gravestone

Reason I suggested not to start with braid is : 1)IMO you need to use a leader,either flour or mono. That means learning to tie the right knot to connect the two. 2) handling braid will cut you faster than other lines..like when you snag up & try to break it. 3) he's on a buget. IMO mono is better way to start. Missourifishin,the outfit that I recommended fits your buget but you need to handle it and see if it fits you.I have much more expensive rods ( g.loomis ) & reels ( shimano sustains ) but the R&R I mentioned I use almost exclusively.

I'm looking to fish it in late Oct-early Nov. Nov. & Dec are suppose to be good months for smallies. Not sure how i'm gonna fish it either. One train of thought tells me deeper thermoclines the other tells me rocky shallower shorelines if it's sunny.

6 1/2'-7' MED.POWER FAST ACTION spinning rod w/ #10 mono or co-poly line will cover about 90% of ALL bass fishing. I use St. Criox Premiere 6 1/2' & 7' MED.POWER FAST ACTION w/ DIAWA 1300 SS TOURNAMENT spinning reels. I use braid but I don't recommend starting out with it. That set-up will cost about $225 for the rod and reel.

Can't comment on their BC reels but have a couple of spinning reels { Cabo,Energy & Pulse } all 3 broke after hard use but the parts were cheap and the company was easy to deal with. Those reels are a lot easier to work on than my Shimanos also.

I've been using braid for a long time but sometimes it's a PITA especially when you get snagged ! So in some situations i'm looking to use mono. I also have a local shop that keeps a good supply of McCoy line in stock.

Anyone using it on spinning reels? How do you like it? Looking for a mono or copoly with low memory and good abrasion resistance.

ZOOM !!!!!

They had a strong presence in the surf also on the beaches of long island at one time

I cant think of one body of water that I've fished where that bait hasn't produced.

Baby brush hogs , green pumpkin/red flake & junebug

Chinese reels are like the Japanese reels of the 60's. Japanese reels were inferior to American & European reels. Today Chinese reels are inferior to Japanese reels.

Could be the "pawl"..., that's the piece under the levelwind . It probably is wearing and not making full contact with the pawl gear. If it's that it's an easy inexpensive fix.

IMO Diawa Tournament SS is the best reel for the $$$$$. I have 2 Shimano Symetre's 2 Stradic's & 1 Sustain. I'll take the Diawa Tournament over anyone of those reels.

This is true. You get liquidators that buy 2nd's or "blems" that tackle companies look to get rid of, reels, rods ect.... that don't pass quality control. So you never know what you're getting

I always open up a new reel to see if it's properly lubed. If needed I lubed it, if not I don't touch it until it gives me a reason. My surf reels when I was surfcasting got cleaned and re-lubed twice a month, unless I was using my VanStaal. That reel was waterproof and got service by the factory once a year.

Lizards, frenchfrys ,brushhogs all work along with others. Switch it up if your not getting bit until the fish tell ya what they want.

judging by the the size of your hand compared to the size of the fish i'd say about 3-3 1/2

Read on , taken off the Alaska fish and game website: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=hunting.firearms If you can shoot a 338WM as good as you can a 308 or 30-06 by all means you should use it. Most cannot shoot larger magnums as well as they can shoot a 30-06. Recoil above 20 ft. Lbs. of energy is where your "average shooter" starts to loose accuracy.

http://www.tinboats.net/ This site was a wealth of info when I did my boat.

Don't be you got guys on here saying they have his rods and are happy with them. A well made custom rod beats any production rod out there.

Whatever guide told your buddies this aint worth hiring. Many of grizzlies have fallen to 308 & 30-06 bullets. Use a well constructed bullet such as a Nosler Partition or Barnes TTSX and you'll have a dead bear as long as put the bullet in the vitals.

I "feather" my spinning reel with my index finger. I hold the reel between my middle and ring fingers and extend my index finger to the spool .FWIW i'm just as accurate with spinning tackle as I was with BC tackle.

For me i'm more accurate with a shorter rod. For casting under over hanging limbs or skipping under docks I use a 6' MH spinning rod, For pitching to "holes" in shoreline blowdowns I use a 6 1/2' med spinning rod.

Having used braid since 1998 on my surfcasting rods throughing lures between 1-3oz , fishing 4-5 nights a week and catching striped bass to #36 I've experienced ZERO guide wear using fugi hardoloy guides. The braids I've used are: Suffix performance braid , Powerpro & Fireline.

Never owned a Lews product but have owned reels from the other 3 companies you mention, although not the models you listed. It's been my experience that Quantum is the easiest to deal with when ordering parts, if that matters to you.