kikstand454

i have regular on most of my reels and i have no plans of changing lines anytime soon. its everything i want my line to be. 12 and 15 on baitcasters... 6 and 8 on the spinning rigs. i have braid on my carolina rod and salt water rods... and i have 100% berkley flouro on my t-rig rod as an experiment. i like it too. but not so much compared to the price difference.

my biggest largemouth was caught waist deep in the water in a little pond. i was wading with my brother, throwing 1/16oz. black/ yellow stripe beetlespins and we were catching some good dinks. we got towards the deep corner of the pond and my line went slack and i set the hook and it felt like i had a truck. we had no way to measure or weigh or take a pic, so i conservatively guess it between 8.5 and 9.5. i like to think it went ten though.... it was as long as my torso. my largest smallmouth ironically came much the same way... though we were wading Greenbriar river in w.va. and we came to a cut where anthony's creek empties into it and there in the wash was a boulder top... we both threw our 2" floating rapala minnows (mine in that perch color and his in black and gold.) at it... a fish swirled on his and he missed it and i threw back in before he could and landed a smallie approx 4lbs. it was awesome... we ran it back up stream... stopping in pools to let her breathe... and showed my parents. there was another couple there that we didnt know and they took a pic and my addresss and said theyd send the pic. i never heard from them :'( ive caught some good sharks..around 6ft. and my biggest red was 28in on a cajunspin in electric chicken color. ive caught a good deal of 25 in. reds like in my avatar though.

I see more ugly sticks used for inshore than anything and yet to meet anyone that doesn't love them, but sensitivity is not issue, even a 1lb blue runner slams you. As far as a rod breaking, if it's in good shape it should be fine, I caught 2 lemons about 150# on a penn pursuit 12/25 spinning rod, although not in the league of my tallus as far as strength goes, but rated the same. Bass are a different ball game, they are inhalers and often the bite is delicate, I use an Im7 clarus which is sensitive enough to feel a freshwater snail crawling over the line. totally. rarely... and i mean super rarely... am i worried about feeling a bite fishing inshore. only time i can think of is in the winter fishing reds on the bottom and picking up sheepshead. thats it. and i do fine with the uglysticks. i really just dont want my 150 dollar crucial out there in a boat with the waves and psycho fish!

yeah, i think in the under $200 rod range... balance is much more important than official weight. while its a little hard to explain with an example with a baitcasting rod... you know what i mean with a spinning outfit. i have a 7' medium coastal graphite uglystick with a 40 series quantum on it and because the balance on it is perfectly at my index finger, it "feels" as light as my 7'6 crucial with no reel on it. obviously it is NOT. hahah. mentally, rooster, i agree with you... sometimes even though you know it shouldnt be "right"- it still just is. i fish inshore with uglysticks religiously and in my head i know thats silly because itd be "more comfortable " and id "feel more" with a good graphite rod. but in my head i feel that im rougher on my inshore equipment, and that the fish are rougher... and theres always the chance im going to hook a 20lb redfish or a big cobia or something and i dont want my rod to break. its all mental.

ok... i also have been very impressed wioth the berkley 100%.... but i have a question for everyone... not meaning to hijack the post.... but what is the word on stren flouro? its on sale stupid cheap here at sports authority and i just want to know if its worth it. scared to use it though cause of bad flouro exp. in past..... just now trusting the berkley.

shimano clarus... or compre. im gonna look into this vendetta though......

the guy i fish with says that he loves the new skeet reese rods. they are split grip and super light. around $100. also another guy i know likes the upper end ike rods from daiwa. also around 100 bucks. i use an old bps gs.... but im about to upgrade myself and i think imma either get a skeet reese or a shimano compre.

chrome blue back, and gold black back are go to's, and a red craw color is a fav. i really like the strike king red eye shad baits and have done well with the sexy ahad and chrome sexy shad.... but the finish on them is total crap. wish they would fix this because i love the action and sound compared to other baits... think imma try some excaliber's this fall/winter.

im realatively new to baitcasting (a few years) and i was always of the mindset that i didnt need a b.c. at all cause i was doing just fine with my spinning gear. this was true. however... when i started fishing with people in real boats and doing different techniques and such i felt that i needed to learn to b.c. and i havent looked back. i still love my spinning gear but now i use it like diffenent action rods or what ever and it is technique specific. before when i was wading and fishing from shore a good spinning rod was all i need cause when it came down to it all i was doign was chunking and winding. even when fishing on the bottom...spinning gear was fine. i think you should give it a shot with a decent rod and reel (make sure to match it..my brother made this mistake with a super heavy rod and could never get the casting down...) and just learn to do it in your yard. it will seem exciting to be learning something new and soon will you will notice that accuracy is easier to attain with baitcasters. and distance too. not that you cant do those things with a spinning rig.... its just easier. and more fun too i.m.h.o.

this past weekend i was in a situation that i think is ideal for pitching. and that is working a bank with overhangs and tons of laydowns. there is no way i coulda short casted from the back of the boat all day to all that structure. id have spent half the time in the trees and the other half missing the side of the log i was trying to get to. i use pitching to replace short casts completely. im typically in the back of a boat and a short cast is normally side armed which is just uncomfortable for me because of hitting the boat or motor. pitching is a whole lot more accurate too. i dont pitch a whole lot but its the only thing i "practice" in my yard or down the back hall of the house. and im glad i did cuz now i have to go back to that area for a tourney next sunday and do that same pattern. it felt good to be profecient at something that i rarely do... based just on practicing in my off time. cool stuff. good luck rooster on the flipping though.... i cant get that to work to save my life. hahha. the only time i feel the need to flip is when were working really close to pads and i want to get into little pockets and stuff... and im terrible at it. maybe i need to use the tailgate/coffee cup technique....

got my quantum tour edition pt left handed for $99. then got a crucial 7'6 for xmas to put it on!

yup. i use a left hand diawa too. but youre curado is just fine.

always ALWAYS rince your reel off completely if you take it out in salt or brackish water. always.

ok...i recently got the falcon case... but cant for the life of me figure out how to hang the baits in that thing. i havent really looked it up online or anything... but i feel stupid that i cant figure it out. help?

hahah. u usually use a boat to reel in the 30+!!! i have some smaller ones ive been thinking about fishing for bass with. im interested in this too. all i ever use a 30+ for is grouper.

i ran a rage shad yesterday and was instantly reminded why i love them. the action is mesmorizing. i got front boated by a buzzbait though so i didnt catch too many on it. flipped the rage craw instead

buzzbait killed all day yesterday. it was cloudy though. flipped a t-rigged rage tail craw with some success. think i caught the biggest mud fish of my life yesterday. hahhaha... sucker had to be 7lbs.

i have the "blue" model quantum tour edition pt. in left hand retrieve. i think all their pts come in left hand. i know the new te's do.

as usual.... when it comes to this im going to suggest the quantum incyte. 11 bearings and less than $60. i have had one for both salt and fresh water for years now, and it still casts and reels like the day i got it with minimal maitenence by me. it has been throwing braid in salt water and drop shots in fresh water and has caught many many fish including big reds,( including the one in my avatar) sharks and small grouper. if youre going to use it for freshwater and even then only every once in a while.... why pay 200 bucks? i know quantum is looked down on here and in some cases i understand why, and the other reels that youre lookin at and that others listed are great reels. but for less than 60 bucks you can have a great reel and money left over to even get a clarus rod for it.

i have a medium action diawa 6' that i use to throw trickworms and floating worms and flukes on. its short length is great for overhanging trees and stuff. i guess its really more "pitching" than casting though....if you were wanting to actually cast a weightless lure any real distance then you might want to look for a lighter action rod or stay with your spinning rig.

im gonna chime in that ive been using berkley 100% flouro on my t-rig rod for about 2 months now... and it is performing great. almost zero memory. id get more if i could... its really expensive though. i got what i have on a store closing clearence. if you can afford it then i would recomend it.... otherwise yo zuri hybrid or yo zuri ultra soft for a copoly line and berkley big game for mono.

x2

spinning- quantum incyte 30, shimano convergence 6'6 m, 8lb. yozuri casting- pinnacle solene, 6'6 shimano clarus m, 8lb berkly 100% these are my exact same setups for drop shotting too.

ive been thinking about the telescoping rod but i will say that the ol houndog probably works 80% of the time.

i have little to no problems with the shad now that ive switched to a 4/0 gammy skip gap hook. rides high and dry and straight.