Chris at Tech

Yup

I like how you think

While I enjoy football, I wish more Americans took this stance. I can't stomach hearing these guys making a MINIMUM of $300k a year complaining that they deserve more. Boo-freakin'-hoo. And even moreso now with all these NFL players suing over concussions. You mean 250lb men running at each other full speed and colliding repeatedly for years and years could have an impact on my health? No way!!! Like I said, I like football and I yelled my butt off when my Giants won the SB this winter, but there's something really wrong when it costs a family an arm and a leg to attend an NFL game in person. It's just a shame that owners are ruthless businessmen, and the general public doesn't have the fortitude to make their voices heard.

Then win your friggin' conference and stop complaining about deserving rematches. This playoff thing will be interesting to watch. If human voting is made a large part of the deciding of the "four best", then this will be among the biggest shams in sports. We don't need the BCS title determined by whichever school has the most beat writers with votes.

This was my money rig at the Guntersville Roadtrip this year. 1/16 slider spider head, green pumpkin trick worm. As long as you rig the worm straight and bury/texpose the hook, it'll come through the grass just fine.

I'm still just a fledgling jig fisherman as well, but I'd recommend 2 things: 1) throw your jig in areas you know has rocks, gravel, trees, grass, etc just to see how it feels in known cover 2) when in doubt, set the hook With more time throwing the jig, you'll get more used to what a bite may feel like.

Stradic

Also if you have one of those samurai hook sets, you may find you're breaking the light line when you're swinging on a bite.

The Ga Tech rigor is all worth it in the end

In this price range, Bass Pro combos are hard to beat. Here are some options. And as a bonus, BPS combos go on sale quite a bit: http://www.basspro.com/Abu-Garcia-Revo-S-LowProfile-Reel/Bass-Pro-Shops-XPS-Extreme-Trigger-Rod-Baitcast-Combos/product/11100805013016/280156 http://www.basspro.com/Abu-Garcia-Revo-S-LowProfile-Reel/Bass-Pro-Shops-CarbonLite-Rod-Baitcast-Combos/product/10205079/92207 http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Johnny-Morris-CarbonLite-Reel-and-Original-Trigger-Rod-Baitcast-Combos/product/11100205014416/274258 Alternatively, you can also get a few BPS Pro Qualifiers, which often go on sale for ~$80, and pick your favorite rod in the remaining price range.

Price range per combo?

Are you only considering spinning rods, or are baitcasters an option too? Sam's advice is sound, but I'm not sure I agree with the "Go with the highest pound floruocarbon line the reel's specs allow" comment. In my experience, 2500-sized spinning reels don't handle fluoro above 8lb test too well. Putting 10 or 12lb fluoro on a spinning reel is asking for trouble, in my opinion. If you are only considering spinning reels for this application, I'd recommend braid instead. On the baitcasting front, look for a 6'6" - 7', M or MH rod with a 6.3 speed baitcaster. For $200, the Basspro combos are pretty good.

I'd like to raise a motion that we change the 2013 Roadtrip destination to RLR's new pad

X3

Huh? Now do you figure that?

A longer rod really shines when throwing deep divers, so you can maximize each cast by keeping your bait in the desired zone the longest. I'd echo the comments above in recommending the MH version, and I'd also encourage you to look at the 7'6" version, which collapses down to about 6'6".

They look delicious

Hey Glenn -- any idea when the video will be ready to share?

A leader does serve a few purposes: 1) for those concerned about braid's visibility in the water, the leader reduces it 2) there are times when you NEED to break off, and a leader is likely to be easier to break than the braid 3) when you need more abrasion resistance than braid provides, the leader can help

The only place the pound test/diameter of the mono backing comes into place is in the knot you select. But even then, it's probably not a big deal since there's not a huge variety in the line thickness used in bass fishing. I use uni to uni knot for my backing and for fluoro leaders on my braid setups. I got a spool of 12lb Berkley Big Game that I use as backing for my baitcasters. I've never fished this line, but I've heard very good things about it, especially for saltwater fishing. If it can handle the salt, it can handle bass. And I got 900 yards for something like 6 bucks so I'm not spending money on "premium" mono for backing.

I use 8lb Invisx on my 2500 spinning reel, and I've used 10, 12, 15, and 17lb Berkley 100% fluoro on my baitcasters with good results. Regardless, treating with a line conditioner is also recommended. 8lb Berkley fluoro has NOT cooperated well with my spinning reels

So what you're saying is that we stand zero chance of RW taking and posting a pic unless Shimano comes out with a camera?

19 > 14 I think you need to set your drag more appropriately for your setup. I'd recommend setting it for approx 1/3 the strength of the lightest line in your setup. You can always add more if truly needed, but you need to give the drag the opportunity to do the work for you.

For the love of all that's holy -- get a phone with a camera in it.

Keepers slip too much for my taste. I hate when my Carolina rig becomes a Texas rig in mid-air