softwateronly

I think you can't go wrong with either. I have fished braid to leader for almost 15 years, but do use 15-25' floro leaders because of zebra mussels. I tend to catch a lot of my fish by throwing smaller and larger baits than "normal", somewhat limiting my need for MH. I have bought too much stuff over the years, but my breakdown is 6 medium, 6 heavy, and 4 MH rods. Do you expect to throw 1/4oz most often? I'd go Medium power. Throw 3/8oz most often? in cover? I'd go MH. scott

It is, and it's very sensitive. It spends a lot of time in my car when I'm stuck in the city and find some time to throw at some smallies in the harbors. Jigs, tubes, free rigs, underspins, hair jigs, and spoons are my normal baits. scott

Those are 4 different models that I own that are somewhat similar. Three of those rods are priced over $300 and one is under $200. What I was trying to say is that this one model that I linked is comparable to much higher priced rods. I think it's the best bang for the buck rod that I've ever fished. scott The MC Days line up is more available out of japan, the store I linked is out of singapore and is reputable. I'm up to about a dozen orders out of them over the years. Shipping is included, but slow ish. About 2 weeks.

I'm hoping for a St Joe river bass from shore this Wednesday and a lake bass by St Paddy's day. scott

I have 4 rods that fit the bill; poison adrena 6'11M+, MC Days 360 6'10M/RF, Steez 7'M+XF, and MC Days 6'9M/F. I'm almost interchangeable on all of these, but only one of them can be had for $150 tyd. https://shimreels.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=40107 promo code: shims15 scott

I tend to think of the lv500 and a damiki vault as 2 sides of the same thing; one loud, one quiet. scott

IL SM record has got to be 2nd only to Vermont. The current record is from a shore fisherman across from grant park, 7lb 3oz. You have about 1500 sq miles of a relatively shallow portion of Lake Michigan to go hunt. scott

I'm gonna second Katie here; those battery operated hand warmers are great. They live in my work weather bag, but I went diggin for em everytime I went out fishing before everything froze solid. scott

Looks like a composite from the website https://arkrods.com/collections/rods/products/2024-tharp-series-casting-rod?variant=44167371817200 scott

Even as a fan of diawa; Too many Tatulas.... scott

Stray casts gets my attention from time to time. scott

Principles that override self enrichment? For me, I'd like to think so, but you just proved it. scott

Every combo does multiple presentations for me, but at the same time, all my most successful presentations have a preferred stick. Lots of 1A and 1B, 2, 3, & 4 options. I tend to plan out my lures for the day so that most combos are living in 1A and 1B territory. scott

100% traveling to or fishing a spot. But I also only have a 30yr old flasher, more of a transistor than electronics scott

I went the BFS route with it last year and there was a bit of a learning curve, but I think most of that curve would have existed with spinning as well. The solid tip thing is real in my experience. You can get a rhythm where the entire rod feels in resonance for a very consistent action. If you look into BFS for a jighead minnow, this rod has been phenomenal and an immediate favorite combo; Abu Garcia Salty Stage prototype Kurodai XKRC-73MLS-BF https://asianportal-fishing.com/products/036282110861?_pos=1&_sid=178890522&_ss=r scott

@Bosoxfan1598 I've found many rods can lob cast the top or even more than their stated weight range. It's obviously not ideal, but I do it relatively frequently. The standard 6" magdraft is a bait I push to the limit often. On the other hand, the freestyle takes more rod to set the hook so I almost always find a way to work with more power. scott

Combine the ziploc bags with a gasket sealed plano and I'm 3 years without losing any terminal tackle to rust. Not the best for quickly id-ing, but it's not that bad either. scott

Finesse underspin, blade bait, and ned have worked best for me right during ice out. scott

I’ve heard from others here, that the B is a touch faster than the A. They also changed the top end of the rating from 2oz down to 1.5oz. I’d guess they’re not very different though. Yeah I have a 735 and a 755 dobyns, can’t quite find a reason to get the 795 yet. scott

55-57 degree water in Feb makes me think your largest wave of spawners is probably within the next 3 weeks. If you have the history of where they spawn, I'd target nearby structure and flats to those areas. A swim jig is my favorite tool for this, but many powerfishing techniques should be viable. scott

Looks good to me. My favorite A-rig rod and one of my favorite for pitching rods are the same; expride A 7'7H/MF. It's also good at deep 16-22' cranks, big scroungers, carolina rigs, heavy football jigs, and preacher jigs, super versatile. I fish braid to leader making all those techniques a little easier to swap between on the water. I always thought a Dobyns extreme 795Flip or a Phenix feather 7'7XH/F would be possible similar candidates but haven't tried them. scott

I'm with @Mike L on the gambler EZ series, hits all the key points for me, good kick, head roll, size options, price, colors, and decent durability. I throw mostly Big EZ on the back of a swim jig, but the ez, big gz, and the tz make appearances and all catch. I also like the River2sea d-walker, largo shad, beast coast miyagi, and the x-zone swammer. scott

I never found an entry level rod that I liked for all those baits. I do have a Fury795sb and have had my most success with treble hooked glides and have not been happy with single jighook baits. I think you'd feel the same as well. Lots of others have said similar things about the irod series as @WRB so that would be a great choice. I have a non-US MC Days 702X rod that will do everything you're asking for at a high level, but it doesn't have the length. US MC looks like they made the Benkei series in more american friendly lengths and could be worth checking out; Birc 78XH/BB 3/8-3oz, but I haven't heard anything about the reloaded series yet. scott

Usually a spunkshad, but Big Bait Swimon makes a nice compact panfish profile. I tend to pair them on the minimax and stealthblade. With their low float, they can double duty as a ned trailer and free rig. scott

Lo siento, no hablo espanol. I like the MH up to 1/2oz+ and think 3/8oz is perfect on that rod. MH is my choice. scott