Joshua van Wyk

Apologies, I completely forgot about the budget.

K for sure. The I is by no means a bad reel but the K is just that much better.

https://m.dickssportinggoods.com/p/pflueger-president-spinning-combo-17pflupflgrprsdntcom/17pflupflgrprsdntcom?camp=CSE:DSG_92700040953169361_pla_pla-506191304608&gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt_2v_Nzz4gIVyVuGCh2-Ug-gEAQYBCABEgLV4PD_BwE Great value combo right here. Bought one of these around 3 years ago and it still works great.

Here in northern Virginia there are very few lakes with pike in them and I almost only fish ponds.

For me the swim jig has been dynamite. The sunfish one @Munkin makes is my best producer with a rage menace trailer. I've been throwing it as close to cover as i possibly can and the majority of my bites come on the fall and when i burn them back to the bank.

That’s a great rod, but I’d step up to a 703.

I am yet to catch a pike but it is one of my bucket list fish. I just love how they look and I’m sure the fight is great too.

733 is an awesome squarebill and lipless rod. Its also a pretty good rod for weightless flukes.

Got hooked in the forearm with one of those big ol whopper ploppers. Me and my friend took turns trying to pull it out but it wouldn't budge, ended up pushing it through and used a wire cutter to break the barb off. I should've done that from the start, we ended up mangling the muscles in my arm quite a bit. Took a few days before I could use my hand properly again.

Careful man, that's a Shimano reel on a Daiwa rod! ??

I have the levante shakyhead and it's perfect for senkos and flukes.

Seriously disappointed with the eBay sales. We've had one 15% off this entire year!

Stick with Daiwa and Shimano. Slx and Fuego are great value reels.

Yes, 10% off.

The new levantes are very good for the price point .

Slx or fuego will be best in your price point.

Beautiful! What line is that?

You can get one for $140 at American legacy. Remember if you sign up for their newsletter you get 10% off.

I'd say around 5.25. My heaviest fish was 20.5 inches and weighed 4.77. That one looks a lot chunkier!

Did you try to get them replaced? In my experience Abu has amazing CS. I broke my Vendetta rod while riding my bike and they sent me a brand new one for $10.

That was very similar to my first "nice" baitcast combo, I also got the Fury and a Tatula CT Type-r! Still one of my fav combos.

Swimjig is my favorite bait and I chuck it all the time, I've tried chatterbaits a ton and I've never caught a fish on one.

I agree. The 733 is a great weightless plastic rod.

My leaders are very long, around 8-10 feet in length. I like to use an Albright special but I will also use a uni uni if I need retie fast. FG knot is also a very good option if you have the patience to master it