NYWayfarer

This was a great weekend in more ways than one. Sept. 15th was my 17 year wedding anniversary. It was also my son's 15th birthday. He was born on our 2 year wedding anniversary. It was also the day I got a new PB! I woke up early that morning and my wife was out running some errands. I figured lets get some fishing in before the days festivities started. Saturday was dead calm water with a bit of fog. I started throwing the Whopper Plopper 90 in Bluegill color (ole faithful) I was using it similar to a popper, cast it out, wait for the ripples to die and pull it through the water to create a small plop then let it sit again. Second time I did this there was a surface swirl and my lure disappeared. At that point I set the hook and my Denali Zeynx crankbai rod bent over nearly in half. I thought the fish had swam under a rock. Once I saw the line move off to the left I realized this was a big fish. She taxed my Walmart exclusive Lew's Mark Rose baitcaster ($35 on clearance) to the limit. I was able to keep her from the bottom and jumping as I survived a run or three that peeled drag. I was finally able to get her to shore and lip her avoiding the Ploppers treble as she was only hooked with the front one. On the scale she weighed 4.01 pounds my new PB from the Hudson River and my new PB topwater fish. Fishing by a walking path has been helpful in the fact that I am always able to snag a passerby to take a pic. I was so grateful to the lady who did. Her dog loved me as I let it sniff the fish before I released her back into the river.

$59.99 Kastking Perigee II 7'1" MH I have the 2 piece version. It comes with the handle and 2 tips, 1 medium and 1 medium heavy. It's like getting 2 rods for the price of one.

A whole lot of "perspective" has been shared here. That goes to show no one really knows what a fisherman or property owner has experienced to make them react the way they do. Following the platinum rule of treat others the way they want to be treated would go a long way towards clearing up these confrontations.

I am going to place an order for these. They look great.

Good advice. If you stick with it at the place you are currently fishing my advice would be to downsize your baits. I am not afraid to fish a wacky rigged 3" Yum Dinger on a 1/0 wacky hook to see what I can get. Berkley Atomic Tubes are also great baits to do a species assessment on a body of water.

I agree. Don't pay full price of $135 You can find this reel for $100 on sale most of the time. There is so much to love about this reel. Dual brakes, aluminum frame, tension knob with audible click, ultimate palm-ability (if that's a word), casts a mile and the drag is solid. When I am in the market for another baitcaster I will be getting another MB

Run a weedless wacky hook though the middle, crimp on a split shot about 12-18" from the bait and cast it out, catch fish, repeat.

The Lew's Tournament MB that the OP and I are referring to is a great reel to upgrade to from beginner baitcasters. Aluminum frame, dual brakes, casts like a dream, smooth and silent.

I am not ashamed to say I had that exact same moment, with the exact same reel. You might want to take a look at the Denali AttaX 7' Medium Casting rod. It reminds me a lot of my old lightning rods. Soft tip and plenty of backbone.

If there were more people, like you the world would be a better place. People that take the time to think, why is this person really mad? For every decent, respectful of property fisherman/woman there is out there, a dozen or more are on the water that are not. These are the people that give us all a bad reputation. I steer clear of docks for the most part while kayaking. Not worth the fuss and aggravation when I get stereotyped as one of the bad ones.

One of my favorite Mono's as well.

Thanks for the vid. I'm sold. I want one. It's on the list of things I will buy when I hit the lottery.

Just my opinion but it doesn't seem like a great combo, fishing and Jet Skiing. Mixing a relatively slow sport with a fast one. I can't imagine jumping waves with all that equipment on the back. I can see rods and tackle flying off into the depths. Looks like it will get you to your fishing spot fast though.

My wife and I worked in downtown Manhattan at the time. She worked 1 block away and I worked 3 blocks away. She was my fiancé then as we were getting married that Saturday, Sept 15th 2001. I was off that day to attend to wedding business, she was at work. I watched from home as the reports came in from the first plane thinking it was an accident. I called my wife and she said they were evacuating her building to be safe and they were moving them up the road to another building. Then the second plane hit and I knew this was no accident. At that time communication with my wife was impossible as cell service in the city was impossible. It took hours to finally get in touch with her. She told me she was able to get into the other building just as the first tower fell. She still remembers seeing the dust fly up the street. She wasn't able to get home until after 8pm that night with all the traffic closings and mass transit shut downs. We did get married that weekend. Had 35 no-shows to the wedding with all the chaos in and around the city roads and bridges. Never forget!

I have the same reel (Tournament MB and have fished it on everything from a cheap $20 Lew's rod to a Powell Max. If you like the lightning rod, use it. As others have said a Mod/Fast rod is similar to the lightning rod so you can start your search there.

Looks like the same handle as the new Ike series Abu's. Handles on spinning reels are the thing I find make or break the reel for me. If I constantly have to check the cap to make sure it is tight the reel loses some of its appeal to me. Kastking got it right with the Sharky III. That direct drive screw in handle is one of my favorite designs. I wish they would use it on more of their models. My other favorite design is on a reel from a company that will remain nameless. Their creed model has a fantastic handle that I see Lew's has a similar version on their new Custom Speed Spin spinning reel. That reel is on my birthday wish list.

Grats! Awesome Smallies!

Google is your friend https://www.ebay.com/i/192648972314?chn=ps&var=492790760766 On Kastking Fishing Ebay site with a 20% off code to boot. The 3000 size is available as well.

$89.98 for the 2000 size, $92.98 for the 3000 size.

Had one similar on Saturday. My jig hit a semi-submerged log on a side cast. Looked at it for a minute, tried once to pull the line out slowly, put it down and picked up my other rod to fish. When I went home I cut the whole mess out and put fresh line on. These times are the reason I visit the clearance isle at Walmart looking for $3 spools of Berkley Big Game.

It's a given that I break a rod a year. I take care of my stuff and never broke a rod fighting a fish. I am what they call "accident prone" Last year I snapped the tip off a rod in a doorway. This year while walking with a rod I was not paying attention and the tip hit the ground and broke right off.

It has opened the door to the poor house for me.

Variety is the spice of life. I have rods and reels from different manufacturers. I do have my favorite brands though and tend to purchase more from those companies.

90% of my baitcasters have straight Berkley Big Game mono. the remaining reels have Kastking Fluorokote or Kastking Superpower braid on them. My motto: Mono, It was good enough for my Grandpappy...

I agree, go with the MB. I have the TS1SMB model which features a high capacity spool. I can't say enough good things about this reel, it is a rock solid performer.