LCG

It's been very hot lately, southern Ontario, so not too far away from your area. Fishing is way off this summer. I swear the fish are in quarantine, bad joke I know. But the bite has been off for me as well. Just kayaked a river for 3 hours known for tons of small mouth and Noone I ran into caught anything. My go to techniques are spinnerbaits, texas rigged creatures and senkos, and Ned rigs. Hang in there, try fishing later in the day or early in the morning before it gets too hot. Hopefully the heat wave breaks soon. Can't remember a summer this hot in a very long time.

Right now everyone has low or no stock due to covid and various shut downs but check out Amazon.ca, I remember I saw a dobyns fury 7 MH-F casting rod for about $140 ish Cad, which is on par considering the dollar. Out of stock now, but keep an eye out. Seen a few on Kijiji as well, if you don't mind used.

BPS stick-o Big Bite Baits 4in creature (baby brush hog) Zoom trick worm Zman TRD Zman TRD crawz

I had a st croix Mojo 6'8" M-Xf. Great rod but fished a but heavy for my liking. Replaced it with a 6'8" M-Xf Carbonlite 2.0 spinning rod paired with a Shimano stradic FL. Could not be happier, it's exactly what I wanted and would buy another in a heartbeat if anything happened to it. Prior to pairing the rod with the Stradic, I used a pflueger president xt which was a decent reel for the money and never gave me any issues.

The fuego is a solid reel. For the money it would be hard to find anything better. I still prefer my Curado k, but the fuego is still solid and a great reel for the price point.

The general agreement is that for clear water use more of a natural color. For stained to muddy water to use either a brighter color or a darker color for contrast. YMMV. I fish both types of water and my main color choice is Junebug / black and blue and Watermelon Red. Those colors seem to be consistent for me.

Fenwick has a travel rod, methods I think. Looks interesting.

I still keep trying. It's in my rotation but never get a strike. It's the only top water Lure I use, so I keep them going. Hopefully someday I can experience the blow ups people speak of

Swimming a Texas rigged baby brush hog.

I still have not caught a bass using a frog.

I found that 2 on, 2 off and the dial set at 3 with a spool tension loose enough to close the cover with issue has been the best for me. Usually throwing 3/8-1/2oz spinnerbaits and texas rigs with a 1/4oz weight. You still have to pay attention, but no complaints with backlashes or distance.

It's something that happens to everyone. I don't generally eat fish, but I know that other fish and birds will eat the dead fish. So it's not a total waste. The big thing is to learn a lesson and apply it in the future. We have all done it, don't feel bad. At the end of the day we are setting sharp hooks into a fish, it's bound to end badly eventually.

I had a pflueger president xt that lasted me 3 years with no problems at all. I sold it to buy the Shimano Stradic FL, and yes there is a big difference. But if on a budget I would recommend the president xt. I have a Daiwa Fuego CT and it's a solid reel, but not the same smoothness as my Curado K. I am frugal so I always wait for a sale. I will also add that there is something to be said for buying something of quality and paying once rather than buying something of less quality and replacing.

I kayak fish a lot and use a double sided Plano box. Is has one side soft plastics (trick worms, senkos, baby brush hogs, beaver style bait, and curly tail grubs) the other side has 2 of each of the following... Frogs, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, spoons, and inline spinners. Another small double sided box of terminal tackle. Still way more than I need but like to have variety.

I have used shakespeare, Abu Garcia, pflueger, Daiwa, and recently Shimano. Based on my experience so far with the Stradic FL and Curado K, I believe I am in the Shimano fan boy club.

I am partial to xf action. All of my rods are xf. I like a short hook set which the xf action allows for.

I went for the FL and couldn't be happier. I just prefer that solid feel of aluminum alloy over plastic. Either one should last a long time. I also prefer the appearance of the FL.

I have a tall, 3 drawer Tupperware stand full of soft plastics. I recently ordered 4 bags of plastics with 100 soft baits per bag, 400 total, that I had to get some sealed Tupperware boxes from the dollar store to store them on a book shelf. Plus all the hooks, weights, line, etc. I am not a tournament guy or anything like that. There are guys on here that literally have garages full of tackle. Tell your wife your just starting

This

Was wind a factor? Maybe just an off day, it's happen to me more than I would like to admit

I keep it simple. Two set ups. 6'8" M-Xf spinning rod paired with a Stradic FL 6'9" MH-XF casting rod paired with a Curado k Bank and kayak mostly. Mainly soft plastics and spinnerbaits. Texas rigs, Ned rigs, and weightless senkos are my go to techniques.

I am a big fan of the 6'8" BPS Carbonlite 2.0 M-XF rod. Rated 1/8-1/2oz, rod is sensitive with a good action, decent price point and would pair well with a nasci.

I have one spinning and one casting set up. Same techniques as above. 6'8" M-Xf Carbonlite 2.0 spinning paired with a Shimano stradic FL 2500 with 20lb braid to a 6lb mono leader. 6'9" MH-XF Carbonlite 2.0 casting paired with a Shimano Curado K HG with 30lb braid to a 14lb mono leader. Fish from a kayak and the bank. Works well for me and keeps the clutter down.

I am sure it will sell very well. While I personally prefer the stradic FL appearance wise, I imagine the light weight version will appeal to many people.

I would try cleaning the brakes with a q tip then apply a small amount of oil on the spool bearing and around the brake housing. See if that helps.