Junger

Do you cast right handed or left handed though?

What frame is that? Those look nice, I have a big noggin and I like wide frames so that the temple tips aren't squeezing behind my ears....for some reason my jaw starts to hurt when that happens. I think it's cutting off blood circulation to my jaw muscles.

I like Amber for the contrast...I feel like smoke/black at dusk don't give good contrast at all. I like driving with black lens but that's about it.

I do, now that I have several rods and I'm getting too old to remember every single detail about them. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wlx_h6tM5RDdzRn0516N_CFcBmY5Hz4OXkVQ30fE_1A/edit?usp=sharing I'm always looking to improve, so comments/suggestions are welcome.

The Powell Max 3D MagH/XF 7'3" Frog Rod is on sale for $99 at TW.

I was in your situation in April. I grew up using a spinning rod, and I had a Powell Max 3D 7'1 MH/XF as my all purpose rod, but found it a little too stiff for some stuff. I love popper fishing and wanted a softer tip for that. I ended up going with a Daiwa Tatula 6'9" ML with a moderate tip and it's perfect for me since I like a soft tip for poppers.

I'm right handed naturally, but my dad is left handed. So I grew up using his rod and reels, which were all spinning reels with right hand cranks and casted with his left. But me being right handed, cast right, and then switched the rod to my left hand, then reeled right. Now that I'm more serious about fishing, I started to learn with both hands. For baitcasters, I throw left, and reel right. And for spinning set ups, I throw right, and reel left...which is also more natural for my finesse set ups, since I'm much better at finesse casting with my right hand. It didn't take long to get used to it, just gotta keep at it. I actually became a better distance caster with my left hand, over my natural right hand.

Yes!

I just picked up the Daiwa Tactical Tackle Backpack (MSRP $149.99) for $90 after the 40% off, and another 10% off email I got after my Black Friday purchases from them.

I use the same method for braid to spool, half-hitches. I do 4 on each side of the knot, for a total of 8 half-hitches. Some people say it will still slip, but I haven't had any issues with it. I use it on my frog rod, and I've gotten snagged on cover before where I pulled a kayak to the snag.

I bought a bunch of jerk and crankbaits during their Black Friday buy 4 get 2 free deal, and had no problems but I did get them shipped in a bunch of different packages/envelopes from all over the place. It definitely made it hard to track to see if I got my whole order. Cabelas typically does the same thing since I think they use their stores as their distribution centers. The thing I like about Tackle Warehouse is I always get it in the same package, unless something is backordered.

Backing + plan ahead for Tackle Warehouse's annual 25% off Black Friday deal on bulk spools. I keep my rods in a spreadsheet, and what line they use, and if they use backing. I also keep all my spools of line in the spreadsheet, and try to keep track of how much yards remain in each spool.

I think I'm going to give this a try with Gizmo bobber stops (without the Gizmo beads). http://www.cabelas.com/product/Rainbow-Plastics-Gizzmo-Bobber-Stop/702375.uts?slotId=0

Good luck, make them recognize that you're an enthusiast and willing to help customers and even teach them a thing or two. Any 18 year old kid can be trained to swipe a UPC scanner on an item and swipe a credit card, but building trust and relationships with customers is what keeps bringing them back in the door, and that's what you want to convey.

Good find! Gamakatsu 6pk EWG 2/0 worm hooks are $2.97 too! perfect combo!

I'm going to get one of those cheapo 10bearing spinning reels from Amazon to do that now.

When I first started, I was lazy and just spooled the whole thing with whatever line I wanted. Then as I became more confident in knot tying, and realizing the innermost 2/3's of a spool will probably never see the light of day, I started to use backing. I do a full spool of backing, then walk it out 75 yards, then cut it, then tie on my main line and spool it full again, depending on the rod/reel. I make sure I take it out far enough that when I re-spool, it covers the knot comfortably. I walk it from my family room through the kitchen and back 4 times which is approximately 75 yards, or, in your case, you can pace off 50-55 steps, where each step is about 1 yard.

Yep, I caught a 4'lber at a local park on my son's 5'6 ultra light with 4 lb mono while fishing for bluegills. He thought he was snagged at first and I came over to help. I yanked left and then right, and then it started to run and pull drag and it was on. Took about 10 minutes to get in for only about 15 yards away, but it was so much fun. We fished from a boat dock over the water, so there was no brush, rip rap, or anything else to deal with and just took patience.

Cabela's has the Fenwick Silverhawk II spinning rods on sale for $49.99. I have the 7' Medium/Fast paired with a Penn Battle II 2500 and it can pretty much throw anything but really heavy plastics and jigs. http://www.cabelas.com/product/bargain-cave/fishing/rods/pc/105591780/c/105740280/sc/105742080/fenwick-silverhawk-ii-spinning-rods/2434191.uts?slotId=0 You can also get a $100 Cabela's giftcard from Ebay for $82. (google ebay cabelas $82). So basically you can get 2 $100 rods for $82. https://www.ebay.com/itm/100-Cabelas-Gift-Card-For-Only-82-FREE-Mail-Delivery/292359178832?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D41375%26meid%3D6419ffcea723436eb7cb11990d5f2e0a%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D292357263628&_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850

Best bet was probably TW's 20% off blackfriday deal. Check Dick's website often, they usually alternate a deal for $20 off $100 and some other deal.

An Ebay giftcard seller has Cabela's $100 GCs for $82. https://www.ebay.com/itm/100-Cabelas-Gift-Card-For-Only-82-FREE-Mail-Delivery/292357267571?epid=21003558015&hash=item4411d9e073:g:sOMAAOSwEzxYRtS6

Amazon is having their deal of the day on some Penn reel/rod combos. I ended up getting the Penn Battle II reel/rod combo 2000 & 6'6 ML for my son for $70.

I had the same curiosity in June, which is when I really committed myself to getting back into fishing after a couple decades of other hobbies. What helped me was finding this article: https://www.bassresource.com/beginner/bass_fishing_rods.html and then getting into these forums and reading a bunch of them. I actually went through the whole sticky post on rod selection and found for some applications, my preference was a little different than what others preferred, but got great ideas for some other techniques. From June of 2017, I went from one 7'1 MH/F spinning rod to now have seven rods for multiple applications. - 7'1" MH/F Spinning Rod - Jigs/T-rigs - 7'3" MagH/XF - Frogging (my favorite way to fish) - 6'10" MH/F - Bladed Jigs, spinnerbaits, plastic swimbaits, I would say this is my all around rod. - 6'9" ML/Moderate - Poppers/Jerkbaits (my preference for poppers is a softer tip than most probably) - 6'6" ML/MF Spinning Rod - Light tackle panfish rod, inline spinners - 7' ML/F Spinning Rod - Ned/Drop shotting - 7'6" H/XF - Flipping/pitching I don't profess to be a master at all of these applications, but my goal is to gain more confidence with them and maybe even changing gear as I go along...yeah that's how I rationalize the bait monkey tapping my shoulder!

I use a Keitech 4.8" Swing Impact Fat on a 4/0 Owner Beast EWG in that exact situation. Sometimes I go weightless, sometimes I go weighted if I want faster fall. If you need some flash or vibration, add a hitchhiker blade, like the Talon custom lure colorado blade.

Understandable, but I'd also consider that many of the regulations are meant to keep CA such a beautiful place. I'd move to either one of those states over the DC metro area if i had my choice (wife won't let me!)