haggard

The 2000 class reel should be great. As @Finessegenics mentioned a 3000 will give you more line but not sure you'd need loads of line for this application. M/F will be a bit stout for neds; ML/F would be better. The M/F is so versatile, it can do it, but for a dedicated ned rod I'd say ML/F or ML/XF.

I don't know much about details of custom builds, but I'd say a 6'6 to 6'9 ML/F or ML/XF is a great general purpose foundation for smallies on a finesse spinning setup.

I'd take $30 away from some other budget item and buy the Shimano Stradic CI4+ 2500 for $230.

That actually sounds kinda fun. Kids, don't try this at home ?

LOL dang you're good. To clarify, when I say I use 17 lb Trilene XL on spinning gear it's for salt water fishing on heavier rods (such as 7'0 MH/F), slightly larger reels. I've never used 17 lb for freshwater bass.

For 12' max I'd just do straight 6 lb Yo-Zuri hybrid or 6 lb mono. I say YZH only because I standardized on that as a general purpose light line. Mono is probably fine. Disclaimer: I've tried drop shot only once, with no success.

Yes I love this lure. I've fished for only 3 seasons now and was never very confident in fishing the skirted jigs. Last season I had good results on a 3.5 inch paddletail worm on a simple light wire jig head (ball with eyes), and towards the end of the season decided to put it on a Bitsy Bug instead. Right away, it was very effective. I used it solely as a swim jig, usually starting at or near the bottom and swimming it up with a slow, steady retrieve back to the boat. Occasional pauses and twitches. In shallow water I'd let it fall about halfway down but from there the retrieve was the same. Now it's my go-to on the light/spinning setup. If the fish aren't responding I'll fall back to the paddletail on the regular non-Bitsy jig head.

Funny, I saw the subject line and was about to respond with a vote for the St. Croix Avid even before I saw the rest of your post. I highly recommend the AVS69MLXF (MSRP $210, I think). Bought it last year during the Bass Pro Spring Classic sale even though it wasn't on sale - it was what they had in stock so I grabbed it. Fished it for one season and it quickly became my most-used, most productive rod and now my favorite go-to spinning setup. I use it almost exclusively for paddletails on light jig heads and finesse skirted swim jigs with paddletail trailers, but if/when I ever do drop shot, that will be the rod. It's light enough to be light, but it's not noodly, and stout enough to handle a decent size feisty fish without feeling stiff. Highly recommended. Mine is paired with a Stradic CI4+ 2500 which balances really well on it, and 6 lb copoly (YZ)

Catch: "Hey Buddy!" Release: "Thanks Buddy."

Tried ice fishing for the first time this season. Three dink yellow perch last weekend but today finally got a nice smallie.

To find your store number, go the basspro.com Store Locator and click on your desired store to bring up the store-specific page. On that page, scroll down to "View current sales" and click on "View Now" for any of the current flyers. Now look at the new URL and it should end in something like "Mar1s_20_xx_tab" - where xx is your store number. Not all the links have that format but most do. Probably best to use the most recent flyer.

And the terms/conditions say "valid March 12 - April 1, 2020"

I have limited experience but I'd say deploy anchor only in no-current situations (lakes) with mild winds. Anchor trolley can be very helpful. But if waves, wakes or current kick up it can tie the boat down to a fixed level and swamp you pretty quick.

I recommend the Alberto. I just re-learned it yesterday because I was looking for a knot to tie braid main line to a mono leader and something simple enough to tie again in the field if needed. Had no issues with strength or slippage. The braid wraps constrict around the leader as you pull the two lines to tighten things down.

I sure hope so. Kicking myself for not picking up another C71 when they went on closeout at Tackle Warehouse for a steel discount.

I keep it simple: 17 lb mono, specifically Trilene XL. I'm relatively new to salt striper fishing but so far have never had a reason to try anything else. It seems to work.

I use an Avid 7' MH/F (VIS70MHF) as my go-to schoolie striper rod, paired with a Shimano C5000X and it seems to be just right for this application. It's one of the few combos I have that I don't mess with because it's that good. Looking at the specs the VIS70MHF looks a little more stout than the Avid X (10-20# line vs 8-14#, and 1/2 to 1-1/4 oz lure vs 3/8 to 3/4). The salt water stripers in the river here in the northeast are feisty and strong and they've had this rod bent over pretty well. Depending on how they compare to the fresh water ones in your area, you may be fine with the Avid X. Like you I have the 2500 CI4+ and absolutely love it, though maybe undersized for stripers, so yes the 3000 version could be good. I highly recommend the Avid MH/F for this application.

The things freak me out a bit so I'm glad to be living in the northeast, where the worst snake that comes along is the garter snake, which still freaks me out a bit, because I still haven't forgiven the last one for biting me. When I tried to grab it and toss it. Which is probably why it bit me. But still....

I've tried surf casting a couple times in the area, and while I didn't catch anything, the gear seemed to get the lures out there. Here's what I used: 7'0 MH/F spinning rod rated 10-20 lb line and 1/2 to 1-1/4 oz lures, with a Shimano C5000XG reel. 5000 makes it sound bigger than it really is. 8'0 M/? spinning rod rated at 10-20 lb line and 3/4 to 3 oz lures, with whatever spinning reel was on it when @jbmaine sold it to me [thanks Jim!] The 8'0 lobbed lures out there much better than the 7'0. I'm thinking if there were fish out there, this gear would get it done. Compared to your typical fresh water bass gear, I'd say while you could use it, you'd be better off with a step up. Based on my very limited experience I'd say an 8'0 MH/F or H/F with a chunky spinning reel, and 1 oz+ lures (topwater poppers, swimmer/darters like the Savage Gear sand eels) would be a good place to start. Within easy driving distance are some options: Fort Foster in Kittery Point, Maine has a long pier you can fish off (pay a small fee to enter the park). Check ahead as I think the town is beginning repairs/upgrades on it which may restrict access. The park offers a great spot for a day trip for the family - lots to explore, places to picnic, etc. Public boat launch dock in Kittery located at Traip Academy. My neighbor's son fished off it last summer and probably caught more schoolie stripers than I did all season Seapoint Beach in Kittery Point. There's some submerged rock structure within reach, depending on the tide. Public parking on the road leading to the beach, just a short hike down to get to the beach. If you'd like, PM me your vacation dates and maybe we could arrange to get you on the river for a day during your trip, depending on tides. I have a 15 ft center console that could get us up and down the Piscataqua, anywhere in Great Bay, and out as far as the 2KR buoy (or farther depending on weather, but that's a stretch). Could make for some good schoolie striper fishing.

Thanks J I haven't asked the dealer yet but will do that when I bring it in to un-winterize. I hadn't considered the hand control version but it would still have the same stow/deploy interference from the bow rail. But now that you mention it... it would make raising and lowering easer (even if it's now tilted to lay flat). I hadn't considered that the high rail would make it more difficult to reach the thumb screw on the manual version. The split rail up front might give just enough access (also helps for dealing with anchor, boarding and unboard, etc.)

Here's a shot of the bow with my son for scale (before getting his first bass and a shot from the side

I'd guess the top of the bow rail is about 12 inches up from the TM mounting surface. Top of the rail to water I'd guess about 36 inches. I'll try to get a photo in the morning - she's sleeping in the shed under a tarp in a snow at the moment

I've got a 15 ft center console glass boat (inshore salt oriented) with a bow rail, but I also use it for fresh water bass fishing and I want to add a bow trolling motor. This obviously gets in the way of the bow rail. TM operation would be on fresh water lakes only; I don't plan to use it on salt Want a bow mounted TM (not transom) for better control, and boat is already rigged with wiring there and a pedestal fishing seat Don't want to remove bow rail (for safety especially on salt water. The bow sits fairly low) Don't want to cut a section from bow rail (for rail strength and I don't want a hack job) I'd like your opinions on this solution in case I'm missing anything: Run a manual stow/deploy, cable steer TM with the mounting base under the rail, but keep the motor in the deployed position. When not in use, loosen one thumb screw, raise the shaft within the collar and tighten it down. Sure it would look a little funny motoring along in the raised position but I can live with that. For outings when the TM isn't needed (salt) the shaft/head/motor assembly is removed by pulling one plug and undoing one thumbscrew/clamp (at least on the MotorGuide I had before). The advantage of using a manual cable steer TM is I don't run the risk of accidental stow/deploy which would run into the railing and damage the motor, railing or both. What am I missing?

* Pulled up the anchor to move to another spot, got up to speed and it felt sluggish, turned around to see anchor skipping across the lake chasing behind me. Apparently forgot to pull up the anchor. * Tossed GoPro overboard to record whatever was at the bottom of the lake. Pulled up the GoPro to move to another spot. Motor wouldn't start. Windy day, got pushed into shore, climbed out of the boat to find GoPro tether wrapped around the prop. Apparently forgot to pull up the GoPro. * Left rods in rod holders on the way back to camp, angled up and out over the transom. One of themå snagged a tree branch and took drag for about 300 ft. I didn't realize what had happened until I backed the boat up into the site and removed the rod. Followed the line under the trailer, the truck, down the driveway, along the road until I recovered the lure stuck in the tree. In the dark and pouring rain. * Drain plug. You know the drill. * Motored around a point to get into a cove, not at a ridiculous speed but well over headway speed. Knew the point was shallow so gave what I thought was adequate distance from shore. Yakking with my passenger who was sitting forward of the center console. I glance at the finder and see the bottom coming up... then coming up much faster. Realized this was Not Good and what was about to happen so throttled down fast while simultaneously tilting the motor up and trying to not throw passenger over the bow. The boat stopped just as some part of the underside barely kissed the bottom. Backed out of the area and then saw the shallow water marker and realized I was between it and the shore. Shame on me but a good lesson in distracted boating.