LCG

Always have a Leatherman with my tackle bag. In a kayak, I keep a small two inch blade folding knife clipped to my life jacket. Easy to open with one hand. A friend once fell out of his kayak in a river, near a tree in the water. He got pinned and had to cut off his life jacket as it was wedging him under the tree and stuck on branches, with the current pushing him under. A small knife saved his life that day. The story stuck with me.

I don't think it would considered rude at all. It's your gear, it's what your comfortable with, and your wife paid for it. Can't imagine a guide would care unless your gear is not up to what ever species your after. Sounds fun. Enjoy

Senko (BPS Sticko -o) in Junebug. Even better if I can change hooks.

6'9 ML Fenwick HMG would be best for what you want to throw.

Tried both, HMG was stouter than rated, Fury was lighter than rated. Personally liked the HMG better.

Shimano or Daiwa. I have tried both but I am partial to Shimano as I like their feel and function a bit more,but both companies make great reels. The Shimano offer MGL spools in their SLX and Curado lines, the MGL spool is lighter and casts light baits easier. I have both the SLX 70 MGL and Curado 70 MGL and previous owned a Curado K, Daiwa Fuego and Tatula. Daiwa Fuego is good value and easy to learn on. The Shimano s just feel a little better to me and fit my style of fishing better. Check out kijijji and Facebook marketplace too, I have found some very nice equipment for a good price.

I have liked the BPS Carbonlite 6'8" M-XF rated 1/8-1/2oz 4-12lb line. Comfortable, sensitive, nice action and loads well into the backbone when fighting a good size fish. The Fenwick HMG 6'9" ML-F would also be worth checking out.

Thats a great idea, thanks. I bought about 20 spinnerbaits and storing them in the package until needed. But if they get compromised, that's seems like a pretty simple solution. I only tend to lose 1 or 2 a year, so they should last awhile.

I was going through some of my tackle stuff and was just wondering how long can you store fishing line (braid,mono,coploymer)? Also I have bought a ton of spinnerbaits that I really have faith in, but wondering how long the rubber/plastic skirt keeper will last? I recall buying some booyah spinnerbaits awhile ago that the rubber keeper was disenegrated when I opened the package. Everything stored indoors and away from direct sunlight.

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your input. Stopped by my local tackle shop and picked up a spool of 10lb yo Zuri hybrid and of course a few other things. Will give it a try and see how it performs.

Which model Zodias are you using for that spinnerbait? Keep debating the 6'10 M for light spinnerbait / Texas rig duty. Is the lure rating of 1/4-3/4 accurate?

So is their any benefit switching from big game to yo Zuri hybrid? I have no complaints with big game other than overall sensitivity.

You sold me on 10lb. Will grab a spool and give it a try. Thanks

That sucks, sorry to hear that. That's the problem when you find a rod you really like that's not made anymore, hard to find a replacement and then the never ending search I have heard of the reel seat lock coming loose and seen a few of them when I went to buy an elite Tech in stores a few years back. They all had this problem. My understanding though is that it's an easy fix, clean, sand, and re-apply epoxy to secure the metal piece back to the rod. So far so good on mine. Plan on marrying the Curado and the Elitetech together, so it shouldn't be too stressed other than once a year reel cleaning.

That was a random find on Facebook marketplace. I remember reading about these rods and they seem to have gotten rave reviews and the guy only wanted $100 Canadian and only 30 mins away. So figured why not. Rod was brand new, never used, still in plastic. It's the 6'9" M-XF model rated 3/8-5/8oz. But it's a bit of a unicorn. More of a fast action than extra fast, Super short handle at 11.5", rod length from the reel to the tip is like most 7ft rods. Lure rating is more like 1/4-3/4oz. Mainly been using war eagle finnese spinnerbaits 5/16oz = 1/2oz real weight and up to 1/4oz Texas rigs plus plastics. Rod has been awesome and super comfy. Only thing is the handle is super short too, so it's most comfortable to have one pinky behind the trigger and palming the reel a bit different than I am used to. Was paired with a SLX 70 MGL, but looking for just a bit smaller frame so hence the Curado 70 MGL purchase. I might just spool up the SLX with braid and use it soley for light Texas rigs on my Carbonlite 6'6 M-F rod. Here in Canada, everything is ridiculously more expensive. Big game around $15 for big spools. Yo Zuri is $17 for small spool. No big spool options up here. Shipping/Duty from the U.S. is crazy too.

I fish a variety of areas, but a fair amount of laydowns, under trees, weeds, etc. Can 8-10lb yo Zuri handle it? 10lb big game has done very well, but I did have a bit of fraying. Big game being so cheap it's no big deal to respool once a month.

Well I have a new Shimano Curado 70 MGL HG on the way that I plan on pairing up with a recently bought Fenwick Elitetech Small mouth rod I picked up earlier this year. This combo will be mainly for light reaction lures, 1/4- 5/8oz. Guess I will pick up a spool of yo Zuri and add it to the ever expanding box of line I have going Thanks everyone, always appreciate other people's experience.

That sound like two very versatile set ups to me. Could go either way, depends on your preference. That's the fun part of trying new things.

Hello all. Wondering if anyone has any input as to the sensitivity of Yo Zuri hybrid line. Looking at trying 12lb for an all around casting set up. Mostly Texas rigs and spinnerbaits in pond and small lakes. Been experimenting more this year with line choice. Was braid to leader for the longest time, tried big game a lot this year and like it, but could use a bit more sensitivity. Tried Flouro, but more trouble than it was worth. 10lb big game has been amazingly strong, caught a 42" pike weighing about 20lbs on a medium power rod, that fish fought hard and dove deep. Line held up with no issue. Caught a few 5-6lbers in a pond and it hasn't let me down. But I could use a bit more sensitivity. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks

Line type can play a big part in the equation.

Since it's coming from the removable side plate area, I would oil the spool bearing, brake drum, and clean the brake shoes, then add a drop of oil in the spool tensioner cap. Cleaning the rim of the spool and the frame will probably help as well.

Yes this is the one I was referring to. The blank is sort of a bronze-ish color. Can't find any locally yet, curious if others may have experience with them.

10-20lb braid to 6-10lb mono leader for spinning. Keep going back and forth for baitcasting straight braid 30-40lb, braid to 10-15lb leader, and straight big game mono 10-15lb mono. For me, I have found the rod makes the biggest determining factor. Stiffer rods feel better with mono, rods with more tip feels better with braid to me. I also don't fish treble hook baits very much. Mostly single hook presentations.

Is yours the new model? Looking at picking up a two piece spinning for travel/finesse for Ned rigs, wacky, weightless senko Texas rigged ,etc

Does anyone have any of the new Fenwick HMG Rods? Looking at picking up the ML spinning and Medium casting. Curious if anyone has opinions on them. Thanks for reading.