flechero

I'll agree with your list, and would add All Star rods, I think they are a great rod at their respective price points. Also I'd add a few other reels... the C3 and C5 are under $100 so are the new Revo S models. (so far, well worth the $99 I paid for it)

I never caught many good bass on a fly until I decided that catching a big fish was worth the cost of losing a fly or two... the point is that where I fish for bigger fish is not a place you would naturally want to flycast! Now I tie mostly weedless flies as they get through weeds and brush. The standing timber can be pretty rough on flyline, not to mention reaking havoc on your backcast! It's not like laying down a #14 Adam's near a rock outcrop... it's more like shooting between some standing trees trying to get a 2/0 streamer along a hydrilla choked laydown. I guess it's the fly casting version of pitchin'. ...lol That's another reason I love smallies, they will relate more to structure than cover so it's usually easier to reach them with a fly.

I have an older set of Orvis that I got on closeout for $100. But i took a quick look at Cabela's and they have a big selection of breathable both insulated or non-insulated in your price range. You probably know this but in a bootfoot wader, you really need to try them on in person. BPS also has a decent selection.

Yep, and some fisherman too! ;D

Do all you guys promoting the 7'6" rods have seperate pitchin' rods? (I agree with you for a fliping rod but most people don't pitch well with anything over 7' and this will double as his F&P rod) Thinking "out loud" is all.

Looks like a fun one! What weight blank is it? (comparing in my head to the 2 wt I built) Could also be a fun rod for tight stream, (stocker) trout where you don't have an room to backcast. Are you clearing the bench for the fork rods?? ...lol

I think the problem is girth. On SAL sized fish they are so thick all the way through the length of the body that it's abnormal. If you look only at lengths, fish that sized are far more common than the SAL's are. So they aren't "normal" in thickness. "normal" big bass have a gut but these big girls are thick from head to tail.

We suffer from the same sickness... I figure it was your next question. ;D

smd, I know 1 thing for sure, if I were in your shoes, I would probably buy 1 good combo and fish it a while... figure out what techniques you like it for and then re-evaluate what you need for the remaining techniques. Buy something more versitle for the first one. (like maybe the MBR844 or an MBR843 if you are further north, if you prefer 6'6" then start with a MBR783 or MBR784) Whith each purchase you will be better equipped for the next. And using one good rod will clue you into what you want in the next one. If you just bought 4 or 5 nice combos, you'd be out $1k-$2k and may not even have the "right rods for you" But if that's how you want to go... First off you need to decide how many rigs you want... because the suggestions will be different for an all around combo or 2 vs. several more specific combos. Also, are you shore bound or do you have a boat? Makes a difference because it's easy to haul a bunch of rods in a boat but you would likely take only 1 or 2 if you were walking the banks.

Wow, we look at this totally different, Roadwarrior. In my case, I use my right (weak) hand to hold a spinning rod and my left (strong) for baitcast. I use the weak with spinning so I don't overpower it. (and since i use spinning with lighter line and lighter drag, I have no reason to use the strong hand on the rod, in fact when I do, I tend to pull trebles hooks out or apply too much rod pressure) The weak hand retrieves the baitcast because I need the power and control with the rod... since I use my drag on a baitcaster, your spinning reel argument applies to my BC reels. Anytime I horse a fish, I horse with the rod, not the reel so the stronger and more coordinated arm is preferred for me. (my strong arm on the rod and left thumb on the spool, applying pressure to momentarily increase the drag for the "horsing") I lucked into this way, my first several reels didn't give me a choice of right or left retrieve. Oh yeah, ROLO- they are left or right "hand retrieve", not left and right "handed reels". But it is confusing, I still hesitate when ordering one on line. ...lol

I used to bounce around to 4-5 different places but weather underground was consistently more accurate in my area so now that's my only stop unless I'm heading out of town. When I lived in Rowlett there was a local site on the roof of the house that backed up to the private lake I was fishing... talk about accurate wind and temps. ...lol

Depending on where you fish either the MH or the H could be right. As for length, it's preference. If you use a single rod for both you might not like a 7'6"rod... the longer the rod the harder it is to pitch well. I prefer to pitch with a 6'6" rod. My partner uses a 7' for both just fine so it really boils down to what you like. Do you pitch well with your 7' rod?

I am not a tandem fan... Maybe if my boat was bigger. (19' champion) It's twice the tires and maintenance. I have a spare, and keep the hubs in good shape. Even if I had a tandem and got a flat, I would change it before proceeding so unless you have 2 flats on the same trip out or back, I don't see the point. I used to live 94 miles one way from my lake house and drove it 1-2 times each week (year round) for 5 years with the single axle. I never wanted a tandem. Just my opinion.

Thanks a lot Dan... now all my "regular" Matt's blugill series seem crappy. I should have Matt invoice you directly for me, as your post is going to set me back about $100. :'(

Matt, I tie mine a little more sparse than they do... it's cheaper, easier and cast better since it's lighter (water weight). You can tie big stuff like that with very inexpensive tools. (it's the tiny trout stuff that requires better tools. ...lol) You can tie for a couple cents per fly which is a heck of a lot better than a couple dollars a fly. (and all your materials can come from hobby lobby or michael's or mj designs. I got about 50 flies from my last $10 hobby lobby trip. (once you know what to look for)

Hmm... you must be throwing them where little bass roam then because with the exception of some bigger frog type deer hairs, I've caught all my larger bass on (big) streamers. Matt, Get an assortment of things as suggested but for sure get a couple beadchain clousers- they are easy to cast, catch fish and are pretty cheap. When you get proficient at casting some larger stuff let me know and I'll tie you some larger streamers. (and I'll tie them sparse so you can handle them ok on the 6 wt.)

I'm sorry you bought into the "lab tests" Those are 2 very different rods. 3" may not seem like much to the average person but it is... especially in things like a balance point. A shorter and lesser power rod with no foregrip and a split grip SHOULD be lighter and balance closer to the reel. ...lol To take it further, I am a little suspect of the reported weights... Yes and not even comparing apples to apples... funny how that's as common as a comparison with Loomis. ...lol It would be like me coming out and saying I have a 6' med Loomis with recoil guides that's lighter than that steez and balances out better. Not apples to apples so it's meaningless. And before anyone says I'm a Loomis blowhard, I'm not. In fact I am down to only owning 1 at the moment. I'm not a fan of any comparison of apples to oranges.

spinnerbaits and crankbaits for me. Years ago I enjoyed both but got burned out on them... I'll still fish them if I "have to" but only then. ...lol

Shad, I know you wouldn't, the quote was actually taken from Fluke's post, not yours. I only used it to show that an original response from a Mod would have been better. No explanations needed. It's all good. Glenn, We all know you go "above and beyond" on a regular basis, we just want you to know if it ever does come down to money, we can help. And most of us would do so gladly! Keep up the great work!

That pump is installed at the bottom of your livewell, not through the hull... which is why it's a "recirculating" kit. You would use that as a supplement to your existing pump or if you were trailering to a weigh in. That is what I was talking about in my other post. Not sure how your boat is plumbed... so you'll need to figure out your drain/fill lines. I keep mine "open" unless I'm trailering or making a long run. (mine will drain when the boat goes on plane for more than a couple minutes)

Lots of us. A few bucks from a percentage of the membership adds up fast! Don't underestimate the thousands who come here. There is a lot of money in this membership, and I'm sure if there were needs, lots of people would donate. I would be first in line if Glenn made a request. I understand his wanting a response, he posted in public as opposed to a PM for the benefit of others. A simple "it's being discussed" or a "no" followed by a reason wouldn't have been too much to ask, would it? It would have been less effort than defending why no one responded. Besides, with such a well behaved bunch of people, what else do you have to do??? ;D (yes, that part was a joke!)

Terri, You must not have prepped the feet as well as you need to. I say this because when I started, I went through the same thing. A properly prepped foot will wrap with ease... the thread will just climb right up the foot with NO hesitation. I have not had any Fuji guides that were good from the factory... in fact all Fuji's except the titaniums needed work on the bottom as well. I use a chainsaw file for the underside and some fine needle files on the tops. It sounds like a bunch of work but with a little practice it only takes 30-40 seconds per guide. I use a thin strip of masking tape to hold them. One trick is to be sure you make 2 revolutions with the tape, it holds the guides 10 X tighter than if you don't wrap the tape all the way around. I would not let the dremel out near a guide foot unless you are an absolute pro with it. That's just me though. With every rod you build, the wrapping and guide prep get easier.

5BL, If I were in your shoes and looking for light weight- I would look at the Stratic MG or Fuego 3000. The Stradic MG wasn't available locally for me to look at so I never got to consider it. I own the Fuego 3000 and really like it a lot... below is a copied response on mine from the past. The Feugo 3000 is fantastic! It is the finest, smoothest, best casting, lightest spinning reel I have ever used. (never tried a Stella though) I was fortunate enough to catch several fish on it today, a few of them took drag... the drag system is like butter... so smooth I never felt it giving line, I just heard it and saw the spool turning. It has a wide range of available drag pressure and it is as smooth at 2 lbs as it is at 8lbs. plus. I was truly impressed. This reel casts SO much better than all my others... I don't know if it's the shape of the spool or smoothnes of the lip. I also like the manual trip for the bail. And when the bail closes it sounds (a little louder than most other spinning reels) like the action of a fine firearm, crisp, solid and all business. I toyed with the idea of a Stella instead but ultimately decided the difference of almost $300 was too great a jump for me.

I will be at Sportsman's Warehouse tomorrow morning at 10 am... I'll be the guy at the door at 9:55 looking at his watch. ...lol I live in a small town with only a wal-mart (there is Academy in the next town) so I make a run to Sportsman's about every couple weeks, it's only a 45 minute drive and I like the selection.

That purely depends on the size of the reel. 20# is the heaviest I have used but that was on a surf rod... 14# was the heaviest on a bass rod. (shimano 4000 size reel)