curtis9

I agree with the Ethos. Those are great rods for the price.

I know it's not on your list, but the St Croix 68mxf is an awesome rod for what your wanting to do.

Get the core, that's a good price for that reel. It's my favorite reel I own.

I use these as well. Relatively cheap, cuts braid easily, lightweight and no issues with corrosion since they ate aluminum. Only downside is they don't float, so don't drop them overboard

I was just reading the blog from the bassmaster classic bracket tournament today and saw Jacob Powroznik decided not to fish today and spent his round coaching his opponent Koby Kreiger who is his traveling roommate to try to help him so he could qualify for the classic. I appreciate his loyalty to his buddy, but I don't agree with his actions in this tournament. Bass tried to do something unique with this format and only included 8 guys. It's a shame one guy decided not to participate to try to help out a friend. What do y'all think about it?

Here are a few photos of my boat showing the deck extension and rear hatch cover, planning to install the carpet this weekend.

That rod is going to struggle with light baits no matter what reel you use. I'd recommend a ML or M rod instead depending on the weight range you are looking to cast

Sounds like you may be seeing grass carp hitting the surface

I'm in process of modifying a 1548 G3. It's an electric only setup, so I've got 3 batteries in the rear, I added a hatch cover on the back. I've extended the front deck ~2ft and added rod tubes under the deck extension with rubber rod clips on the side, so I can store 6 rods under the deck. I'm also installing lighting on the deck. All of the deck extension was done with aluminum to keep the weight down. I still need to install carpet which I hope to finish in the next few week. I'll put some photos up of the work in progress and the finished product.

Hard to go wrong anywhere with spinnerbaits and senkos.

I fished a tournament a few years ago in NC, mostly big glass boats with 200hg outboards. Guys that won were fishing in an electric only jon boat. Thry were able to get under a bridge no one else could access and won $5k. Use the small boat to your advantage if you can. He's not doing full boats anymore. I contacted him last year to see about getting my boat done. I'm nearly finished with my boat now, just need to lay the carpet. No where near as nice as the work he was doing.

The aldebaran mg7 isn't that much more than the 2 reels you are looking at and is a bih step up in my opinion.

I've fished it a few times, haven't caught anything on it yet. I did nearly catch a hawk, he kept swooping down at the bait everytime I casted out, so I finally had to switch to something different

I just got a Curado 70 and have been fishing 50 series reels for the last few years. The 70 has taken a little time to get used too. I started with the braking too low and spool too loose and kept backlashing, I think I've finally found settings that work. My biggest issue with the reel was the knobs, I have the large septon knob on all of my reels and don't think the new curado knob are very comfortable, I removed those and installed the larger knob and bearings and it's made a huge difference. I'd give the curado 70 some time, I think it's a sweet little reel, just a little different than the set it and forget it of the e series.

Bassmaster has a link to an I cast preview that shows a new GLX.

Try slowing down and simplifying things. Pick one or 2 baits you have confidence in and leave everything else at home. I used to try to throw my full tackle box every trip and spent the entire day changing baits and running around the lake. This year I've spent more time in the kayak and I only take 2-3 rods and a few baits and have caught more fish than ever. The kayak forces me to fish slower and limits how much I can bring.

I use a dobyns 735 with a chronarch ci4 with 50 lb braid.

You can color the last few feet of line with a sharpie to hide the yellow.

I can't think of many bass fishing techniques other than large swimbaits or a rigs that this reel wouldn't have enough line capacity for. Most spool hold too much line and people use backing as a filler so they don't spend as much on their primary line.

A legend elite and a stella is a big step up from an ugly stik. I own the 68mxf in casting in the ltb and legend elite, and spinning in the ltb, and gave a 7mf avid in casting. I prefer the 68mxf for weightless plastics (flukes, senkos, trickworms, etc). I use the 7mf primarily as my topwater rod. Both will work for what you want, but the 7mf may be a little more versatile for crankbaits in addition to plastics. If it was me with the budget you have, I'd look at the ltb series and the stradic instead of the stella and pick up a few combos. You'll be very pleased compared to your ugly stiks and have a lot more versatility.

New summer combo. 68mxf legend elite with a Curado 70. I love this rod, lightweight and fantastic balance. Went out with this rod in the kayak this morning for a few hours and did well. I'm not sure about the reel yet. The braking system is going to take some time to get used too.

I have a 853 that use for Texas rigs in that weight range. I've got a core 50 on it with 30 lb suffix 832. Very sensitive rod.

I like the 68mxf as well. Use both a ltb and a legend elite.

I'd get a mettle and a h2o express ethos. That's my choice for my pond rod

Berry's Pond in Duncan is decent. There is limited shore access to pond, but I've had good luck there. There are also some spots on Lake Bowen you can access from shore.