoro is not ideal for every application.

Came through my FB feed yesterday. It looks awesome, Scott!

Reset the bail by hand, and seat the line tightly on the roller. Watch the first few seconds of this video to see how it's done. It's actually more efficient than tripping the bail by reeling.

I takes far more wrist muscle to type a complaint into a text box than it does to fish a nice entry level rod, lol. BTW, I have over 30 St. Croix rods from SCII on up to SCV blanks. I know from where I speak.

I like a 7.x:1 ratio for that stuff, but something slower works in a pinch. I'm 43 years old, and I remember when 5:1 was considered "high speed." Really, anything that pulls 28 IPT or better is fine. Flipping switch? Up to you. Here's a review I did on a reel with a switch. There's a couple different theories. If you cast with the rod in your right hand, then get a lefty reel. No switch necessary. Of, if that's too uncomfortable for you, get a righty reel with a switch, so you can set the hook without ever switch hands, and turning the handle. http://www.bassresource.com/fishing_lures/rod-reel-pinnacle-review.html

So, something 7' 3", MH or H and X-Fast taper will be great for tossing jigs and Texas rigs.

Generally no pegging, unless there's a risk of of the line between the bait and weight draping over cover, or getting tangled in pads.

Flipping and pitching are casting techniques, that can be done with any rod and reel. What will you be casting too? Heavy slop? Pads, Laydowns? Docks? Shoreline cover? What baits? This will have a lot more to do with rod and reel selection than casting technique.

Slightly "tip heavy" is not a bad attribute for a jerkbait rod. The whole tip heavy thing with St. Croix rods is over played internet gossip. There's a couple models I've held that definitely need the right reel, or some ballast added to the rear. Very few rods at this price escape this. I remember everyone saying that the tiny bit of cork missing when they went to split grips ruined the balance - nonsense. I find you do have to match ANY BRAND rod with the right reel. And remember, every time you tie a bait on, it weighs the tip down, lol.