Steveo-1969

Thanks. When I first subscribed to MOTV I would watch it with the Android app on my phone and cast/mirror it to my TV and that worked ok. Now I have an Amazon Firestick and it works much better.

I'm envious of the variety most of you have! Smallmouth Largemouth Walleye Northern Pike Fallfish Channel catfish Flathead catfish Sheephead (freshwater drum)

Tom, The topic of this thread from the OP was about budget fluorocarbon. I understand Gamma Edge is thicker than Seaguar Tatsu (or any Seaguar or Sunline) in the same pound test. So maybe I liked Gamma Edge because it was thicker? OK, I concede that point. My real point was Gamma Edge is MORE expensive than Tatsu, and should NOT be considered a budget FC. It's at the opposite pricing spectrum. Moving on........

Fake news sponsored by Z-Man! That bait only catches small fish......

I found the above prices on the Tacklewarehouse website. I would love to find Gamma Edge cheaper than the above price (and Tatsu for that matter). Where do you buy your fishing line? Thanks in advance!

Gamma Edge is the most abrasion resistant, good handling, low-stretch fluorocarbon I've ever used. But it's even MORE expensive than Tatsu. 10# Gamma Edge: 100 yard spool for $26 10# Seaguar Tatsu: 200 yard spool for $40

No boat for me, so I'm bank fishing or wading. Usually only am able to fish one day on the weekend so I'm fishing as long as I can that day.

As expected the wide variety of answers given solidifies the fact that this is a personal preference thing. For me, I own two ML-powered spinning rods and ZERO M-powered spinning rods. For where and how I fish, I don't need a medium power spinning rod.

Hmmmm, I am a tech idiot too and have never bothered figuring out how to post pictures. But I just switched from Android to iPhone and may need to give this another go!

This is what I did on 2 of my jig/texas rig rods as well. It made the rod tip lighter and easier to hold with less stress on my wrist when palming the reel.

I'll second these. The keeper works very well also. Elaztech is easy to push on and it doesn't slip.

I'm fishing walleyes in a river from the bank and I'm using the G. Loomis WPJR 821s GLX for exactly what it was intended. WPJR = Walleye Pitching Jigs Rod. I fish small jig heads/plastics primarily. It's a Mag-Light 1-power rod and rated 1/16-5/16 ounce lure weight which seems about right. It's not super powerful but with 10# braid and light-wire hooks I get great hook penetration and can land any fish by being patient and playing them carefully. This rod may not be powerful enough for some of the other techniques you mentioned, though it excels at pitching light jig heads!

Your thread title caught my eye! My favorite high end walleye spinning rod is the G. Loomis WPJR 821s GLX. I have mine paired with a Shimano Stradic CI4+ reel and it's incredible to fish with.

I have not had much success catching smallmouth while wading the Upper Potomac this year either. Smallmouth numbers are declining in the U.P. and it's difficult to catch fish that aren't there. The MD DNR is aware of the declining population and a report mentioned poor spawns the last several years due to flooding. They tried unsuccessfully to stock smallmouth in the river this spring. https://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Documents/Potomac_River_SMBass_Stocking.pdf http://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Pages/smallmouth_bass_stocking.aspx

A finesse jig and a small paddletail (on a jighead) are the two baits I fish the most for river smallmouth. Keitech Swing Impact FAT (3.3"), Keitech Swing Impact (3.5" and 4"), Strike King Rage Swimmer (3.25"), BPS Speed Shad (3").

Ah, so $3/jig is a little easier to swallow! I fish the 3/16 ounce jig (with shortened SK Baby Rage Craw trailer) with a ML blank rated 1/8-1/2 ounce, and 10# FC or co-poly. No problems getting hook penetration on the hookset. But I have another ML powered rod I wouldn't use with this jig, even with braid, because it's not powerful enough.

I totally agree with @waymont. Now maybe because of the much smaller hook on the Missile Ike jig we aren't really comparing apples to apples with the Strike King Bitsy Bug jig? But when I'm fishing for river smallmouth in a shallow rocky (snaggy) river the Bitsy Bug has been my go-to jig for years. I have no problem with the hook, I think it's a 2/0 Eagle Claw bronze hook (?). They are usually very sharp out of the package, but also sharpen easily with a hook file. And best of all I can buy them for $1.79 online all day/every day. The Ike jig is $5.99? Holy moly. With as many jigs as I lose I'm easily saving $100 a year and don't feel I'm compromising productivity in any way. YMMV

I have had the Rage Bug outproduce the Rage Craw on a swinghead jig. I buy Strike King plastics more than any other brand but I've had the Keitech Crazy Flapper outproduce both!

This spring I bought the Mojo Bass 6'10" "Dropshot/Finesse" spinning rod and have also been impressed with it for the cost.

I'm an admitted Loomis fanboy and have a GLX spinning rod and 2 NRX casting rods. But the last two rods I purchased were a St. Croix spinning rod (MojoBass SCIII) and a custom casting rod built with a St. Croix SCV blank. I love all 5 rods and wouldn't want to choose just one manufacturer.

Dang it, you are WAY smarter than me Tom! Thanks for the tip, I'm going to remember that next time. (Although knowing my luck I would take the spool off, accidentally drop it in the water, and watch the current take it away!).

When I have to break off I pull straight back. I don't use the rod because I don't want to break it. Sometimes I can pull the obstruction to me. Sometimes I straighten the hook. Sometimes I break off at the lure. Sometimes the whole leader breaks off. When I'm snagged on a big rock or tree trunk with 10# braid, that rock or tree trunk is staying where it is.

This was 10# Sufix Performance Braid.

^^ This. Abrasion resistance, ease of breaking off, and saving expensive braid. Last weekend I was standing in the middle of a river, got snagged, and broke my leader off. Grrrrr.... I didn't feel like tying on a new leader so I tied my bait directly to my braid. Eventually got snagged again and when I pulled to get it out the braid broke at the reel. Great, now I had to get the braid through the guides while standing in waist-deep water. Which I did, then realized I forgot to put the line under the bail first! Pulled it all out and did it again. Took me 15 minutes to get all this done when I could have tied on a new leader in under 5 minutes and been back to fishing. Not to mention I lost 20 yards of braid which was now in the river and that I would snag occasionally.

Holy moly! I believe it though. I think my record is 6 lost jigs in one day, but that's because I'm usually wading and only carry 6 in my small tackle bag.