Kevin22

I've shipped quite a few rods. I think $30 is absolutely ridiculous for a cardboard tube. One company can do it for $18-20 across country while another wants $30. Makes no sense. I sent a rod to a friend to have some work done on it, cost me $9 to ship it to him USPS Insured. He sent it back in the same tube UPS ground no insurance and it was marked $19 and change. We are talking a trip of about 300 miles. Package was in perfect shape both ways. Some price gouging going on for sure.

Wire tie on your SK skirts. Only takes a minute, anybody can do it.

You can use 10# on the 2500 if you want. You'll just have to baby it and watch for any twists then take the time to work them out. The difference between 8lb and 10lb is huge when it comes to manageability. There is also a huge difference between the fighting ability between the two. 8lb you will have to "baby". You'll have to loosen the drag and fight anything bigger than 13-14". With 10# you can pretty much horse in anything up to a 3lb class fish. As for the carp, that is totally up to the skill of the angler. I've landed many many carp over 20lbs on 4lb UL gear. One on 2# even. A whole bunch on 6 and 8 as well, fishing for walleye on the Miss. Set your drag correctly and let the rod fight the fish, wear him down and you will have no problems. Might take you 10-15 minutes but there should be no reason they will break off unless you have bad line or don't do your part during the fight.

How many of you that are saying it is crap have actually tried it? Don't judge a book by its cover (or author in this case).

I'd contact SK and ask them. Might have been a bad batch out there somewhere. Otherwise I'd suggest you shop around and find a custom lure maker to duplicate your favorite color on a jig with a flippin hook. The kind that you can put in a vise and it won't bend, they look like elephant trunks they are so thick.

10# mono/fluoro on a 2500 is a great way to use up cheap line. It won't take but a few twists of a lure or a fish to wreck your day with that thick line on a small spool. You either have to go to a braid or drop down to 8#. Or invest in some high quality line with thin diameter, but you'll have more money in line on that spool than the reel is worth. If you are going to fish braid then there is no need to go to a 2500 series even, a 1000 would be much better for using 10#-15# braid.

The initial purchase won't be the expensive part...

12" 1.4lbs Do I win?

Well for most plastics situation you should be using 10# line. Sometimes 6 or 8 for finesse but 10 is a good all-around line for spinning rod plastics. I would suggest something in the 4000 size. Syncopate is a good reel and should get the job done if you like those!

Daiwa Steez EX would work fine! http://www.basspro.com/Daiwa-Steez-EX-Spinning-Reels/product/1303071237/?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&om_mmc=shopping_googleproductextensions&kpid=1303071237 (sorry I had to, you didnt say a price range) My advice is to pick up something in the mid-range. Don't go real cheap (under $40 really) and I doubt you need anything like I posted above. Test one out at the store and see how it feels to you.

That is the same picture that is posted above. It looks flat black to me. Your monitor settings might be off. Of course I'm using a HD TV as a monitor so the colors are a bit different than a "normal" computer screen.

$10 means so little now a days that it is very worth it to buy extended warranty on items that do not come with over the counter replacement built in to the mfg warranty. I mean really, the cost of a good crankbait to insure that your expensive rod/reel will be replaced instantly is WELL worth it.

I agree, looks to be a hybrid but absolutely contains green sunfish. Probably bluegill X green sunfish, but not a once hybrid. Looks to be more green sunfish in that fish than a true bluegill X greeny. We have a lot of bluegill X green sunfish here and they are a little more round and usually lack the orange/red on the fins. I'd say its an offspring of a greeny X bluegill that bred with a green sunfish.

Read the bottom of those dicks score card coupons. They say you can't use them in conjunction with any other coupon or offer. They got me when I tried to do the same thing. Had two of the $10 score card things and a $20 off 100+. They only let me use the 20 off 100+. Lately I've just been throwing away the coupons they send. Not worth it to drive out there and get $10 off a product that is already 20% above retail.

st. croix premier 6'6 L 1pc with a shimano sienna 1000FD. AWESOME rod for light action fishing. I would have also recommended the eyecon but I bought one and hated it. The guides/reel seat felt cheap. It broke on the hookset while walleye fishing 3 months after I bought it and I asked the head guy in the service dpt if I could switch to a premier since I really like those, he said no problem so that's what I did. Better warranty, made in USA, IMO a better feel, and so far it has held up GREAT for over a year compared to that eyecon (same action/length). I have literally landed over a thousand fish with that rod in the past year and still have had no problems.

Rain washes bugs and worms into the lakes, rivers, and streams. Fish will usually go shallow to feed on these small insects and worms. A small worm imitation is KILLER after big rains. No action makes perfect sense since the worms that get washed into the lakes are usually dead. After the first fish or two I would have switched to a wacky rigged finesse or drop shot worm.

When I cast a buzzbait my left hand comes in and stops the spool with my thumb as I am switching hands and then the right hand starts to crank. Usually I can start it moving towards me before it touches the water.

14/15 minimum, 20 maximum. 17 is a happy medium (if you can find it in fluoro locally). I fish squarebills on 17# mono for three reasons. 1. It has stretch so if I do happen to snag it up in brush I can usually slingshot it out without having to drive in and ruin the spot. 2. I throw them in some nasty stuff (broken concrete, rebar, and timber) so I am retying about every 10-15 minutes or so, cutting a foot off at a time. Fluoro would be very expensive taking off that much line each day for the very little benefits in my situation. 3. It floats. So when you hit a stick in a brush pile you can stop and the bait will float right up over it and you can continue your retrieve. Will work also with fluoro, but if you have a heavy fluoro it will try and keep the bait down and it will not rise as quickly.

Costs almost nothing if you are the type to not offer to split the costs and stick the boater with all of the gas/oil/tourney costs.

Smaller spool means easier for it to come off and better casting distance, downside is not as much line will fit so you only get better casting distance until it gets so far down in the spool that it causes too much drag to unravel. The answer is to use a happy medium. Most (if not all) reels come with 3 sizes listed. For instance on a 2500 reel it is 200yd 6, 140yd 8, 120yd 10. For that reel #8 would be the preferred size but either 6 or 10 would work fine. If you were to use 10# on the next size smaller reel you would have problems. I guess what I am trying to say is, as long as your line poundage is listed on the reel, there should be NO problems with casting.

Caught a few today swimming a jig.

You have to remember, this really isnt the best time of the year for a spinnerbait. I would ONLY throw one if I knew the fish were actively feeding. Otherwise I would be fishing a slow t-rig or a senko or something like that. This time next month? Spinnerbait will be the game plan going into each day!

a 4-5" drop shot worm hooked once in the center with a #4 octopus hook. No weight. Drop it and just let it sit on the bottom. Twitch it every once n a while.

I've seen them.. not really for me. I think they are made for 5" senkos right? So you cannot use a slim senko, 4" senko, 6" senko, 7" senko, finesse worm, or anything else. Makes no sense to me at all. Nothing wrong with o-rings or the other options out there, why limit yourself to one bait?

Wouldn't hurt anything as long as the buzzbait has a closed eye.