LCG

The pros will use BFS when their sponsors push for it.

Hank Parker always seemed like a genuine kind hearted person. Seems like a good guy.

Owned a 2500 Stradic FL and it was smooth and felt solid with a fish on. Drag was silky smooth. Very high quality reel. I only sold it as I wanted something lighter for finesse fishing.

You're good to go.

I live in Ontario and would highly recommend a ML and M spinning rod, and a MH casting rod. Ned rigs, tube, jig, spinner baits, chatterbaits, inline spinners, smaller swimbaits, trickworms and senkos all work well. And don't underestimate those Pike, my second favorite species next to smallmouth due to their fight. I haven't felt the need for a heavy rod, a MH with braid has been fine.

Daiwa Tatula XT 7' M-F spinning.

My lightest setup is a Daiwa Rebellion 6"8 ML-F spinning rod at 3.3oz and a Daiwa Tatula LT 2000 (last generation) at 6.1oz with line. Total weight at 9.4oz. Balances perfectly and the most sensitive combo that I have. Each piece bought separately on sale, think it was around $350 Canadian. Every other combo is between 10.4 - 11.5 ozs. From my experience, the combo has to be balanced too, it's not just overall weight.

This 100%

The Daiwa Aird X is a great value rod. Own 2 of them in MH casting. They check a lot of boxes in qualities i want in a rod.

I went straight braid this year, trying grey color. No difference in bites. Got tired of line memory. I like it and will continue next season.

Dish rag with dawn soap and water for the handles and rod blank. Qtips with rubbing alcohol for the stubborn gunk in the reel seat and inside the guides.

I used two daiwa tatula xt rods this season. One 7'M-F spinning rod and one 6'10" MH-R casting rod, both in two piece models. Excellent rods for the money. The action and power is very good, as is sensitivity. Most importantly for me is that they are very comfortable rods to fish with. Very versatile combo for a two rod solution, I am a bank and kayak angler. More than two rods feels cumbersome to me, so I value versatile rods. Caught fish using Ned rigs, senkos, light spinnerbaits, and swim jigs on the spinning and mostly spinner baits, chatterbaits, Texas rigs and jigs, on the casting rod. You could use more techniques, but that's my go to list. I also have a daiwa arid x 7' MH-F two piece casting rod that's very versatile, super comfy, and pretty good value. That's my car trunk rod most times when I just want one rod for everything.

X 2. I have two of the 7' MH two-piece models. One as a backup because I liked the rod so much. It says fast action, but I would argue it's moderate fast. I can do a lot with that rod paired with braided line.

I scored a great deal on a fishing kayak off Amazon. Normally $1069 got it for $640. I had a sit inside kayak from Costco for the last 6 years, so that has been a nice upgrade. For rods and reels, I have tried a lot of brands and they have all been good for the most part. My sweet spot now is Dawia rods (aird x, tatula xt, and Rebellion lines) and Daiwa spinning (tatula lt, exceller lt) and Lews Speed Spool LFS and BPS Carbonlite for baitcasting reels. They all have something in common, which is bang for your buck. A sweet spot for me, balancing quality, reliability, and cost. I have tried both lower and higher end stuff, but I think I have it finally dialed in for my style.

All I know is that I am glad I have accumulated enough tackle to last me the next decade. Actually, now that I think about it, that was a good investment

I tried this many times and never get it right. Most likely due to manufacturer stated diameter of line is less than accurate and from what I have learned line is not a consistent diameter through the entire spool. All of that combined with filler line diameter and then top up line plus amount of the actual reels spool is being used is more math than I care to do for a sport that's suppose to be relaxing I have been buying bulk spools lately and find that it results in much less wasted line. and I have yet to even come close to having a fish spool me...although I welcome that fight

This year I have ditched the leader entirely and went straight braid. My catch rate has been the same and no worries about knots, line type, etc. Might be worth considering.

I have two of the previous generation Lews LFS Speed Spool reels in different gear ratios. I really like them, in fact they replaced a couple of reels that cost twice as much. They cast great, feel great in my hands, pretty smooth retrieve, super easy to adjust, cost effective, and they just work. I recently picked up a BPS carbonlite reel (the black one) that's based on the newer generation LFS with a few upgrades and it's pretty awesome as well.

Softbaits if using regualr plastics and calculating hooks and weights. Not so much with Zman as they last seemingly forever.

I think most of us get caught up in the over analysis trap. I know I do But then I think, a bass will eat a crankbait or a jerkbait that has two - three metal treble hooks dangling from it or a plastic worm with a metal hook...yet we worry about line that is literally a fraction of a millimeter, the material of the line, the colour of the line, the refraction of light qualities of a type of line, etc. We as Anglers are the ones getting caught by marketing hype and our own over analysis. For me personally, line type comes down to memory, stretch, and abrasion resistance. Then factoring in environmental conditions and rod action. I generally like braid and coploymer as it has a lot of the qualities I want in a line, including the cost factor.

Weightless and weedless, wacky, light jig head, light Texas rigged, drop shot, Bubba shot, as a trailer, pretty much endless. Junebug, watermelon, and black. Trickworms, senkos, and Ned TRD's are my confidence plastics along with beavers and baby brush hogs.

I am playing with straight braid, no leaders, this year. So far no issues catching. I will say that you have to spool the braid very tightly onto the spool. If the line starts getting a little loose from fishing slack line presentation, I will throw out a lure and retrieve it steadily to get the line tight on the spool again. Currently using thin 4 strand 15lb on spinning and 30lb on casting, both in Grey colour.

I'm really liking the Daiwa Tatula XT in bith spinning and casting. For $100 I'm not sure there is anything better.

If only I was handy nicely done by the way. I used to use the old Amazon box and pencil trick.

I recently bought a new 3000 sized spinning reel. I was torn between a 5 vs 6 gear ratio. When I tried both at the store, the 5 speed was much smoother. Could be a number of factors beyond gear ratio, but either way 32" vs 36" is not enough to keep me up at night. I didn't get the 3000 for line capacity either, I wanted the larger diameter spool and T shape handle. In fact if it came in a shallow spool, I would have gotten that. But I will probably never see the 70% of backing anyways.