Cigarguy

Would you ask all of your neighbors to open their windows and fart North? We need some heat here.

Same here. The stock is terrible. The service is even worse. Not possible to online shop at the local BPS here. "basspro.com" takes us to a US and only US site and stores. "basspro.ca" takes us to essentially cabelas.ca where we are able shop and look at Cabelas stock. I like the Cabelas here and was so disappointed when I heard BPS bought them out. Basspro so blatantly don't give a hoot about the Canadian market. Don't know why they even bother coming here if that is their attitude. Much rather shop anywhere else than BPS. Rather support a smaller shop that project an image of caring than an arrogant US large retailer.

There's a certain game and patience that is required when purchasing online. Know how the game is played or shop locally. Personally, I hate waiting for shipments. 8-10 days for in country is common here, 2-3 weeks for US stuff (assuming customs don't let it sit for a month), 1-6 months for overseas. None of this is the vendor's fault as the package is always delay by Canada Post or customs. During the height of the pandemic customs would take their sweet time of 30+ days to process a package. That is not the vendor or the shipping agency's fault. I know the game before the transaction. Most of the time I can't stomach the game so I go to my local tackle shop and purchase from there. Not only do I get to see the merchandise before purchasing and get merchandise right away, I'm supporting local too.

Shop spooling is only as good as the person spooling it. However, it is difficult to mess that up. Most shops do spool to spool. No matter how good the shop does the spooling you still will not know how the reel manages the line until you let out some line and reel it back up. Also even if the shop do nothing wrong and your reel manages the line perfect you might still get issues with a new line due to the character of the line itself and user idiosyncrasies. Learn to spool yourself. It is not that difficult and you get a chance to see how the line goes on the reel instantly. The confidence gain from knowing how to respool yourself it worth it. I too do 90% of my fishing from the bank in mostly tree/brush areas. Having the confidence and knowledge to spool myself is important as there is no shop by the river.

4 days and you are panicking? You Americans are spoiled. I have ordered stuff from the the US and have not heard anything for 2 weeks but it did arrive. As for spelling, English is not their first language. English is my first language and I'm terrible at spelling.

We are fisherman/woman, always thinking that the next catch will be a 20lb bass hooked in a bunch of weeds the size of Everest that will need to be sawn and moved. We must prepare for that 0.00001% possibility rather than the 99% 2-6 pounders.

I'm at the point that most any new fishing tackle is pretty good these days. It is not the tackle, it is me. Line at the proper diameter these days are pretty darn good compared to 50 years ago. We, as a species, have been catching fish for much longer than influencers have been around.

Sure sells more line if you promote the idea that line expires in a week. Wouldn't it be great if plastic biodegrade that fast. As with any plastic, store it properly at room temperature and you'll be fine for a long long time. Not that hard to do. Leave it in 100+ degrees heat, exposed to UV and weather and you will have problems with most everything. I worry more about and take more care of my cigars and whisky than with fishing tackle.

I take reviews of most products with a grain of salt. With fishing tackle it is with a bag of salt. Too many people have a vested interest in promoting one product over another even to the point of purposely bashing another product. I respect those who come out and declare it. With those people I am more inclined to at least listen to what they have to say. Most You Tube "reviews" are useless. Just an unboxing while regurgitating the manufacturer's specs at best.

I honestly don't know as I have no clue what or how a fish interprets colour. What does colour mean to a fish? It's impossible to understand that one question from the wife never mind a fish. Mind you most days, figuring out a fish is easier. Try both over a season and under the same conditions and see what catches you the most fish. If ultraviolet purple Chernobyl dust infused flouro braid consistently catches pink 5 eyes bass then by all means use that.

Depends on the "friend". A friend would be someone I know. At least know enough to know if they are responsible and respectful of other people's property. To those group of people I will generally lend anything except for certain services from the wife. As for the irresponsible idiots, I won't even lend my second hand toilet paper. Again, if they are my "friends" I will know what they are like. Having said that accidents do happen in which case I simply brush it off. Only had it happen once and my friend offered to pay for replacement but I declined as accident happens. When I was a much younger pup I did break a cheap Kmart rod a friend lent me when he took me out to experience fishing. I broke the cheap rod from casting. I felt terrible. He didn't care. Not knowing what to buy, I went and got a store gift card for twice the value of the rod from a proper fishing store. We've still remain friends 30 years later and how he's borrowing my expensive rods and reels. The test of a friendship is not when things are good but it is when things are bad. How we react and treat each other determines, for me, wither that friendship is worth further investing in or looking for greener pasture elsewhere.

For trout I'd definitely use a mono or fluro leader.

^^^d**n son....that looks delicious. I'm a cook wannabe. I got into cooking because of my love for Japanese steel and knives. Also the more a knife is used, the quicker it will need to be resharpened. I love sharpening things.

Lines, bird's nest, equipment failure don't bother me. Usually when that happens, 99% of the time it's on me...user error. If a line or line/reel combo doesn't work for that day, even after the worst bird's nest, I usually salvage the line and use it to practice knot tying. Stupid, malicious and inconsiderate idiots bother me most.

Yeah wait a few months and they will be readily available. Also let the early adopters work out the bugs. Could be worse. You could have been waiting for Sony's new phone. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/01/sony-adds-hdmi-to-last-years-android-phone-charges-2500/

OMG some people are looking to be offended. Censure and delete everything. Legislate everything. I find this thread funny myself. Quite admire the OP's ingenuity. Never heard of or held a Dobyns rod so I have no affinity for that brand.

There's a difference between warranty between manufacturer's defect vs user abuse. Interesting thing is "warranty". Buy a half million dollar home you get 1 maybe 2 years warranty. On my 60K car it's 1-2 years on most things 5-8 years on major components. 1-2 years on electronics including some very expensive (relative to fishing tackle) electronics. None will cover accidental damage, abuse or wear and tear. When it comes fishing tackle I have the same approach. I use it and break it then it's my fault. Manufacturer defect I will know within a month or 2. Having said that, the extended warranty that Loomis and St Croix offers along with their reputation of taking care of their customers definitely is a huge factor for me at time of purchase.

In the relative scope of things line is not that expensive. Try 3 or 4 different sizes and see which one catch you more fish. Who cares if a line will allow you to cast a 1/billion oz lure to the moon if it snaps with the fish, in the condition that you like to fish and according to your ability.

Any of the reels you listed will be more than adequate. I use 15-20# braid on much cheap reels such as the Daiwa Revros 2500, Shimano Spirex 2500 and Quantum Five-0 20 all time. Those reels have not fallen apart on me, blew up, went on strike or have rioted on me. I also use those reels hard and I'm not always paranoid of them getting nicks and knocks. My Tatula and Stradic spinners on the other hand gets way more attention....most times too much attention and worry. In some ways I enjoy my Revros more than my Tatula even though the Tatula is a much better reel in every aspect. Having said that I'm realistic too. None of my reels are used to catch 400 lb Marlins or 400 lb Sharks. I'm 12 hours away from an ocean. Any of the 3 reels you mentioned are going to serve you well. It is down to personal preference and feel. For me I would get the Vanford. Why? Because I already have a Stradic and Tatula. I would get a Vanford tomorrow but none of my local tackle shops have it in stock yet. Therefore I will wait because I want to support local and I want to have it in hand and mounted on one of my rods before buying.

That's the thing about fishing rods and tackle. It's not like temperature, weight or measurements where universal standards are agreed upon. Action, power, stretch in a fishing line is all by "feel". Feel is so subjective.

Woulda, shoulda, coulda....let the second guessing begin. An incredible 10 SB for Brady. Not the greatest game played by the Bucs but still got there despite the interceptions.

Put whatever tackle that will help you catch fish in your area. For me my portable tackle box many have Len Thompson lures and Panter Martin spinners.

I enjoy fishing even if the only fish I catch is at Costco. I'm a terrible fisherman but love being outdoors and the motions/rhythm of fishing.