J Francho

I use a folding Frabill Bear Claw net when needed. It's up front in the bungee that holds my soft side cooler in place. It's pretty rare I use it, since I'm right there at water level to land most fish - even big ones. Most often it's a dink with a face full of trebles that I don't really want to deal with. If I can get that fish to shake off boatside, even better.

Not in a million years would I consider changing line because I thought that was the factor in not getting bit.

I have the MF and MHF in this length and they could cover around 80% of my fishing. They're long, but not too long. A true "fast" taper. I really like the MF taper - really versatile.

The last reels that were made in the USA were pretty terrible. All of the reels I've actually purchased were made in Japan. Some are JDM, but most are USDM. the reels I've received from various places such as Korea, China, Malaysia, etc. have been of varying quality. None have been truly bad products. Yeah, if you crack open a reel you can see the difference if you know what to look for. As far as actual use, there's very little difference until you start getting into what I call price point reels.

Just order jigs from Siebert Outdoors, and know you got a quality, hand tied piece of fishing art for half the price of what you're talking about. *Autocorrect tried to replace jigs with hugs. Mike probably has good hugs too. 😂

I thought of a couple more. Flat mono. It was meant for baitcasting and was supposed to cast better. God forbid you got some twist in it. Gorilla braid was one of the first super lines I tried back in the early 90s. It was terrible. Didn't try braid again until around 25 years ago.

I would put that reel on an extra medium rod only. Length to be determined by latitude and longitude and which direction the water circles the drain. Always burn candles while using it.

I've always been intolerant of the cold, but learned to face it enough to even go fishing in single digits for trout. The heat doesn't usually bother me, but I've noticed it becomes more uncomfortable than I ever remember. Not intolerable, but a little annoying sometimes. I get through that too.

This might seem like a gimmick, but I still use these two reels with LH retrieve, and a manual spool switch on the top. They are GREAT for pitching.

Oh, I'll be more specific. They're poopy junk.

Rapala DT series Koppers crawfish cranks Whopper Plopper at least a half dozen cull tags a scale

Lure weights and line sizes are written on the rod itself, so there are those details. As for what to use it for, almost anything. At 6'6", it will lend itself to some baits better than a longer rod, but it is a very nice rod to get started on.

Been using pink or yellow line for years for this very purpose. Leaders are rarely necessary.

How to over complicate a jika rig.

That doesn't look anything like me.

No brakes, no bueno.

@A-Jay I love that handle design. It's just like my Dobyns Champion Extremes with the full rear cork and smooth locking nut that hides the threads. Speaking of, I like the 744 and 745 for what the OP wants. 1/2 to 3/4 aren't exactly what I'd call heavy jigs, so I'd prefer a faster stick.

Is that the jersey shore?

If they are made from a quality blank, sensitivity in both should be good enough that you can't tell the difference. Why do you think they would be drastically different? My AVC70MM is no less sensitive than my AVC70MXF. How a rod bends doesn't equate to relative sensitivity.

That's DEFINITELY a trap!

If you get a good rod, power and action have no bearing on sensitivity, so let's rule that out. Generally, I prefer an XF taper for jigs except in the case of really heavy cover. For rods rated above one ounce and used for punching heavy weeds, I want something a little more moderate. I want the entire XXH rod involved in the lift and separate hook set I use for getting big fish out of heavy weed cover. It's not my favorite type of rod, but this is what works for this situation, and that's more important. I use this same type of rod for frogging in slip as well.

Some love to use it in hyperboles.

There is being reckless and then there are cases where your number is up. A woman, driving her car nearby with her seat belt on, was killed by a tree that fell as she was coming down the road. No PFD or helmet would have saved her. These guys seem to fall in the former category of tragedy. Both are sad, but one was maybe avoidable.

I used to hate Christmas. Turns out, it was who I was with for the holiday and why we were doing what we were doing. Now, we enjoy the day at home with the kids, eat good food, listen to good music, and anyone that wants to come by and join in is welcome.

They've had 9 mos. to concoct, I mean perfect it.