Darren.

A lot of great answers. Every time I go to BPS I pick up rods for feel. I have a previous gen Compre, and the new ones are pretty nice. It is hard to argue with Shimano's over the counter warranty, FWIW. I like the feel of the Abu Veritas rods mentioned above. Don't own one, but always pick one up... A buddy of mine has a 6'6" M BPS Carbonlite spinning rod and loved it - until he bought a St. Croix 6'6" ML Premier rod on clearance at BPS this past year. Says the difference between the rods is big, in favor of the Croix, which he bought for well under $100, normally right around +/- the $100 mark. Beyond that I don't have much experience with big priced rods other than hands-on at BPS, etc. I'd agree the Shimano Cumara, and even Crucial are great rods, and just about any St. Croix from Avid on up are hard to beat. I do like some of the Loomis rods I've picked up in-store, too. Since local retailers don't carry some of the models mentioned above, I can't comment on them.

I feel your pain. Biggest bass I ever hooked (at least I think it is) was about 6" away from my 7 year old's outstretched arm holding the net when it tail danced and spit the hook back at us and laughed all the way back to the depths. The mouth was the biggest bucket mouth I'd ever seen and to have it that close and lose it was painful. Mouth was so big we coulda gone spelunking, LOL. But hey, it is what it is. We got to see a huge bass and that was cool. Yeah, much cooler if we landed it. I can only guess that it was between 8.5 and 10 pounds. My PB is a 7.5, and this was significantly bigger.

Well, personally I don't fish many reaction baits. I have in the past, had some success, but not nearly the success I have with soft plastics. Not even close, which is why I fish soft plastics almost exclusively now. So during dog days of summer I usually throw Zoom finesse worms, wacky rigged. I throw them at laydowns, various hiding spots, etc. None of this is to say a reaction bait specialist won't have great success fishing dog days. This is my M.O. based on my experiences.

Between those two I voted YoZuri; but if it was vs. P-Line Floroclear, I'd go P-Line.....

BEAST! Sweet catch, man.

Have to agree here. But then I don't fish a lot of slop like some of the guys here do. And I see plenty of use of 50 and up on TV to pitch/flip into thick cover, but I caught my PB on 10lb braid + leader in slop, so....

He will be missed. Loved his knowledgeable, wise-uncle delivery of fishing wisdom...

Not only slower, but are you fishing spinning or baitcasting? With spinning, and you may already do this, be sure to close the bail by hand. You can add to twisting headaches when reeling to close the bail - in my experience. You'll find the wacky rig to be deadly, welcome to the fanclub :-)

Welcome rangerboy!

Jim, the interesting thing about the Native is the pontoons in the hull. I didn't believe it until I tried it myself, but they are amazingly stable and create a suction, if you will, on initial stability, then the secondary stability kicks in and wow. This isn't to say the right person can't tip. I just haven't yet. I'm only about 5'7" and a wee bit overweight and have no issues. As for the Commander. Wilderness Systems, so as not to copy Native, reversed the pontoons on the hull. So they come inTO the hull, shaped toward the inside of the boat while the Native pontoons are concaved down into the water. Both are extremely stable, just different designs. As I mentioned, you'll want to sit in these at a kayak shop if at all possible. As for getting in/out of the pack canoe, I'm really not sure. My canoe was a 16' aluminum Grumman, I didn't have a pack canoe. But I did look at canoes before going kayak. The seat in the Native is amazing, and IMHO, better than the Commander. The Commander, though, does have a perch you can sit on which elevates you up. You flip the seat back down and sit up. The Native seat is called First Class, and it is exceedingly comfy. You can either purchase a foam block riser from Native, or build your own (as I did) which elevates your entire chair. Now as for getting in/out. These hybrids sit lower to the water, which is where the interbreeding of kayak + canoe comes in to play. Kayaks are lower, but canoes offer more storage and such. So your gunnels will be lower on the yak than the canoe. I'll respond to your PM as well. If weight is a concern, Native makes a 35 +/- pound Ultimate, but it's rather pricey.

When I broke one of my more pricey rods in a door, I decided to take it to a local shop that happens to build rods. Guy there put a new tip on for maybe $3.00. Looks like it was built on the rod from the factory. I have done my own as well, and done a good job if I say so meself, but if I were looking for great, pro quality work, I'd take it to this guy again.

Those are some HOGS, guys!

As an owner of a hybrid (Native Ultimate 12), I can say it is awesome. I was a canoe fisherman before I became a kayak fisherman. My first yak was a sit on top and though I liked it, it wasn't of the stable-enough-to-stand-in variety so I made pontoons for it, but even that wasn't stable enough. I was intro'd to the Native U12 and the WS Commander at a local Virginia kayak shop and found the U12 to be the best of breed - for me. I wanted something that gave me the storage, etc., that my canoe did, stability to stand up in, and all that. For me the Native had (has, IMHO) the better seat between the two. I built a simple riser that lifts me up but doesn't compromise any stability. Makes it simple to stand/sit while on the water. The NuCanoe above looks pretty nice as well. So I heartily recommend either Native's or WS's but strongly urge you to try before you buy. It is a personal decision so get as much info as you can before you jump on someone's recommendation, even mine.

Hi Bill, welcome aboard.

Welcome, and yeah, good for her there wasn't a treble hook tied on.

Welcome aboard.

Yup, a chain pickerel. Caught a few in my time, and some big uns, too.

If I may offer my .02, I've found the best for spinning reels is to use braid for mainline, then tie on a leader of whatever material, be it fluorocarbon, copoly, mono, etc. It'll also end up a lot cheaper in the long run since you'll leave the braid on for a year or two and simply tie a new leader. So a spool of fluoro might also last you a year... As I said, just my .02. If that's just not gonna do for ya, a good quality fluorocarbon (toray, sunline shooter, Seaguar and plenty of others folks will give you suggestions as well) is your answer. I'd venture 10# is the heaviest I'd use, with a generous spraying of KVD line conditioner to make it more nimble.

Cool pic, nice work! Welcome aboard

Rod: Spinning Power/Action: M, XF Length: 5'9" Brand/Model: Shimano Compre, pre-2012 style (I *strongly desire* an Avid, so this is based on what I have now) Reel: Brand/Model: Shimano Stradic FJ (again, based on what I have now) Size: 1000 Line: 10lb PowerPro Yellow + P-Line Floroclear, mist green leader

Welcome to the site.

Sorry to laugh, but dang. What's the low budget man doing with a big budget bait?! No really, what a bummer. But nice turtle!

You can use 12lb braid on a BC. I currently have 10lb Fireline (4lb dia.) on one of my BCs (Accurist 570pt) and I've only had it dig in maybe once or twice in more than 8 months fishing this setup (irregularly as I mostly use my spinning gear). And I mostly fish soft plastics with this setup, occasional cranks, spinnerbaits, jigs, etc. However, I'll be changing out the Fireline for PowerPro. Haven't been thrilled with Fireline in general. I've had great experience with 15/20/30/40lb PP on BCs in the past. For me, braid as mainline works because I can leave it on for long periods (unless a birds nest kills it). Leader choice changes depending on conditions, confidence, etc. My wallet is grateful to not have to spend so much on spools anymore.

Man, sky's the limit with the variety available today. If I were you, I'd head to a local BPS, Cabelas, or other sporting goods store with your reels and ask if you can put them on some rods to see how they feel. If money's no issue, have a look at G. Loomis rods, St. Croix Avids, Legends, Shimano Crucials, Compre's (over the counter warranty). Even house brands can be pretty good. Just to name a few. Would hate swearing by something that you *HAVE* to buy and then you buy it and hate it. Hope this helps...

Yup, Normans! These are great for quick lure changes. I've got some in my tackle pack.