Boomstick

Thanks guys. I took Friday off to go do some Christmas shopping, may be able to hit up Albany's Dicks (which is a much larger and better stocked store than ours), Cabela's or possibly Bass Pro. I gather a lot of people use the Shocks successfully as an everything rod. They definitely feel more like a moderate fast to me, and some are faster than others

I'm looking to spend between $100-150, although that isn't necessarily a hard limit if I got a good deal too.

Oh that stinks! My uric acid levels were never too terrible surprisingly, but even if they're not high, it doesn't mean they aren't high in one concentrated area, like my feet either. It is clearing up for me at last. There is still a small amount of tightness in both ankles for the most part, but today is the first day I can honestly say I don't notice it. I still don't walk down stairs 100% normal either, not sure if it's from leg muscle lost or now from habit from walking downstairs sideways. I still am not eating meat or drinking alcohol, and I'm not entirely sure that will ever change, although I will likely re-introduce fish into my diet at some point on a limited basis. If nothing else, pants that were tight on me 6 months ago are now too big.

I'm going to get my youngest son a baitcaster for Christmas. He is 12. Ever since I taught him how to use one on my oldest son's pole on a day he couldn't join us, he's always asking him to trade rods. The catch is that I'm not entirely sure what to get him. Crankbaits are probably his favorite lures to fish, but he liked fishing spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and texas rigged soft plastics as well. I was thinking a Berkley Lightning Shock MH/F might be the way to go here, and they have a little slower action than most fasts. For a reel I could get him an Abu Garcia Black Max, but I might be able to get a good deal on a Shimano Caenan as well. Alternatively, I could get him a Lews Mach II combo, which may not be much more. I'm open to suggestions though. EDIT: My budget is $100-150 ideally.

I would probably say I would get a good MH/F rod, but I got a 7'2" MH/R Daiwa Tatula Glass Cranking rod a few months back and that's been my favorite rod to fish (mostly squarebills but occasionally a smaller spinnerbait too), so I'd probably start there.

I do love my baitcasting gear especially for moving baits, but don't let anyone tell you that you absolutely need a baitcaster to fish certain baits either -- you don't. I've seen people flip and pitch on spinning gear better than I can on casting gear. It is harder to find spinning gear for larger baits, but it does exist.

For a single line to fish everything, I would probably use 14 or 15lb mono. I personally like the Suffix Siege myself. I currently am setup with 17lb for fishing crankbaits from shore in shallow waters and 40# braid on the other for fishing frogs, jigs and senkos. Can always tie a 12lb mono or FC leader on the braid as well.

I got my oldest son an ugly stik. While I know it's not the greatest rod, it was a good purchase because it's fairly solid and unlikely to break, and can be used to catch 20+ lb catfish as well as bass. It's not half bad for fishing a crankbait or baits with treble hooks, but it seems to work for almost any moving bait really. He's caught a few on rigged soft plastic swimbaits, and I've caught a couple on a spinnerbait as well.

I have used ebay to buy a few lures. The store I bought from was Tackle Supply Depot, and since I have visited their website and purchased more from them. They ship stuff out very quickly -- helps that they are only a state away too. What I do on ebay is I check the ratings, then read all the negative reviews so I can see what to expect if i don't have a good experience for example.

I would agree a ML spinning rod (although M works too), a M casting rod maybe a moderate fast tip not too fast, but then I would add a MH/F or even a H/F casting rod for frogs and swim jigs.

I found this. 70 years old and still ticking. https://albany.craigslist.org/boa/d/1947-aluminum-grumman-canoe/6375279807.html

That is especially good to know as I don't have a garage. Do you think a 17' would be decent? I see a lot of them for sale for $400-600, even some with a trailer.

I thought the seats went down to support extra weight from a larger person like myself. I have seen a few 17ft and occasionally a 19ft Grumman for sale before on Craigslist. Never seen a 18ft Grumman before. They do cost quite a bit more new. I would imagine they would be much harder to take out alone, but I could probably eventually grab a kayak too for that.

The doctor who recommended not using it was a kidney specialist and did so because I'm only 35. He said if I was 60, go ahead but because I'm 35, it would be problematic. I told my doctor and he had no clue.

How was casting if you had your 10 year old in front of you? Also nice job on the trolling motor mount. A large number of lakes around me don't even allow trolling motors.

Thanks guys. My kids are 13 and 12. My 13 year old is 5'5" and maybe 135lbs. My 12 year old is quite a bit shorter, maybe 4'10", I'm not sure of his exact height but he's not even 80lbs, very skinny. Although they're getting bigger every year. But I'm not too worried about carrying it for shorter distances. Maybe I should consider a longer canoe, or perhaps a rowboat? I can buy a used rowboat for much cheaper. We went camping at Emerald Lake this summer in Dorset Vt and rented a rowboat and it was probably the most fun I ever had in my life. Also caught my PB, a 20" Smallie.

Does anybody have any experience with the Old Town Saranac 160? Looking to purchase a canoe that can hold myself and my two kids for next year, and I the Old Town Saranac 160 looks like it might be the best option out there but I am open to recommendations. This is the first canoe I will ever have owned. Sadly, I will have to buy a car with a roof rack or a truck to transport it (can't get a trailer hitch on my '92 Cadillac Brougham). My goal for the following year is to buy a bass boat however.

I haven't done this yet, but it will probably happen as I do stupid things all the time.

I never really thought too terribly much about casting distances with frogs, as usually I can hit my target. The difference might depend on your reel and how it's setup as much as the difference in weight.

I have a fairly light but warm Carhartt rain jacket. But it's not great for warm weather.

My oldest son has an Abu Garcia Black Max and I if I have to switch to that from my Tatula SV, I never really have any issues other than maybe the first 2-3 casts. Setting up the reels is a bit different -- you have to tweak the tension knob for each bait change on the Abu Garcia, but on the Tatula, I set it to the point it begins to click and never have to touch it unless I put on heavier weights at least 3/4oz, but I cast them the same.

I don't have any long term experience with it yet, but so far the best braid I've found is Daiwa's x8 J-Braid, although I wouldn't be surprised if the x4 or Samurai perhaps was better for lighter lines. For 30# and up, the x8 is great and freys a lot less than some others I've tried. I have no experience with Sufix 832, but from the amount of recommendations I see here, I will try that the next time I buy some braid, plus the Siege monofilament line is amazing.

Duzallo is Allopurinol and Lesinurad in one pull -- I stopped talking Allopurinol based on my kidney doctor's advice since the long term effects are not worth it (at least not yet) especially at my age.

I may have had it in my hands mildly. I have other issues with my hands that in recent years only affects my guitar playing ability, but for the most part if I play guitars with the right shape, thicker neck I'm fine. At one time I couldn't even make a fist though. Good luck to you, it sounds like you have it worse than I do. I re-aggrivated my ankle walking across my mom's uneven lawn on Saturday but compared to previous events, this is nothing. Enough to cancel plans though

My piece of advice is to cast sidearm, leave about 12 - 18" of line at the end of the rod and when you cast, bring it back and as it's going back, cast it forward hard. Basically draw a Nike symbol with it, and as you get into it pick up speed and once you're going forward throw it quick and hard. If you use a thicker line with the proper reel setup, you can pretty much throw it forward hard and be good with the proper reel setup, but with thinner line is much more fussy, and this trick keeps me from birds' nesting. I watched tons of videos when I first learned too, but I never really figured it out until I figured out this trick. Once I figured this out, the next day I had the brake and tension knob way down and was casting very far. Hope that helps.