Michigander

This is the second year of the shortages. If you're just now noticing, then I guess I would be thankful that it hasn't affected you much until now.

Micro jig with Elaztech craw trailer.

Like everyone else that is correct, I also do it by hand. ?

Lots of vegetation around here so it's kind of a pain to fish. There's some Ned die-hards on my local tournament circuit but I don't see them getting many of those envelopes full of prize money. I'll stick with my baits that translate into dollars.

Good drag is quite important for lighter line and smallmouth. I've been really happy with the smoothness of the Diawa Legalis drag, even before I polished the metal washers it was awesome. Now it's basically perfect. That would leave you about $110ish for a rod.

I have a ton of stuff that I don't use but most of it was either experimentation or trial and error to find out what works for me. Now that I have enough experience to actually have preferences, my purchasing has gone way down and is mostly just refilling expended baits and tackle. I built a new lineup of rods over the winter because I actually knew what I wanted and they needed reels so there was some upgrading there. However, unless my style of fishing changes drastically, I think my purchasing has truly leveled off. Every dollar spent on fishing is a dollar not spent on my other hobbies, so I can't afford to buy things I am not going to use until they wear out.

Honestly, there's not a huge difference between most of the styles, they're just a bit better at specific circumstances than another choice. Choosing the right weight/profile for conditions is far more important than head style most of the time. I will add that I don't recommend football heads for fishing in heavy vegetation, that's just more frustrating than it's worth.

I don't even think I have any lead bullet weights anymore. Basically anything lead can do, tungsten does better. Order from Siebert, Beast Coast, or direct from China (if you're more patient than me). Most places charge an arm and a leg but those don't.

Get a push pole if you're turbo worried about getting stuck. You'll be fine, sometimes it takes some work but you can get a boat out of some stupid situations with a little horsepower and a lot of determination. ?

Better to hook up and lose than to never hook up at all. That sucks though, I hate losing big ones.

Congratulations!!

The weight on the handle side of the reel being significantly greater than the weight on the non-handle side of the reel is what I'm talking about. The weight pulls perpendicular to the axis of the rod. I'm not talking about the balance of a rod with a reel on it.

No, just that the Curado is more balanced. We're getting into the minutiae now because these reels are very similar. ?

I'll take Burt over Mullet for smallies every day. There's a lot of pitching opportunity in the connective waters between the two and into the Green River (I think it's the Green anyway). St Clair has visible cover too around docks and back into the reed areas. Water can get pretty rowdy in both areas but there's smaller lakes around. Less so around St. Clair though.

Side to side balance. Some reels feel almost tippy toward the handle, others feel balanced.

I've got both but haven't fished the Curado yet. Holding them both, I don't feel the price difference. I'll have a more informed opinion at the end of the season though. Side to side balance on the Curado is better though.

I too vote for the Ugly Stik, but at that price point for a kid, I would probably pick based on color. You're not going to see a massive difference in performance between them so I would focus on cool factor.

Yeah, Sharpies. You could probably clean them off with Isopropyl as the plastic probably isn't porous. And if you like them, then clear coat them and go fishing!

Had 8lb or 10lb on a spinning setup and ended up cutting it off. Memory was knotting the line too much on the casts.

I am a stupid tube fanboy, but I never tried Dominator heads. The hook angle looked totally wrong to me. Personally, I use the Secret Lures ones as they are functionally perfect for this application. Here's the instructions from the back of their heads if it helps.

I would love to just need one or two baits, but the minute a presentation stops working, I'm throwing different things. Sounds to me like you're bored by your go-to lures.

Could be a bad batch of line. Also, you'll want to inspect all guides and the reel. Dry cotton swab rubbed on all surfaces the line touches can reveal burrs. The cotton will get snagged on any microscopic pokey bits.

Oh for sure, if I could write those baits off on my taxes as a work expense, well that's a totally different situation.

Embrace the rectangles!

An easy way to get off the list is to say, "Ma'am/Sir, this is a government number, please remove from your call list." Works great. ?