haggard

St. Croix Premier PS70MLF should do well. Medium Light power, fast action, rated 4 to 10 lb line, 1/8 to 1/2 oz lure, weighs 4.3 oz, $140. They have a 2 piece version of the same but it's $20 more and 0.3 oz heavier.

(opinion) it takes the fishing out of fishing.

Barbless can work just fine. I go barbless mainly for self preservation and also for less damage to the fish (especially if the fish swallows the hook). Lose a few to throwing the hook, sure. Catch some, sure. If you're on the fence, just try it for a day and see if it works for you.

Not sure what can be done to prevent the jump so I'd focus more on how to keep then from throwing the hook when they jump. Two best things I can think of are keep steady pressure on; lead them from left to right (all the way) as you bring them in (so they might think horizontal is a better direction to go than up); and use a long handled net (I often lose them at the boat without the net when they surface). Oh wait, that was three. Okay so three things. Not that you asked, but I love the jump and enjoy the challenge of trying to keep them on, especially with barbless hooks. Sure it's disappointing when you lose them, but that makes it more rewarding when you land them.

Dorado is 124 lb, unloaded. Hobie PA even a little heavier. And that's unloaded! Not what I'd want to be dragging through the woods. It's enough of a workout getting it up a concrete boat ramp, and that's with wheels. Hobie has some lighter weight pedal drive models (Maybe FeelFree does too, I'm not sure) - but even then, once you get your gear on board, that's a serious amount of weight to be dragging through the woods.

If a group of crows fails to gather, is it an attempted murder?

A net really helps keep the drop rate down. Unhook them in the net and keep the net under them while handling.

Price seems more than fair to me.

I recently lost a St.C MH/F with Shimano Curado 201K in 6-8 ft of water in a narrow channel, when a wind gust caught the bimini top and helped launched them overboard. A couple friends suggested diving but my fear of touching the slimy bottom, and those killer turtles, kept me from going that route. Tried casting for them to no avail. Went back a few days later with a 10 ft long PVC poke/rake for 2 hours, no avail. Finally bought a $25 snorkel and mask, went back to the spot, anchored the yak and dove in (with PFD on, just scanning from the surface), had the combo back in 10 minutes. 10 ft of water, especially if you know the spot, is doable! Stay safe and if you can bring a spotter all the better.

Very sad and while we don't know the whole story, I'd guess preventable. National Safety Council rates odds of dying from drowning at 1 in 1,188. Motorcyclist crash at 1 in 985 (I'd like to see stats on helmets vs none), car crash at 1 in 114 (I'd like to see stats on seat belts vs none). Source: https://www.nsc.org/work-safety/tools-resources/injury-facts/chart If those were the odds of winning the lottery wouldn't we be playing every day? It's saddening to see repeated stories of deaths with the same old contributing factors. Take risks, have fun, and be safe; it's also about others, not just yourself. @Harold Scoggins thanks for these reminders. BTW, according to NSC and others, heart disease death rates eclipse everything.

Reason #1 why I use barbless, even if it means losing a few fish. Glad things are better now. And you didn't get skunked

Work truck grade Ram single cab short bed auto trans 5.7L gasser, manual everything (except transmission ) . Does everything I ask of it. Functional, yes, Exciting, no (until you push the pedal). Because a solid front axle, single cab, short wheelbase, manual transmission, diesel powered Jeep Wrangler pickemup doesn't exist yet. My Ram is jealous of your Ram. Now that's a truck.

The obvious answer is: it depends. On where you're located, what bodies of water you have access to, how you like to fish, who you like to fish with, etc., your philosophies and your finances, and your physical abilities. In my experience (or opinion) the biggest difference between bass boat and yak is the time it takes to cover long spans of water. Second is how many people are on the boat (see-also: comfort) - do you usually fish alone, or with others? And third, cost and maintenance. To answer your specific question, if I had to choose one, currently it would be a fishing oriented yak. Ultimately, for simplicity and versatility.

Cheap eagle claw tin jig heads worked for me with crappie, especially when paired with a Crappie Magnet or a 2-inch curl tail grub.

When I started out 3 seasons ago I was looking for the same. I realize there's no one rod that does it all but for general purpose bass fishing I chose the St. Croix PC66MF, rated at 10-17 # line and 1/4 to 3/4 oz lures. Since then I've acquired a few more rods but to this day still consider that the go-to general purpose baitcasting rod at your $150 price point. The 7'0 version (PC70MF) has the same specs. MH or H gets less general purpose in my opinion, especially in a St. Croix. $150 MSRP, and you can probably find it for less.

Never caught anything on a spinner bait, a skirted jig or anything topwater (rat, frog, popper, whopper plopper) - granted I don't throw them much, but when I do, nothing. Yet

I prefer smallies in deeper open water because - they fight harder - they seem to be bigger out deep than in shallow - less competition/congestion/pressure compared to fishing largemouth shallow/docks/etc

Haven't done much salt water fishing. Yet. Got out today on someone else's boat and got a couple mackerel. Small potatoes I know, but it was a number of firsts for me so I really enjoyed it. New species to me, and also the first fish I've ever caught on my first fishing rod (Ugly Stik that I rarely use), also first fish on a kastmaster blade - not sure why but I love those things and always wanted to actually catch something on it. Seal sightings = bonus. Glad to know the Ugly Stik and Kastmaster can actually catch fish. Now I have some confidence in them. \

Trout Magnet in green/black with the included 1/64 oz jig heads, ultralight rod. Might help casting to add a small split shot a foot up from the lure.

Not sure if the PNW smallies are any different from the ones we have here in southern Maine but they're my favorite species and I don't think you could go wrong with either ML or M power. Either one will catch smallies. I think it comes down to what lures you're throwing. If you prefer 1/4 oz and up, the M power baitcaster or spinning rod should do great. If you prefer lighter lures/techniques the ML spinning might be more appropriate.

You got it 100%. From now on, the snort-kel and mask ride in the dry storage bin at the front of the yak, always. What a difference between snort-kel/mask vs blindly scraping the bottom with a pokey stick or casting randomly with the treble hooks. No comparison. It's a whole new world under the surface, really amazing. Even with the fear factor of those killer turtles in the muck down there

Went back to the site a week later with snorkel and mask, got the combo back

Someday We'll Look Back - Merle Haggard Whenever I think about the day I'm no longer able to fish it makes me savor every moment on the water. "Someday we'll look back and say... it was fun"

Supposedly StC runs a little on the heavier side, so your do-all MH/F rod in other brands might be a M/F in StC. St. Croix Premiere M/F, spinning or baitcasting, around $140-150 (I found the baitcaster as low as $120 at a local shop). Definitely a "do all". If you want to step it up a notch (more sensitive blank) check out the Avid but let's just say if I was told I could have only do-all one rod for bass fishing and it was a Premiere M/F, I'd be very pleased.

My first rod (3 years ago) was the Ugly Stik GX2 because it was described as a workhorse and it was cheap and at that time I was just testing the fishing waters, not sure if I'd really get into it (oh boy was I wrong) so didn't want to spend much. To this day, never caught a fish on the GX2, rarely use it, don't love it. It's not very sensitive. Just feels heavy. That said, it's a solid tough rod and it has found its purpose as a salt water setup. For $40 it's a great rod for applications where sensitivity isn't needed: say topwater fresh water, or saltwater applications. I have no experience with the Shimano SLX but for freshwater bass fishing I'd say put a cap of $100 on a rod and $100 on a reel, even if you're just starting out, and you'll have a setup that's great for beginners and decent for experienced, and still not going over the top. It may seem like a little too much $ at first but if you get hooked you don't have to replace it right away and buy something else. As for the reels, 4000 sounds like overkill. I bought a Sienna 2500 to pair with the GX2 when I got that rod and it's plenty big and decent quality for a great price. Cheaper than the Sahara, so I assume the Saraha is only better. I've heard good reports on the Sahara. I think you'd do well with the SLX and Sahara 2500.