Boomstick

You can definitely use straight braid. I run 40lb braid, often straight and when I through a leader on, it's usually 10 or 12lb line (FC or mono depending on the day), which matches the line diameter of the braid. My personal take on FC is that I personally only use fluorcarbon that is 14lbs and under because as you get near 20lbs, that i when I start having to worry about knots failing.

Option 1) See if you can find a good price on a Berkley Lightning Shock. If not, the Lightning is slightly cheaper. Then get the best reel you can and you're good to go. If you shop around, you might be able to get a Pflueger President in your budget, but likely you will be looking for a Trion or a Monarch. Option 2) Berkley Cherrywood for around $20 and that leaves you $60 for a reel. I would recommend a Mitchell 300 Pro, then a Pflueger President, in that order. Both are good reels and will last you a long time. Option 3) Look at various combos. You can always upgrade the rod later but you'll have a reel you will have for a long time. I have the Mitchell 300 Pro combo (7' M/F rod and a larger reel) and the Pflueger President combo with the size 35 reel and the 6'6" M/F rod. The the rods until they break or you have a little more money and can afford to upgrade them (both of mine have held up decently so far). Cabelas also has some decent combos in your price range that may give you a decent balance.

I think I could use my PB as bait on that thing.

Even the $110 I got both mine for was well worth it imo. I would do it again. I will say the price does fluctuate a lot, I've never seen $80 before, but maybe at the end of the year they drop a bit more in price. It was generally between $110 and $150 all day in the summer.

A rod like the 6'10" MH/F Tatula I have would probably serve you rather well. They are currently $80 for the model on Amazon -- for that price you could buy it and buy a second rod for crankbaits or the H/F rod and still have enough for a reel. Although from the sounds of it, you would probably be best off with the 7'2" MH/R for spinnerbaits and chatterbaits and the H/F for swimbaits and jigs and trigs in heavy cover. I gather the Daiwa Regular tip is technically moderate fast, but is on the fast side. I gather the 7'2" Tatula or Steez are perfect for spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, but not as good for jigs or swimbaits when you need the extra power to hook a fish through weeds. My cranking rod is a regular tip and while I would not even attempt to fish jigs with it, it is also glass so it still has a bit more bend than the graphite models so it is not a fair comparison.

Well let me know if you get one and how it works out for you. The only spincast reels I ever used have been cheap Walmart worthy garbage, good for a kid but that's about it.

I think the Tatula 7'2" H/F would be a little bit too stiff for what you need. For most of those lures you will want a MH/F fast rod. I'm not personally familiar with the Dobyns Champion 734C but I gather it's more inline with a MH rod than a H and should be suitable for these lures. I do know that Dobyns owners are generally very pleased with their rods as well. I primarily fish from shore and here's my setup. 6'10" MH/F Tatula with a Tatula SV 7.3:1 ratio reel, find me fishing a lot of jigs, frogs, spinnerbaits soft plastics and chatterbaits. 7'2" MH/R Tatula Glass cranking rod with a Tatula SV 6.3:1 reel - crankbaits, an occasional spinnerbait or chatterbait. Two spinning rods, both M/F, one with 12lb line and one with 8lb line for finesse. I often carry only one, depending where I am fishing and what I plan to fish. Often a texas rigged senko or a drop shot.

Okay that's definitely strong enough so that's probably not the issue. Try shorter casts and make sure you reel in any slack and see if it puts you on the right track.

That may help too. I'm not sure what lb test line you are using either, but you could also try a heavier line as well which may help - fluoro for jigs is usually pretty beefy!

Well today, it's magically better. I actually slept last night and at this rate, I'll be pain free by tomorrow. Kind of surprised that it's been good all day. I'll know for sure after work when I have to put shoes on and take the kid to piano lessons, but I don't think I'm going to have a problem.

Well it sounds like a setup like mine might be the way to go. I have a MH/F rod for jigs, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, frogs etc. with 40lb braid. My other rod is a MH glass cranking rod although you should be fine with a medium I got the MH because I might occasionally throw a spinnerbait or bladed jig on it too if I throw a frog or a jig on my other rod, and the extra backbone makes that possible. Something else is since fluoro sinks, be sure you are keeping tension on the line. Not sure where you are fishing, but if it's hitting the bottom and going slack, that would be an issue.

Thanks! I'll try that next time I'm out. I normally fish them around the same speed I would slow roll a spinnerbait.

My father got gout for the first time at 65, and maybe last year at 68 he had it bad and he has been completely vegan for the past 4 or 5 years! Go figure. I stopped taking the allopurinol because I was told that it will, without a doubt kill my liver because I'm not that old. Colchicine also hasn't seemed to work for me either, and I guess a larger dose could too but there often is a fine line between a working and a fatal dose so I guess I'm best off controlling it via diet. And yeah I am aware the problem is largely proteins. I hear vegetable proteins are better than meat proteins, but I've been avoiding them too until this passes. What I was trying to say is the only meat besides sausages I ever eat are on the low end of the moderate list. I cut way back on meat consumption and rarely drink since some bad episodes a few years back that hit me every 3-6 months, and at least I made it over 2 years incident free.

Right on. The Live Targets are the best frogs I've ever used but they also cost like 80% more than a Spro or the Pad Crasher too. Can't go wrong with either really.

That's a subjective question. I could say perhaps not because what if the person doesn't like fishing? On the other hand, I bought my first higher end, actually mid-grade rod earlier this year and at the time I wouldn't have been able to tell you what I was feeling at the bottom. But at the time I also knew that I was going to learn soon enough.

I have had the best luck with lighter colors myself but not white. Colors like War Eagles Sexy Mouse or Sexy Shad or the KVD Chartreuse Sexy Shad, Sexy Shad or Chrome Sexy Shad seem to catch fish year round. I generally use a dual willow 1/2oz blade to burn and a 3/8oz willow/colorado blade the rest of the time, because a lot of pros do including Kevin VanDam does the same. I've had the best luck on the 3/8oz though. What's your chatterbait secrets? I catch a few on spinnerbaits, but hardly can get a bite on the chatterbait or whatever reason.

Seems like it might be worth a day trip regardless, would be a fun way to spend a day. To answer the original question, in your price range, I would be looking at the Mojo Bass. The 7'1" jig rod would probably serve you well (MJC71MHF). But if you're going to fish a crankbait with it, the spinnerbait rod (MJC70MHMF - 7' MH mod fast) would be a better bet, but it's not ideal for jigs and even less ideal for frog fishing, but as you have another MH/F rod, I would lean towards that or maybe a glass cranking rods so you have something solid for crankbaits. Question - why do you feel you miss the bite with your Shimano?

It has died down a bit. Still some swelling in my right ankle, but the pain in both ankles and the strength in my ankles has returned. My left toe is still killing me, especially at night when I'm trying to sleep, in the morning and when I put shoes on. Okay, I follow. Well I have taken a lot of cherry capsules in general and some cherry juice. Back when I tool them daily I was honestly getting more attacks maybe every 3-6 months. I probably should be sure to keep taking the regularly anyway. I rarely drink alcohol anymore as well, and try to eat less meat which did seem to minimize attacks for the most part.

I have tried cherry juice and capsules but it doesn't seem to help. If it's on the way or or very minor, ibuprofen or indomethacin can help, and this time hydrocortisone cream has been the only thing that helps for me. Of course I am following a strict no meat diet as well. If nothing else, the last time I did a no meat diet long term, I lost a lot of weight. My doctor had prescribed it for me as well. I stopped taking it because another doctor told me that since I get it in my feet it may or may not even work due to how it kind of clusters in your body, but as I am only 35 years old, what it will do is kill my liver long before I die of old age. I try to manage it through diet. Most fish and meat I eat on any sort of regular basis when I'm not trying to get rid of it is in the moderate category, and the only thing ever eat at the higher end of the purine chart is sausages on weekends when fishing, since I can throw them on the grill and they're so easy to make and the kids love them.

So a couple weeks ago, I went to bed perfectly healthy and woke up around 2am to use the bathroom and barely could make it there. My right ankle was swollen like a balloon and painful. The next day my right ankle was a bit better, but now my left ankle was swollen. Nearly two weeks later, my ankles are doing much better, but it hit me in my toe in my left foot. I'm lucky if I sleep at all at night. Gout hits me periodically, but it has been almost two years since my last attack, and over two years before anything bad enough to cancel plans. But it's never hit me in more than one spot at the same time before. Surprisingly, the last time it was real bad also came after a cold and eating ghost or scoprion pepper salsa, just like this time. Not sure I'll ever do that again. But what a way to wreck fall fishing! I even bought a proper crankbait rod and everything, expecting to get a lot of use out of it in the fall.

I had a tip that an insert popped out after having it for a few days. They sent me a new tip free of charge, but it took months to arrive in the mail. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a tip small enough to fit it anywhere else.

I just got a Daiwa Tatula 7'2" glass cranking rod for something like $120. If you check amazon enough, it will drop as low as $113 or somewhere around there. That rod would serve you well and for the price it's tough to beat. So would a Dobyns, they make a glass rod for every purpose under the sun as well as graphite rods with similar action. The Tatula is also listed as MH/R (regular is like moderate fast) but make no mistake it bends faster than a MH as well, but still does have some backbone as you set the hook really hard. Here is a tackle tour review if you're interested. This review sold it for me as I wanted to occasionally fish spinnerbaits and chatterbaits on it too and this is a little stiffer rod. http://tackletour.com/reviewdaiwatat721mhrbg.htmll I was also using a M/F spinning rod until I got the Tatula.

That'sa common issue especially with the 90.

I had this issue once and it was because my kid who held the spool held it too far to one side. We ran the line out and put it on straight and no issues since.

If you are only backlashing occasionally, I would think you don't have to adjust anything. You could try increasing the brake and if that doesn't work, tighten the tension knob down and see if that helps, but that will also sacrifice casting distance. Instead of reel settings, I would pay attention to how you are casting when you get a backlash. For example on my baitcaster with thinner line (40lb braid, same with as 10lb mono), I find when casting overhand and not thinking about it, I often backlash and sometimes pretty badly too. But if I pay extra attention to how I'm casting, in my case tossing my bait backwards before casting (like a sidearm cast) and being sure to throw it in the same direction after taking my thumb off the spool, I'll be backlash free every time. On my other rod which has 17lb mono, it's virtually impossible to backlash short of hitting a something unexpected.