haggard

For a baitcasting reel, are you looking for left-side retrieve or right-side? If unsure, try both at a store and find out what feels most natural to you. If it's a left-side retrieve, and if you're open to buying used, I'm about to start paring down and have a St. Croix PC66MF with a Shimano Caenan 151, one of my first combos around 2017, which is lightly used and still as good as it was then as it is now. It's a fantastic general purpose bass combo. I usually spooled it with 12 lb mono and caught largemoutn and smallies all around the lake. Absolutely simple setup, yet so versatile, and high quality St. Croix and Shimano. Since then I've "upgraded" to the Avid series because I got bit by the bait monkey, but would have zero reservations and full confidence in this setup if it was the only one I had, which is why I still have it (actually them... two!) - If you're interested, message me and I'll find some pricing.

St. Croix Mojobass rod with Shimano Curado K reel got overboarded by a wind gust. Fished it with no luck. Back next week with gopro and a rake, no luck. Back next week for diving with a snorkel and mask, got it. Detail strip of the reel, everything good to go. Got lucky, ONLY because guy on his dock alerted me the rod went over and because the incident was in very shallow water in a cove. Very grateful to Dave on Mousam Lake 🍺 Watched prescription glasses fall off my head at the boat launch. Almost caught them. Almost. Watched Yeti lid drop over the edge of the kayak and sink into the shallow murky abyss. Bye bye.

Been there done that a few years ago - a gust of wind caught the kayak's bimini top and snagged/launched the rod and reel overboard, never would have known about it if someone on a camp on the bank alerted me. Same as you, shallow water, about 7-10 feet. It was a St. Croix Mojo Bass MH/F with a Shimano Curado K baitcasting reel, not a cheap setup. Tried to snag it right afterwards with casting and dragging the hook back to the boat, no luck. Went back next week with a rake, no luck. Went back the next week with GoPro at the end of a pole. The GoPro transmitter was very weak and couldn't handle even that shallow depth. Finally went back the next week with a diving mask and snorkel, put on a PFD, anchored the kayak in the area and dove into the water. Went back and forth in the narrow channel, had great views of the weedy bottom, and suddenly a school of tiny minnows appeared in front of me, then found myself swimming IN that school, hundreds of not thousands of tiny fishes just inches from the mask, swam right through it, it was magical! When the minnows parted, the rod was right there. It was surreal! Recovered the rod/reel, took it apart and cleaned and greased it, and no problems at all. It was a baitcaster reel which I find easier to deep clean than a spinning reel. Go for it. My advice is put on a life jacket, get a snorkel and mask, even if you have to buy them, and take your time. Life jacket will keep you safe and buoyant but should also allow you down down briefly if you spot something. Real eyes under the water were FAR more effective than any kind of remote operation (GoPro, snagging, etc.) Same as in your case, here there were loads of submerged weeds. But the rod, being what a rod is, will probably not disappear into those weeds; given its length, it will tend to lay on top of them. A rod is typically 6-7 feet in length and is not likely to slip through all the weeds, as a small lure would. I think you have a good chance at recovering this, as long as the water depth is shallow and you use a life jacket with mask and snorkel. If you have the luxury of bringing a buddy to serve as a spotter, that can be a great safety feature. I did my recovery solo but was fortunate to have a couple people watching from the bank.

Maybe not so fast. Grandpa was by definition two generations ago when new cars didn't cost $50K. For $6,300 you have a bunch of new parts and presumably specs will be checked and realignments will be done. Grandpa probably also knows that when you trade in a car, the house always wins. Might be better off keeping the fixed rig than buying something new (which also comes with dealer fees, higher insurance premiums, higher excise tax if your state has it, etc.) - consider the whole enchilada (can we still say that?) To your point, "we'll see" - you have options. Once you get it back, you'll know if it's right or not. Sorry you had to go through it and hope it all ends as well as it can.

[wonders if Ranger refers to the boat or the truck 🤣] Not sure What #2 is for, But with 1 and 3, Can't agree more!

No need to get too fancy. Basic any brand needlenose pliers will do the job in most cases, and they also make a good barb crusher. Add a set of forceps for going through the gills (sometimes needlenose are too bulky). As others pointed out, foeceps are rather light duty and don't have the oomph for some jobs, which is what the needlenose are for. Think of forceps for light duty hook manipulation, usually for panfish or for larger species through the gills, and when that's done, bring in the needlenose to finish the job, through the mouth. Add a set of diagonal wirecutters so you can cut off the barb section after pushing the gut-hooked hook through if you're unable to back it out due to the barb (even if crushed). Then use forceps to back the hook out. If it's taking a while, hold the fish under water every now and then to let it recover, then resume. When I land a fish that I know to be "in trouble" (which really means I'm in trouble), first thing to reach for is the wirecutters: Cut off the line and lure so you're dealing with only the fish and hook (lure in the way really restricts visibility and hinders your work), then go right for snipping off the barb section. Doesn't take long. From there, follow up with needlenose or forceps as needed. $300 for a needlenose pliers is stupid. About as stupid as spending $(I hate to say, ask me how I know) on a rod or reel. Oh, wait....

I suggest don't make it too technical - don't worry about formulas, settings relative to line weight etc... after all, realistically, how do we easily measure pounds of tension on the line for a given drag setting while out on the water? I just give the line a few tugs before a cast, and adjust the drag to "seems about right for the target species." Seat of the pants measurement, with an emphasis on how much tension do I think needs to be there to properly set the hook. When settling on a setting this way, I just imagine the expected pull of the target species... roughly. Second part is once you get a bite, simply be prepared to adjust the drag, in response to the actual bite you got. Slips way too fast? Tighten. Pulling the boat? Loosen. Key is to know instinctively (muscle memory) to quickly put your fingers on the drag adjustment and in which direction to turn it. Think of drag setting as (once you hook a fish) constantly adjusting during the fight - not as "set and forget." The fish is going to put different amounts of tension on the line as you bring it in, depending on whether it's running slow, running fast, changing direction, etc. It's dynamic; your drag might need to be, too.

Always good to have backups. I carry a 1 liter jug (sometimes two) which is enough to get back to the launch if the main tank runs out. Beats paddling.

The downside: Got out only 8 times this year (2 ice, 5 fresh, 1 salt). One smallie, 1 largemouth. The upside: Never had a bad day on the water Next year: Better.

"What you got against fish?" - Pat Dailey

Just beautiful... something about it looks so familiar... just can't place it

No. While I prefer baitcasters for most applications, there's not much a spinning setup can't do.

If you're made of money, go for it. But if you're buying on credit cards, you're not made of money. Years ago someone told me "if you have to buy it on a credit card, it means you can't afford it." Took a long time before I understood it. IMHO the only value of a credit card is to have it for an emergency provided you pay off the balance in full every month. Financing a large purchase such as a house or a car, even a boat, when going through a bank or a dealer with fixed terms is one thing, but financing on a credit card is another. Interest rates are ridiculous, and while the words "minimum payment due" sound exciting (minimum means you pay the least, right?), that's when you actually pay the most, because your payment only extends the loan; you pay someone additional money (on top of the loan) and actually it does absolutely nothing for you. All that, and the fact that you're already dealing with student debt, and you're considering a boat that isn't even your most wanted, and considering doing it on credit cards... Do not do it. Find a better way. Maybe a used boat for cash, paid in full, just make sure you do your due diligence on things like the motor. Or consider a used hull and buy a new motor. Loads cheaper than buying the whole deal new on credit. Bigger Boat people tease me about my simple 10 ft flat bottom jon boat with 3.5 hp Merc. But as all psychologists know, that behavior has nothing to do with the subject at hand, but comes from an underlying insecurity. The entire package cost me $2,060 brand new. It fits in the truck bed, no trailer. The motor rides in the back seat and is light enough to carry with one hand at load/launch time. Internal gas tank, no batteries. Had it in fresh water and salt, and I catch fish. Obviously apples/oranges compared to a bass boat and your needs may differ, just trying to give some other perspectives. Sometimes less is more, and you can be proud of whatever you end up with in the short term, until you eventually get what you really want, but on your own terms. Looking forward to hearing what you end up with!

I love Lund but there's a lot of marketing at work here. I'll stick with their all metal 10 ft jon (87 lb) and 6 hp Merc gasser, total price (new) $2,800 (in pre-insane prices). Throw it all in the truck bed and no need for a trailer.

Keep it simple. Mono is fine. Don't over complicate it by introducing concepts like which leader to use or which knot to join the braid to leader. He'll catch fish on mono and will build confidence.

Congrats and happy birthday. I started with a small Lowrance on the kayak, then when I got the "big boat" (small by most standards) I put in a Garman 93SV. You're going to love it. Never came close to using it to its full potential before selling the boat, but it excelled at everything asked of it. It also saved my boat's bacon one day when it showed the bottom coming up really quickly after I missed a shallow water marker. That save alone was worth its price. Yours should be even better with the UHD (mine was previous generation).

I bought a Sundolphin Journey 10SS for $185 from the local Walmart 5 years ago. Sit on top model, it felt tippy, but after a bunch of outings I adapted to it and got a feel for its balance and response, and now I can paddle aggressively with it if needed, no problem. It's nimble, very light and so easy to throw in the truck bed or drag to a launch. Once had it loaded down pretty well for a 2.6 mile paddle to a campsite through strong wind and chop and it performed well. I still jokingly refer to it as the "SS Last Resort" but it's the money I ever spent on a boat.

image credit: shutterstock.com

All due respect and all, but please everybody, if credibility is what you want, cite your sources.

Yes definitely planning on doing top water. Only started with the streamers because the previous weeks I knew they were down there. Thanks for the comments and tips ?

I'll have to give that a try - thanks.

"Keep coming... it's okay.. you got room"

The reason for that was the previous week I targeted panfish at the same spot on a L/F spinning rod with a small grub on a jig head, and noticed the bites always happened when the lure sank down a couple feet, so wanted to do a similar presentation on the fly rod, but didn't want to change out the floating fly line (WF-5F). I had no idea sinking leaders existed until I searched. Well said, so true.

After a couple false starts in past years, went to the lake today with the sole purpose of catching a fish on a fly rod. Targeted panfish on a 5 weight setup, with an intermediate sinking leader (1.5 ips). Started with a wooly bugger but watched bass and panfish follow it but they couldn't be less interested. Switched to a green ghost streamer and things picked up. First fish (white perch) was a thrill whose only match was catching my first fish ever, a smallmouth bass, a few years ago on the same lake, just a few hundred feet away from this spot. By the end of the day landed a total of 10 dinks on the fly. Mistakes made and confidence gained; can't wait to try for bass on the fly, and stripers in the salt. Would never have tried a fly rod without inspiration and lessons from fishing buddy @jbmaine but now hooked.

EVERYBODY PANIC!