flippin and pitchin

They come with two spools ! Buy it. That's a super price on an outstanding reel.

A new hedge trimmer Garden rake Square point shovel 10 cubic yards of Red Hemlock bark mulch 50 count bottle of Ibuprofen

4.5 inch Robo Worm and the FX Sculpin.

Jig

It's nice when you are a VALUED customer. Tell the dealer who sold you the reel.

Anything with a paddle tail. A 5 inch hollow body swimbait is my first choice. A swimming fluke or the Havoc Grass Pig or similar baits also match up well. Under the right conditions it's a deadly set up.

Being a versatile angler starts with an attitude, a willingness or desire to make an effort to fish differnt situations. If you fish the same pond and no other locations it is a moot point. If you enjoy fishing and have the means to fish differnt locations you must be willing to expand your skill sets and that generally requires more harware. My first 15 years of fishing bass, I rarely fished deeper than 9 feet and rarely for smallmouth. When I made the move to fishing the waters where there was depth to 70 feet and clarity to 35 feet, I had to learn and at least become proficient at techniques and lure deliveries for those situations. It's not easy but it was and is fun. I can fish in a rut on my home lake and need three rods and catch some fish or expand. I blew it and missed out on some stellar smallmouith fishing for years. My mistake. Being willing to try new things and new places is the first step.

Right now. Cranking breaks and creek channel ledges and up on the flats. This is the best time to have a 70 fish day and catch a six pound smallmouth. Pitchin a jig to buck brush is fun too.

Dobyns DX742SF, Stradic FJ 3000, Sunline Super Sniper #8 Spot Remover Pro and Owner rocker head w. screw lock Robo Worm, Zoom Trick Worm, Maverick Baits hand pours.

GYCB in 176 on a 1/4 jig head, 3/0. Classic smallmouth bait.

35 years with R/H reels. I tried lefties on my pitchin sticks for one year. They now sit on my partner's rods. It's not for me.

6

Dwight and A-Jay on Erie. A-Jay just bought about two dozen LC pointers so I can borrow from him. Big O on Falcon. Steve clearly has the knack for monster largemouth. I could purloin some Rage baits too.

Here's a thought Rooster. Heavy action rods have low flex. They load fast and unload fast. The process of loading and unloading is so fast it generates speed and the spool rotates quickly at the beginning. Magnetic brakes are designed to slow the spool at the end of the cast. Put the reel on a moderate action rod and cast it for a awhile and see if the backlash issue persists. Some times a little extra line between the tip and the lure can help with this issue. Try that and see if it helps.

Being everything else in Western Washington is moldy anyway....cheese. Can you even imagine pizza without cheese ? That made it easy.

No brainer, Symetre.

I built a guy an Alvey rod in the late 80's and it was spooled with 12 pound mono for surf perch. I used a 3/4 ounce weight and cast it 123 yards. Amazing set up.

Curling. Haven't touched a stone or broom in years.

Dobyns Extreme DX742SF with a Stradic 300FJ. It does everything from drop shot to shakey heads. Dobyns Extreme DX745FH with a Lews TP. The jig king. Dobyns Champion 705CBGlass. Sorry Road Warrior but this model outshines my Lamiglas SR705R.

I hate the word best, but Norman crankbaits are the best value in a crankbait as far as I am concerned. Their color pallet is exceptional, stock hooks are very good, they run true out of the box and the finishes hold up for ever. I have Deep Little N's over 20 years old that I still use today. The Fat Boy is one of the most bouyant plastic baits out there and rivals balsa. Log Perch, Firetiger and Western Firetiger are few good choices for stained water.

Oregon Native is on it. Dry Creek makes an excellent bait with some unique colors for my region. Outlaw Baits is another regional company that has a very special color that sacks em up on the Columbia. I tried some Big Bite Bait tubes last fall and are also effective and reasonable.

It depends on the application. For skipping, an internal weight and the hook is texposed. For flipping around cover, the hook is texposed and the weight is exterior and pegged. For dragging around rock and smallmouth, a jig head inserted with the hook exposed. Tubes can do alot and rig options help you fish them in different scenarios but maximize hook ups while reducing hang ups. Hope this helps.

No one here will be able to answer your question. Each member has their own likes, budget, access to product or custom product and experience. I'm not picking on you and we are glad you are on board. The term BEST comes up alot and it just ends up with everyone lobbying for what they like and already own. Find some parameters and ask for suggestions within those parameters and then research the suggestions. Do everything you can to put a rod or reel in your hand. I don't know what the best rod is. I only know what I like. Doug

Lots of pipe smokers in Washington. We were known as the evergreen state. Now its the green bud state. I'm moving to Texas where I can get some brisket on my biscuit.

For those of us who have deployed a Taser on the job, we know it's not the end all force response tool. The way you know it is working effectively is the suspect yelps, " I'm Sorry..I'm Sorry." Yes it does hurt.