Brian11719

Not sure if its the same one @FishTax was referring to but Academy currently has 25% off pretty much any rod and reel they have if you buy the rod and reel at the same time. Good opportunity if you are looking for something that isn't an old / clearance item and in my case I ended up getting a new wacky / shaky head setup. Already caught one with a shaky head off the local lake shore too

^ same

I use the 3/0 for flukes and caffeine shads (and tubes and 3.8 keitechs). If I'm throwing weightless I prefer the caffeine shad since it has a little more weight to it and casts further, but you can just get a weighted one for the flukes if you want to add a little more weight to it. For mag flukes I like the 5/0 and there's already plenty of weight on those...

I'm already considering another one after getting this one. Might have to wait a bit for a sale somewhere but pretty sure most of my spinning rods are going to be in this line up from now on. I still like the mojo line and the 7'2" mojo moderate spinning seems like it would be awesome for lighter crankbaits for people that aren't stubborn like me and don't hold the rod with most of their hand under the reel. The grip for the mojos is also a little different for their casting lineup so I might give one of those a try at some point. Hope the kid catches a lot of fish with whatever you go with. Wish I could get mine to go with me but she seems to have a bit of a fish phobia at the moment...

Some people say tubes are for smallmouth but I mostly catch largemouth and they've worked well for me. There's also usually a good amount of grass around so I like the stupid tube and it has been a good alternative to a caffeine shad. They both weigh about the same so I usually switch between them (and a 3.8 keitech) on my MH F spinning setup.

Two very different rods depending on how they are going to hold it. I have used a couple different mojos (the old model) and just got a victory and really like their spinning rods in general. The 6'8" mxf spinning models are meant for targeted wacky rigs and work well as a hard jerkbait / popper rod so that seems like it might be a good fit for your kid. If it were me I'd take them to the shop and then see if you can put a spinning reel on one and have them hold it and then go with the one that feels best for them. In my case the new mojos look great to me but the handle placement doesn't line up with how I prefer to hold a spinning rod most of the time (which is the same way I hold a casting rod) so I opted for the victory with my latest one. In terms of the rods / blanks themselves I like their spinning lineup the most out of pretty much anything out there (I've tried a few others around this price point). They also have a good warranty program. Have had to call them twice now and while it took them a little while to get back to me the first time they got back to me right away the second time and gave me a great deal on an upgrade to the victory I mentioned. There's also a very useful catalog in this thread here that you might be interested in if you haven't seen it already:

Personally this is my favorite size for all my spinning rods except for my drop shot setup. I'd say anything from a weightless trick worm on a hook all the way up to a lure weighing in at about 1/2oz (eg. a 3.8 keitech on a weighted swimbait hook or a caffeine shad) will work with this. If the lure weighs more than that I'm most likely throwing it on a casting setup at that point...

4-5 lbs would be my guess. Nice catch!

Yep. I actually hold my casting rods and spinning rods pretty much the same way and just get left handed casting reels.

Lew's TP-1 Black Speed Stick is on sale at T.W. right now and you get another $25 gift certificate when you buy it so that's like $75 for the 7'4 heavy fast. Not sure there's anything else out there I could recommend more for someone considering their first heavy rod right now. This will work for frogs or as a light punching rig or if you want to put fluoro on it I also like it for a 6" magdraft or a mini a-rig or even as a spinnerbait rod.

This TBH I tried a few different brands when I was starting out and this one is the easiest to learn and if you get into it you can move up from there...although as far as line goes I prefer sufix 832 for braid or ygk g-soul for fluoro but to each his own.

texas rig w/ a 1/8 weight and an ewg hook. you never said what the conditions are like and if they were up high or towards the bottom so I'd take this and go with a mag2 if it was clear and calm and an ultravibe if i wanted a bit more thump in the water. you can bounce either of these of the bottom or swim them towards the top of the water column if need be.

drop shot trick worm wacky rig senko texas rig with some mag2s AND ultravibes (depending on how choppy it is) jig for all those laydowns chatterbait spinnerbait ...in that order since the top 3 should get you something on the hook and if you are doing good then you can try to land a bigger one have fun

I really liked this one Glenn. One thing that I just figured out recently is it TOTALLY matters how you actually hold the rod and a rod you see some guy on youtube saying is the best thing since sliced bread might suck for you. Case in point I noticed you hold the rod with your left hand and I don't. I actually hold both casting and spinning rods with my right hand and some of the 'best' spinning rods out there suck (in my humble opinion) when you hold them this way because they weren't designed to be held this way and you end up grabbing plastic which gets old quick if you are out there for a while. On the other hand a rod that only cost $180 might feel 10x better than one that costs $250 because it actually fits in terms of how you hold it...just something I thought was worth mentioning

I'm really happy with my Hummingbird Helix 5. I've got it on the Helix mount from YakAttack and if you happen to have old town there's an adapter you can buy so it fits right on the bottom. I didn't even need to drill into my kayak and have been using it for about a year now.

One of my favorite setups is a 6'10 mojo bass ML / XF with a shimano ultegra on it. Great for drop shots but I also throw a trick worm w/ a 1/8oz bullet weight on this setup. The total weight for that rig is about .25 oz and this setup handles it beautifully. My only complaint about the victory line is I don't own one, but the mojo line has been good to me and you still might be able to find some of the old purple ones around on sale.

The Little John, Frittside and Shad Rap are the ones I've landed on when I'm looking for something with a tighter wobble...might end up getting a separate rod just for the Shad Rap 6 at some point.

I usually get a pair of sunglasses and regular glasses when I go to the eye doctor and try to always wear my prescription glasses when fishing. When I get my next pair I'm going to try and make sure they are polarized, anti-glare and scratch resistant. If it's cloudy I just wear the regular ones rather than worrying about the transition lenses, but that's just my preference.

Thanks I hadn't heard of the raid libero before... Can't say I've got that many but I have managed to buy 10 rods in about a year...judgement free zone as far as I'm concerned...

I saw some shad jumping at one of my newer spots and I think they were a little smaller than I was expecting so one of my new lures for the year is going to be a 2/0 finesse underspin with a 4" easy shiner. I ended up picking up the Scottsboro Tackle Phantom Finesse Underspin but the Picasso Single Barrel also looks like it might be worth trying out. One of my favorite setups is a 6/10 ml xf rod so I've also been looking for other stuff to throw on it besides a drop shot and hoping this one works out...

I bought their last gen bass-x rod on sale a couple of months ago and the reel seat came off while I was putting the reel on it. Seems like they had an issue with the last gen bass-x models based on internet posts I've seen. I tried contacting their warranty dept. and it took them a while but they eventually called twice and emailed me as a follow up which I thought was nice. Fortunately for me I was able to take it back to the store and while I was a little disappointed with this particular experience with them, I still think they are a good company. I'd probably stay away from that gen bass-x, but not planning on getting rid of the other 4 that I own from them. In fact I noticed a used one in my area and just sent the seller a note that I'm interested in buying it. That one is also a little more expensive and the warranty looks transferrable so I don't plan on having any issues with it. One thing I would suggest if anyone from their company ever reads this would be to consider waiving any fees for brand new rods with little or no use, but aside from that I think they make a good rod and have been happy with the others that I own.