blckshirt98

Every time I see a post about Edge rods I feel regret about not finding out about the Edge Kickstarter when they were starting out.

I have straight Sunline FC Sniper spooled, can't remember the # off the top of my head but it might be #20. Used with a Phenix glass casting rod.

I'm pretty wary of most reviews, everyone is looking to sell something nowadays, and everything catches fish. One guy I really like is KeepinItReelFishing because his reviews are the most thorough I've seen, though he hasn't posted much recently. I also like the TackleTour guys though they do seem to be pretty favorable most of the time where they seem reluctant to be overly critical.

I have a Frankenstein's mix of rods and reels that I picked up at various sales and closeouts, but if everything went down in a fire and I could only pick one brand of rods and one brand of reels to replace everything, it would be - Reels - Shimano Rods - Phenix (though St. Croix would be a very close runner up)

Another vote for Sunline FC Sniper all day long.

Higher end tackle at some point becomes more of a confidence thing. I'm sure almost anyone here who's experienced could use a $40 Walmart combo and outfish a new angler with a $1k combo, and a pro could use that $40 Walmart combo and outfish any weekend warrior with a $1k combo. The fish can't see and don't care about the rod and reel, it's all about the presentation of what's in the water.

Just use a lighter lb braid which has a smaller diameter than the equivalent mono/fluoro. I use 10-15lb braid almost across the board on my spinning reels, and use a lighter leader as needed.

+1 to the Owner Ultra Shaky Head, comes in the colors you're looking for, in more weights/sizes you could possibly need, and you can find them everywhere so you always eventually find them on sale.

Big Bite Baits either criminally stole the mold from Lake Fork or a patent expired somewhere. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Big_Bite_Baits_Craw_Worm_10pk/descpage-BBBCRWW.html I have both and compared side by side they're the exact same bait. Big Bite version is much cheaper per bait (they've been on sale at TW forever) than Lake Fork and the additional 3" size baits are killer on a dropshot.

KVD 1.5 is my most used because they're the easiest to find/replace, and, they're usually on sale somewhere.

You can also always use a lipless like a SK Red Eye Shad and let it sink to your desired depth. If you're fishing from shore it's gonna be difficult/impossible to get those larger deep diving crankbaits to the depth you want.

For the love of god man, hide your surroundings when you post! Once someone here finds out where you're catching 5 lb bass within walking distance of a metro in NY that place will be fished out by next summer! Grats on the fish btw!

There was a post on this a few months back. Just to be clear it's not your mainline (braid) that's breaking, but the leader breaking, correct? 20 lb PowerPro should absolutely not be breaking whatsoever no matter how incorrectly the knot is tied. Assuming it's the FC/Mono leader that's breaking, how are you tying the Palomar? Are you bringing it back up and over back through the "loop"? There are some videos that incorrectly demonstrate the Palomar knot that causes a the leader to cross itself that weakens the line and kills it.

If my manufacturer mishmash of rods were stolen or burned to the ground, I'd go all Phenix in my replacements. The M1 MX-S72M is my favorite all-around spinning rod that I bring when I just want to bring one rod. I've used it in the surf, used it in the bays in SoCal, used it every freshwater lake I've fished. I've caught more fish on that one rod than all my other rods combined. It's pretty indestructable too, I've pulled HARD on that thing and it won't break, and the guides are still flawless. The handle is showing it's wear but it still performs flawlessly. Have a Bass Recon C712 casting that I've only used a couple of times, prefer spinning gear for light presentations so haven't picked it back up and it's been so long I can't say much about it. Just got a Feather FTX-S77M this past summer to use exclusively as a drop shot rod but haven't taken the tags off of it yet. Ridiculously light but in testing they were able to pick up a 12 lb weight off the ground so it should be indestructible. Warranty is no questions asked just send in the rod and a check for the replacement fee - https://www.phenixrods.com/warranty-registration/ I've replaced 2 rods - One was an Ultra MBX where I sheared the top off with another rod on a cast. Had my brother go to their factory in Cerritos, CA since he works just down the street, he just handed them the rod and a check, they handed him a replacement. The other was a M1 Inshore casting rod that had a bad tip, actually had the local tackle shop mail it in for me, I just had to pay the replacement fee and had a new rod shortly thereafter. P.S. Their Elixir and Dragonfly trout rods are awesome.

I'm in the "wind knots with SS8" camp and just use plain old PowerPro or Sufix 832 now. The other plus about base PowerPro is that almost everyone from Wal-Mart to TW carries it, and, you can usually find it on sale.

The Cabela's online bargain cave was a great place for deals where I'd check every couple of days, but since BPS took over it's been pretty bare and I no longer check.

I've broken 3 rods so far - 1) Phenix Ultra MBX Classic - Casting from shore and not being aware of the length/swing plane on my cast and hitting the tip of the Phenix I had brought that was resting on a bush. The Phenix had it's tip sheared right off, the rod making the cast was surprisingly fine. 2) Mojo Bass - Car door. About 5 rods got caught in the car door but through a stroke of luck, only the Mojo Bass snapped (door slowly closed from gravity as I was pulling the stack of rods out, not slammed shut). 3) Shimano Cumulus - Testing the rod's flex by pushing the tip down on the carpet. I see guys at the tackle shop do this all the time with no fear. I did it to the Cumulus at home and the tip shattered (loudly) into about 5 pieces.

I used to get a hodgepodge of brands/models/colors of plastics but nowadays I have about a dozen I know will always catch fish in the local reservoirs and is what I bring/use most of the time. I'll bring a couple of packs of "oddball" baits because it feels good to mix them up and get a bite on a bait you normally don't use.

+1 to Outlet Bait, I've gotten so much stuff from them over the years and they hand write a thank you on the packing slip every time. Subscribe to their email newletters, in the past they've had a couple of Yamamoto Truckload sales where I stocked up on almost every color/style/size of Yamamoto plastic for life.

I use the previous model Shimano Sienna in the surf because they're cheap to replace, but I haven't had to replace it yet after 4 years of off and on use. Saltwater doesn't seem to fade the line any faster than freshwater, but you must rinse the reel (and rod/guides) thoroughly in fresh water after using it in the surf, as quickly as you can find fresh water. I took the reel apart for maintenance last year and other than having down to sand down a rough spot that was developing under the spool, it's still perfectly fine.

You also might want to check out the surf fishing scene in SoCal - the warmer water means a huge variety of fish, and as much as I like catching my freshwater bass, they're the Doritos eating cousin to the fight the calico bass and spotted bay bass put up.

Best fishing in LA is the surf fishing, you need to head down to San Diego for bass.

Some people are just "like that" and don't feel like they need to pay their share when someone else can give them what they need. It's not a fishing thing, it's a personality thing. If you two golfed together he'd probably be asking you if he could borrow some of your golf balls or hitch a ride in a golf cart you paid for.

Maybe try to spray some WD-40 to loosen it up?

Any 2500 sized Shimano spinning reel works for me, I use everything from the cheapo Sienna to the Stradic Ci4. I'm not that particular about my spinning reels, I use Shimano because of brand loyalty but it can just as easily be a Diawa or Pflueger. Rod however I'm fairly particular, Phenix is tops for me, in particular the M1 series, but the new Feather series are also amazing.