redmeansdistortion

I've had two graphite frames fail on me, but I was float fishing for kings which fight much harder than bass. The foot snapped off of both of them. One was a Pflueger President baitcaster and the other an Abu Revo X baitcaster. Outside of myself using them to bite off more than they could chew, they were fine reels for other smaller less fighty fish.

I use 50lb braid on one of my baitcasters when fishing jerkbaits, never any trouble.

I took about a decade long hiatus from fishing. Not because I lost the passion but because I had all of my gear stolen. A friend of mine had a boat he kept docked at a marina on Lake St Clair and somebody stole his boat. With that, I lost every rod and reel I owned up to that time (4 combos) as well as all of my tackle, much of it irreplaceable as it was antique stuff given to me by my grandfather. On his end, he had thousands in musky, walleye, and bass gear. He and I fished very often so I figured I'd just leave my gear on his boat and never had an issue for years until that one day. I didn't pick up fishing again until about 7 years ago when he and I took up steelhead fishing and went out and bought everything we needed together. During these last 7 years, I accumulated more rods, reels, and lures than I did my entire life beforehand. Now I just take what I need when I go out fishing.

Fellow Big Game fan here. I like the clear for general use, never any complaints. For steelhead/salmon float fishing, I like to use the solar collector color so I can see my line as it makes its way down stream.

I've been using Big Game on my baitcasters for years. For the money it's a great line. Having said that, I do find it to have too much memory for use on a spinning reel so on those I run Sufix Siege.

That's pretty sweet. Like you I pack light when fishing the banks. It's nice being mobile and having the ability to crawl through the undergrowth. This is the chest pack I wear. In mine, I carry a Plano 3450 double sided box with an assortment of jig heads, bullet weights, worm hooks, crankbaits, spinners, and spoons. I also carry a few bags of soft plastics, a pair of hemos, a spool of leader material, and some line cutters. I tried the backpack thing and while it was nice, I found myself over packing and not using but a small portion of what was packed.

Shorter UL rods are great for stream trout. I have a 4'6" and 5' I use when backpacking. The shorter length makes them very accurate plus they're much easier to navigate the undergrowth with.

This is my first time with KastKing gear. If the rod performs as good for me as the reviews state, I'll give some of their reels a try as well.

I have the Perigree II twin tip 7' ML/M on the way, can't wait to try it out. I really love a ML rod, they work well for quite a few species here in the north. I plan on running the ML tip and mounting a tuned Abu Black Max 1600 with 8lb mono.

The 3000 size will be good for just about any fish our state has to offer save for sturgeon. You'll like the Battle II, it's super durable, easy to self service, and replacement parts are very easy to get.

Welcome! I never thought of the Yoopers being big on bass fishing with all of the fantastic trout, salmon, and walleye you guys have access to.

Wading staffs are great. Here in the north, we wade the streams in search of salmon and steelhead. A wading staff, while not a must, is a great safety item. If the water is murky and you step into a hole, you could find yourself in a heap of trouble. You can feel the bottom (or not) with a staff and they help immensely in navigating the rivers. Rivers can change very fast. The spot you fished last week could be totally different the following week. Stay safe out there.

Michigan. The smallmouth fishing is world class in the Great Lakes and Lake St Clair. There's also an abundance of musky in Lake St Clair as well. If you're hungry, there's no shortage of perch, crappie, or walleye that can be caught year round. If you're not willing to punch holes through the ice a few months out of the year, you can hit the rivers and catch salmon and steelhead.

I've never used Rem oil. For me, it's TSI-321, Yamalube, Superlube, Reel X, and Cal's drag grease.

Ugly Stiks were all I used up until about a decade ago, and some of the most proficient fisherman I know use nothing but them. They're great rods for the money and will always have a place on my rack.

Okuma SST comes in what you seek, but it's 8'6". I own one and use it for throwing hardware steelhead fishing. I got mine at FishUSA. I know they make a 7'6" variant too.

Great reel. I think for bass fishing I'd step it down to a 4600 just because it's a little easier to palm. I do love my 5500s for bigger more fighty fish though!

According to my wife, having more than one rod is too many. I have 14 rods right now for various species that I like to fish for.

Thankfully you didn't lose part of your grill lol. Keep that up and you'll be looking like Terry Sawchuk in no time.

I don't see the sportiness in trolling. Sure it's effective, but like you said, boring. Half the fun of fishing is casting and working your bait. The other half is fighting and landing a fish. I've been on trips where we trolled exclusively. Some of them I didn't catch any fish but ended up sitting around the boat drinking beer and eating sandwiches. I could've done that on my back patio.

I have a President XT, great reel for the money. Amazon has them on sale often for the same price as the standard President baitcaster. I paid $55 for mine IIRC.

The big determining factor in my opinion, is synchronized vs non synchronized level wind. A non synchronized, or disengaging level wind as it's also called, will outcast one with a sychronized level wind and will also be better suited to throwing lighter baits. A synchronized level wind always moves; during casting, during retrieval, or when a fish is pulling drag. With disengaging, the level wind only moves during the retrieve and stays stationary during a cast. There is less moving parts when casting, and therefor less mass to move which results in increased distance. There aren't many synchronized level wind reels on the market now aside from the Abu Ambassadeur. Those reels really struggle throwing anything under 1/2oz for the uninitiated. I can throw 1/4oz baits with my 4000 sized reels, but I really have to be on top of my thumb game to do such things. My comment is more a generalization as there are some reels with a synchronized level wind that can really put it out there, like the Abu 1500C and 2500C for instance.

While I have upgraded many reels to Boca orange seals or Boca Lightnings, I don't find them to be a worthwhile upgrade for most fishermen. Most decent/good reels out of the factory use ABEC 3 bearings and they are fine for the vast majority of fishermen unless you're a surf fisherman or competition caster. My advice, before you decide to upgrade, give your factory bearings a good cleaning and add one drop of oil and see how they perform. After that, you may want to upgrade if you feel the performance isn't to your liking.

They seem to do that with a lot of popular models. I've been stock piling Pro Max and Black Max 1600/3600 reels lately. Thankfully those haven't skyrocketed in price, yet.

I bet that casts beautifully. I'd love to get my hands on a Record 40. How is it at casting lighter baits? Doesn't it have a shallow wiffle spool?