Darren.

Welcome aboard! I've got a spool with a very tiny "nick" in the lip, but I've not had any problems with it. That said, you could try to smooth it out with high-grit sand paper (200grit and up) to ensure it is smoothed out, or simply see if you can buy another spool. I'm not sure my sandpaper suggestion is great, so I'd wait to see what others suggest. We do have reel repair folks here like @Delaware Valley Tackle, @J Francho, who will have other, probably better suggestions than mine.

Congrats! Nice catch!

All depends. Reservoirs I fish vary greatly with whether or not the turbines are drawing water, or the general water levels being high/low. There are days when it is a silty green with maybe 1 or so feet of visibility where I put in, and others where I can see the bottom in 6-8'. In the open, deeper water (10-20'), rare to see past 5 or 6' (that's a depth-guess, and only when I've thrown a shiny rattletrap )

Are you talking terminal knots (line to hook/lure) and/or line-to-leader line knots? I echo those saying practice! Easy terminal knots to tie, pretty bulletproof for me, but plenty of other knots in the book to try: Palomar Uni Line-to-leader: Uni-to-Uni Alberto/Mod'd Albright There are excellent tutorials out there. Grab a spool of your line and practice. Make sure you cinch down slowly on all these knots. Do NOT pull them tight too fast. Heat generated will weaken the knots. Lubricate with saliva if you wish, and test pull the knot before using. Give a good tug on the line, holding the hook/lure carefully so as not to impale yourself.

Cheers to that, mate! Heck of a humbling thing to hear a teen ask.

Welcome aboard!

It's cheaper... Don't use O's myself, and to make it like I want it (perpendicular to bait) I'd have to use 2 Os. Disadvantage is you end up hooking thru the bait, usually, while with Os you don't have to. I suppose if you don't shrink the wrap - or you use a large enough wrap you can do the same, but you run the danger of the worm slipping out...

It works well, but the senko will still get busted up, just maybe not as quick as w/o. I have pretty much stopped using shrink wrap on my wacky rigged baits. Not for any particular reason other than I didn't see that the lifespan was that much better.

Faves, not in particular order: Spinning: 5'9" MXF Shimano Compre (old cork handle model) 5'9" MLF St. Croix Premier (shortened it from 6') 5'6" L (more like ML) BPS MicroLite travel rod 6'3" MF Carbonlite (shortened it from 6'6") 6' ML BPS MicroLite 6'3" MLXF St. Croix Legend Tournament Walleye (broken tip, now somewhere in the 5'8"-6' range) Casting: 6'6" MF Carbonlite 6'6" ML Carbonlite

Welcome aboard, Jim!

LOL...indeed. I will use them to wash the inside of my windshield on occasion, but if they smell like gas or worse, no way.

Hi Mark! Welcome to the forums!

Jim, in addition to Patrick's suggestion of the Carbonlite, which I also like, have a look at St. Croix's Premier lineup, BPS (usually) has a wide range of those spinning rods. And perhaps a person in the know from BPS can confirm whether or not the Carbonlite series of rods are going the way of the Dodo? Online only one spinning model is available. So Jim, also consider the new Pro Qualifier 2 rods, which now occupy the price range the Carbonlites did... http://www.basspro.com/shop/en/st-croix-premier-series-spinning-rod Edit: just back from browsing BPS...been a while since I've visited, and not thrilled with the changes to the site, but oh well. There are many rods in your price-range. Fenwick is another I'd throw in the mix. If your local BPS has some, take your reel in with you (or borrow one from them) and try it out on several rods to see how each feels in your hands.

Thanks, Dwight. Always enjoy Roger's posts. Was hoping it wasn't anything really serious, perhaps health-wise. Though a broken ankle is no small thing to suffer from.

Just curious, haven't seen @RoLo on the forums for a while, last post was in July. Anyone know his status?

I have several brands/types of super glue. Normally Gorilla gel SG when I'm on the boat. Also have Zap-A-Gap CA+, though at the rate my sons look for glue, take mine off my desk and don't return it, the Gorilla seems to get the most use for TRD-to-jig head as it is misplaced less, LOL.

Fantastic catch! I woulda guessed over 6#, but still a great catch! Lesson of the day: Never turn away from a small body of water

Funny, most of the time I glue the tip of the TRD to the mushroom head, but several times I wanted to change out the color (didn't have multiple Ned setups those times) and regretted the gluing. But the glue does work, you're spot on there.

When I saw "skunked" in the same paragraph as "first time ever" I did a facepalm. Dude. I've been skunked more times that I wish to count. Congrats on going so long w/o one!! I wish my luck was that bad, LOL.

Seeing how the Ned has won me over this year, I guess I should respond Downsides: None. Well, actually, I think I could find one based solely on the fact I've only used Zman jigs for this so far. The bait keeper can come un-soldered. That's a downside of the hook/jig setup I'm using at this point. I could probably resolve it by trying some of Siebert's jigs or making my own. Perhaps I'll try one or both at some point. But doggonit, the Ned rig is awesome. Never been skunked when I've used it.

No it aren't. Well, maybe it are.

Welcome aboard! I'd like to recommend you go back to Bass Pro and put your reel(s) on several different rods that fall within your 2-for $150 budget. You don't have to bring your reels unless you want to, BPS will have your Tourney Special and maybe the Shimano (but both without line spooled on). This way you'll get a nice feel for how each rod with reel feels in your hands. Bass Pro has some excellent house brand rods that'll pair nicely with your reels, as well as a number of other great brands. I have done exactly what I suggest to you and doing so helped me pick a rod for my reel that I thought felt the best in my hands. Good luck!

I'm with @The Bassman, 6'6" and under with about 5'9" or 6' being the sweet spot for me. I just prefer shorter rods. My son has a 7 foot inshore rod we bought him for that purpose, but it just isn't in my wheelhouse of size. To each his/her own. I caught my PB on a 6' M casting rod, and over a dozen 6# bass on my 5'9" Compre. They all get the job done. Simply a matter of preference in my book.

I don't stray very far from my standard arsenal for bass. For me, they work. I'm after the catch, the fun, not competing or out to best "the other guy". It's a hobby to me. Of course I'd be lying to say breaking my PB didn't matter!! It absoLUTELY matters ... I just don't get out as often as I did just a year ago, so I stick to what works.

I've used braid since the early 90s, Spiderwire then. Used Trilene XL for spinning, or Spiderwire. Fast forward to today and every reel I have is spooled with Power Pro or Power Pro Super Slick 8 and paired with a leader of either copoly, or fluorocarbon. For copoly I mainly use Yo Zuri Hybrid, though I've got and like P-Line Floroclear tho not used much anymore. For fluoro I use Gamma Edge.