.ghoti.

Happy birthday buddy. I'll bring a little something special to our next outing.

It's been a few years or so since I did it, but I retro-fitted an older Ambassadeur with the Avail mag brake system for a good friend. I did not spend much time casting it, but was not impressed with the results. He obviously agreed, and sent it back that winter to be put back to original condition.

At the top end of your range are the St Croix Avid line of rods. I'd suggest those, hand's down, over any of the one's you mentioned.

You didn't miss it for long; they just became available. I've been wanting to hear a review myself. I have all Daiwa casting reels, and currently have more reels than rods, but I'm thinking about getting one of these anyway.

hope your wife doesn't read this and follow the given advice. She'll be taking you back to exchange for a more properly functioning model.

Raider, I almost always enjoy your posts. Maybe a bit more drama than I experience, but you've always come across as a MAN. So, be a MAN, and give the fools their two week notice. If they tell you to hit the road, you win. It's now them behaving poorly. If you work the two weeks, you win. It's you being a MAN. In either case you can tell yourself, " self, you did it right".

At a guess, you can get about 140 yards of 40lb braid on that reel. That would be about 90 yards more than you need.

Jeff, you be a funny guy

San Diego jam knot, well lubricated, cinched down S-L-O-W-L-Y

It's an inverse spoiler design to funnel airflow under to spool during rotation to improve casting distance.

I didn't actually say "sahara". LOL After some contemplation, I'm going with new guides. A spool of 832 is twenty bucks. For thirty I can get a complete set of Microwave guides. The smaller than normal guides on this rod were what kept me from buying a new one in the first place. I got such a good price from the seller I decided to give it shot, knowing the guides were probably too small. But, how long a cast do you need to make when dropshotting? If I leave the rod as is, it will still be a nice dropshot rod. Just won't be much good for anything else. The thing is, I really like the rod blank, grip and reel seat, action, power and sensitivity. Wrapping on a new guide set will turn a one trick pony into something much more versatile. That's my story, and I'm stickin too it. Thanks again folks. GK

Went out again last night and broke off twice more, on the hookset. This time with a uni knot and a trilene knot. I'm having a hard time believing that every knot I tied, using this line, broke. So, when I got home I took some line from the filler spool and experimented. On a slow gentle pull the line was quite strong. I'm guessing it broke at about 15 pounds. That's a guess; I did not use a scale. That was not the point. If I jerk it quickly, it broke at a lot less force. And, the breaks looked exactly like the breaks I experienced while fishing. Dwight has hit the nail on the head. This line, in this size, has little or no shock strength. Time to execute Plan B. (that means formulate Plan C)

Sir Snook, of the four problems you describe I can state with certainty only one is not the problem. The drag was set at 2.5 pounds. It could easily be a poorly tied knot, or the wrong knot,or the wrong line. The breakoffs were all on the hook set. No idea what size two of the fish were. The middle fish came straight up out of the water almost immediately, with my worm hanging from his mouth. Looked to be a 4, maybe 3 1/2. I couldn't tell, looking at line end of the line if the knot broke or slipped, or if the line broke above the knot. It was just starting to get dark, and this old man was having a hard time seeing this very small line well enough to tell what happened. I took the rod inside when I got home, and still could not tell where it broke. I didn't use a particularly hard hookset. How hard can you be with a ML spinning rod? I didn't try a uni knot or double palomar. I know how to tie those, and will do so next trip out. Never tied a grigsby knot, but I'll look it up and give it a shot as well. I just wondering if the size of the line is the problem. I am an experienced fisherman, but not an experienced knot tier with braid, or with line this skinny. The smallest line I use on a regular basis is #6 mono. I use #4 when I go trout fishing three or four times a year, and have had no problems with knots or line, but that line is 0.008" vs 0.0054" braid. That's nearly 50% bigger. I picked Kanzen because of a thread from earlier this year, in which several pro fishermen chimed in. The responses from them, and from some BR members I hold in respect, led me to try this line first. Lots of very positive comments about casting and knot strength. I will try the knot suggestions presented here. Might try some 20lb test braid just to see if my knot skills are not up to the task with this frog hair. Probably won't be trying many different brands of braid. I'm not too willing to spend much on experimenting with something I really don't like in the first place. I'll stick with braid on this combo for the remainder of the season, but at his point I'm leaning towards wrapping on a new guide set over the winter. Been wanting to try out Microwave guides. This may be the right time to do just that. Thanks for the assistance gentlemen.

Let's start this by saying I am NOT a fan of braid. But I've decided to give it a try, to solve a problem. I recently bought a pair of rods from a BR member, mas3. Mike, if you're reading this, I am not, in any way, casting any doubt on you. I like the rods, a lot, and am completely happy with our transaction. One of the rod is a Daiwa TD-X dropshot spinning rod. I've been wanting one of these, but had been hesitant to pull the trigger because of the size of the guides. I got such a great price from Mike, that I just had to go for it. The first guide up from the reel is way too small. I haven't measured it, but it's not much more than half the size of the first guide on all my other spinning rods. My first outing with the rod was with a Supreme XT, size 30, spooled with #8 XL; my normal line for a spinning reel. I had another spinning rod with me, a Steez ML with the same reel and line. I tied on identical baits. The TD-X rod would cast about half as far as the Steez. Switched reels, and got the same results. The next trial was using a Supreme XT, size 25, spooled with #6 XL, with a second spool filled with #4. Using identical baits, the Steez with #8 would out cast the TD-X with both #6 and #4, with #4 being a bit better. Was Talking to Long Mike, planning a fishing trip, and told him about my frustration with the rod. Don't get me wrong; this is a great rod. Excellent blank, very crisp and sensitive, nice tip, more backbone than I expected, and arguably the best reel seat / grip on a spinning rod today. Doesn't matter how you hold it; your hands never come in contact with reel seat threads. Mike said, "I hate to say this, knowing how you feel about it, but why don't you try some braid". I told him it would be a cold day in the Sahara when I spooled up a reel with braid, so I bought some, spooled it up, and tried it out. Seagaur Kanzen braid, 10lb test, 0.0054" diameter. This stuff looks like frog hair. Casting problem solved. Got excellent distance from some very light weight baits. Got a couple of wind knots, but I know how to deal with that problem. My true problem now is getting a bait tied on this line securely. Was out earlier this evening, and in less than 30 minutes, I had three good bites, three hooksets, resulting in three breakoffs. First breakoff was with a palomar knot, second a SD jam knot, and third was a clinch knot. So, somebody teach me how to tie knot in small braid. I would like this to work out because the next step is to strip the guides from the rod and re-wrap it with properly a properly sized guide set.

A trip to the Kingfisher Society is on my bucket list. It's going to be my retirement gift to myself. I'm one of the BR members who makes regular trips to Trophy Country in north central Missouri. Made the first trip in 2002, and have been doing three or four trips every year since. Costs $100 / day to fish, $40 / night lodging. There are quite a number of strip pits to fish. Some are a bit difficult to get to. Don't come over here in your BMW and expect to be able to get into very many places. You use their boats. You can't take your own. There's no place to put your own boat in the water. The larger pits have two boats each. Smaller pits have one boat. The largest body of water has three boats on it. When you check in you get a pair of batteries, pair of seats, cushions, paddle and a spare trolling motor. You get fresh batteries every day. You go where you want. The water you pick to fish on any given day is not crowded. The fishing is almost always outstanding for numbers. I've had numerous 100+ fish days. I've had a handful of days where I had to stop and duck tape up my thumb because I got tired of seeing it drip blood all over everything. I've caught two 8lb bass in my lifetime. One of them came from TC. 8's and 9's are caught every year, just not by me. You guys from Florida, Texas and california can scoff all you want at an 8 pounder. That's a giant in my neck of the woods. So, yeah, I don't mind at all paying $100/ day to fish at Trophy Country. Don't like the idea? Then don't do it. You wanna look down on me for paying to fish? Well then, knock yourself out, buckwheat. I could care less. I make the trips to get away from everything, decompress, eat some good food, drink some fine whiskey, smoke some top shelf cigars, hang out with some excellent friends, tell some lies, and catch a few fish. That's worth $100 a day to me. I can afford it, and as long as i'm healthy enough to do it, I will continue to make the trips every year.

Oh no you don't. You're not getting me to answer that. Some things I will take to the grave.

I'm still waiting for somebody to put some donut flavored jigheads on the market. To go with my coffee flavored tubes. What's better than donuts and coffee in the morning?

If disaster struck, and I had to start all over, I'd probably go with St Croix LTB rods. I have a few now, and they have a length, power and action for any and all bass fishing presentations. A year ago, I would have said Setyr rods. I have several of those. Very comparable to LTBs in feel, and a wide line-up of lengths, powers and actions. But they appear to be out of business. That's too bad. They made a nice rod.

I am sorry to hear that there's something going on in your life that will keep you away from the best place on the web. But, I'm betting that whatever it is, you can whup it's a$$. When you do, and have taken your victory lap, come back. Like the goofy guy says, " we'll keep the light on for ya".

I'll second flyfisher about sierra trading post. They have some great prices some times. If you see something you want, buy it when you see it. It won't last long, and may not ever show up again.

That's as good an explanation as any I've heard. MaybE the best. LOL

If the fish are on the spawning beds, leave them alone. And what's the deal about bananas? I've heard that from quite a few, and totally ignored it.

This is a big help.. I also put several desiccant packets in every box. And, never mix plastic baits with terminal tackle.

dude wipes may be pretty handy in the boat. i'll let you all know.

MY EDC for better than ten years was a Kershaw whirlwind. Basically the same as the blackout, without the black blade. I lost it. Replaced it with a CRKT Ripple. Not an assisted opening knife, but with the flipper and the ball bearing supported blade it opens one-handed as fast as the Kershaw assisted openers. Good steel, razor sharp, very light, good grip, Takes up very little pocket space, what else you want? Also have a Mcusta damascus folder. Too nice for everyday carry, and no pocket clip. It's my "dress" knife. My two neck knives are from Cold Steel. A Scottich Spike and Scimitar Spike. Don't get one of the new version with plastic handles. Do a search for the older models with cord wrapped handles. Much nicer. My two favorite in car backups are a SOG Forge and a Browning Arbitrator. Either will get your attention.