Darren.

Nope. Though obviously I didn't get to weigh her, I did get a great look at her literally inches from my net as she taildanced her way off my hook. That one hurt. She was much fatter than my 7.5 PB, so I put her est. in the 8+ range. Another one in the same area a year before, I caught one that blew up on a school of shad. I heard it behind me, threw a 5" senko and she hit it hard and gave me quite a fight, but I could never work her to the surface when suddenly my 10# Yo Zuri Hybrid leader snapped maybe 24-30 inches above the hook...

Welcome aboard! I'd recommend a M/XF rod if you can find one in your price range. Rod length is up to you. I prefer shorter rods 6' being the sweet spot for me, 6'6" being max. I also think you could get away with a Bass Pro Carbonlite MF. A stout rod for a manner of weighted lure situations. Reel: Pflueger makes fine spinning reels. I personally prefer Shimano, but that's me. Line: I use braid on every setup I have. 10 and 15# Power Pro (regular) and Power Pro Super Slick 8, both in bright yellow. I always tie on a leader...

I really like St. Croix in the ML action spec. Suggestion would be a Premier at that level, or Avid if willing to spend a little more. But as @fishnkamp asked, what size reel? Smaller the reel, the more tip-heavy (usually) the rod will be, esp. in the SC lineup. I'm a fan of shorter rods from my kayak, 6' being optimal, I'll go as long as 6'6". But length is relative to the fisherman, get what you feel comfortable with.

The trick is getting your butt off the back of the seat! Lucky for me as I did hundreds* of steps and never face planted. Though on other "stupid stunts" and going too fast on narrow singletrack, I've mauled my shins, endo'd, reverse endo'd, and other things there are no names for, LOL. Again, lucky I broke no bones in the sport. These dudes have trick-tuned full suspension bikes which help a lot with the stairs and such. MacKaskill has a number of vids, some where he uses a BMX to jump all over the place.

Same here. I tried to show my 3rd born son the ease of popping a wheelie on my "old" rigid Trek and I ended up going full-on my back with a nasty bruise to go along. Getting older ... sucks...

Here in Hampton Roads, as well. Just wish the wind would die down!! Full moon Tuesday, I believe!

It was very likely pre-staged and run through several times. Cordoned off by folks with the crew. It was well put together, it seems. The one I posted was by Red Bull, so also well-done and ridden through several times to get the proper shoot. Outtakes are funny painful.

Pretty good ride. I used to ride all over UNT (Univ. North Texas) back when I was a crazy MTBer. And I jumped and rode steps on a full rigid Trek!! My 3rd son races cross country MTB here in VA. I'm a big fan of the legend, Danny MacKaskill. Keep watching for the cringeworthy outtakes.

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard, Tom!

Very sad...not sure what to say. Don't want to diminish the tragedy...but be safe out there.

Beautiful beast. Sad outcome.

Nice spot to fish, nice bass!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard, Cyril!

Thank you, but rest assured, there was a LOT of tying and retying and cutting and retying to get the right knot size I was after.

Welcome aboard! Nice beast, and yeah, I'd probably go in after what I think would be my next PB....

Quite a bit, actually. I started with 50# Ande mono leader and felt it was too stiff so I bought some in 40#. I think I could even drop to 30#, but I keep forgetting to pick up a roll when I stop at BPS. I've tried it with 20# wire and it works great, as well.

Welcome aboard, Stevan! Sounds like a nice ride. Good luck with it!

Gratzie, señore.

Welcome aboard, Davor!

I do both with Senkos, but mostly wacky. I also make my own weedless hooks, but @RoLo, I'm using mono leader! Cheaper, heh.

Welcome aboard! Lots of info on this topic in the forums, but I'll say that I like 20lb braid for mainline on my Chronarch 50e. I throw a lot of finesse/light line stuff on it when pairing it with a ML rod. With lighter braid you just have to be aware of potential dig ins after a snag, pulling hard, or fighting a big fish. A few pulls of the line off the reel after such an event will often get the dig ins out and prep you for next cast.

Very interesting read!

Another beauty!