HawkeyeSmallie

Cork sealer? Never heard of it to be honest. Does water on cork handles deteriorate them faster??? I went fishing last night with my boy and we were wading. A lot of times when landing a fish the end of the rod gets dipped. Also when we left all of my rods which were laying in the grass were wet due to dew. All cork.

No normal intelligent person pulls something like that. Sounds like a major dummy with some issues.

Yes probably the safest thing is to put them in some type of a tube. However, I'm really not looking to take the reels off and everything. If it was a trip then no big deal, but going out to a local lake after work time is limited. Come to think of it, my over the top anal thinking doesn't even like those tubes. Seems like rods can still bang around a lot in those. No padding what so ever. I need to invent something, not kidding. There have to be others like me. Fishing can be extremely expensive nowadays, protection technology hasn't kept up with the increase in rod/reel technology.

Fishing license for my wife.

Something like that with the addition of rod sleeves would work pretty well I would think. My son and I do a lot of bank fishing so I could take a bunch of poles all at once rather than just a couple at a time. Keeps everything nice and clean as well as I hate setting a reel down in the dirt. I wish it accommodated longer poles though as I know I have some longer than what it holds.

Yep, no boat as of now. I've gone the inside the truck route but with a kid or two and longish one piece poles it makes it hard. A rod sleeve could work if there was some padding. Seems like many are just mesh and more concerned about keeping them from getting tangled rather than dinged up.

The days of $40 combos are over for me and have been for several years. The majority of my combos are $300 or more and my most recent is $700. I'm sure there are many other "gear heads" like myself that like nice gear and take super good care of it. So, what extra steps do you take to protect your equipment? For example, laying my poles down in the back of my truck makes me CRINGE. The rods are bouncing up and down against the bed and I jut don't like it. Normally if I take my truck I put down a couple sleeping bags/blankets to protect them. Then I have to add something heavy on the ends otherwise the wind blows the blankets up and then all hell breaks loose on the rods. How do you guys haul your rods? I need a better system. Anything else you do no matter how anal it is?

That's only about 30 minutes away. I'll have to try it out some time. PS I have the 2500 as well. SMOOTH reel.

Bought this last night. It took me about 30 seconds to make the decision. Feels AMAZING on it. By far the best combo in my arsenal.

Thanks, I've seen the Stadic mentioned a lot around here. I bought an Abu Garcia Revo S for my Avid X and it seems nice. The Stradics are about $100 more. I'm wondering what that extra $100 is gonna get me.

Yeah this weekend sucks for the outdoors. I was going to take this afternoon off and take the boys Crappie fishing but cancelled that plan. A really nice guy (complete stranger) told me a place where they have been biting like crazy. Hopefully it will continue another week. But I JUST got a call from Scheels that my new rod came in. Perfect weather to do some man shopping I guess.

Hi there, I'm in the Cedar Rapids area, north about 30 mins on 380.

If you were there roughly 30 years ago we were the small jon boat with a 9 horse on the back bouncing up and down when the barges went by. My dad used to just pick it up and put it in the bed of his truck. It worked and sorta fun (for a kid). Yes, yesterday was a miserable Iowa day. Didn't fish but walked around a golf course watching my daughter get her first win.

Skinny as in the cylindrical drop shot weights I'm assuming. This might be perfect for where I'm fishing lately. It's a fairly clear lake with a nice rocky bottom but in many places there's a couple inches of "muck". This might keep the lure above that junk and in the fishes sight a little better. I've been just using a jig/trailer and the Ned rig. The later just goes down in the muck unseen I have a feeling, still catching plenty on it though as it falls. Just started fishing with it last week, having fun with it.

Thank you sir, I've heard of the Jika Rig, didn't know people called it the J Rig. I'll have to try it. I think the first time I saw it you just simply took like an egg sinker and attached a couple split rings to it or something. Thanks again

What the heck is a J rig? Thanks

Welcome from a newbie myself. Good fishing!

Also, any idea what reel would pair good with this. I'm holding off on buying one until it gets shipped in. Hopefully soon as I'm pumped to get my hands on it.

Anyone have experience with this rod? I just ordered it from Scheels on Saturday. Last week I bought a 6 foot 6 ML Avid X but it looks like my 11 year old son has now taken ownership of it. I caught 3 bass in my first 4 casts trying the Ned Rig for the first time. I could tell he was getting bummed as he wasn't catching anything so I let him use it the rest of the day. Now whenever we go fishing it's the first thing he grabs. I was looking for something to handle the Ned Rig but also drop shots. I decided to give him the Avid X and get something better for myself. I went out on a limb and ordered the LE without even holding it. I figure it should be pretty similar but a lot nicer, fingers crossed. Anyways, anyone have this rod? Besides the Ned Rig and drop shotting, what else could I do with it? Thanks!

Quetico Park - Canada. Went there three different times with my father and group of guys. Smallmouth, Walleye, Pike, the best. Beautiful with close encounters with bear and moose. My life won't be complete until I take my kids up there. Amazing place. Takes some hard work but it's worth it.

Nothing to add, just a "Howdy" from an Iowa guy. Used to go to Guttenberg with my dad as a kid, we were literally the smallest boat out there but we had fun. Fished for anything that would bite. Go Hawks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks everyone! Get ready for a lot of posts. When I do something it's either all or nothing. Drives my wife crazy but it's just how I'm wired. If anyone has tips on how to deal with spouses when buying $400+ poles let me know. Bought my first Legend Elite on Saturday, went smoother than I thought. Not sure how to get more though.

Hi everyone, new to the site. I live around the Cedar Rapids area, married with three great kids. Grew up fishing, mostly under the Delhi dam (before it was breached, google it). Then when I got to college I basically didn't have the time. Got married and started golfing with my young children. That's all we did, golfed all the time. Then I realized I wasn't having much fun with the sport. I was obsessed with it and took it too serious. So I picked up the rod again. I can go out and not catch anything and still enjoy myself. My oldest is my daughter who is a girlie girl and has nothing to do with fishing, she likes to golf. My oldest boy who is 11 is my fishing buddy. Lastly, my youngest son who is 7 seems to like fishing but is pretty young and gets bored easily. Oh yeah, my wife. lol She's like my daughter, not much of a fisherwoman and prefers to golf. Married for almost 17 years. Back in the day my favorite fish was a Smallmouth. Below the dam it was catch and release and they were plentiful and some big ones as well. Loved Pike as well, haven't caught a lot of walleyes in my life. Now I'm mostly fishing smallish lakes here in Iowa with my son unfortunately by shore and Largemouth fishing is FUN. We have several kayaks that we probably need to start utilizing. A boat is on the radar but I don't have a place to store it. We already have 3 vehicles and only a 2 stall garage. The wife says I can get a boat when I get her a new house so looks like I need to start house shopping. Sorry for the length, many will probably just skip it. But to those that stuck with me, "Hi there and good fishing!"