mcipinkie

Those are certainly good choices. In that price range, there are a hundred more equally as good if you want to keep on shopping. Unfortunately, there is no short cut to seeing what YOU like. I'd get the BPS stuff and try it.

Drink that Kool Aid !!

Not sure what the objective is here: Catch fish ? Prove you can throw a 1/16 oz jig on a bait caster? Spinning equipment is just too good today. I know my objective !!

I'd just use a spinning rod and quit messing around.

d**n, You guys must be eat up with the virus. I classify jigs by three weights: Big, middle, small. Don't really care what they weigh. All are labeled between 3/16 and 3/4 oz. except the big Hack Attack punch jigs. I pay no attention to the weight on the package. I have jigs that are labeled 1/4 that are bigger than the 3/8. I have some that labeled 1/2 that are the same size as the 1/4. Think "big, middle, small". Except for the Hack Attack punch jigs, I throw Boss jigs exclusively. I know which ones to buy. When i look in my jig box, I either get a big one, a middle sized one, or a small one. It ain't rocket science. Except for some heavy punch jigs, trailer and all, I doubt any will weight much over an ounce. I have a big jig rod, a middle size jig rod and little jig rod. It's really that simple unless you are writing a doctoral thesis.

Hey boys! It's supposed to be fun. My phone stays in the glove box while I'm fishing, but that's just me. I cull with floats and bad memory. At least I would if I could ever catch five. If this is fun to you and/or your friends, have at it !!

Keep in mind that the great majority of people, even people of advanced age and with health problems' recover from Wu Flu. It's not fatal that often. Here in Missouri, our fatality rate from detected cases was under 1% the last "reliable" numbers I saw. A very good chance your friend will recover.

Look at it this way: You can't do anything about it, no matter what. Get out there and fish, or stay home and cut bait !!

Be modern fisherman. Get out in the middle of the lake. Stick your face in your depth finder and throw where the computer tells you to. No skipping, flipping, pitching, or back hand casting required. Watch 'em bite, Wind 'em in.

As always, it just ain't that simple. Depends on what you do with particular piece of equipment. I have a tree in my yard that is exactly 100 feet from my patio door. My flipping sticks and other short range rods get 100 feet of 50# braid. Generally lasts a season, or at least half a season. I can buy 150 yards of braid and get at least 4 rods. Mid range rods get 225 feet. 75 yards. 2 reels out of 150 yards spool. Long range rods, big cranks, carolina rigs, etc get 300 feet. I try to find long range line in 200 yard spools preferably bulk, so I get 2 out of a spool. What i do is use a line counter every time I spool up a new reel. They are cheap at Cabela's. Put on the planned amount of main line, the spool up with backing until the spool is filled properly. Then reverse it, tie the backing to the spool and wind it on. PITA, but you only do it once with every new reel. It's hard to guess how much line you are putting on a reel. Once you start measuring, you'll waste a lot less line. Keep in mind I use braid with either FC or mono leaders exclusively so works for me.

I'll tell you my rule, for what it's worth. It just seems to make sense to me and I use braid on every rod, every technique. Been doing this ever since braid became popular. I keep my leaders somewhere around 30 - 60% of the pound test of my braid. Don't care about diameter. I'm a fisherman, not a scientist. For 30 # braid, my leaders are typically 12 - 15. Will go to 8 on jerk baits. For 50 # braid, I use 15 - 25. For 10 # braid, I break my own rule and typically use 8, but will go up to 12 if I'm wacky rigging around cover just for the abrasion resistance. For me at least, this makes it easy to cinch the knot (Alberto). I can't cinch 25 # FC on 50 # braid with an Alberto, so use a Uni to Uni knot. Not really so sure it matters. I had reel malfunction yesterday. Wiggle Wart rig. Normally 30 braid, 12 FC. Rather than dig another rod out of the rod locker in the rain, I just cut the 20# leader off my Chatter Bait rod with 50 braid. Tied up a 12 FC leader on it and went to fishing. Didn't cast as well as the lighter braid, but worked well enough to keep the rain out of the rod locker and cast a WW.

I'd go to BPS and buy me a Crankin Stick for about $75, maybe less withe sale in progress. Or a SC Mojo Glass Target Cranker for about $130. Doubt you can tell the difference between them and a $200 rod especially for cranking. Unfortunately, the new Crankin Stick's are ugly, but really good crank bait rods. Glass/Graphite composite. If i was going to squander $250, I'd buy a SC Legend Glass.

I'll add my 74 years worth of experience. In general, that doesn't sound like too bad of a deal, if you like the boat. Not sure about SD. Think I could do better here in the KC area. That's a 26 year old boat. One thing to consider when buy any old boat (car, truck, it doesn't matter) is the cost of keeping it up. Crap will either break, wear out, or fall off. If you can fix yourself, OK. If you have to buy out repairs, the money pit deepens in a hurry.

I fish braid on every rod, every reel, every lure. As a rule, if it's a single hook bait, I use 50 lb. Treble hook baits, 30 lb. Spinning rods 10 lb. I like slower rods than most people do. Use a lot of glass rods. Don't believe I have any problem with braid on treble hook baits. Soft rod, 74 year old soft hands. I don't think braid of appropriate size changes the lure action. It just changes what you feel. Generally use either FC or mono leaders. 6 - 25 lb test, depending on the application. I have a lot of good friends, a lot of good fishermen, that think I'm crazy, but it works for me. I catch a lot of fish and win a lot of money. If it feels comfortable to you and works, use it.

For an all round jerk bait, reasonably priced, I find an X-Rap hard to beat. The Megabass and Lucky Craft baits are probably better fish catchers, but expensive. I find my self throwing the Strike King KVD'S a lot, and I have a lot of high dollar jerk baits, some I've ordered from Japan, but the SK's work. BPS has a big sale on the SK's during their spring sale. Good buy. I like the Jackal Rerange, but another expensive bait. Word of warning: Don't start buying the high dollar baits. You will want more.

I bought $80.00 worth of them at the BPS in Independence, MO yesterday. They had several hundred in all colors, both sizes, including Rayburn Red, in a big bin out in front of the reel display. Not thrown one yet, but they look like good baits, especially for $2.99.

Sorry, but I have no sympathy. If you don't know the rules, you deserve to be punished. Does seem like some of the fines are excessive. You fellows need to do a better job of voting. I'm in Missouri, over 65, so have a life freebee, but I check every time I go to Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma, or anywhere else for that matter. Some have reciprocity, some don't. Don't ask which. I'm senile, but not enough that I don't check when I cross the state line.

I am very diverse with my lures. All my lures have female names except Yum Wooly Bullies (William) and Chatter baits. (Can't say what I call them, but it's male). Couldn't resist. Forgive me.

Getting rid of tackle aint what ya need to do Me thinks thou dost think too much. Probably cold up your way, else, just grab some jigs, jerk baits, Wiggle Warts and go fishin'. I've been chasing them stupid green fish almost 70 years. I have a room full of stuff, a truck full of stuff, and three boats full of stuff. Johnny Morris calls me when his inventory gets low on Zoom Magnum Finesse worms. I'm waiting on March 12 so I can go to BPS and buy more. Like my partner and I tell each other when it gets tough "Shut up and fish GD it !"

I can only speak for me. I consider myself a fairly accomplished angler. I fished my first tournament in 1975 and have been fishing tournaments ever since. Fished 20 years before then. I'm lucky enough to be fairly well off financially and have almost every rod, reel, line, lure combination known to man. But when the chips get down and I don't know what to do, out comes a Fish Boss Gary Klein Heavy Cover jig. 3/4 oz. Black neon (yes black neon, not black/blue) a Yum Money Craw in black neon. 7'10 flipping stick, 50 lb braid, 25 lb BPS fluoro leader, and I go to work. Clear water, dirty water, shallow water, deep water, wood, weeds, rocks, docks it doesn't matter to me. I will get bit on that jig, somehow or another. I've cashed checks on that jig when everyone else was drop shotting, wacky worming, ned rigging (I do all those too), every other finesse rig you can dream of. When I pick up that jig, I KNOW I'll get bit. I'll bet in a given year, I'll make 60% of my casts with that jig, and probably catch 75% of my fish. It's a head game !!

That Ike Delay rod is really nice. Don't start on me, but IMHO, once you spend more than $150 on a rod, you're buying prestige. I have two friends, part time partners, that are G Loomis born again Christians. Throw nothing else. I've tried their rods. Nice, but way over priced. I can get two Lews, or SC Mojo's for the same price. Fish just as well for me.

St. Croix Mojo Target Cranker. Of course I like glass rods. $130 or less if you watch sales. I'd like to try the Legend Glass rods, but don't see them being $120 better than the Mojo.

I always use double split rings on a Spook. Cuts down on the fishes leverage and I believe picks up short striker ever now and then. Need short shank hooks to make work. VMC 9651 or KVD.

I don't see any decision to make unless you fish lots of tournaments on big water. If you do, you need more than 10K anyway. Buy a 5 year old boat, or a 20 year old boat? I'd buy the 5 year old boat in a heart beat. A twenty year old boat is just a place to throw money. I nursed my 2002 Skeeter for too long, so experienced in the cost of keeping an old boat running. Believe with 10K, there are better options than either you listed.

There is tube made by G7 that is the cat's meow for rigging wacky rigs. TW has them. Even better is some silicon tube the right size. Jeff Bezos has some. Works better than O-rings or rubber bands.