FishTank

12lb Invizx has worked for me. I also like 13lb Sunline Defier.

LOL, if any of the guys we fish with could collect a sponsorship check like the ones you mentioned, we would be fishing them to. We do have a variety of fishermen though, from guys with $100,000 boats to guys with jon boats. We do have guys that are sponsored by Pure Fishing, Duckett, Aftco, and others but none of that stuff is in my future. I'm in it for the fun and the bragging rights. ??

Order JDM on Ebay. I picked up a new Steez for $365 last year and it has been fantastic.

As a Shimano guy, if you want to branch out beyond Shimano, try Daiwa first. Steez, Zillion, Tatula, Alpha > you can't really go wrong. I have tried a few Lew's reels and they just didn't do it for me but they do have a loyal following for some. And then I started to ask around at our last tournament. "Who fishes Lew's reels?" Well... Not many and no one I asked at the weigh-in fishes them exclusively. One quote from a guy that use to fish them, "I got rid of them and kept the free T-shirt".

I have been fishing for several years now and have not seen any of my rods damaged by exposure but my fishing partner's old G. Loomis GL2 rods are starting to do funky things. The have become more flexible and the cork is pretty much shot. They still catch fish but I have been trying to get him to move on and get new. He seems to like what he likes.

I have some of all three. I have the 844C IMX, 844C GLX, 803C GLX, 783C GLX, 903C IMX CBR, 803S NRX and the 853C NRX. The NRX is the most sensitive by far but my favorite is the 783 GLX. The 843C Conquest is next on my list. Maybe next year. Will you catch more fish with a GLX or an NRX.... Maybe, it just depends how fish and what you fish but there's something to be said for > "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

My two cents.... the new IMX is slightly more sensitive than the old but the new GLX is not the same rod it use to be. I can't explain it. Still a great rod though.

I have had no issues with this line. I don't know if Seaguar reformulated it this year but I have a 200 yard spool of 20lb and it looks different (obviously the diameter is bigger). The 20lb seems to have a heavier coating or shine to it. I would post a picture but it really doesn't show up that well. On the water, both lines are fine and have worked well for me.

5in Senko Black and Blue Flake.

With $100, I wouldn't do gear unless I needed it. I think I would stock up on things I use everyday for fishing that I hate to pay for based on their cost > Senkos, hooks, FC line, and tungsten weights.

ML for sure. Smallies pack punch and fight harder than most fish.

The Patagonia Capilene Hoodie has been my favorite. It was 90 degrees on the water yesterday and this thing performed as advertised.

I don't like Favorite rods but when I was at the Indy Boat Sport and Travel Show there was a rep there from Favorite. He showed the Defender rod and it's components. It had Fuji SIC Guides. I couldn't tell which ones though. Looks like there are several available. https://www.therodroom.com/shop/pc/Silicon-Carbide-SiC-c74.htm

If it swims in fresh water, I have probably caught it on a senko. I sometimes let it fall to the bottom and fish it back like a jerk bait, instead of popping or lifting it off the bottom. This seems to stop small fish from pecking.

I had the same issue with mine. Even when it was new, I never got consistent breaking. I sent it to Daiwa to get serviced and it was good for a short while but it never seemed right. I eventually sold it.

I have several of the regular Avid rods and have always considered them the best bang for buck. As far as the Avid and the Avid X goes, I have looked at the Avid X and decided that I just didn't care for it. I am not sure what it is. Maybe I like the full cork better. One things for sure, I don't care for braid on micro guides, especially if I am using a leader. Also, I think you are asking a lot of one rod. If I had to pick one that would come close to all that you are asking for, it would be the regular Avid 7' M Fast or the 7' MH Fast. But based on the lures you mentioned, I would get the M Fast.

I would say no as well. I have the 7'2'' M Legend Glass and I love it for crankbaits but not for spinnerbaits and especially not for chatterbaits. The rod itself is too slow for this purpose. For me, I like a 7' or longer M or MH Fast or X-fast. My favorite is an NRX 853C.

Most reels can handle that. How the rod loads is the key. I would say a 7' M Fast would do the job well. As far as which reel, you can get a Shimano Scorpion 150 MGL for less than $200 from Japan.

Sunline Xplasma in light green. It may be green but the color is easy to see out of water. Another I have not purchased but have seen out on the water is Berkley X9. I didn't think it was braid at first. It looked smooth and cast a mile. It was also super bright.

My usual routine with a kayak is I put myself in a position off of inlet points. If I am getting blown or pulled toward the shore, I set up as far away as possible and fish slow if I can (senkos and maybe crankbaits) and fast if there is a strong wind (jerbaits and spinnerbaits). Once I am close to the bank I position myself to fish across that point (straight ahead, call it 12 o'clock) and then I make casts at 2, 4, and 6. And back again at 6, 4, and 2 then at 12 a few more times. It seems to draw fish to that point. The key with this is patience. Once I have completed this cycle I move in to the docks and shorelines. Again paying attention to how much time I have before I need to reposition the kayak, I switch to jigs and bottom contact soft plastic. I try not to spend too much time in one area, unless I find a honey hole of fish. Then I stay until they stop biting. One of plusses of a kayak is that it's stealthy. Try to use that to your advantage.

I use both. I budget my spending on tungsten weights and jigs at $40. When they are gone and if they are gone, I would then go to my lead stock pile.

G. Loomis 783 GLX MH Fast 6'6''. It has worked great for about 15+ years. Simply love this rod.

I use 50lb Power Pro for frogging. Does the job. Last a few seasons but it looses it's color fast. I usually don't use a leader. That bass don't seem to care when it comes to frogs.

I just worked a buddy's Curado B's and 2 of the five had the same issue. What you said about the drag being ok after being left alone is what rings a bell...... My friends Curado would be ok when he would start fishing them and a few hours later he said the drag would get weaker even though the drag was tight. When I took the two in question apart, the drag washers on one side had a raised ridge on the outside edge but his others did not. Then I noticed that the ends of the spools seemed a little warn. After it was all put back together, I noticed these two had only a little bit of drag but enough to get the job done. So I gave them back to him and told him to order some drag washers. He then put them back on the rods and I watched him tighten the drag all the way down tight (farther than you should) and that's when it hit me. He had been tightening the drag down so tight it was causing the washers to flatten out like a pan cake. I don't know if this is what is causing your issues but it would be the next thing I would look at after the line slipping as mentioned above. The line slipping is easy to miss but easy to check. Just tighten the drag down, pull some line out. If the line pulls out and the spool doesn't move, then line needs to taken off and redone.