Lead Head

It's normal for academy to clearance out stuff, then stock the area with something different for things they consider seasonal. Smaller stores do it more drastically than larger stores. If you have never noticed this pattern in the past maybe your store is one of the bigger ones. It's possible things have changed in the 10 years since I worked for them, but that's how it was back then. I wouldn't be too worried about it unless they still haven't showed back up by next spring. It was my understanding that nobody at our location had any control over what was sent to us or stocked. We could have stuff sent to us from another store for customers but couldn't actually order anything in, so it's not surprising that the employees couldn't answer your questions.

I'm still pretty new compared to these other guys, but I have always felt like just 2 locking wraps is enough. Any rough treatment capable of failing 2 locking wraps under epoxy, is likely enough to damage the guide.

I have caught 100's of fish on Siebert dock rocker, brush, and swim jigs without modifying anything. Years ago I would trim or shape weed guards and the only difference I could tell was more lost jigs. I'm almost always fishing some sort of cover, if I was in open water or lighter cover maybe I would have had a different experience.

You got it. I usually keep mine tight enough that I can barely feel the spool wiggle and barely hear the click. SV spool, breaking, and thumb take care of the rest. These aren't typically the longest casting reels, but for me they are a hassle free pleasure to cast. They also skip incredibly well. After you get a feel for it you will probably be surprised by just how much you don't have to adjust the magnetic brakes when changing lures.

You might be better served by identifying the blank and having a different custom rod builder put it together for you. From everything I've read, it will almost certainly be faster and you can make tweaks to handle length/material, thread color, reel seat, ect...

While I wouldn't make a bet on it, it definitely looks into the graphite to me. Assuming it is, that will be a fairly tough repair for someone totally new. Your looking at removing/replacing guides and tip for a sleeve, and a insert would require you to cut the blank. Either way the length of the affected area you will have to repair is probably going to add enough weight and rigidity to make the rod tip-heavy and awkward. It's my understanding that successful repairs that close to the tip usually involve a clean break. Mick definitely knows more about it than me, so maybe he will have some better news. I believe St Croix has a pretty good return policy. I strongly suggest contacting them before attempting any repair.

As @Derek1 said, next paycheck you can go rod shopping... when he left here, the Bait Monkey was muttering something about stopping by the liquor store on his way to AL.

So... The dreams in which you're buying (new reels) are the best you've ever had? I know it's corny but I just couldn't resist. Nothing wrong with spending your money on yourself. Besides, that's a reel you will probably never wear out and will still hold some significant value years down the road. Congratulations!

Braid is crazy strong when pulling on it. Trying to break it by hand is a good way to end a fishing trip with a stop by the ER. Most of us wrap it around a dowl or pliers or some other tool when attempting to break off a snag. I have straightened out countless hooks and pulled up all sorts of junk trying to break 40lb braid. The problem is, the stuff will cut like butter if you get it against something sharp. Sharp fish teeth, submerged metal, zebra mussels, and sharp rocks will all cut straight through braid when under tension.

Two things apply to your question about 12lb being strong enough. What is the cover you're fishing like? What brand/diameter is the mono you are using. If you anticipate needing to drag or turn fish (especially large fish) over, through, or away from cover, heavier line is probably in your best interest. For brand/diameter and why it matters, dometic lines tend to be grossly underrated. For example, 12lb Big Game fails much closer to 20lb than it does 12lb. While 12lb Sunline products will fail closer to 12lb, but have a smaller diameter. 12lb Big Game and 19lb Sunline Defier are the same size. For your original question of can you do better than straight mono, this is a personal preference thing. I like braid to a mono leader for those lures (30lb 832 to 15lb Big Game), but I'm in the minority and I would only say it's better for me. Straight mono is an excellent choice and going up in size is probably about the only thing you could do better.

Dedicated jig rod Dedicated cranking rod Dedicated ned rod Everything else sees at least a little deviation from its intended use.

For me, it depends... I will never get tired of catching fish with a jig (my favorite and most used presentation). I will never get tired of catching large fish. If I'm using anything else and start stacking up dinks, I will eventually lose interest and move on. Eventually... after I convince myself there is nothing bigger in the area. It can take a while, because after I finally get tired of the little fish I'll work different/bigger lures in the area trying to see if something larger is hanging around.

Ok, I stand by my earlier opinion of moving the Fury down the list. If you had said braid, that would have been a positive for the Fury. I forgot you already owned a few, maybe you already know what I'm saying about bottom contact. They definitely aren't what I would call a dead stick, but at the same time there is nothing at all special about the feedback you get from them. (This is just my personal opinion, based on my experiences) I'm not familiar with the other options you have listed, so I can't add much from here. I will point out that a 5/8oz jig plus trailer may weigh over 1oz depending on make and model. If you fish the 5/8oz regularly you might want to look for something rated 1 1/4oz on the top end.

All of the reels mentioned are solid performers, but I 100% agree that the magforce-z breaking of the Fuego is the most user-friendly. It also has several aftermarket spools available if you wanted to upgrade it later on. For cranking, I would go with the 6.x.1 speed. Fuego CT and Tatula CT are the same reel, only the Fuego has no T-wing and uses bushings instead of bearings in the handle knobs. In my opinion, those "upgrades" are not worth the price bump, especially if you are trying to keep the price down.

I have owned and liked Fury rods, but (in my hands) bottom contact isn't an area where they excel. If you're looking for a straight up 100% dedicated bottom contact rod, I would shy away from the Fury. If versatility is important, that changes my opinion. What line and weights are you planning to use?

I can't say enough good things about the Siebert Dock Rocker. I have more confidence throwing it than I do with any other lure I throw.

I learned something from that video. I've been using a double pitzen for FC for about 3 years now but had no idea what it was called until I watched that video. It has been absolutely great for me, no mystery breakoffs and none on fish that I can remember. When I have to break it off intentionally, I'm always impressed by how much force it takes to actually fail the knot.

Maybe my original spool of BG was on the thin side, or suffering some other "variance". I'll open a new one and try again on the setup using a leader. This is a situation where if I'm wrong, I still probably won't change. Changing would mean I have to accept the possibility of variance impacting abrasion resistance and that would completely mess with my head. I'll definitely do a side by side and report back though. If you guys can change my mind the OP will have some more consistent feedback to go with.

Lol, if that isn't a reference to me possibly being mentally compromised, then it went over my head. I definitely stand by my statement that 14lb sniper holds up better than 12lb BG on the jetties and wing dams I grind my cranks through. Recently, I have noticed what I believe to be zebra mussels in a few places. I'm sure they are hard on line as well. Maybe something else is coming into play that I'm missing, but I retie less and lose far fewer lures with the Sniper. I still retie enough that I'm considering going braid to leader on my main CB rods to cut down on wasted line. Not quite there yet, but getting close. Feel free to disagree, I value other people's opinions, especially those that conflict with my own. Those are the ones that usually end up with me changing, or reaffirming my own. I'm usually better off for it.

I've used both 12lb BG and 14lb Sniper for all cranks down to about 15'. After a few years of experimentation, I've switched to Sniper exclusively because it has (for me, in the cover I fish) far superior abrasion resistance. I use it as both main line and leader for cranking, depending on the rod. I can't recall the last time I had a knot (leader or terminal) fail on a fish using these lines, and I've landed countless 8lb+ trash fish with a few over 20lb.

In ponds, I am usually pretty successful with a t-rigged craw, or baby brushhog. In my experience, color seems to make a bigger difference as bodies of water get smaller or clearer. I try to have something dark, something natural, something bright (white or chartreuse or a combination), and especially something fairly natural but with orange. With a Muck bottom, I will want the lightest weight possible and lean on z-man plastics for some added buoyancy. A 1/15oz (actually better to go lighter if possible) ned rig is usually productive. Z-man TRD, or one of the variations is best for me (again for the buoyancy). I can't remember a beetlespin ever letting me down in ponds, it is the ultimate skunk dodging lure for me.

NEED... is a relative term.

I agree with the previous post. While I have no personal experience in your waters, I would assume it includes some decent structure/cover and has a very real potential of producing (for most of us) very large bass. I would recommend 15lb Big Game for your starting baseline on the baitcasters. Its cheap, reliable, and forgiving.

I have had a fair number of California Craw bugs come out of the pack watermelon red flake. It is frustrating because when I pay nearly $1 each for soft plastics I expect to get the color I paid for.

Some years ago, I used pline floroclear almost exclusively. One day, after a fresh respool of 15lb, my line failed on every hookset. I tried every knot I could think of, stripped off 30' of new line, changed brand of hooks... still breakoffs, at the knot, on every hookset. Finally stripped all the line, and respooled with my "emergency" filler spool of line (it was still 15lb floroclear) I keep in the tackle bag. Problem went away. After the 3rd time I experienced this same issue (out of 7 total spools, 1 from academy and 2 from Walmart) I completely abandoned pline. It was odd because in the previous 2 years I had no problems. I don't know if they had a bad run, if they changed something, or if I was just extremely unlucky but they completely lost me as a customer. So to answer your question, yes, I believe I have experienced a few bad spools of line.