LCG

I have rods and reels from different manufacturers. I have a strong preference towards st Croix rods and Daiwa casting reels and Pflueger spinning reels. But I have rods from fenwick and shimano that I like as well. My thoughts are spend more on the rod and find bang for buck reels, hence Daiwa Fuego CT and Pflueger President xt.

Actually this same thing is happening to my favorite spot. A decently large pond, used to produce quality fish consistently. Last four times out got skunked. All my usual techniques failed. No signs of life at all. Not sure what happened. Gave it a month, went back still nothing. Sad

They are designed to fit roughly that way, but I prefer them to look more like your green one. Fitting all the way down to the reel by buying bigger and simply rolling it up to fit how I want.

I use the 3601 Plano thin boxes with dividers. One for plastic worms and Grubs, one for creature baits, and one for jigs and lures. For terminal tackle I use a Plano double sided box, has a total of 20 compartments for hooks and weights. I use a bass pro backpack and carry a multi tool, sunscreen, glasses, line, scale, water. Comes in at about 11lbs total weight. Thinking about going to one box for all plastics and keeping it varied. It's always evolving

I like to equate it to this example... Your driving down a busy street full of fast food places, what makes you pick one over the other? Same concept with fishing. Sometimes there spooky and want a very subtle 4" worm on a drop shot. Sometimes a Texas rigged Zoom trick worm with a 1/8oz bullet weight. Maybe they want a wacky rigged 5" Senko. A creature bait like a zoom brush hog slowly dragged on the bottom might be appealing too. Maybe a more aggressive chatterbait with a curly tail grub. The list goes on forever. Try learning techniques that cover the bottom, middle, and top of the water column. Dirty water use dark colors, clear water use natural colors. I recommend learning drop shot, Texas rig, bottom contact jigs, and build confidence with a few different types of lures such as chatterbaits, mepps in line spinners, crankbaits, etc. Then learn where and when to use each different presentation. It's a fun learning journey, but it can get frustrating sometimes. Hang in there.

Between the two, I would go with the lightening rod.

Can't comment on duckett, but I have a fenwick hmg 6'9 ml-f spinning rod and I really like it. Light, sensitive, balanced, strong. It's my drop shot, neko, and finesse rod. Agreed that a medium powered rod for spinning is best all around and medium heavy for baitcasting. Your best bet is to find a rod that has a lure rating of what you want to use ie. A senko weighs 3/8oz, so most medium power rods should work well. But a 1/2oz jig plus a creature bait will end up around 1oz, thats medium heavy power.

Fenwick fishes a bit heavier than most so medium hmg would be a good choice. I have fished lake st Clair with a St Croix mojo 6'8 m-xf spinning rod and had no trouble at all.

Ugly stick is a very durable rod, not the most sensitive and a very slow action, but it will make a good trunk rod and it will catch fish. If you enjoy fishing you will probably end up upgrading in very short time. Rods in the $100 range offer a lot more in the long run.

Cover and technique dictates what lb braid I use. In general I use 10lb braid on spinning set ups and 30lb braid on baitcasting setups. If the water is clear I will use either 8lb or 15lb fluorocarbon leader.

What about the carbon light 2.0 rods? They feel nice in hand. So does the Fenwick HMG, but I haven't fished either of them.

I second this advice. I have the mojo bass spinning rod and an avid x casting rod. Very well built and sensitive. I prefer shorter rods from the bank for accuracy and dealing with the terrain and trees. The fenwick hmg is also a solid choice, I have the previous generation spinning rod and it is a great rod.

Jigs, Texas, wacky, drop shot.

Always worth a shot. Just didn't work for me that day, but you can't really judge a few hours of fishing on one day. I would try it again, looked good in the water to me.

I tried a 7" ribbon tail worm on a chatterbait at a local pond, had some followers but no bites. Trued a white 5" curly tail grub on a chatterbait on a large lake and it worked well.

I have a Pflueger President XT 30 spooled with 10 lb braid on the spinning rod. I have a Daiwa Fuego CT in 8.1:1 gear ratio with 30 lb braid on the baitcasting set up. Both have served well so far and are very good bang for your buck reels.

20lb braid should be fine. I personally use 10lb braid because I like the smallest diameter that's reasonable and it is still within the line specs of the rod.

The world is imperfect, that's life. Of course some or most YouTubers will have sponsors, which by its nature calls into question the legitimacy of their stated opinions. That's the nature of things. Professional anglers look like NASCAR drivers from their sponsors and push their product. So do big box stores and their employees. Most adults should know this from life experience by now. None the less, I am 39 years old and only been fishing about 5 years now. I have learned a ton from YouTube and this forum. Things that would have taken much longer to learn. I wasn't into fishing when some of the big name guys had shows on tv and now days I only stream (Netflix, amazon, YouTube, etc,). I have grown to dislike some personalities on YouTube but I won't speak ill of them, just not my type that's all. Some YouTube personalities are more my style and I have learned a great deal from them. More techniques and retrieval stuff, some gear stuff as well. I don't take them for their opinion on equipment brands for obvious reasons. I can drive a car, I have seen race cars on TV, doesn't mean I can drive a race car though. Applied knowledge comes with experience only.

It is simple or as complicated as you want it to be. If you want to keep it simple, here is my advice, take it for what's its worth. Spinning rod, 6'6"-7'6" (personal preference), medium power, fast action. Baitcasting rod, 6'6" - 7'6",medium heavy power, fast action. Rod brands are a personal preference as are reels. For rods I like st Croix. For reels I like Pflueger president xt spinning reels size 30 and Daiwa fuego ct baitcasting reels. Both are bang for your buck, durable, quality reels that will do you well and last a long time. Buy what feels right to you. Think of it like shopping for a car. Lots of models with a ton of little differences. Huge range in price and quality.

This is one of the downfalls of keeping a two piece rod rigged up sometimes. It can be downright frustrating and one reason I prefer one piece rods now. When I do use my two piece rods, I usually keep them Texas rigged, hooked in the keeper, fold, then reel in the slack line. Just be sure to let out some line when you reassemble. I will use a case to store it in if I have stuff that may bang into the rod(s). Plano, flambeau, and various store brands work good enough.

Haven't fished one personally, but that rod feels great in hand. Keep looking at the 6'9 MH-XF model... Don't need it, but, well you know how this goes

Drop shotting can be very effective from the bank. Remember drop shot is simply a presentation off the bottom. If the fish are within casting distance and you don't overwork the bait, it's very effective.

Another fan of mepps #4 gold plain in line spinner. Usually fish stained to muddy water, farm ponds. My confidence lure by far.

I use 10lb yellow kastking braid with a 8lb fluorocarbon leader on my spinning set ups. Kastking braid has been really good so far and very affordable

St Croix MH-F rod. Pick your line up. I have the Avid X and absolutely love it. I throw 1/2 oz jigs plus creature baits weighing about another 1/2 oz and it handles it with ease. Rated for 3/8-1oz. Use it for senko, weighted Texas rigged worms, jigs, frogs, Texas rigged creatures, etc.