backcast88

I have had zero problems with XPS fluoro in both 8 lb and 12 lb over the past 2-3 years and suggest it to most people. But since you had problems I guess its not worth another try. I tried Seaguar InvizX and didn't care for it. Way too much stretch and zero abrasion resistance. I hear AbrazX is better but haven't got around to trying it yet since I had such good luck with XPS. I recently bought a 100 yard spool of Sufix Invisiline Castable Fluoro in 8 lb for my spinning reel and love it. Not as soft as InvizX (the only thing I like about it) but better then XPS. I fish mostly around docks and sunken trees so I am not super worried about abrasion issues. But when I did fish around a rock point I didn't have any abrasion issues. You can get 100 yard or 200 yard spools so you can buy 1 spool to try before spending too much money and both spools are affordable. It's certainly worth a try. Also, I would suggest learning the San Diego Jam Knot. I have not found a better knot for fluoro and since switching over to it in the middle of last year I have not had single knot issue and can tie it almost as fast as a palomar, but with much more confidence.

Did you ask if they had anymore in the back? I always ask them if they have any in the warehouse and they usually bring 2-3 and I pick the one that looks the best. I really do not like buying things that are on display b/c I don't know if they have been manhandled or something else. At least if they come from the back they are more likely to be in better shape.

I am pretty positive that Browning Fishing is now owned by BPS and they manufacture their reels.

I use a spinning rod for most of my TX rigs and use 3/16 oz 85% of the time. When I use my casting setup I use only 1/4 oz.

Daiwa Aird 2500 or 3000. I looked at the Shimano's and Pflueger's and felt Aird was just as smooth and I prefer Daiwa over both Shimano (never really cared for their products) and Pflueger (questionable durability from past experience). It's also nice that the Aird comes with a spare spool 1 size up. Meaning the 2500 comes with an extra 3000 spool and the 3000 comes with an extra 3500 spool. I keep my 2500 on all the time with 8 lb fluoro but its nice to have the 3000 b/c I can easily put on the 3000 with 10 lb fluoro if I wanted to.

A good pair of scissors is a good choice. But I personally use my Spyderco Delica 4. Keep it razor sharp and it will cut braid, mono, and fluoro very easily, just don't slip or you will need stitches.

I had the exact same feelings for me 6'6" MF spinning rod. I tried to like it but after a couple trips over a week or so I couldn't take it anymore and exchanged it for a 6'8" MXF Carbonlite, and am glad I did. The Veritas is light and sensitive but they are stiffer then what they are rated for and what I was wanted for my spinning rod. I know a lot of people like the Veritas but its not for me.

I would go with a Daiwa. An Aird 2500 would be a good choice. $90 or so and very smooth. I have 2 and they have served me very well for the past 2 years. Another option for a little less money would be a BPS Pro Qualifier 20/20H. My dad and I have several for 3-4 years and never had a problem with a single one.

You are not alone. I use one rod way more then any of my others.

Between my dad and I we have 2 Johnny Morris' (1 each) and 2 Pro Qualifiers (1 each, but I recently gave mine to my dad) and they have served us very well over the past 3 or 4 years. Having said that, I don't really care for the Extreme spinning reels. The Extreme casting reels are good but the spinning reals aren't made as good as some of the other BPS spinning reels. The newer Extreme spinning reels are not as good as the older gold Extreme's. It really depends on how much your going to use the reel. I am a big time finesse angler and use my spinning reel 85-90% of the time for my fishing so I prefer a slightly higher quality spinning reel. If your not going to use it very much then the Extreme might not be a bad option, but I would still pay more for a Pro Qualifier spinning reel.

I prefer fluoro to braid. I did have braid on all my setups 3 years ago but the lake I fish has a fair amount of rock and the braid wasn't working real well. Plus whenever I had a little slack in my line I couldn't feel anything with braid. I switched over to fluoro on all my setups (excpet for crankbaits and jerkbaits) and am very happy with my decision. My lakes also have a fair amount of timer (docks and sunken trees) and I don't have any durability issues with fluoro. The only way I would ever put braid back on a setup was if I was going to constantly fish an area that had thick matted grass or lilypads and I was punching all the time. Even then I would be more likely to try heavy fluoro first and see how that went before switching to braid.

*** ***, and Abu Veritas will be common answers. I have never handled a *** rod so I can't help there. I had a Veritas and didn't care for it. It was way stiffer then I wanted and I didn't care for the rod being white (the rod color is largely personal opinion but I didn't care for). I do have a Carbonlite (1 spinning, 1 casting, 1 Carbon black-same blank just with a cork grip) and my dad also has a Carbonlite (spinning). All of them have been flawless. They are very light and sensitive and I feel they are correctly labeled in terms of their power. I had the regular guide basting Carbonlite and traded it for a Carbonlite Micro with a co-worker who bought the micro by accident and wanted the regular guides. I like the micro's but the regular guides were fine.

I never peg my TX rigs. If I was fishing thick mated grass I would peg but since my lakes don't have thick matted grass I don't peg.

I have been using fluoro for the past 3 years and have never had a knot issue. The key with fluoro is the right knot (I prefer the San Diego Jam Knot) and lots of lubrication. Fluoro can get weak b/c it burns easily if your don't use enough saliva to moisten the knot. I have no issues with mono but prefer fluoro. I will not have braid on a single one of my bass setups again.

I have looked at the same rod and asked glenn about the durability of the telescoping rod and he eased my worries on it. I was going to buy one the other week but didn't get time to go to Bass Pro to get it. You can go either route (fixed or telescoping) but don't be too concerned with the durability of the telescoping rod. I am going with the 7'6" MH telescoping rod mainly for my deep cranks (3/4 oz and heavier) mainly b/c I need something to throw big cranks on but need it to fit in my rod box (Tracker 165= small rod box) and the telescoping fits the bill. For my shallow/medium/lipless cranks I will use my 6'6" M Crankin Stick.

It said "Largest Fish of 2013 Thus Far" but my laptop died and when I restarted it I lost most of what I typed and forgot to add it when I retyped it.

I use mono for my jerbait/squarebill/lipless/shallow crank and deep diving crank setups. I used 12 lb Trilene XL for a long time and recently switched to 12 lb Sunline Super Natural Mono and prefer it in every aspect. Very thin diameter, very soft and handles great, good abrasion resistance (so far), and feels to have slightly better sensitivity.

My dad and I usually go fishing one weekend a month since I am in grad school and since the first of the year we seem to end up going right after a cold front comes through and fishing is difficult. In mid March and Easter weekend we went and finally got some good weather and started catching some good fish. Both times we caught a decent number of spots all in the 14-16" area but both trips I caught the largest fish. Here is my 17" spot from mid March (~2 lbs) Here is a pig from Easter weekend. 19.5" spot (~4.5 lbs). Is a lot thicker then the picture shows. The cool part is both of these fish were caught 20 yards from each other on neighboring docks.

My favorite setup is my finesse TX rig setup. Mainly b/c I use it the most and have tons of success using it. 6'8" M XF BPS Carbonlite Daiwa Aird 2500 8 lb BPS Carbon Gold Fluoro (sadly no longer made) Usually paired with a 1/8-3/16 tungsten bullet weight and 1/0 Gamakatsu or Owner offset round bend hook. Its deadly on Spotted Bass using a Zoom 4" Dead Ringer or lately a Big Bite Baits Squirrel Tail worm. This setup is very successful on my local lakes. This is a ~4.5 lb spot (way thicker then the picture shows) and the next picture is ~2 lbs. 2nd would have to be my squarebill/lipeless/shallow crank setup. 6'6" M M BPS Crankin Stick BPS Extreme 6.3:1 12 lb Sunline Super Natural Mono

I had a Veritas for all of a week and returned it. It was light and sensitive but the 6'6" MF spinning rod I had was a lot stiffer then I was looking for. On a personal note, I didn't care for the white color. I have 2 Carbonlites (6'8" MXF spinning rod and 6'6"MF micro casting), 1 Carbon Black in 6'6" MF (discontinued rod, same blank as the Carbonlite but with cork grips), and my dad has a 6'6" MF spinning Carbonlite. Its safe to say that I like Carbolite rods. They are very light and sensitive with a soft tip and plenty of backbone. I am a broke masters student so $100 is about my max for rods and handled nearly every rod in the $75-$100 range and found the Carbonlite to be the best.

I like 8# XPS. Pick a reputabel brand like Sunline, Seaguar, XPS, etc. Another rod you might want to check out is the BPS Carbonlite in either a 6'8" M XF or 6'9" ML F. I use the 6'8" M XF for finesse TX rigs with great success. The rod is very lite and sensitive. Plus if I break it within a year they will replace it no questions asked.

I use a 6'6" MF BPS Johnny Morris Signature with the full cork grip. Its a little on the heavier side but since I don't drop shot a lot it doesn't bother me. It is sensitive and I got it on clearance for $60 3 years ago.

I use the San Diego Jam for fluoro, and mono. I stopped using braid 3 or 4 years ago and would use the SDJ for that as well if I still used braid.

I tried it and didn't care for it. It was cheap and impossible to break but I didn't find it very sensitive and it had a lot of memory even after being treated with KVD line & lure. I used the remaining bit to snell small hooks for fishing off piers at the outer banks but won't buy another spool. I'll stick with 100% FC or mono.

I used Seaguar InvixZ for the first half of 2012. Initially I like it b/c it was very managable but found it lacked abrasion resistance and had a lot of stretch. Then I had issues with Seaguar Senshi mono so I am done with Seaguar for a while. Right now I have BPS XPS fluoro and have not had a single issue. It is a lot better then InvizX in nearly every catagory except InvizX is a little more managable but XPS is not bad. I want to try Sunline Sniper but haven't felt the need to pay the extra cost over XPS since its on sale rather often and its pretty cheap.