Sphynx

I'd generally run on the assumption that clear water magnifies a lot of things in fishing, the fish can see better and are going to be less forgiving about things that aren't right, splashy entries are going to blow opportunities more often on average in clear water than dirty water, obnoxious and bold colors aren't going to help as often, line size/material is more important, of course, all that said there'll be somebody somewhere who fired an artillery strike entry with a safety orange and chartreuse 10XD on 80lb braid that contradicts every experience I've had, but I guess there are exceptions to every rule or guideline

No, I'm a guy who knows what it takes to run a small business, so I have a bit of first hand experience, saying that a company is charging an unfair price for a product without a shred of evidence can be extremely damaging to a small business, how do I know? Been there, done that, I'm not at all suggesting that his prices are bona-fide, just that there are a million things that can affect the price of goods that you'll never see, nor is it right that you should, look at it this way, Lamborghini charges a mighty large sum for the cars they sell, you reckon they spend anywhere near that amount to make them? Not a chance, but people are perfectly happy to buy one for the status of it, that's a transaction between Lamborghini and its customers and my opinion on whether it's a smart purchase or not isn't worth the time it takes to type it up, I don't like it when people try to insinuate or put down small businesses without a single reason to justify it, if you put a bold comment like that out for public discussion, you'll hear a lot of different opinions, I've said some things others are likely to disagree with, if they want to present a case why I'm talking out of my hind end, I opened that door by commenting, and I can assure you that I won't be getting defensive or snippy about it.

It's absolutely smaller than the standard Curado K, not night and day mind you, but it's noticeable, I don't own any metaniums, too rich for my blood, so I couldn't really say, but it is my understanding that the numerical system used by Shimano generally indicates sizes, 200 is larger than a 70 etc, but I don't know much more concretely than that.

How about the Metanium MGL 150, it's a premium priced reel designed for lighter baits and it's built by Shimano, they make a Curado MGL 70 also if your looking to spend a bit less...alternatively I have experience with the Tatula line, while I prefer the Shimano offerings I really can't objectively state that Daiwa are any less effective or less impressive, for me it really just boiled down to which one felt better in my hand, that answer for you might end up being Daiwa, either way I don't think you can really go wrong from a nuts and bolts standpoint, both companies are turning out some amazing products.

And the point of most of those here is you have no idea what factors have influenced this price hike, did the taxes go up? How about wage rates in the area? Electricity? Water? Shipping rates? Insurance costs? Rent if they moved into a new shop/building? How about website hosting fees, attorney retainers, accounting fees, marketing and additional employees, Every single one of these expenses and potentially others could all have a localized effect on the cost of doing business where they operate, that might have zero influence on any other company, all legitimate expenses too, that ought to be investigated thoroughly before any accusations of foul play are made, you'd also never really see these expenses unless you were to review the company's accounts and contracts, something you have no right to do, since you seem convinced that these price hikes aren't necessary, why not open a shop making rods right next door to them for $100 less, good chance if your able to do so and still turn a profit you'll put them out of business because everyone will be buying your rods instead, but you can't just arbitrarily decide "This rod should cost X" when you have no idea what it costs that company to bring a product to market.

What do you call it when you haven't got any ice? Lol

More or less yeah, I didn't add running depth to mine though, and I'm going to shamelessly steal that idea off you, I did a separate sheet in the workbook for each major category, one tab for jigs, one for terminal tackle etc, then on each tab I separated them out into subcategories, under the jig tab I have Arkie/hybrid, football heads, finesse/ball head, bladed jigs, swim jigs, so on and so forth, tracks colors, sizes/weights/quantities, things wanting replenished that I'm low on get colored in yellow, things I'm flat ass out of get filled in red, takes me about 5 minutes to flip through and see where I'm at and if anything needs to be reordered, I might add a column for quantity per package for soft plastics so I have an idea how close I am/how many come so I don't end up with 7000 watermelon red flake trick worms or whatever.

Even if they had the price of the materials rise on them? Sounds like an arbitrary and baseless reason to find fault, I'm going to guess that you don't manage a small business given your viewpoint, so I'll tell you that in my small business, anything approaching a forecast for prices since the COVID thing hit has been worthless, things that used to be readily available are gone, and when they are available they cost a ton, these are hardly "normal" market conditions and to treat them as such is really pretty silly.

I keep a bag or three on hand pretty much all the time, pretty bold buying up all the black trick worms you can find based on a single video though, I hope the fish in your area like to eat them!

I got dangerously bored this winter and inventoried everything, like even how much line I have, all of it, every hook, sinker, swivel, bait, lure, bag, tackle box, and everything that gets used just for fishing and did a spreadsheet of it all, it might be my current magnum opus, the practical benefit of it is that I don't have to work nearly as hard to keep track of my gear, just jot a quick note down whenever I lose something and update the spreadsheet that evening before bed, this has all but guaranteed that I will never run out of something and not be aware of it.

And there you have it folks, these guys are paying all the associated business costs and STILL offering a price around or below that which an individual could reasonably be expected to pay to build it themselves, I'd hardly call that a scalping, it would be one thing if Kistler was out selling rods that broke all the time with a warranty they refused to honor, that rightly deserves public criticism, but from what I have heard that is not the case, @PhishLI is dead on, you think running a miniscule business is so easy that it's worth taking the time to knock them, try it, put your life savings on the line for an idea and see how much sleep you get at night, knowing that the employees you hired are all depending on you to provide them with a fair wage, benefits, a future, and then once you've done all that remember that your the last guy to get paid, AFTER everything and everyone else has been paid, and if there isn't any money left over after literally everyone else has been paid? Too bad, that's your own problem, I don't own any of this companies products, but I applaud them for offering a product for some very dedicated and often highly opinionated customers to vote yea or nay on with the money they work hard to earn, it's a gutsy thing to do, I hope they experience every success they earn.

Lol, I always heard that it was your neighbors to the west that were duly tried and convicted of being too nice, "North Dakota Nice" they called it, and a couple years ago while I was out in MN a lot there was some talking about C&R becoming a year round thing, they nix that or is it still being discussed?

I don't know jack about rod building, other than in theory you should save a significant amount of money building your own, and you get to build one exactly to your specifications as long as you have the skill to do it, it a unique material or is rod building basically the same process regardless of blank material?

I use the zman ones, bought a number of Owner both in the traditional style and in the EWG style for weedless presentations I'll get a shot at trying out next week, looking forward to it, but you did mention salt water, are you trying to use these for SW or...?

Depends on the situation, am I fun fishing? Yum Dinger all day long, cheap, decidedly more durable, and I catch fish on them. If we are talking about a tournament, or putting someone on fish for the first time or an important event, GY, every time, they just get shredded so easily and cost so much that I can't justify the expense for fooling around fishing, it's a bit easier to swallow losing a Dinger than a Senko.

I like this idea as a basic learning tool for new anglers, many of us had someone with many years of experience to show us how to fish a given body of water, this attempts to do the same for inexperienced anglers without the benefit of a mentor, now I know that just getting out and fishing a lot of these places, hanging out around the launches and or bait shop will put you in touch with folks who can and often will take you under their wing and learn you a thing or ten, but for someone too timid to try that, one could hit the website, obtain a bit of gear off the list of stuff they recommend, and have enough confidence to actually go wet a line, which is a fantastic thing in my opinion. I enjoy low cost competitive events, five bucks, a beer, just any old thing to compete over adds a certain dynamic that I've never found produced any other way, it doesn't have to be winning an oversized check for a seven figure sum to make it exciting and feel like an accomplishment

This is exactly why it's called a FREE market, nobody is forced to purchase a rod from them, or from Shimano, or St. Croix or anyone else either, perhaps to others they are offering a great deal on a rod, or perhaps people feel the price is justified on account of previous satisfaction with customer service when they were needed, the only control any of us have is over our own purchase decisions, I find the price of a Shimano Curado to be acceptable, other people say that's too much money and not enough value, both of us are correct, now the day I start making purchasing decisions for someone else that's the day outside opinions matter, but if someone here wanted to purchase a solid gold reel mounted on a diamond coated rod using spider silk line, I'd be perfectly happy for them as long as they considered the value received to be worth the price that was paid, I have exactly no right to make financial decisions for another person whose situation I am unfamiliar with, there is also the very real possibility that Kistler had to raise prices to ensure that they could continue to keep rods in stock, when they have a price hike on their end, you'll get that passed to some degree to the consumer, businesses work for profit, not for charity, since I can't be sure what they are paying for materials and shipping costs, I can't judge them for a price charged, all I can do is look at the product, and decide for myself whether the price is in line with the value to me of the product offered, and to let others make that decision for themselves, they are grown folk perfectly capable of making such a decision without me or anyone else holding their hands.

Ask 10 different guys you'll get 12 different answers on this one lol, great advice on where the problem lies when your first learning to walk a frog, I'd say you should pay attention to the keel shapes of any frogs you look at and how they move and sit in the water, and of the legs and where/how they are attached, how a cupped face effects your walk, do you do better with a flat face? Cupped? The size is also important, you'll probably find out fairly soon that small bodied frogs are particularly difficult to walk effectively, bigger tends to be a bit easier, colors are varied, I mostly keep it simple, black and white are staples, an occasional use of chartreuse for a bluegill heavy lake, red for springtime use, greens and browns get bit, adding rattles or weight can help, can also modify how well a frog walks if you use too much...personally I like the Teckel Sprinker frog as my first choice, but I fish a lot of other kinds too, Booyah, Spro, River2Sea, Scum, I think it might be in the consideration for one of my favorite and most effective topwater lures.

I flip pads from the bank sometimes, but more often than not I'm pitching past flipping range, which is remarkably small to my way of seeing things

How does the price keep rising? Simplest thing ever, because people keep paying what they ask, it's economics 101, as to made in America, that doesn't really mean what it used to mean, from the mid 40's on we were the only industrialized nation to have escaped unscathed from the wanton destruction of the second world War, there were some fairly obvious manufacturing advantages we realized as a result, as places that are less expensive to manufacture things in gain experience running factories, the quality gap continues to narrow, you see it in all sorts of products from cars to guitars to everything in between, now I'd certainly never knock somebody for buying American, to each his own, but if Kistler found a way to provide a rod that is just as sensitive, well built, and durable and managed to cut the cost to themselves and convince people to voluntarily pay more for it, good for them, that's a great way to conduct business, if someone feels that better deals are available elsewhere, the beauty of this country is you are free to purchase from another retailer with no explanation required, I personally see no advantage to buying a rod at over twice the cost of what I currently use, and my rods are made out of the US, they are sensitive, have been durable, and I feel that I paid a fair price, what St. Croix spent to assemble/import them is none of my business, I hope they made a nice profit on the transaction, I like the work they do and am happy I was able to support them in my own little way.

I guess another thing while I am thinking about it, the recommendations are going to vary depending on if your talking to a guy with some sort of watercraft, and if he's a bank angler, guys from the bank find out fairly quickly if they pay attention that heavy jigs get hung up a lot, and that working uphill is often problematic for us, pretty much the complete opposite for guys fishing towards the bank, usually you have a larger number of options going shallow to deep, including plug knockers and retrieval options that simply aren't available to the bank beater unless he's willing to swim for it and potentially blow out his only accessible shore opportunity, I'd say that unless we are off the bank, it is very, very uncommon for me to fish a jig heavier than 3/8, couple of notable exceptions are current heavy areas like bigger rivers, and anywhere I know I'm working with a gravel bottom that won't likely hang me up, but other than that I try to stay as light as I can get away with from shore

Sounds a bit like last year for me, except I'll take the total number with me to the grave, it was unbelievably high, still, I consider it worth it in the long run, I feel much better prepared and like there is 0% chance I get bored or run out of lures to work on becoming proficient with and really nailing where exactly each thing fits/plays for me.

If I can justify it even a little bit I am tossing some form of topwater bait if I'm out pre-dawn/first light, from there I will adjust based on what I'm seeing, windy or glass still? Do I see bass chasing/busting baitfish, is there any reason to assume they are munching craws primarily instead of baitfish? Is it sunny, cloudy, pre/post front? What season are we in and what -should- they be doing that time of the year? Have the fish been telling me that conventional wisdom is pretty dumb that day? I prefer to fish Topwaters, Crankbaits, Jigs, and Spinnerbaits when I can get away with it, but sometimes you have to drag a soft plastic, or toss another category that isn't my preference, like swimbaits, but I don't really have a "set" pattern, just because it's what -should- be the spawn I never take that for granted, or the fall feed up, whatever, it's all a big puzzle, half the fun is trying to put the pieces together.

I ought to be good for years with what I have, of course I can always find holes in my arsenal, but if I could magic a bass boat into existence, load it with everything I got currently, I find it hard to imagine that there is a situation I haven't got at least 2 or 3 options for effectively attacking, this doesn't at all mean I'm not still planning on expanding my arsenal to fill the holes I notice along the way.

I like to carry jigs in 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4 at a minimum where possible, and my general philosophy is start light and work my way up until I get what I want, not sure if you are still looking for jigs or if you already got some, but I think the 3/8 suggestion is where I'd start, 1/2 would definitely do ya, but it just depends on what the fish are telling you, they know what they want better than any of us do.