Darren.

Yep, Rx is to take two rods and your son and go fishing in the morning.

Well, the first two being braid, make for excellent choices for using as a mainline, the YZH is great as leader material. On spinning gear I choose braid for its zero-memory and high strength to small diameter. I'll always tie on a leader. Will do same for bait casting, but line management is more critical (IMO) on spinning gear.

Agreed! Look like they do the multi-purpose jobs well.

Dylan, you can simply spool it up with your braid, and use a leader of mono, or other line...

For me, between 6-15lb. The thicker the leader, the bigger the knot to go thru your top guide. FWIW... I have used 50 lb mono leader when striper fishing on my Daiwa Lexa.

On the channel now.

Welcome back!

Bait monkey making me . I swear off it, but I'm afraid there's no hope.

Back when I was in NY, I used spoons and caught pike. Down here in VA, I catch Pickerel on almost anything I throw for bass....

Watermelon Gold Flake, Green Pumpkin + Chartreuse tail, Watermelon magic

I found a St. Croix Premier (casting) M/F rod at Dick's Sporting Goods for $50. It's fantastic. My buddy scored a ML Premier for around $25 on a similar clearance last year. Point being, you can find $100 rods on clearance. I'm thrilled with my Premier. My spinning rods are $100 Shimano Compres, also excellent rods. I'd love to have some St. Croix spinning rods. I've looked at the Eyecon rods and think J Francho is spot-on with his thoughts.

I knew someone would go down that road! LOL Sorry, scrutch, I have been lurking. A kayaker myself, so no help there...but I'm sure someone will help.

Big fan of copoly lines as leaders to braid mainline. My favorites are P-Line Floroclear and YZ-Hybrid. They will float until surface tension is broken, then slowly drift downward. I use copoly leaders for all applications, pretty much, (including topwaters) unless I feel the situation calls for a pure fluorocarbon, which is rare.

Here's to a speedy recovery!

Good gravy that'd freak me out. Probably be in awe for all of 5 seconds until, like you, I'd expect the mother to show up...

Yes, it does/can waste line. I fumble with it to preserve as much line as possible. I will use the improved clinch when using a leader, but I've had it slip on braid. Perhaps more wraps will prevent the slippage.

Oh I agree, it is an overkill knot. Big, chunky, but dadgum strong! As I mentioned to the OP in a reply, I've used it when I had a particularly slick braid (or new), or a thin diameter braid that seemed to slip when I pulled it tight while testing the knot.

Moreso if I was using a new braid that was still kind of slick/slippery, or a very thin diameter braid. Not something I tie often. It can be a pretty chunky knot, especially for thicker braids.

Sure thing. FWIW, I've also tied a double-Palomar in some circumstances...

Not on that topic, but I see it's your first post, so welcome to the site!

Straight braid I'd tie a Palomar.

Just rub it all over your body and go for a swim. Just you, Megastrike, and a net.

It was just awful today. 57 down here, spritzes of rain now and then. Just had to get out with my oldest son, though. He needs to get his hands on a bait caster again, so we hit the docks -- only needed sweat shirts, too, because we all know 57 is downright chilly in VA this time of year....

Hi, Ben, welcome to the best fishing forum on the 'net!

JJ's Magic, a garlic scent, chartreuse or clear. Megastrike. Yum F2 Attractant spray