Boomstick

I have seen some lures sold online for far more than what any retail store would sell them for, both on ebay and on Amazon. Then I have found some online stores and vendors that are really reasonable. If I'm buying something online, I will often shop around for the best price available but I also have to ask if they will mail it in the next month, because I've had a lot of problems with a lot of vendors, mostly on Amazon lately where they don't put my order in the mail for a few weeks. I've had great luck with tacklesupplydepot.com and their ebay store however, among the best prices and they ship real fast. However, if I am in a store say Bass Pro Shops or Cabelas and I know I can find it cheaper online, I'll buy it in the store anyway, it helps keep the store there. The only exceptions really are for example is if the store doesn't carry the specific brand I may order it online (for example, I'm partial to Daiwa J-Braid, it's a nice 8 strand braid and freys a lot less than other brands I've used)

Sounds like the perfect place to fish a spinnerbait to me. From the sounds of it, 3/8 oz should be fine as the water is not too deep. Also, try one one with at least 1 Colorado blade, if not 2 should be a good bet. That'll really cause strong vibrations in the water which will attract the fish. Also the buzzbait should also be a great option as well. See how much area you can cover -- even if the cover looks the same. But don't let that stop you from trying others as well. A chatterbait, pitching jig or texas rigged senkos should all catch you some fish as well. You shouldn't need a massive amount of weight either given the shallow water, try to keep it around the minimum you feel you can cast without sacrificing distance -- for me that's around 3/8oz for the most part.

I'm more of a Daiwa guy myself but Shimano makes some dependable reels. I've also heard many people argue they have the best braking system, along with Daiwa as well.

I have the Tatula SV and it's a great reel. I had already learned to use a baitcaster, and it's really easy to setup. If you really want something "beginner friendly" though, I would say just get an Abu Garcia Black Max and learn how to use it -- not that it's really any more "beginner friendly" but they're more wallet friendly, so if you don't like the baitcasters you don't waste too much money. Also you could try one of the Kast King reels as well, they're cheaper and I gather offer highly competitive performance but no idea how long they hold up.

3oz is a typical slip sinker catfish rig. You can fish other rigs with lighter weights if there's no current (I'd suggest a hi-low or helicopter rig if you go below 2oz -- a lot of people use a Ugly Stick GX2 and 1oz weights like this and it works), but 3oz is a solid setup for both lakes and rivers with up to moderate current alike. This is why a cheaper catfish combo like the Cabela's King Kat makes a lot of sense if you target catfish a lot.

My catfish setup is a Berkley Tec Cat Hunter, 8 ft MH rod paired with a Daiwa Regal 4000 Bri which is a double drag reel with enough power to pull in the largest channel cats and even blues. The rod is particularly light for its size, similiar to the St. Croix Mojo Cat but cheaper. I don't think you can beat the Regal Bri for the price for cats. I usually use a 3oz weight, which this rod can handle no problem. I also got a Cabela's King Kat combo for $40 for my kid to use and that casts a 3oz weight just fine as well. Another solid rod is the Rippin' Lips Super Cat which is around $40 on Amazon. Pair one with the Regal 4000 BRI and you have a solid setup around $80.

Welcome. This is a good group of people for sure. Where in Canada are you from? I just spent a week on the west end of Lake Nipissing last week -- the sun rises at 5am and sets 10pm, people are so nice up there etc. What an amazing place!

Honestly, the brakes had nothing to do with it. Either the braid was digging into itself or I looped a guide -- which was my fault because I was paying attention to my kid at the time and it was totally my fault it happened but regardless, adjusting the brakes isn't the problem. I just don't have enough 30# left to respool and happen to have 50# on hand...

Sorry, I mean what the rod is meant to take.

On a MH or H rod though? I figure MH rods drag should max out around 6-7 lbs, so I try to keep it to 5 so if I take some line off the spool and the drag increases, I'm still in that range. I believe the reason I birds nested was because the line was digging into itself -- that or I wrapped the line around a guide and it fell off before I noticed it. I have the Daiwa SV spool, so digging into the spool shouldn't be an issue with that reel from what I gather, but I was using backing as I was not sure had enough 30# to fill the spool completely. I put 15# braid on my youngest son's spinning rod and that rod virtually never gets any line twist, although I haven't switched either of mine to braid yet, although I probably will throw 15# or 20# on the larger of the two at some point. I just threw the 50# braid on. I'm guessing I will be able to cast even further.

The same diameter as 12lb mono puts it in the 10-20 range. What should I set the drag to, 5lbs or so? I have used 15 mono in just lily pads without open weeds before and had no issues where I was fishing to be honest. I had the leftover 30# braid lying around, so I threw that on which lets me throw it in heavier weeds and pull lily pads out easier.

Yeah, I usually tie straight on for most faster moving lures which is what I normally fish on this rod. I usually use my spinning rod for soft plastics, but when I don't, I add a leader like you said.

While pulling out a bird's nest, the wind picked up out of nowhere, caused my line to knot in several places and let to me cutting my line off. Since it happened as I was about to go home anyway as it was getting late, I didn't bother respooling with something I had yet. My question is would 50# braid be overkill on a MH rod? I was using 30# braid, which is more appropriate for a MH rod imo, but I don't have enough left but I have enough 50# from a catfish rod to throw on there. Largely, I would think 50# braid is more for a heavy rod, being thrown into heavy cover. Should I order some 40# braid (which I believe may cast better than 30#) or throw the 50# I have on there? I usually cast things like spinnerbaits, swim jigs, smaller swim baits, chatterbaits and frogs on this rod.

I love mine. It can cast lightweight lures decently, but it can really launch heavy ones nicely as well. In retrospect, I am glad I spent the extra money for the SV over the CT.

For under $100, KastKing makes some pretty impressive looking reels. I have no idea how long they hold up, but they are comparable to much more expensive reels. Then of course if you're willing to spend a little more, you can't go wrong with a Daiwa Tatula, or perhaps a Lews Mach II which should run you around the same price and you will likely have either for a very long time. But seeing as this is your very first baitcaster, I would suggest an Abu Garcia Silver Max or Pro Max if you like the higher gear ratio, but I would choose the Silver Max because the 6.3:1 ratio is much more universal.

It depends what you're throwing it into. For the spare lily pads in the spot I often fish, 15 mono actually worked fine, so 30# braid is fine for that.

50-65 lb. braid is overkill for chatterbaits and spinnerbaits, but 15lb mono is under powered for braid. Since I don't have a proper frogging rod, I put 30# braid on my MH Tatula and it gives me a happy medium, as long as I don't throw into anything too heavily weeded (which rarely is a problem in areas I fish)

If you're fishing it in open water or light lily pads, throw it on Fluoro or Mono all day, just make sure you have at least 15lb line. I fished a frog on lily pads that weren't too heavily weeded or close togetherwith 15lb mono with no issues getting it back. But if it's something you plan on doing a lot, get some braid. Even if you are using a MH rod and not fishing anything too heavily weeded try 30# braid.

For the lies you are throwing I would use some 12 or 15lb Berkley Big Game or 30# braid. The amount of weeds in the water should really determine which you choose. For me, I was using 15lb Berkley Big game but threw on 30lb braid because I've been fishing frogs and the braid can really cut through Lilly pads.

I have a Tatula SV with a 6'10" Tatula fast action rod myself. The insert fell out of the tip on it's first full day of use and I can't seem to find a tip small enough for it anywhere - Daija is actually sending me one bit it still hasn't arrived. Other than that, it seems like a great rod and with the SV reel it casts very easily.

I have two cheaper combos I bought, both seem like solid options. The Pflueger President is pretty good. You can get a combo for a little more than the reel itself, and if you want you can later throw it on a rod of your choosing and use the rod that came with it as a backup but the rod itself isn't too bad. What is even better is the Mitchell 300 or 308 Pro, depending on the line size you want to run. Again, I recommend the combo here for the same stated reasons. The Mitchell is a little smoother and lighter than the Pflueger President but also a little more expensive, but like the President, they have a pretty solid reputation as well. If you are shopping for higher end you might want to look at Shimano, Pflueger or Daiwa as far as Bass fishing.

At least you are catching something. There's been many days where I have been lucky to catch anything at all, so try and see the glass as half full.

Try them at a different lake. Maybe the fish there will like them better.

I am left handed, can't cast with my right arm to save my life but it feels super weird for me to crank with my left hand. So my bait casting reels are always right handed. I hear a lot of right handed people prefer theirs to be left-handed as well.

A shaky head can be rigged weedless, where a wacky rig is often better for open water. A ned rig is also suitable for open water and you won't need any rubber bands, so that can be convenient. A wacky rig will kind of flutter around, and the baits on the ned rig tend to be shorter so if you need to cover a lot of ground, a ned rig can be convenient. Also a minnow in a ned rig will often catch walleye (if you have any in your area). You can start with the method that seems to make sense for where you're fishing but if one method is not working, then try the other.