redmeansdistortion

Adding to this. Work your way upstream, the fish will usually be facing the current so you'd be approaching them from behind. As you're plodding along the creek bed, you'll cloud the water and spook fish downstream. If you're working your way downstream, wade very slowly or take to the bank if need be. Upstream is best, but more care must be taken when fishing downstream.

They do so they can avoid predators, namely ospreys, eagles, and river otters. If there's a lot of cloud cover you'll have an easier time fishing in the open sections of the creek, but if it's sunny, you'll find them tighter to structure.

Not necessarily, but braid will let you cast easier since it's a smaller diameter. In your case, I'd run some 2lb mono backing and top it off with 50yd or so of thin braid. You also avoid line memory and keep line twist much more manageable. Also, if you get a break-off, it will be your leader and not your main line. You are going to get snagged, it's part of the game, especially if you're fishing around wood. When you're creek fishing, you will seldom catch fish out of the main current unless they're on the move or holding in a deeper pool. It can be combat fishing at times.

6lb Berkley x9 (#0.8) with a 5lb Maxima Ultragreen leader.

I would opt for the 13 seeing as it is rated for bigger baits in the 2g to 7g range while the St Croix is in the 1g to 5g range. St Croix trout rods, while they have a nice fit and finish, don't lend themselves well to lure fishing with their moderate action. St Croix does rate them as fast, but compared to other trout rods their action is markedly slower. Their action is more conducive to fishing live bait, like crawlers and crickets. Split vs full grip is personal choice. I'm indifferent to both of them as long as the grip is comfortable.

With good technique, you can attain very respectable distance even with a shorter rod. Even then, you're not going to be bombing casts on a creek, you're going to put your bait in the trees. Look at it this way, you want a rod for creek fishing, but you're set on the possibility of having random opportunities of water without obstruction so you can swing for the fences. You're going to be in the spinach 90% of the time, so why purchase a rod that's only suitable for that other 10%?

You shouldn't be concerned about distance in a creek setting. The vast majority of your casts are going to be inside of 10 yards. Accuracy and maneuverability are far more important in creek fishing.

This right here. @Ohioguy25, fishing creeks can be a challenge, but it's a fun challenge. Your typical UL parabolic blank generally isn't going to be of much use in a tiny creek. In the creeks, there is a lot of cover for the fish, and something with backbone is needed to keep them out of the wood. A progressive taper should be used since it will have the backbone required to turn fish whether you're fishing a L or UL. I prefer something under 5'6" for this type of fishing, they are much easier to cast in the confines of brush and trees giving you more choices for casting targets. Another reason short rods rule for creeks; one-handed casting. Casting with one hand gives you greater range of motion which translates to better accuracy, plus it opens the door to other techniques like flip casting, backhand casting, and spiral casting which really shine in close quarters. Those techniques have very little back cast involved, so you're loading the tip in a very short distance but still able to cast far upstream if need be. There are a lot of options out there. Many like to think of the trout rods as being like a fairy wand, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Some of them have tremendous backbone in spite of their small stature. They are purpose built tools just like bass rods. Some of these are made specifically for cherry salmon and migratory rainbow, both of which attain good size and weight, and also known for being fierce fighters. In your shoes, I'd look at a Major Craft Finetail 5' L 2-10g, it'll do exact what you need and have plenty of beef down low for even bigger fish if you so choose.

Keep in mind additional labor is something that needs to be compensated for. Labor will typically be required for a reel that is excessively filthy which will require more time to clean prior to reassembly and lubrication. If additional labor isn't billed then the business operates at a loss. Reel technicians gotta eat too. I've done some saltwater reels that required 2+ hours of additional labor. Most times the customer is understanding, but every now and then you get one that feels they're being ripped off no matter what. I typically quote jobs on a worst case basis and they usually come in under the initial quote.

I cast with zero jerk and prefer centrifugal for my uses. I like it better for fishing the skinny waters I typically find myself in. The slower spool startup makes for a very controlled cast inside of 20 yards. What I love about it is it's more consistent for me across a greater weight range, whereas my magged reels need a little adjusting if I go up or down a size.

I prefer centrifugal myself. Granted, magnetic brakes do work best with the lightest of baits, but in that 3g+ range is where centrifugal really shines. In my opinion anyway. YMMV

The Custom Lite SS. Looks like a nice reel but a little on the expensive side considering what one could get from Japan for a similar price or less. What's interesting to me is that it uses a centrifugal brake instead of a mag brake like most other finesse reels. https://www.lews.com/en/shop/reels/casting/cl1css

Exactly. To add to what you said, to successfully tune a reel one needs an end goal in mind. What do you want to accomplish? How do you plan to get there? It's very easy to indiscriminately throw parts at a reel, and many times that turns into an expensive undertaking without an objective in mind. You can have all the fun parts in the world, but if it doesn't perform according to the intended purpose, was it wise to spend all of that money? Some spools are best for certain things, as are bearings, handle lengths, and braking systems. The reel is the sum of its parts. Without taking every critical component into consideration, not much will be accomplished. This is what it takes between making a reel good enough and excellent for its intended purpose.

I can imagine the waters you fish are very similar to what what I fish here in Michigan. Most brookies are in the to 6" to 10" range, primarily in those streams also containing browns and rainbows. In the streams with brookies only, they tend to get in the 12" to 15" range. You should try doing your trip in May instead, forage for ramps, morels, and asparagus while you're at it. You'll have one memorable shore lunch.

Yep. Browns at night on jitterbugs, man that explosion is unreal. The torpedoes come out to play around dusk and throughout the night to eat the critters trying to cross the river.

Additionally, trout in general will choose bigger food over smaller insects regardless of what's hatching. More energy gained for less expended. My usual lures are 2" to 3" minnow style baits and they're very effective. Even an 8" brookie will hammer a 2" minnow with #6 hooks on it. They're hungry little buggers.

I'm going to be the odd man out here, I would suggest a L at the least, or a ML ideally if you're buying a US market rod. Trout hit much bigger baits than many think, even small brookies. A good ML spinning rod will usually be in the 1/16-3/8 or 1/8 to 1/2 range and will throw anything from a CD03 on up easily. The reason I say to go with a ML? Ever have a 20"+ brown or rainbow try to lose you in the wood? If they get to the wood, you have lost the battle. A ML will better keep them from achieving such a thing. A L or UL will work, but you want one with a progressive taper and not a parabolic taper as most budget priced US market spinning rods in those power categories seem to come.

That's the stuff. Their products are really nice in general. It also works great as a drag grease.

I'd love to see the bins full of trade-ins when all is said and done. I can imagine some highly desirable stuff finds its way in. Kind of like when Cash for Clunkers was a thing and a GMC Typhoon and Buick GNX found their way to the scrapper because the owners didn't know any better.

New rod came yesterday courtesy of Graywolf, a company local to me that primarily builds fly rods, but has been increasingly doing BFS rods. This rod is a 4'10" fiberglass progressive taper with a deep bend, it's the easiest loading rod I own, and the recovery is wicked fast. Lure rating is 1/16-1/4 and will be right at home on the skinny waters I adore. Shane knows what he's doing as he builds his own blanks and will build to your exact specs whether you want graphite or glass or a mix. This rod is pure artistry made by a true craftsman from the ground up right here in Michigan.

You know it! Most of the people I see on here fishing bass use heavier tackle than I use for king salmon on the Betsie River ?. One of these actually fish actually fights, the other is just hangry.

6lb Maxima, good for everything where I live but toothy critters and sturgeon.

I'd love one of these, a Toy Machine Superlative, made by Isuzu for Frog Products in Japan.

Use acetone on metal parts only, it works great for bearings. The rest of the internal parts I do Simple Green in an ultrasonic and scrub away any leftovers with a firm toothbrush followed by a rinse. Exterior parts like frames, handles, side plates, and star wheels get cleaned with aircraft instrument panel cleaner in an ultrasonic. It takes the crap right off and doesn't damage metal or decals.

This is how it was done years ago, I'm pretty sure Shakespeare and Pflueger had an optional cork arbor with some of their knuckle busters. Some manufacturers, and by some I mean ABU, had a 2-piece snap in plastic arbor for their 4000 and 5000 sizes as well as the Cardinal 3. They were called the Economizer, marketing jargon for not having to use as much line.