Darren.

Just another presentation that has its time and place. Some days dead-sticking doesn't produce, others it does. Keep up the experimentation. Trick Worms are super versatile, as are their younger sibling, Finesse Worms...

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard! Nice pix.

Welcome aboard, Larry!

Welcome aboard!

Fine to mod the rod. I've modded rods by lopping a few inches off the tip so I'd have a shorter length for yak fishing. We each have our own preferences when kayak fishing. My style, longer handles don't bother me so much. I have handled the GX2 in-store, didn't think the handles were too long, but in fairness, I didn't stay long with the rods, plan to on next visit as I might want to buy one for saltwater live bait fishing.

Or maybe there's not a lot of experience with them yet since they're relatively new to the market. Plenty of Daiwa fans here, though maybe not as many as at TT as new said. I've not held the new Tatula rods, my local BPS doesn't carry them (or at least didn't when I was last there). I have, however, held the Lexa rods and was very impressed with the weight. What I've read on the web suggests they (Tatula) rods are quite good.

Welcome aboard!

Knots. The easiest to start with for line to leader (IMHO) is the Uni-to-Uni knot. There are numerous YouTube tutorials as well as apps for your smartphone. It is easy to tie, just remember, any knot, lube it with saliva as you tighten it. Next knot I like is the Albright. Also YouTube it. There are variants of this knot, it is slimmer and slides through guides better than the Uni-to-Uni. However, the Uni-to-Uni works just fine. I have no problems with it through my spinning and casting rod guides. Opinions are all over the place on the forums. But for simplicity I'll recommend the Uni-to-Uni for you to learn. Get good at it, then experiment with other line-to-leader knots IF you want to. I personally don't recommend other ways, but some will use a small swivel tied on to the mainline, then tie the leader on to that....

Well, that's something you will learn to answer. For now, and I have not learned all the situations myself, I tend to use copoly line for most situations. I've ventured into the fluorocarbon world with Bass Pro's XPS fluoro - but there are other brands out there. So if you fish a lot of rocks, you might want to tie on a nice length of fluorocarbon leader. This will give you a measure of protection from rocks, shells, etc. In fact, a lot of folks use fluoro leaders for any and every technique. As a guy who throws a lot of soft plastics via TX, wacky, Jika, mojo rigs, I tend towards copoly and fluoro. In fact, I haven't used mono for anything in years. If I had more $$, I'd buy a couple spools of Tatsu, or Sunline FC to try them out. Folks swear by the stuff. Here's the thing with using braid as your mainline and tying a leader: You buy 1 spool of Sunline FC and that spool will last you a LONG time since you're only using it for lengths of leader material.

Yup. This. Braid for line management (and feel), then use leader of various material (mono, copoly, fluoro) for whatever you have need for at the time. This way you can have the best of all worlds.

What a great time when your kid kicks your butt!! Or maybe it's that she's smaller than you and the fish look that much bigger! LOL I got a chance to hit Newport News Park waters here earlier this past week. Caught several bass, biggest at 2 pounds. Most of the fish lately have been 2.5 and down. Hunting the big ladies though, caught so many between 4 - 6.6 pounds this year. Fishing Jika rig, Mojo, wacky weightless and weighted.

Holy smokes! Great catch! Congrats and then some!!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard, Troy!

Welcome aboard!

FWIW, count me among those who use a bright, highly visible braid. Though not Sufix, I like to be able to see my line. I do have some green braid on one reel, but it is just too darn hard for me to see in a lot of conditions. With a leader always tied on, I don't worry about stealthy braid color. I need to see it. Don't feel my catch ratios have gone down since I switched to bright yellow braid + leader.

Okay. So this isn't just a thing my eldest son does with his high school buddies on the swim team. Man, I need to get out more. And no, don't participate. Can grow a full beard, but too many gray patches in spots. Maybe when it's all gray I will, LOL.

It was a gorgeous 3 lb bass. I was frustrated by a couple, um, jerks who had no idea of courtesy and fished right by me in my kayak. Long story short, I threw my jig out into the water just to cast. Didn't aim for a spot, just threw it out there. Bang! Hauled it in right in front of the guys. LOL. Now this jig was one I found while fishing one day. Was snagged on a dock. I decided to try it but never had success on it until that day (to the best of my knowledge). Still don't ghosh jigs much. Still have that one, too..

You could probably stain the cork first. I believe it is silicone-based, but haven't looked at the ingredients. It's just a coating that sinks in a little ways to provide the seal.

Well, I've only done maybe 6 rods, and I've got practically a full little bottle. Should do plenty. I lightly sand the handle, if dirty, and use a toothbrush to apply. I let it dry, and it's good-to-go.

Guitar is my instrument of choice. Yamaha, Taylor...

What method are you looking for light wire hook info? Texas, Wacky, Carolina, Drop Shotting? All the above?

Probably Gamakatsu for wacky, TX/Jika, mojo rigs.

Get some U-40 Cork Sealer. Works great.