rippin-lips

Good info. I'm so stuck between the shakeyhead and ronin right now. I've read the ronin is good to about 3/8 which is what I want but I heard it's also more like a mod fast tip. I need a do everything spinning rod. The main uses will be tubes and shakeyheads with some plastics too.

Certain reels will get that response from me. Things such as the Ito monoblocks and some of the other rare Ito models but not too many newer reels that I can think of. There are a few though.

I have 2 depending on how finesse I want to go. *both are for sale Recon 682 light Daiwa Tdz with finesse spool #6 Sunline Recon 713 medium light Daiwa PX68 #10 power pro

I've used 2 wraps of electrical tape for years and it's never failed yet. It's actually a pretty common method.

A lot of us tend to fish faster than we need to already. I'm definitely in that group myself. It's easier for me to speed up a little verse slowing down. There's also certain baits for me that don't work well on a faster ratio.

Sometimes the springs get weak and need replaced. It is a relatively old reel. My CH51 did the same thing. I stretched mine just a tad to get me by until the new one arrived.

We had a ton of rain throughout May and temps went up a lot quicker than last year then fell down shortly after. It put things in a funk here. We floated the river yesterday and it's up 3x what it normally is this time of year. Average depth is normally 2.5' about now and it's was 7.5 yesterday.

Some prefer it and some don't. It's all about what is comfortable to you. I can use both since I started using casting reels with the handle on the right side. I switched to LH reels about a year in since I grew up with the handle on the left side on my spinning rod. To me it makes more sense to hold the rod with your stronger and more coordinated hand. I'll still practice doing things like pitching and short casts with my left side just so I have the ability to use both if the situation calls for it.

Fishing stinks in my area also so far this season. Definitely very different from last year.

^^^ It's the Indian not the arrow.

A guy that I know locally does airbrush work.

I've only tried cxx due to the good things I hear about it on this forum. I bought #12 and tried it for a few weeks. It did not fail in any way but I didn't like how it acted on me. That could be since I've used braid for so long though. I bought some #10 to try next.

Steez parts are finally back from getting painted. I wish the sun was out to show it off better. It's a green/gold chameleon.

Best is a relative term and team9nine is spot on with his reply. I use the Albright Special due to how easy it is to tie and for me how strong it is. When out on a kayak and dealing with the waves,wind, and everything else I need a quick leader knot and this one fits the bill for me. It passes through all the guides on my rods 'semi micro' without any issues. I sometimes have a leader long enough that the knot is below the first guide when casting.

Braid has a mono equivalent line diameter but they don't generally start to match up to what most people use until you get in the higher strength braids. For example it would take 50lb braid to get the diameter of #12 mono and that's a common line size used for things like t rigs. I only use #30 braid so it's like #8 mono and not the choice for some people for certain techniques. I'll throw a 3/8 jig in cover on #30 braid but I'd rather not using #8 mono.

If you're referring to the sv 103 that is based off the original zillion platform you might not like it in terms of size. It's also a larger framed reel like the Tatula. The new ct is a tad smaller than the original Tatula but not by much. The alphas sv is much smaller in terms of size when palming. The sv 103 is a great reel though. It somehow has kinda flown under the radar. The good thing about ordering a reel from TW though is that they will let you exchange it if you're not happy.

I have the jerkbait special and spinnerbait special. The jbs taper is softer than the sbs. Not to my liking when using jerkbaits with braid, and with mono I think I'd totally hate it. I do throw s cranks and other squarebills on it. Also some small poppers. It works fine for that stuff and I'd have no problem recommending it, but I tend to prefer the sbs more for all of those baits.

I always hear so much about the fg knot being small and so on. I use the Albright special and looking at his pic the fg isn't that small when compared to it. *final trim wasn't done yet

When I used my boat I'd take all my setups just to soon realize I only ever ended up with about 5 on the deck. I've used my boat once in 2yrs now since buying a kayak. I take the 4 or 5 setups that always stayed on the deck of the boat. Seems to be working out alright for me so far.

It got down to nearly freezing the past 2 evenings but I have Monday's off and I wasn't wasting it indoors. So with it being 70 degrees,blue skies, and 5-10 mph winds I hit up a small pond. Seen the same fish there a few weeks ago but I didn't spend much time on her since the bite was good. Well today it wasn't good at all and I kinda expected that when I left the house. So I had plenty of time to aggravate her with a shakey head for 30 minutes until she was mad enough to commit. Fight was very short since she was in 18" of water 6ft off the bank. In the water I thought she looked like a solid 4lb fish. After setting the hook and bringing her straight up I realized I was just a bit off haha. Good way to start out the season for me.

I bring rods along that can serve double or triple duty. I take 3 casting and 1 spinning but I honestly should leave it at home since I never use it. 90% of the time it's 1 medium and 2 medium heavy rods for me. That will change if I'm going somewhere with heavy cover. I'll bring a heavy power rod along with me. Medium will see cranks,jerkbaits, and topwaters. Sometimes wacky senko or similar. MH #1 will always have a t rigged plastic on it. MH #2 I'll use for anything else. Spinnerbait,buzzedbait,lipless cranks,jigs and so on.

You can use either one but most would prefer a mono or copoly. Mono offers some stretch and acts as a bit of shock absorption too. For me the problem with braid isn't pulling out the hooks but it getting tangled in the hooks when working the bait. It doesn't have the slinky type effect that mono does.

Red label was fine as a leader for me. As a main line I didn't care for it much. Trilene 100% was good to me and isn't super expensive. The bps brand treated me good too. I have settled on sniper for my fc needs over the past few years.

Look into the Albright Special knot also. It's similar to the one you're using but with less things going on. Easy to tie and strong. Another is the uni/uni knot.

I'd 3rd the emtf if it was shorter. It's a touch off on balance at 7'5. Another good choice is the Diablo spec R. I use it the most out of all my xx rods. As for the Dobyns, the 4 power is a good choice. It'll toss a weightless senko an ok distance and work good for the other things listed.