LCG

My preference is 6'6" - 6'10". The sweet spot being 6'8"-6'9". I mostly fish from the bank or sit inside kayak, once or twice a year in a boat.

I am sure if you give Shimano a call they will help you. You may only have to pay for the tip portion rather than the whole rod.

Had the same debate a few months ago, went with the 7:3. No regrets, it's a good in between by today's standards.

Bass pro makes a pretty good backpack. I had one for three years and it sttod up great, sold it as I started going minimalist in respect to fishing tackle. Wind wriver makes the best backpack I hace ever seen, however it's pretty expensive, about 3 times what the bass pro backpack was.

I use hi viz yellow all the time with a leader. Best of both worlds.

Ned Senko Spinnerbait

I went through quite a few rods and reels before I realized what I was really looking for. I would keep using what you have until you feel it doesn't have what you want, based on the techniques you prefer. I had the exact same rod, it will catch you plenty of fish and take a beating. I would probably up the line strength or better yet use braid and a leader. It will offer better line management, stronger line, and the sensitivity will be greatly improved. The learning never stops and its a lot of fun. Good luck and enjoy.

Felt drag is designed for fresh water fish that don't pull a whole lot of drag ie Bass. The carbon drag is good for harder pulling fish and salt water fish. The felt drag is smoother at lower settings, where as the carbon is better at higher settings and high speed drag cause by larger fish. So depends what your planning on using it for and which handle design you prefer. I went 2500.

Hello and welcome. I have the Stradic FL 2500 and it's a great reel. Very smooth and fluid feeling. Looks great and the drag is super smooth. That being said I have not caught a fish with it yet due to the outbreak. This is all from a playing and casting at a small pond prior to this situation and it was far too cold to catch anything. I have no experience with the twin power. But the Stradic impressed me enough to go buy a Curado K.

Owned a Tatula, didn't care for the t wing system. Own a fuego that I like. Just picked up a a curado k that is very nice. Haven caught anything on the curado yet, but it palms well and cast further than the Daiwa reels I have owned. Both brands are top of their game so really can't go wrong.

For whatever reason mine seems to gets adjusted when I fish with it. It might be the way I hold the reel, not sure. Don't get me wrong, the fuego is a solid reel but it seems to easy to turn the dial when I palm the reel.

Mine was a bit tight at first but loosened up a bit. Still a little resistance but nothing that is a problem, I would rather it not turn easily to avoid accidental changes,which happens on my fuego quite a bit.

I recently purchased a curado k and paired it with a carbonlite 2.0 6'9" MH-XF. Makes for a nice combo. Spooled with 30lb braid. It's my all around combo for texas rigs, jigs, spinnerbaits, and chatterbaits. Rod goes for around $100 at BPS. Love the Winn grips.

It's not spinning VS baitcasting, it's that they compliment each other. Like a screwdriver and a hammer, each is handy and best used for the intended purpose. Spinning for finesse, under 3/8oz, baitcasting for heavier rigs and power techniques, 3/8oz and over.

I put 10lb braid on my son's ugly stick youth combo. He doesn't fish a ton, but it's held up for a few years now. Should be fine.

I have found it best to first determine what materials you want in a rod. Ie cork, Eva, Wynn grips / micro, semi micro, or regular guides, hook keeper style, color of the blank (if you care). For me personally, I would highly recommend the BPS Carbonlites, own two of them and love them. Then Fenwick HMG line, St Croix Mojo line. Hear Dobyns fury line is good but no experience. Fenwick and st croix fish heavier than their rating ie a medium light is more of a medium. It's personal preference really.

Wow, I am 40 and just got one but seriously it's a nice reel, very smooth. Had a tatula and fuego. Like the fuego too, but curado k is nicer. As for the new tatula 100, it's a nice reel as well. I did hear of some gear issues recently with this model and being that I have seen a lot of sales on them recently, I wonder if they are clearing them out. The curado k may be a little big for a ten year old but it's a great reel and should last him a very long time.

Berkley lightning rod, 6'6" MH-F. About $35 and a pretty decent rod.

Been using kastking hi biz yellow for awhile now. Decent line for pretty cheap.

I don't know much about global economics or supply chain complexities. But I do know that if ever there was a time to enjoy a day on the water with your spouse, kids, or yourself it's now. There is a lot of craziness going on, enjoy the time and health you have now. We all have more stuff than we really need and I am sure we can get through a season without buying a crap ton of stuff. I think getting out on the water will help a lot of people de-stress and let go a little. Just keep your distance and stay safe everyone.

I would start by loosening the spool tensioner, then remove the spool and see if there is any dirt in there, check the brakes on the spool. Drop some oil in the bearings and spool tensioner cap, one drop is plenty. If that doesn't fix it you may have to open up the reel to see what's going on internally or send it off for repair.

I also have the FL 2500 with 20lb braid to 6lb leader, knot outside the spool. Spool is filled with 1/8" gap. Was throwing a 1/16oz weight and a very small worm. No issues at all.

I use two rods. One 6'8" M-XF spinning and one 6'9" MH-XF casting rod. I feel that with these two rods I can cover a lot of techniques. The spinning rods is rated 1/8-1/2oz, the casting rod rates 1/2-1oz. For 1/4 oz Texas rigged soft plastics, which generally weigh 5/8-3/4oz with the bullet weight, hook, and soft plastic, I use the casting rod. I would recommend checking out a medium heavy, fast or extra fast action casting rod. It will be quite versatile.

Just wanted to say thank you again for all the advice. Picked up the Curado k in 7.4 ratio today and a spool of 30lb suffix 832. Very happy so far. Can't wait to get out and try it out soon.

I think what you referring to is the power and action of the rod. Ie a medium light fast action rod vs a medium extra fast action vs a medium heavy fast action rod. So the fight is more fun with a medium light but a medium heavy is better for getting the fish out of cover.