waymont

The LTB casting rods I've fished were all very tip heavy. Nicely made rods, and great looking, but too uncomfortable for me. I had the 6'10" MH and a 7' H, both have been sold. The Legend Walleye spinning rods I have are beautiful tho, well balanced and very sensitive.

Those Fenwick Walleye rods are fantastic bass rods too. The 6’9” XF is a great dropshot and jerkbait rod, 6’6” F ML is a great all around rod, and the 6’3” EF light an excellent Ned rig rod. All light, sensitive, and well balanced.

Sub walk is a favorite of mine too. It’s a unique bait that stays pretty close to the surface, but doesn’t want to crack the surface.

IMX Pro are super nice

With the original floater I wouldn't use line heavier than 8 or 10lb mono, with 6 -8lb being optimal. You will have lots of problems casting any original floater with 15lb line on a casting set up.

Your leader material should be of a higher diameter than your braided line diameter for best knot strength when using the FG knot. Not sure what you tie, but regardless of material (mono or fluoro), both work equally as well.

SV 100%

I would call the classic MBR a fast action. In my opinion they are the best action rods ever made. They are great for tons of bass fishing applications. I would say they are a little faster than the Dobyns fast action.

What about these guys: Randy Howell, Brent Ehrler, Ish Monroe, Takahiro Omori, Seth Feider and Cody Meyer

I use 8 and 10lb power pro with 8lb and 10lb mono/fluoro without issue. What you can try is to do 22-24 wraps instead of 20. It helps with the small diameter lines. Remember to really tighten it down, and keep an eye on your knot thought the day. I usually retie once during the day when using small diameter braid. What size leader are you using? With the FG you have to use a larger diameter leader than the braided line.

Skitter Prop is great. Spits a lot of water.

TW sells Boss jig heads. They are great designs and a great deal. I made about 40 swim jigs last year, in a few different sizes and patterns. During the Black Friday sale heads and skirts (basically whole jigs) were about $2.20 a piece. Can’t get much cheaper than that. Boss heads have great Mustad hooks, and nice weed guards. If you’re not looking to pour and paint this is a good option.

What do you people do who wear distance glasses in regards to polarized sunglasses?

My PB smallmouth on a 5.5” Cabelas’s swimbait on a gamakatsu 5/0 belly weighted ewg hook. 6.25lbs

30lb yellow PP to 15lb red label leader

The 2000 and the 3000 CXH (shallow spool version) have the same line capacity. The bodies are almost the same size, but the spool size makes them feel pretty different. I regularly use 8 and 10lb braid (pp) on my 2000 and 15lb on my 3000 CXH. Both would be great for what you want. It’s more of a personal preference which size you choose. The handles are rock solid.

Fish tech is cool, and just off 90/94: http://www.fishtechmg.com Also Fishing gurus is great too: https://www.fishingurus.com/ if you want to avoid the big stores

My PB Smallmouth was 6.2 lbs and was 22”. I’d say a good thick SM over 21” will usually be right around 6lbs, either under or over depending on the girth.

Yum Warning Shot or Kill Shot nose hooked are my two most productive baits. Colors: bold bluegill, Green Pumpkin, and oxblood.

722 is a nice match for a Stradic 1000. You could easily use 10lb PP to 8lb leader too.

Net or lip any fish over 1lb

8” black grape jelly worm is my favorite Texas rig worm. Catches pretty good numbers too. My hook of choice for the big worm is an off set Mustad grip pin in 4/0. Best hook ups with it, and it keeps the bait on for multiple fish.

Most under rated reel: Daiwa Tatula 150 Most under rated rod and dissed disproportionately on BR: G Loomis E6x Over rated rods: St Croix LTB casting rods. both I had were very tip heavy. Very well put together and beautiful but I could never fish them comfortably.

Strike King Slab Hammer mini crank in black is a stream SMB killer. Overall it's a great small crank.

To stay in what range you are looking for I would recommend a Dobyns Champion 702. I just picked one up for small jigs, poppers, small soft swimbaits, jerkbaits. It’s not a soft noodle rod, similar to a 2 power Loomis rod. It’s a nice rod to replace a medium action spinning setup, which is what bought mine for.