swhit140

I usually use 30-50lb braid, but you can catch them on whichever line you like to use. I use 7'-7'3 Rod MH/F rod with 7:3:1 gear ratio. You can use a 6:3:1 ratio even if you wanted, I think 7-8 gear ratio on buzzbaits,frogs and other topwaters works well.

I've been using Stren Braid or Daiwa.

I mostly use braid, other than that I use mono for shallow crankbaits & lipless cranks.

I have 4 of the Daiwa Fuego CT bait casting reels. I've been really happy with them. You can find them for around $65-$80. There are many other reels/rods out there. I'd go with a 7' Medium Heavy bait casting rod set up. It will cover a large variety of lures/situation. You can get yourself a nice complete rod/reel setup in my opinion in the $150-200 range. I have my Fuego CT reels on Dobyns Sierra rods. I spent about $180.00 on this setup.

Depends on water temp/vegetation etc. Looking at the possible wind forecast I'd go with spinnerbait, bladed jig, shallow crankbait, Lipless crankbait. Also take some jigs and a couple soft plastics tossing into cover. It can depend if the lake is affected by the wind also. I fish fast to get started to figure a pattern if possible.

I like cork, most of my rods are split cork but I have a couple full cork.

I'd go with Daiwa or Shimano. I've used both brands and have never had a problem with either. I would also recommend visiting the nearest tackle/fishing store with your rod and mount some of the reels you are looking at. Get a feel for each reel and decide which one fits your hands the best. Also take advantage of upcoming holiday sales.

I did my 6 reels the last couple days, I have a couple older Team Daiwa Advantage bait casters that needed a good complete tear down, cleaning, grease, oil. I also cleaned up my rods and applied some fresh cork seal. I'll be ready for next season.

I use 6:3:1 & 7:3:1 on baitcasting set up, I only have 1 spinning set up 6:2:1.

All different lakes have all different bait fish & creatures in the water. Fish will bite anything if presented well and in the right location. Many of our lakes have lots of bluegills, bass will pretty much eat anything. I think you can never go wrong with a spinnerbait or plastic worm. You never know what they want from one day to another or weather conditions.

Scored a Daiwa Tatula 7' 2" Spinning Rod for $71.00 from Dick's plus $10 for shipping.

I normally use 30-50lb Stren Braid Low-Vis Green. It works great, can be found at many stores and reasonable pricing.

I usually service my own reels. I enjoy doing it and I feel that I can save myself money. I don't feel that you need to do a complete tear down every year in my opinion. I usually will clean the exterior of the reel, get some q-tips out and clean around worm gear. Take side plate off many reels is easy to pull out spool and clean everything as needed. Just drop a small drop of fishing reel oil on the bearings. Then I'll use a toothpick to grease the worm gear. I think just doing a small service is helpful to keep your reels in good working condition. If you don't feel the confidence of working on your reels find a good service department. There are probably some people on this site that provides reel service/repair. There is also Bass Pro Shops reel repair, they probably have a lot of parts for different manufacturers/models.

Lots of choices out there, depends on what you plan on spending. I have been updating my older rods out this year and purchased some newer rods. I've added 3 Dobyns rods to my lineup and I've been very happy with them. I have 2 of the Sierra series & 1 Fury rod. I did recently purchase a Sierra SA734 for $100.00 from Dobyns online store including shipping. After looking at the rod you could barely tell it wasn't brand new.

What he said on the Fuego CT, I have 3 of them now. I've been really happy with the reel, they can be had for $70-80. I don't know if you can get a better reel for that price.

Had a good day on the water, caught around 15 fish. Best 2 fish were a 19" & 20". Caught most of the on bladed jig. It's going to be time to hibernate the boat in storage. It was a great year for me on the water, I didn't have 0 on the water this season.

Crankbaits, Rat-L-Traps I use #0 size. There cheap and easy. I like the ease of changing baits between crankbaits quickly. Most of our water is I fish is also usually stained/dirty so the fish don't usually care.

They work, nice 18" fish earlier this week!

I've been adding Daiwa Fuego CT reels to my arsenal, you can get them around $75-80 on average. I have 3 of them now and love them. I'd say it would be a great reel if you're looking for a great budget reel. I'd say save up a little as you go and you could get a pretty nice setup for rod/reel for $150.00. With Christmas coming up in a couple months you might be able to find some good deals. That's just an idea.

I purchased 3 of the Fuego CT reels this year and I have one Tatula CT100HS CS. I've been really happy with mine so far. I know they are not high dollar $200 reels but they do well for me. I've save a few bucks on my reels and have been upgrading my older rods to newer/lighter/better quality rods. I've always been happy with my Daiwa/Shimano reels.

I switched to Stren mono this year, I'm very impressed with it. I usually use 12-14 lb. I've tried Berkley, Suffix, McCoy. So far I'm liking the Stren mono, I feel it is a smoother line compared to many others I've tried. 1000yd spool of Stren is about $22.

I have a Dobyns Sierra 703C, I've been happy with it so far. It is very light. I've never used a Powell so I don't have experience with them. You might be able to find a good deal on the Dobyns Sierra models near Christmas season, I paid $122.00 for mine. I would recommend if your looking at a Dobyns to go up one power of what your looking for.