HuskyKMA

It'll work fine. I have 30lb PP on my steelhead bobber rod.

Where are you finding them for $150? Everywhere I see them they are $200.

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I'm going to pick up some 1/2 oz ones and try them out.

Why size weight of spinnerbaits does everyone prefer? All of mine are 3/8 oz but I have trouble with keeping them down, so I have to fish them slower than I like. The water I fish most is only about 8 ft deep max. Does anyone only use 1/2 oz or larger spinnerbaits?

Line on a reel that's getting exposed to UV light isn't really the same as line being stored in a drawer in the house.

Sounds good, thanks everyone!!!

My parents have one over their camper. Not sure about Chris's, but yes theirs is anchored into the ground.

How long would bulk spools of line last if kept in a cool, dark place (such as a desk drawer, etc.)? Are we talking a year, 2 years, 5 years, ... ?

Almost exclusively using 3771 and 3701 boxes now, the "thin" ones. I can fit more boxes in my bag and most lures don't need the standard thickness boxes, so the thin ones work just fine.

I go back and forth between the Improved Clinch and the Trilene depending on how much of a hurry I'm in. Takes a little more care to tie the Trilene. For braid I use the Palomar. For heavy mono (30lb +) I use the San Diego Jam Knot, but that's not for bass.

Either the U-40 cork sealer, or if he actually doesn't like cork, then put some of the shrink-fit X-wrap flocked tubing on it. I have that on some of my salmon rods that spend their lives in rod holders. It's also great for color-coding your rods. http://www.mudhole.com/Rod-Building/Cord-Grip-Tape-Shrink-Tubing/Flocked-Rubber-Shrink-Tube http://www.mudhole.com/Rod-Building/Cord-Grip-Tape-Shrink-Tubing/Colored-Heat-Shrink-Grip-Material

So how nicely do they play with back deck fishermen? Seems like they'd greatly impede his casting ability when in the upright position.

Must have been 2002 or 2003, I was like 14-15 years old. My friend and I had his mom drive us to another lake for trout fishing. I caught five, he got one. That evening when we got back to his house, we decided to go bass fishing. We'd been bass fishing for a few years together, and he was pretty good at it, but for whatever reason whenever we went together we always got skunked on the bass. Anyways, he lived right on Silver Lake and the dam had failed and the lake was drawn way down. We walked down to the dam and started fishing some submerged brush piles with gitzits. All of a sudden there was a weight on my line and I thought I was hung up. He said to set the hook, and a minute later I had probably a 2 1/2 pounder on the bank. He caught one a few minutes later and I added another just before we had to quit because it was getting dark. My friend's dad had walked down and he couldn't believe it was my first bass, or that my friend's was the first he had caught with me because we had been fishing together for so long. Good day, I'll never forget it!

OK guess I gotta go to Walmart tomorrow!

Boat or bank? I've heard Henry Hagg Lake is good and also the Willamette River. That's about the limit of my knowledge for your side of the river.

Wow nice fish man!

Once or twice a year depending of if they're the heavily used reels or the not-so-much reels. As performance indicates after that.

Good deal! Like DVT said manufacturing defects usually show up in the first couple of uses, so I'm not completely sure your break was due to such a defect. However, lucky for you (and the rest of us) most manufacturers are very willing to replace a rod even if it's blatantly obvious that it broke due to misuse rather than manufacturing defect. Manufacturers know that they're going to be replacing 1 of every X number of rods for some reason, so they build that in to their pricing strategy. It's basically a replacement plan that you're paying for whenever you buy a rod. I've heard of people getting replacement rods before after straight-up telling them that they slammed the rod in a car door!

Cool looking fish, I had no idea that's what a tilapia looked like. Does look like it'd be a lot of fun to catch!

The Toro reels are more meant for larger species, like salmon and steelhead in my part of the world. You don't need that beefy reel for any bass. Also you're going to want a much fast gear ratio than the 4.6:1 on the Toro Winch for the type of fishing you described with jigs and soft plastics. Take a look at a Abu Revo SX or STX with a 7.1:1 or 8.0:1 gear ratio, I think you'll be much happier with that.

Very easy and inexpensive fix. You don't want to use it without the insert, especially with braid as it will fray the line. See if your local tackle shop or rod builder (Google "frederick maryland rod builder" for some local places) can do it for you or you can give it a shot yourself. They make kits for replacing the tip-top guide for rods that people have broken the tip off of.

It always happens to us when salmon fishing. If you're watching the rod, it's going to be a long day. I hardly ever notice the moment when a strike first happens. They all happen when I'm playing with my phone, talking with dad, tying my shoe, eating a sandwich, or anything other than looking at the rod when I randomly look over and my rod tip is dipping into the water. Makes me wonder sometimes how many strikes I never see.

Starfish, Dungeness crab, and sea anemones while fishing for rockfish.

Awesome! Been wanting to try their jigs and if they have I 4th of July sale I'll have to get some!