fishnkamp

Usually I use 14 to 17 pound backing but you will be fine with the 6 pound backing and yes he has plenty of braid on the reel. That 6 pound test is pretty thin. The braid is only the size of 8 pound mono. That combo will work well for your needs. That reel is not much different than my Tatulas and they work great for me. Now go catch some fish.

For a cheaper alternative get a spool of P Line CXX in 10 pound moss green. It is a little stiff and breaks at close to 20 pounds. It is very abrasion resistant as well. I use that for leader material on all of my braid and could easily be a good choice for your situation.

Go get a Diawa Tatula they are smooth and have a great drag. I have been changing all of my reels over to them after I bought two last year and fished them hard. i presently own five and one Diawa Exceller. Go here https://www.amazon.com/Daiwa-TATULA100P-5-4-Medium-Action/dp/B00F5EGFQY/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1467866941&sr=1-1&keywords=Tatula100p This reel retails for $149 almost everywhere else.

That is true about the Walmart price. Several of my friends and I have purchased some rods from Wal-Mart. One was a Falcon Buccoo for $40 and it was selling in other retailers for close to $100. I do not think anything other than i got the deal.. That reel throws crankbaits and rattle traps really well.. If you can cast it well go use it.

They do make 2 piece and even what they call 'travel rods" which are 3 or 4 piece rods. They wil cost more but be of much better quality. They even come in their own tube.

Have them repaired, it should cost less than $20 buck

That is a great price for their entry level rod. I make no insult by saying that, St Croix does not build junk. Another rod to consider is a Powell Diesel which is also the entry level Powell. It retails for $75 and feel really nice in my hand. I just held some this afternoon at my local tackle shop.

That boat should have minimum a 135 preferably a 150. You will be under powered and it will not take long for you to wish for more. Depending on where you live, there are tons of good used boats that are not selling fast. Just look BoatTrader and craigslist. Forget it and move on. what is your budget. Would this be too much for you? http://tulsa.craigslist.org/boa/5633189178.html This is a nice fully powered boat with a nice list of options. an 18'8" boat with a 159 Merc and a list of options for an asking price of $17775. Trust me in this economy $16,000 should take it away. If that is too high for your budget look at a big aluminum like this one http://stillwater.craigslist.org/bod/5669513760.html These of course are not real near you but I only show what you can find. If they are reasonably close I would check into them

First you have picked two superb rods, These are basically top of the line rods from St Croix. They will be very sensitive and perform flawlessly. Your 6'8" with an extra fast tip will handle exactly what you want to do . It will handle the weightless sencos, fluke type baits, drop shotting, Ned Rigs, and things like tubes and light texas rigged worms. That extra fast tip means that the soft tip will throw light stuff really well but since it is "extra fast" the rod will have all of the backbone to pull big fish out. I am not sure where you live but I fish the same conditions that you do. I live near Baltimore MD, on the Chesapeake Bay. I have to be aware with my equipment always. Not only do we intentionally chase bass , but stripers and big huge catfish. In the last few years our non- native Blue cat population has exploded. My largest blue cat was over 18 pounds and it almost spooled me. Down on the Potomac you can add to that list huge snakeheads as well. Both of the rods you are interested in will work. I believe the 6"8" is better for the plastic. The 7 is a more moderate tapered rod. That means the rod will bend a little farther down so it is a bit softer in action, thus the "fast" label. If i had to throw cranks and specifically rattle trap baits I would use it instead. It still is not my choice for that purpose but it will sorta work. If it were me I would get the dedicated rod for the purpose you originally wanted so I would get the 6'8". My next rod would be a baitcaster like the LX72MM. Or there are a bunch of equally great rods that do not require the investment these rods do. Good Luck I hope my explaination makes sense.

Start with a medium action spinning rod and and a moderately priced reel. I just did a check on line at Dicks Sporting Goods and i was pleased to see a combo like this. The reel is going for $40 .00 alone. so the combo is a good deal and it is not some piece of junk. this http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=30193076&cp=4413993.4414792&categoryId=52416806&fg=Rod Length Either the 6'6" with a 30 series reel or the 7' with a 40 series reel Either would do you well to begin with.

Okay so what are the specs on the Fenwick rod? We know the rod is probably a lite or Medium lite or the reel is too small for it. So how long is the rod and what does it say action and lure weight? This rod might fit into my suggested combos to start. If the reel is too small for the rod a simple change could make a nice combo If I was starting over here is what i would want in my first two rods and boy this is hard since there are over 15 rods under the deck. With years of fishing and keeping quality and price in mind here are the setups I would look for. I also would by good equipment but be careful where I spent my money. 1. A 6'10 to 7'2 Medium spinning rod. I second the Berkley Lightning shock ( and yes I own 3 between my wife and I). We also own 6 G Loomis spinning rods, but I do not need $300 rods for everything. The Berkley would not be my first choice but it would be a good option. My first choice would be a Powell Inferno 6103MEF for $99. With Powell there are 3 series and the difference is very little between them so you could save a little and get the 610MEF in a Diesel series for $75, or bump up to a rod mentioned earlier the Powell Max3d 712MLEX or 713MEF. All of these are well made and feel great in your hand. In fact several were in my paws today at my local tackle shop. Along with Powell rods I love the Dobyns Fury series rods so a FR702SF or FR703SF are great too, they just cost a little more at $109. I know you have had all kinds of suggestions for reels. I would buy a workhorse of a reel and that is a Pfueger President for $60, I would fill it with 1/2 of a spool of inexpensive but quality mono then finish it with Power Pro Spectra braid in 20 or 30 pound test. I also like Berkley FireLine Fused (same as original FireLine) in 14 pound test and then i like to use a 3 foot leader made up of 10 pound test P Line CXX which is strong and thin. Since you said you would love a really top notch spinning setup I would consider a step up to a Shimano Symetre 2500 or 3000 and if the Fenwick is usable maybe that is a good option for $99.00. My wife has a 3000 and it is smooth as silk. The Presidents are great and we have fished some for over 10 years, some of our 7 are between 1 and 9 years old and I know my worm rod has one much older than that. 2. My second combo would be a 6'10 to 7'2" MHF baitcasting rod. These are the main weapons on most boat decks. Again A Dobyns FR703C is a terrific rod or a Powell Max3d 723CF. The Inferno series would offer a great rod as well. Before you spend a dime let us know the specs for the Fenwick maybe the answer is that will work just upgrade the reel and pick up a second combo with different specs to round out the equipment list leaving plenty of budget for other tackle. They sell some really nice tackle bags that hold Plano boxes and keep your tackle neatly organized. Start with one of those and have fun filling it up!

Nope he kept the right one for you!! Congrats that is a nice combo. If in the future you want to make an upgrade check online for a deal on a reel like a Diawa Exceller which regularly sells for $100 but often can be purchased online for $60 when on sale. These reels will make you smile when you cast them, they are smooth and have great drags in them. They are tough as nails to. Meanwhile enjoy and catch some more fish.

I agree with the suggestions fish4bigfish gave you. My spinning rod for throwing sencos and weightless worms would usually be a 7 foot ML with a fast or extra fast tip, but not in heavy weeds. His choice of a medium action rod with a fast tip is a good one. Match that with a braid like Power Pro Spectra in 20 pound or thirty pound test. these lines are really thin in diameter so 20# is the same size as 6 pound mono, 30# is the same as 8 pound mono. As with all my reels I put 1/2 a spool of inexpensive but quality mono on first. Lines like BPS Excel or Stren Clear Blue in like 14# diameter are fine. I really like P line CXX but I use it differently. CXX in 10 pound is the perfect leader material as it is thin and strong as heck. 15 pound cxx is used on a baitcaster but still requires some attention to fish it. Ten pound cxx usually breaks around 20 pound so you can see why your 15 pound line is to tough to tame on spinning gear. For a really nice reasonably priced spinning rod look at the Powell Inferno 610MEF. It is a great all around rod for $99 retail, but can be found a little cheaper with some research on line. I am assuming your other rod is a spinning rod as well. If I am correct I would spool the St Croix rod the same way only you could tie your cxx to a fence, car bumper etc and walk of the line. When you get to an empty spool check to see your arbor knot is tight and not able to slip (this is very important). Now wind up the line tight as possible as you walk forward. Stop when the reel is almost 1/2 filled up. Now tie on the left over spool of Power Pro. Spool it up till you have an 1/8 of an inch of spool exposed. Learn to use the uni to uni knot. This is the knot to attach the braid to backing or braid and a leader which is a terrific way to fish your rod setups when you go fish some deep clear water. If you do this you will have a great new finesse rig and your old rig will work fine for the baits you have been using, as well as some spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, even to a degree some rattle trap baits. This rod is not ideal but will work with these baits also.

For sure follow the suggestions that have been given here. I would do it exactly as they said but I would have one rod with a jig and craw trailer probably in some green pumpkin or watermelon or brim colors. A jig is such a versatile tool. It can be thrown onto the top of a drop and worked down in a series of hops, or you can park the boat shallower and throw deep then hop up the drops. Next I would have a drop shot ready so I can get over any deep fish I see on the depth finder. Drop the bait straight down and work it slowly or cast out a ways and bring it back in slowly. The carolina rig is effective for this fishing as well. Another important weapon is a swimbait like Reaction Innovations Skinny Dippers fished on a 3/8 ounce leadhead jigs that look like the head of a fish. Lastly summer can be a great time to rig up a big 7, 8 or even 10 inch worm. Just throw it out and slowly crawl and hop it back. Hang on because that is not the recipe for catching dinks. Hope this helps. To answer your original question I read everything I can on it, then watch every video about using it. Set my gear up properly and go try it.

Try a couple of things. I hate to suggest expensive solutions but here is where a tungsten weight pays off. They are so much smaller in size than regular lead worm weight. Also baits like Power Team Craw D'eouvre baits come into play. They still give a nice creature profile but in a shape that can glide through a little easier. Also they make a nice jig trailer. Their conviction craw is another one to look at too. Lastly would you be better off fishing a punch rig? It would not have to be a big one ounce weight. Also make sure you peg you weight. I use these pegging tools that are like rubber tooth picks. They work real well but do not nick your line

I have run Shimanos ( the older G model ) and they work. I currently have a Shimano Chronarch 200E7 and am not that impressed. Between last year and this spring I have sold off and replaced 6 reels with Diawa Tatulas and Tatula Typr R's and one Diawa Exceller( budget for reels ran out). All of these have had a lot of use on them especially the ones last year. Get the Tatula R it will perform and last very well. As for the guys with the Tats that have some grinding or rough feel go get them professionally check and cleaned that is very unusual. I have a friend that fishes these reels at least 4 times a week ( I am not exaggerating) and he is as tough on gear as anyone can be and they have held up for him. Go check his website at baybass.com and read some of his reports. He not only bass fishes with them, but on the Potomac he catches huge snakeheads and rockfish. By next spring all of my reels will be changed over to Diawas. Also do not pay retail go to Amazon I got my Type R's for $139 shipped. The deals look a little better now.

Great news I figured the reel was not defective and this problem is a common one. Now all you have to do is go catch some fish with it! Good Luck I am sure you can find a nice big smallie up there.

I would expect that boat will take a 50 hp and there are lots of 2 and 4 stroke outboards that come in tiller versions. Again check the metal tag on the boat that Coast Guard Data tag will tell you what the boat was designed to carry.

With that heavy a grass the small fish should have a nice chance to grow. If that lake has a good population of baitfish you should have some giant bass in it. It would have all of the right ingredients.

Minn Kota makes a fine trolling motor. Which model depends on what size you want. I ran a pair of Minn Kota Endura C2 55 pound thrust trolling motors on the back of my reservoir rig right up till I sold it. The reservoirs here in MD. are quite large and have only one launch on several of them. This meant batteries were my only fuel allowed so, I ran a bank of two batteries for each of the trolling motor. I never worried about getting back and those motors performed flawlessly. Traxxis is another nice line with a bit more power options. Good luck on your search.

Is this fiberglass or a Triton VT 17 which is a 17'10' aluminum bass boat. They regularly came with 75's. If it is the fiberglass TR176 it is way underpowered. Move on and find another boat. Triton hs always made a great boat.

Nothing wrong with the 832, I used a lot of it in the past. It will be fine. This April my wife (who is addicted to smallies) and I vacationed on Dale Hollow. Our guide literally sucked up the entire supply available in middle Tennessee and lower Kentucky for his guide service. He had like 1000 bodies coming from local tackle shops and warehouses. The big females had just spawned all at one time (do to the late spring and all of the rain) and had left the creeks to recuperate and begin feeding out on main lake grass flats. These fish were really finicky and jigs, skinny dippers and mostly Ned Rigs were catching these 4 to 5 pound smallies. That rig looks like a baby fish lure but we caught 5 pounders all week. Here is a pic of one

I am a lucky man for sure. We dated all though high school and during college so we dated for 10 years and we got married in 1988. It was during that high school time she first came fishing with me and my regular fishing partner Phil. She has truly gained a love and addiction for smallies but is happy catching all types of fish. This little girl (4'11) has landed a 341/2 pound catfish, 8 pound rainbows,16 pound rock and her best bass is a 6 pound smallie. I forget which anniversary it was but I gave her a choice between a diamond necklace or another G Loomis rod, guess what she is still fishing that rod..True story It is a 6 foot GL2 722! Got a love a woman like that, If we could afford it all seven of her rods would be G Loomis, right now only 1/2 are !!! LOL

I forgot to mention reels. In my world no spinning reel is worth that much money! Period. There are some very nice spinning reels around the $100 price tag. I just set up my wife with an Irod Spinning rod and Shimano Symetre 3000 reel. Now that is a super nice lite weight reel that feels terrific in my hand. I almost went with the Saros but saved the $75 difference. There was no difference in how the reel felt so we saved the money. That money went towards a fantastic rod instead. As for reels. I have fished with Bass Pro Extremes, several Shimano Curado, a couple of Lews and Chronarchs and now I have settled on Diawas. Last spring I set up a combo for frogging and matched the rod with a Diawa Tatula Type R in 8-1 ratio, I fell in love with the Tatula and Tatula Type R's. This spring I have sold 6 reels and replaced them with Diawa Tatula and Tatula Type R's, as well as one Exceller (my budget ran out on the last one). I am extra pleased with all of them. I will be replacing a few more reels next spring so all 12 baitcasters will be Diawas. If you get one I know you will be happy with it.

Here are my thoughts. First your Shimano 7'2" will handle most finesse techniques like throwing weightless worms, drop shotting and light weight baits like tubes or grubs very well. Next your Dobyns is a fantastic rod. It will handle all sort of jigs,big worms, even a frog. I believe what you are missing are two rods. If you intend to fish crankbaits and rattle traps you may want a dedicated rod like a DC 684CB rod If you want to fish jerkbaits and topwaters more go look at the Abu Garcia Ike delay series IKECW64-5 rod. Now let me explain This rod is one of the Ike rods Mike iocconelly designed for Abu Garcia. I fish one and love it. Now think of this rod as being a 6"8 rod only with a bit of a shortened butt so you can work a jerkbait or topwater bait like Pop R's and Sammy's. The rod lets you run a good cadence without beating up you arm with the butt. It actually measures 6 ft 4 inches and is a workhorse of a rod. If either of those two techniques are not that important to your fishing then I would add a rod like the 703C in a Fury, Savy, or champion series. I would suggest looking at the Powell Max3D 723CEF and an Irod IRG703C. All of these are high quality rods in about the same action, tapers and money range. Check each one out and see what seems to fit within the extremes that you now have. I am lucky because I have an awesome independent tackle shop that carries all of these rods and more in stock. He is located just 20 minutes from my house here in Baltimore MD. It is really nice to want something and your dealer has it to put in your hand. This also makes it a bit dangerous to go there. LOL Good Luck I hope I at least i have you thinking