Boomstick

12-17# fluorocarbon or mono depending on both cover and sometimes which reel is available. Usually 15#

The Victory rods are definitely a bit more sensitive but that said my Avid X rod is not bad at all.

If you can expand your budget, I would look at a St Croix Victory rod* and a Tatula SV reel (7.3:1 gear ratio). If you have to keep it in budget, look for a deal on a Daiwa Tatula CT on ebay or just go with a Fuego. If you are looking for solely a bottom contact rod, the Full Contact Finesse is great! The other model that would work nicely is The Marshall which will be a little better for moving baits.

It really depends where you are fishing it. On the MH baitcaster, I would typically pair that with 12-16# fluorocarbon or 40# braid. Given that this is a MH, I would be inclined to lean towards fluororcabon. For the H baitcaster, I would go with 16-20# fluorocarbon if you aren't throwing in thick weeds or 50-65# braid if you are. I would be inclined to go braid here for frogging and flipping and pitching, especially if this is your only heavy rod.

Daiwa and Megabass typically have very good fit and finish across their product range.

I would contact them and ask, but at that price point I would not expect to see a 2-piece rod.

Any catalog can be described this way. Either I have enough of what I see in there or don't need it bad enough.

Oh man, they started out as 5 guys, 4 Berklee grads who are all top tier musicians at their respective instruments. Images & Words was probably the best progressive metal album there ever was or ever will be, but they have several others that are up there too. Even albums that are bad for them are still pretty solid. One of the coolest covers I've ever heard

^7 I was at this show

Spinnerbaits are usually a good option on cloudy and/or windy days. Sometimes they work in clear water, especially when the sun is just rising or setting so there is a little light to create flash, but not too much. And they get bit when they deflect off of wood as well, so regardless of conditions if there is wood try a spinnerbait, Another great time to throw a spinnerbait is in the fall when the water starts getting colder. Slow rolling a Colorado bladed spinnerbait has caught me many fish this way. This can also work in the spring as well, but I tend to gravitate more towards crankbaits and jerkbaits in the spring. If there is grass, I would usually gravitate towards a swim jig or bladed jig.

Florida mountain may have gotten 4-5" but it was completely unplowed. I have all terrain tires which are like snow tires and 4x4 on my truck, but that only goes so far.

Well I almost died a few times on the way there, but we made it. Since the snow stopped early and we didn't get the night snow, the way home was clear at least like you said.

I do most of my jig fishing these days on a MH-H rod with 16# fluorocarbon. For the real thick cover, I'll go to braid on a flipping stick. So I figure you gotta put 50-65# braid on one of your heavy rods for the same purpose.

I'd look at a Daiwa Fuego or Shimano SLX for a little more money personally.

I got my kid the same two and I'm quite impressed with them as well.

I'm hit or miss but elevated enough at the doctors where they put me on medication for it.

And then 6-10"of snow tomorrow... and I have Dream Theater tickets in Boston.

Welcome! I have no idea how I missed this one, but you're from my neck of the woods!

A few thoughts. First, some of this mono might be pretty old due to supply chain issues. I'm only speculating, but it might explain a lot, The second thing worth noting is I never had any worse memory issues than when I tried Fluoroclear.

This year I have been so busy that the cabin fever hasn't even began to set in. Normally come January, all I can think about is my next fishing trip but right now I'm more concerned with am I gonna have time to re-organize all new lures and soft plastics and camping stuff before I go to North Carolina etc

It's a matter of cost really. If you decide to save some money, the 2020 Tatula SV is a fantastic reel.

Honestly, I would look at the new Tatula SV and save some money. They are nice and compact and light and they cast great. Once you get to around $150 or so per rod and reel, your setup is only as good as the rod you use it with.

I pitch around wood with a 3/8oz or 1/2oz jig or a senko with a 1/4oz weight on a MH/F rod all day. If I had any special gear, it's a Daiwa Tatula SV (or Zillion SV or Steez SV) reel a lot for pitching, but it's not required it's just nice.

That's really is a tough decision, but the 7'3" MH/F is definitely good for all of the above. I'd lean towards that rod for football jigs as well where the H/XF is more for arky heads.

I run an anchor wizard through an anchor trolley to a 8lb mushroom anchor. I had a 5lb mushroom anchor, but gave it to my son who had an issue with the claw anchor he was using and I haven't been able to find another 5lb but 5 was perfect.