Riazuli

The guide is only wide on the cast, and it goes down when you reel it in, but I guess you're saying you're lifting it in to the top part of the T when running it over your index finger. Try not running it over your index finger...or try running it under your finger or pinching it lightly and pulling down instead of up. Or, put tension on the rod when spooling... Unless you're saying you do this on a retrieve after every cast, which is kind of excessive in my opinion. Just got my SV TW the other day and can't wait to pair it up with a rod (still deciding). The reel seems smooth and you can tell it's a fine piece of equipment. As for the issue you're mentioning, if you put too much tension in some way on any baitcaster, it won't spool evenly. I've got a 20 year old baitcaster that will do the same thing if I hold the line too tight while I'm spooling, so age and tech isn't the issue - it's the user that needs to adjust, or change equipment like you have.

Just recently purchased the TCS frog rod. Super light, great looking rod. Will be trying it out today! Looks to be a a bit of a bargain at just over $100.

I recently purchased a Shimano Expride 7' M/M composite glass - super light and great action/feel with the best of both worlds in construction. Wide lure range of 1/4-7/8 oz. They also have a MH composite glass version. Easy on the eyes too I got it for $200 at BPS during the spring sale with a trade in, but there's a guy on ebay (trusted) that has been auctioning a lot of exprides lately - Simmons sporting goods. Some of these might be older models that you can take the handle off so you might get a lower price. New ones are supposed to be lighter. They have one composite up now, but it's a medium light, unless that's what you're looking for. Weekend walleye warrior I think has one buy it now at 200, medium light glass composite. You'd probably want to at least see if a M/M pops up.

Huk looks like it makes a good fishing shoe - I personally use Columbia boat shoes (Bahama PFG and similar styles). They have water channels in the soles and some styles have a breathable mesh top layer.

My first serious recommendation to the OP is: punctuation...

Not sure if you're looking for an all-purpose rod or specifically a shallow cranker For all purpose, I would go with M/F or MH/F depending on the weight of lures you're going with and if you like crankbaits over say spinnerbaits - also if you're fishing open water or near vegetation (M/F for lighter weights and MH/F for heavier ones, where most of your baits are hitting around the middle of the lure weight range on the rod; MH/F for more vegetation vs M/F for more open water casting) For shallow cranking up to 1/2 oz lures and mainly open water, the M/M you mentioned would be good for that. Heavier than 1/2 oz or near a lot of vegetation, you might want to consider a MH/M for just cranking. I personally use mainly 1/2 oz cranks or less, and do fish near grass but also open water. I went with a M/M composite glass for this purpose. MH/MF is better suited for spinner baits/chatterbaits but could function as an all-round rod as well. These all vary somewhat depending on the individual, lures, and conditions. I would float around a length of 7' for all of em (give or take), but that's just me.

Great suggestion

So much great info and suggestions that I haven't come across before, guys, and I do my fair share of research. Thanks a lot!

That's really helpful, thanks again!

Those are good starting points, thank you!

Thank you for the offer and video suggestions. I've just started looking into videos, and appreciate you linking them! Both reels in this post do seem pretty intuitive like most, just knowing where to start can be tricky between brands and models. Always easy to start heavy and work your way down, just figured I'd see if I could take a shortcut Can't wait to use the tatula as I had considered it previously but ended up going with a few Shimano reels instead. Not at all disappointed with that, but I am looking forward to having more variety in terms of tech in my arsenal. It seems the revo x has a similar adjustment and main braking system like the tatula, minus the sv part.

Hey guys, what brake settings do you all use for either the Daiwa Tatula SV TW or Abu Revo X (mine is the winch)? Just trying to get some ideas before setting these up and taking them out. If you can tell me which reel you have and maybe a few settings for different lures (mainly something like a 1/2 oz lipless setting and a chatterbait/spinnerbait setting) that will help!

http://www.abugarcia.com/abugarcia-reels-baitcast-reels-low-profile/abu-garcia-revo-winch-low-profile/1447307.html#start=2 http://www.abugarcia.com/abugarcia-reels-baitcast-reels-low-profile/abu-garcia-revo-x-low-profile/1447309.html#start=8 Compare the 2 - obviously you're going to get more features with the higher priced reel from the same company. Likely going to have better casting and smoother operation among other features. It all depends on what you're using it for, what you want, and your budget. I compared winch versions above, as I've just recently purchased a revo x winch ($70 on ebay after coupon). It's a reel I plan to tear up in slop likely catching a lot of big snakehead when I'm not bass fishing (hopefully won't tear up too bad with a 5.4 gear ratio and brass gears)

Thanks for the suggestions. I really didn't know where to begin with that. Will be looking into it some more before taking a dive.

If you're fishing open water mainly without too much vegetation and up to 1/2 oz lure, I would go with a medium/moderate, for 3/4 oz or more vegetation, the medium/heavy would be better. I personally got a medium/moderate shimano expride glass composite rod for all-round cranking - glass for more parabolic bend to keep the rod loose when setting the hook and preventing an overpowered hook set, with backbone for pulling the fish in (picked it up for $200 during BPS spring sale with trade in) . I mainly use 1/2 oz cranks and will be fishing open water and near grass. I prefer the softer action of the medium for casting and retrieve over medium/heavy which is somewhat stiffer; although, it's somewhat of a trade off when the grass comes into play.

I have green pumpkin, bluegill, sexy shad, and black/blue - for those of you mentioning the black blade for the green pumpkin in clear water - have you ever noticed the bass getting spooked by a silver blade but like the black blade? I actually bought some black powder paint to paint some of my blades, but haven't gotten around to it yet. If you were to go with one color...I would go with the sexy shad personally (basically white/chartreuse and some other accents like green), as I've had it perform well in clear water and it would be better than green pumpkin for dirty water. I used a chartreuse grub for my trailer and bass will attack that thing sometimes when nothing else is working.

I don't know how I missed this comment...I love the statistics! Thank you for sharing - BPS might love to hear about that with it being great for advertising I have no doubt in regard to the quality...the close to 20-year-old bionic blade I have has performed beautifully all these years, so much so that I ordered 4 more of similar styles, used, because I was accustomed to that particular style. The new and unused, older model JMSS I purchased that has unique specs on it of just "medium". Beautiful looking rod that I'm confident will perform well. I am guessing the spec of just "medium" is actually a medium/moderate rod, judging by the feel of it.

It came down to the Feel Free Lure 11.5 and the Bonafide SS127 for me - My main purchasing points were stability for standing and width to support that stability and freedom to move a little bit. The Lure, which seems to require a rudder purchase based on many reviews, puts it in a comparable price range to the SS127 (even then the Lure is still about 200 dollars cheaper). I've heard mixed reviews on the stability between the two kayaks. I think that part comes down to personal preference - best info I got from someone experienced was that the Lure has better initial stability and the SS127 has better secondary stability. I have to say the Bonafide looks better - almost reminds me of a fighter jet. That being said, I went with the Lure for several reasons, including price, size (at a foot less, it's easier to manage), and accessorizing. The Lure also seems to have a bit more deck space for moving around, and seems more open (less constricted) than the SS127. I like that the Lure can be upgraded with a pedal drive (which the SS127 also has a console with a pedal drive likely coming soon for it too), plus the Lure pedal drive can have a motor plug in attached to turn the pedal drive into a motor powered unit - pretty cool stuff. To me, that extra 200 dollars I saved on the Lure (after considering rudder price) allowed me to accessorize with the difference in price from an SS127. There are tons of great reviews and videos on the Lure, and I have a friend who has nothing but good things to say about it. The SS127 is also a new model from a new lineup of kayaks, but has good reviews and videos that I've seen as well. I have a feeling their next models will be something to rave about, and the current SS127 doesn't seem too shabby either. I'm confident I'd be happy with either one. Like Deryl, the ACK kayak package is the way to go. ACK is really good with their customer service, so I imagine they took care of that?

Thank you for the suggestion! I've purchased a rod already - Okuma Helios TCS 7'3" H

I'd go with either a Shimano Curado K or Daiwa Tatula SV with the low gear ratio. You can get either one within your budget.

I hear you like booze. Let's make a deal, I give you a peace offering and you leave me alone before my wife kills me. Banana rum?

Instead of fattening up before the winter like most animals, the monkey ate everything he could before the spring...no more room left for the monkey. I'll punch him in the face if he asks for more!

To everyone's credit, it was only the fourth time I mentioned it...

Thanks for the continued suggestions, guys! I've already purchased a rod (Okuma Helios TCS Frogging rod 7'3" H), but I'm sure people will appreciate what's been suggested

That was a strong contender and was pretty sure I was going to go with that one, but then I came across the Okuma TCS and it won out.