Stasher1

Spinning. I've never had much luck casting weightless plastics with a baitcaster and I wouldn't even attempt to flip live crickets on #6 hooks with anything but a spinning reel. The ability to easily swap spools is another big plus. I can go from flouro to mono to braid in about a minute, maybe less. I cast farther and with better accuracy using my spinning setups. That may be due to the fact that I spend more time with a spinning rig in my hand than a baitcaster, though.

I use the palomar for everything except spinnerbaits and large cranks. For those I use the San Diego Jam Knot.

+1 I had the same problem with the drag on my Megaforce. I wound up selling it after less than 6 trips to the lake. I got tired of resetting the drag after every cast. I'd send it back.

Wow Those are beautiful!

http://www.richz.com/fishing/articles/dropshot.html

The two words that helped me more than anything else.... slow down Sometime the anticipation of the next strike will make you fish much faster than you realize. Patience is the key...for me anyway.

I've got a 6'6" M Shimano Crucial spinning rod that I'd been using for soft plastics, but I picked up a 6'8" ML BPS Extreme "Woo Daves" split grip rod about 6 weeks ago and I think I like the overall balance and feel of it better than the Crucial for lighter or weightless soft plastics. I've got a couple Ugly Stiks (US Lite and standard) and they both feel like wet noodles to me. The Lite is stiffer and lighter than the standard model, but they're both just too whippy and floppy after using some of my other rods. Fine for crankbaits, but definitely not for soft plastics.

Bubblegum or Green Pumpkin

I made the mistake of buying a set of Mustad "Heavy Duty" stainless forceps. Took them out of the package, put them in my tackle bag, and they were broken when I took them out. > I'd bring them back but I can't find the receipt. Go to your local auto parts store and grab a pair of $1 needlenose pliers out of the plastic tub at the register. When they get all rusty or break, throw them away.

I tend to stick with 3/0 wide gap hooks for most of my plastics, but I keep a small quantity of 2/0, 4/0, and 5/0 hooks (usually a pack or two or each) for different plastics that may require larger hooks (like frogs and Rage Tail Shad). I also keep a small handful of "standard" offset worm hooks or O'Shaughnessy hooks for skinnier/lighter plastics like Zoom U-tails or Trick Worms. As for brands, I buy whatever I can get a good deal on. I have Owner, Mustad, Gamakatsu, and BPS brand hooks in my box and have no problem using any of them. I tend to use more BPS hooks due to the price and proximity to the store (15 miles). I can get a pack of 20 BPS XPS Wide Superlock 3/0 hooks for about $5.

+1 It gives you the ability to alter the contents of your box to suit lake/pond conditions by simply swapping utility boxes.

I found the Megaforce to be a okay reel, but I think there are better reels out there. The twitching bar is useless in the weed-filled lakes I fish in, and the drag was constantly loosening up on its own. I had to adjust it after almost every cast. I only used mine a few times before replacing it with a Procaster Rojo.

I've got one of each in the 2500 size and can't really say I've seen a difference in performance between the two. I think most people would be happy with either one.

I've read in several places that Toray makes BPS' XPS flourocarbon.

I've got three of the Extremes, a 6'8" ML Woo Daves split-grip spinning rod, a 6'6" MH Woo Daves "Worm" casting rod, and a 7' MH casting rod. I like them a lot, but I like them better when they're on sale for $59. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_58973____SearchResults

I've got a little Eagle Claw "Featherlight" rod (4'6", I believe) with a Daiwa Regal 1000 spooled with 4lb Trilene XL. It's far from top of the line, but it's one of my favorite rigs. I've caught tons of bream and a few small bass with it.

I use Sufix Elite and Trilene XL for just about everything except jigs and some soft plastics. They've never given me a reason to change to anything else.

I'm a big fan of the older Daiwa Procasters like the Procaster 6+1, Procaster Rojo, and Capricorn XTC. They're built on aluminum frames, have good brakes, decent drags, and can usually be found on Ebay in your price range. As a matter of fact, you can usually pick up brand new ones for what you're looking to spend, or a little more.

If you can get over the shimano on a daiwa thing...go advantage. I just sold 3 Fuego's, a Sustain, and a Steez in favor of my advantage. If you go shimano I'd get the saros. Yep, I have a Saros on a Crucial and I love it! 8-) Interesting. I tried out a Saros 2500 on my 6'6" Med. Crucial and didn't like the way it felt. The Saros was just too heavy. I switched to a Symetre 2500 and it feels so much more balanced. I know the Saros is probably a better reel overall, but the combo just didn't feel good in my hand.

In order to get an even coat with a spray can, you'll need to make consistant full-length passes without stopping in the middle, continuing past the ends of the boat in both directions. Watch your overlap, try to maintain a consistant distance between the work surface and your can, and try to keep the can perpendicular to the surface. Anybody can "spray bomb" a boat, but very few people can make it look good. IMHO, you can get pretty good results using a roller as long as you're not looking for a "show-quality" paint job. I'd never do it on a car or motorcycle, but it would be fine for a boat.

I've got a Mad River "Explorer 16" that I've had for a few years. It's a great river canoe, but an absolute pig on the flatwater. It's slow, heavy, and the lack of a keel means that the slightest breeze will have you working your butt off to keep it going in a straight line. The Adventure series might not handle as bad on the flatwater, but they're still pretty heavy for their length.

Love my Symetre. It's the only spinning reel I kept last time I "cleaned house".

8# Sufix Elite for my spinning rig, 12# Sufix Elite for my soft plastics baitcasting setup, and 17# BPS XPS flourocarbon for my jig setup. I picked up 8 spools of Sufix Elite @ $4 spool, so it looks like I'll be using it for a while whether I like it or not. No complaints so far.

I'll second the Procaster recommendation, but not the current Procaster. Look for one of the discontinued aluminum-framed models, like the Procaster 100H, Procaster Rojo w/Flipping Lever, Capricorn, or Capricorn XTC. They're all available new on Ebay for less than $100. I have one of each, and they're all solid, smooth, reliable reels, with good drags and excellent brakes. You really have to try to get these things to backlash. http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdaiwaprocaster.html I also own a Daiwa Megaforce and it's an OK reel, I suppose, but nothing I'd recommend as a primary reel. I used mine for a little while on my jigging rod, but took it off and replaced it with a Procaster Rojo.

I've hit a few of the pawn shops around here, but the only thing I found was a bunch of Pinnacle rods and reels. They tried to sell me the entire lot for what they had in it, but I wasn't interested.