Darren.

Thanks Keith.

I bought one of my sons a BPS Tourney combo to practice/learn on. Cost was under $100. Combo went back to BPS within a couple days. It was awful. I had two Quantum Accurist BCs, one a Shaw Grigsby combo I bought at Dick's Sporting Goods. That was a decent model to start on. Was about $100 give or take. I've since migrated up the line to a Shimano Chronarch 50e and the difference is absolutely amazing, in favor of the pricier model. It is what it is. Get the absolute best you can afford. It will make a difference. Check DSG's for sales, clearance, etc. Same for Bass Pro, and your local sporting goods shops.

I have both Shimano and St. Croix rods. On paper, Shimano's is better in that you only have to pay the gas to go to the store and exchange it. St. Croix has the advantage in upgrades. There's an argument to be made that manufacturers price in warranty replacement on rods. I.e., maybe a Compre, in reality, could retail at $65, but Shimano sells it at $99. $34 warranty built-in for that (maybe) one time you bring it in for a replacement. My 6'3" Avid broke the other day. 6" off the tip. I couldn't believe it, felt crushed. Called 'Croix, they said $75 bucks to replace OR exchange for an equally-priced rod. Or the difference for a more expensive rod. I could even exchange it for a casting model even tho the broken one is a spinning rod. I have no idea how the tip broke, so by rule, it's my fault. Shimano has the best OTC warranty out there, but St. Croix's allowance of upgrades, cross-grades, etc., is also second to none.

My local BPS, as far as I know, does not stock the higher-end FC lines like Shooter or Tatsu. Like you, I'm taking the FC plunge, but only for leader material attached to braid. I picked up 2 spools of BPS XPS FC yesterday in 10 and 12 lb tests. I've had an 8 lb test spool for a couple years now that I just started using for leader the other week -- as a test. Slack line sensitivity was awesome, even with braid mainline. So I decided to try it even further with the 10 and 12. I've been eying the Shooter at TW's site, but not ready to pull the trigger. Especially now since I've got plenty of line for leader material for while.

Thanks, followed the link to the local paper and June fishing report. Helpful.

Some good info, Red. Thanks! Although I've yakked around some big boats, It was mostly behind wake buoys they couldn't speed around. I will definitely stick close to shore and may even do some night fishing with the family. I only wish we were camping on the water front!! Locally, Newport News Park was flooded today, and I had a tremendous day fishing fallen timber along the shoreline. Saw a lot of baitfish in close, and that's pretty much where I caught 'em. Biggest of the day was a 6, couple 3's and the rest 2 and under. Hopefully SML is as nice next week as NNPK was today

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard, LC!

Welcome, Charles!

Welcome aboard, Maleko!

Welcome aboard!

Thanks. Looking at the map, there are a lot of coves and such in the State Park area, so I was planning on hitting them mostly. Maybe some citations my boys and I can land in that area!

Tried your suggestion this morning and pushed two pins in. Got an additional 11 feet on the cast! New to the centrifugal system, I will play cautiously and enjoy what works for my style. Appreciate the suggestion.

I took the earlier suggestion and tried two brakes off, the rest on. Casted just fine, in fact, went from 40 feet to 51 feet with a wacky rigged/weightless 4.75" Zoom Finesse worm. After I got the reel, I did have to find videos and reviews to confirm setting the brakes symmetrically. Your comments on adjusting the tension knob is confirming my experimentation per bait. Did not realize the difference between Shimano's centrifugal system vs. Daiwa's MagForce system (which I do like). As far as practicing, it is from a standing position. And I often fish standing in my Native Ultimate. I also sit quite high in the yak, used to sit low which didn't help. Totally agree about sitting and fighting fish, my experience is similar. I have read extensively on fisherman's elbow, talked with ortho docs, as well. Have adjusted my paddling methodology (helped immensely). I find issues arise more quickly with spinning gear on that front as opposed to casting gear. Just my experience.

I'm taking the family to SML next week, at the state park. Wondering how the lake is fishing right now. Never fished it as an adult, and never for anything other than bluegill as a wee laddie, so any help would be very welcome. In fact, I've not been to SML since I was like 4, so like 40 years ago. We'll be kayak fishing, limited arsenal going with us, mostly soft plastics... Suggestions welcome... I don't plan on long trips into the deeper waters (unless I have to), partly for safety to avoid boat traffic, prefer to stick close® to our site, hitting the shorelines and coves. I realize that limits me, so if any of you know the area around the state park, that'd be cool. I checked the lake level site and know it's at full pool and rising (not sure how this affects the fishery). Humble thanks!

Actually, that'd just be the Shimano baitcaster family , and thanks! All of my spinning reels, save one (Lexa) are Shimano!!

Thanks for the tip. I actually know how to use the thumb quite well from using Accurists which would backlash if you looked at them wrong. It is more a retraining thing at this point, which is why I mention that I have 6 out -- for now I'm working towards it every outing. I will try having just 4 out tomorrow in the yard and see how it feels, and whether I'm ready to change it up.

Well, I recently acquired a brand spanking new Shimano Chronarch 50e. Circumstances surrounding said purchase will be withheld. Lets just say, don't play roulette with ebay bids. Explaining to the wife is ... tough. Anyhoo -- so, as a new fan of Daiwa's Lexa lineup, I have been utterly blown away by the Chronarch. And I should be, considering it is far and away a superior reel to the Lexa. I've paired the 50e up with a couple-year-old 6 foot Medium Field and Stream rod after comparing the balance and feel with it on the 6'6" Premier. Not only that, but the F&S rod is quite sensitive to boot. Played a lot with casting, the centrifugal brakes are new to me, so I replaced 3 reds with 3 greens, and I've got all 6 pulled out for now. Even with all the brakes on, I've been able to do almost everything I do with my spinning gear. I can even cast a weightless 4.75" Zoom Finesse worm 40 feet. Maybe not impressive to you guys, but I'm not a long caster to begin with (by choice) as I like to be closer in with my kayak. So that I'm able to cast one of my bread-and-butter setups is freakin' amazing to me. I've had a few nests, but nothing that had to be cut out. Definitely have to thumb the spool more, something I was able to dial in on the Lexa w/o doing. But I wasn't able to throw weightless 4.75" Zoom Finesse worms, either. I've spooled it up with 20lb PowerPro and currently been using 8lb XPS Fluoro leader. Sensitivity is amazing on this setup. Have caught maybe 15 bass on it so far ranging up to 4 pounds and it handles everything with butter-like smoothness and power I've not experienced yet in a baitcaster. Needless to say, my Lexa has not been out with me lately. Don't get me wrong, I still like it -- a LOT. But not as much as my shiny new white 50e which can do everything I want to do. One last thing. I've struggled over the past year with tennis/fishing elbow in both elbows. Paddling has made it tougher, but most of the action with spinning gear has been brutal on me. During some of the winter down-time I recovered nicely, haven't experience issues until recently. The Lexa, though only what, 2 or 3 ounces more than the Chronarch, is heavy enough, paired with the 6'6" Premier (even with a rod-balancer) that I started feeling the aches again. (Used a lot of spinning gear, too) So on this splurge/impulse buy, I have found a setup that feels vastly lighter and far easier on my elbows. Add another thing to be happy about.

I think this is a great move for Tebow. Bill won't let him steal the limelight, Brady is safe, Tebow can learn and maybe even improve his throwing motion. The Tebow-Jets joke is over, and a guy gets to live on doing what he loves. No problems. As a Bills fan, I'm excited where the "new" franchise is headed and I hope we pound the Pats into no less than second place in the AFC East!!

Happy B!

What style are you fishing them? Wacky? If so, you can use a piece of shrink wrap from a local hardware store to place around the mid-section and hook thru it. Will save the worm from being destroyed (typically) by one fish. Should last a while.

Welcome aboard, Bill!

Welcome aboard, Robert!

Welcome aboard!

Definitely consider the 580G lenses, but do try on the many styles because each will fit your face differently. I tried mine on at Bass Pro before buying on ebay. The ones I thought I wanted did not fit me well...