bulldog1935

What you gents are describing is exactly true casting heavy weights. Heavy weights don't need mag brakes (except Daiwa SV behaves like centrifugal at spool start). Light weights don't need centrifugal brakes for start-up, and where linear mag works best at mid cast is what light weights need. I cast 2 g to over 120' on baitcaster. Both Tournament Pro (centrifugal) and Super Duty (mag) side by side (actually on the water the same day), Super Duty will cast 1/8-oz 50% farther than Tournament Pro, including adjusting both brakes to backlash.

I know some people who won't use a stringer for fear of gators. We were wade-fishing Cavasso Creek one day, and met the Game Warden on our way out. He was releasing a 10' gator from Goose Island SP, and said they release all gators snared at the state park right there where we were fishing. Sharks in the surf will come after your stringer - that can be annoying.

Sold on Engel (all my kayak buds are sold on Engel), and just replaced hinges on my 12-y-o. Also drilled through mine with a nylon eye-bolt for Kayalite 360 mount. Engel is an air-/water-tight dry box. If you should turtle your kayak in deep water, holding your Engel cooler between your knees will provide buoyancy to help launch you back on board

What I don't like about the feel of Winn grips, is you can feel the layers shearing under your grip. EVA feels better, cork feels stiff, and X-shrink over anything is da bomb. I made these indexed-position kayak paddle grips with closed cell foam rolled onto the paddle with 3-M 77 spray contact cement, and X-shrink on top. Since I had a bent-shaft paddle for position reference, I always grab the paddle in the right place for efficient paddling. It's also both cheaper and lighter weight than bent-shaft. To get the perfect X-shrink result, use a tea kettle and pour boiling water from the middle to each end.

Gold is the hardest and lowest memory by far - it's also the smallest diameter for equivalent test by far. It's priced and packaged only for leader. 30-lb Gold is the same diameter as 20-lb Blue, but it's stiffer and harder to bend for knots. This is 40-lb Gold on a surf leader, tied to 46-lb X-braid (at a green marker in the braid). Blue is great all-round, intermediate diameter for lb-test, good choice for leader. Strong knots and easy to tie. Red is economy, priced in bulk spools for filling reels, largest diameter for lb-test. Used to buy red in bulk spools, swapped to Abrazx along the way. I've pretty much gone to braid + leader across the board. I have a few spools filled with low-memory Tatsu. Where I use light fluoro, I like Toray Exthread best. (Fluoro is always better in saltwater because of density) Light mono choice is Mason Ultragreen.

Any reel that will fish for $10 is a good deal - you'll find your Black Max much better made than new $10 reels coming out of China. Ebay sold listings are all right at $40. If you like tinkering, you could make it really neat with parts from AMO Store, also Ray's Studio and SDS Custom sold on ebay.

I'll vote for these, and throw in Z-man Texas-eye finesse jighead. I have better hook-up on this flexible jighead than any other - they also fish weedless. The bait stays flexible in every direction, and I believe fish hang on longer. (these are DOA minnow tails, but the right jighead)

Sounds like you can use your reel - one more rod to throw into the mix Okuma SCTi-C-801H

I bust and wade hill country limestone creeks for endemic bass - usually on fly rod. I never hit the same crossings more than twice in a year. Just a few exceptions to that would be identifying a big fish, and going back to find his morning pattern and beat him there at first light.

I always prefer longer handles on high speed reels to find more finesse on working the lure. I'll vote with the lower speed guys without that change.

I swapped my Lew's Winn handle knobs for EVA. When I ordered a surf lure rod from Rich Hedenberg, I asked about Winn grips. His thoughts about them were not good, and I went with EVA covered in X-shrink. Working on a longer surf bait rod, did the same thing myself - cork tape covered in X-shrink.

The confirm address is a mis-routed package they're trying to find its home.

I fish way too many niches - from river bass in limestone creeks to offshore. Mostly fishing from a kayak, there's no room for 10 rods - 3 is about all that won't get in the way. It may be a couple of bass rod ranges, inshore lure weights, maybe lengths for tide passes and flats. I keep 3-pc all-around back-ups including bait, spin and fly in the kayak hold. My rigs tend to be focused and, where I use them most often, higher-grade tackle, especially reels that will fit between multiple niches and different rods. Where I've bought inexpensive was cleaning up on venerable glass fly rods from the '70s (ebay) because they fit so well in limestone creeks.

I've only been buying odds and ends in US, and then either Amazon stock or direct from maker (Z-man, Owner, etc.) I did use up my TackleDirect points buying "free" lure boxes. Finesse Bait Empire delivered Booyah micro for me. JDM buying has been so reliable on courier delivery, it's been my source for anything I could make it since this time last year. Record delivery from Japan was 44 hours, and under 4 days is the norm. Quality lines, hooks and (salt) jigheads in sizes you can't find here. Whenever I'm buying, take my time rounding out my cart with the odds and ends they have that I want.

Shorter steelhead rods will fit the bill. I fish these inshore for getting away from boat hull slap. No split grips here. On the cost-effective end, look at Okuma SST, Lamiglas X-11, and Lami Classic Glass This is discontinued, and on the high end, my Lami Rogue River Special MTC The 7' long-handle split grips that come to mind are ML offshore light jigging rods.

Unless the poll asked Pick'Em'Up truck, nobody answered. Aieee

The water I grew up bass-fishing - just about all Texas hill country reservoirs - are deep with 50' visibility most of the time. I grew up wanting to fish smaller lures, which is what led me to fly rod so early. The way I use a fly rod with sinking shooting heads can fish down to 15', and I've doubled that depth fishing offshore platforms. But the only time you do this is sight-fishing or when your probability of catching fish every 3rd cast is pretty high (structure jumps, tide passes, jetty and surf blackwater, offshore platforms and flotsam). Spinning tackle has always been necessity. Baittcaster is always fun.

slamming dogs, though, is exactly what causes shock breaks in your line. Before A/R bearings, the thing I hated worst was having a dog go out on my BB-1 - I replaced 3 of them. Instantly, you need a 3rd hand if you're going to net that hog.

I hope he put the life jacket around his waist.

my only problem was a forgetful day throwing one in contact with a DOA minnow tail - it all melted into a lump.

there's a fold in the dorsal on the Z-man minnow tails that hides the hook point - so yes, the hook point isn't buried in the lure body.

for weedless on a minnow tail, I like Z-man Texas-eye jighead - this is 1/8 oz. I don't miss many fish on this - hook-up is great, and it's flexible in every direction, so I think fish hang on longer.

Astute company here. My all-range Valleyhill ROC-67MMM with a Daiwa SV and BFS-mod spool does this work at its light end perfectly, and a handy single all-range set-up on a kayak. Extreme feel through this rod. My braid is YGK PE#1 (0.19 mm), and because of the all-range, my leader is YGK Hard, #3 (15-lb).

warmouth are Lepomis gluosus - whether you see them or not, it happens.

We already mentioned FFR forum on this thread. Many people there are buying Curado, because they're ready-to-go BFS and available here in USM. @waymont - well, no, I'm not loaning that rod to anybody. But I have another MM rod that will cast and fish 1/8 oz as well as any ML, even though it's only rated down to 1/4 oz It's also amazing how well Super Duty casts and fishes 1/8 - it will out-cast stock Daiwa Boost SV spool on Zillion and Steez, and Daiwa states that spool is 1/8-oz-capable.