Rockhopper

I use mine from 12lb all the way up to 20lb floro for pitching and flipping and they work absolutely fantastic for that application.

Ski them in and stab them to death?

I prefer shorter rods typically 7 foot for jig fishing with short butt sections to aid in pitching with my style. This makes the rod in front of the reel seat equivalent to a 7'2" -7'4" length rod. I do not fish heavy mats, mostly just lay downs and lilly pads. I prefer a medium heavy fast as my go to.

I definitely prefer the mgl. Never been into DC reels. I have curados of all sizes, but my absolute favorite is the 71 size of which I own 5. If I were to only choose one though, I would get the 151 without question as it is the most versatile.

Kind of. The Thermocline technically begins where the euphotic zone ends. So, yes in a sense. However, on just a day to day basis, if you have one random day of clouds in an otherwise long stretch of sunny skies, the thermocline will still be down deep even below the euphotic zone as it takes a bit for the thermocline to adjust.

I have spent quite a bit of time fishing trout in lakes (including the lake in that video). Their depth is going to vary from day to day depending on how direct the sunlight is. But the rule of thumb is they are going to hang out right at the very bottom of the euphotic zone...right where the sunlight ends in the water column. Blue sky they will be deeper. Overcast they will be shallower. If you cannot troll, best bet is to use your electronics to find schools and get yourself a heavy silver color kastmaster and some heavier but smaller profile jigging spoons. Cast them out let them sink. Pull up with rod, then reel down with rod to take up line slack, and repeat. They will usually hit the spoon when you start to pull up on the rod again. Bait will flutter down, and then you pull it up. Or, if you have a pretty stout rod, you can use a 2 to 3 oz banana weight with about 2 foot of leader behind it tied to some sort of inline spinner (big rooster tail, wedding ring, VIP spinner, etc) and just cast, sink, and retrieve. But you have to get down in the water column otherwise you are just fishing above their heads. Local lakes to me sometimes we are down 90 to 120 feet in direct sunlight, other days we are fishing 15 to 30 feet. The BIG lake trout typically always run deep though, just fyi, and are usually caught by simply jigging straight down below the boat. If you can somehow figure out how to troll, use a string flasher with a banana weight and a wedding ring and some cream corn on the hook and troll it at the depth the fish are at.

Those look interesting. Am I reading that right though? You only get one 4 pack for $20?

I'm so sorry to hear this. RIP. 🙏

Same for me. I use the ones in the right of the photo.

This for a flipping head

Sounds like you have too much line on your spool.

I use my 822s in the manner you described all the time. However, the weights you listed are pretty heavy for this rod. I use traditional smaller drop shot weights. You are describing what I would call power shot, and need a rod appropriate for that weight range. I would look at a medium to medium heavy fast. Those are similar to jig weights. You could cast those on a baitcaster easily.

One could deduce that when I say I only catch fish on black and blue, every other color does not work for me.

I only catch jig fish on black and blue.

Didn't know that.

I could care less about ambassadors. 6th Sense makes some quality kit imho.

I have a 4601c that is a thumb bar release. Used to love that reel back in the day. Hate it now.

Ditto. Can't wait to get my hands on one. Other than that...meh.

Jigs came easy for me. Frogs I suck with. Never caught a jerkbait fish even though I've tried plenty of times. Spinnerbaits, Jigs, and weightless Texas rigs are my bread and butter. Been doing well with big swimbaits too.

I will most definitely be having margaritas tonight.

I am a firm believer that you should use the most moderate rod you can get away with for the presentation.

I got two at that price last year. Hate them both equally. 😂

I've been eyeballing those myself. Looks like a nice boat.

Absolutely in love with both of mine. One of the best rods I have ever fished.