Darren.

I use a Shimano Chronarch 50e. The newer 70 series will handle light lures, soft plastics.

Welcome aboard, Jason!

Indeed. When I lived there I remember a mother lion and her cubs (IIRC correctly) were living in a barn in Mt. Morris or was it Hemlock (?)... Memory not serving me right now, but it was in the mid 90s. Wouldn't doubt they were released by DEC, but like u say, who knows.

Welcome aboard, Kaden! 12# is a good all-around pound test. Why do you wish to switch from braid? Just curious...

Indeed! iPhone 7 and up sure take great pix. Got a 7 myself.

Beautiful!

I would highly suggest you go to either or both of those stores, look at rods and reels they have in stock. Pick some that catch your eye, are in the lure/line weight you're after, and in your price range. Same with reels. This forum will be all over the place as we all have our favorites, and so forth. As has been mentioned, Pflueger, Lews are two. I prefer Shimano Stradics. Daiwa also makes some excellent reels. I also use reels in the 1000 size for all my bass fishing. That size is capable of super light and heavier lines. As for rods, both Cabelas and BPS have house brands that are of good quality in addition to numerous other brands that also have loyal followings. Further, both stores will offer combos - so say you find a rod you like, ask them if there is a combo deal with a particular reel you like. And they'll let you try reels on rods. You can then get a sense of how each feels in your hands. Hope this is helpful.

Welcome aboard! Thought I'd amend my "welcome" to say that yes, Rock Bass are fun to catch. I only caught them when I lived in WNY, in the Honeoye Creek...My brother and I used to wade and fish it.

OK ok...I yield. We actually had a black bear spotted down here, too - during the wildfire in the Dismal Swamp several years back - it wandered up here of all places. As I usually do with wildlife before opening my mouth, I check with the DGIF. Here's the bear map of VA. I am in the "rare/unoccupied" areas...the WHOLE REST OF THE STATE is occupied. I stand corrected, LOL

A few years back when I set out to do everything on baitcasting gear, I found the trick with senko, zoom finesse worms, etc., sans weight and wacky rigged, was to thumb the spool as soon as it hits the target, then quickly pull out line with thumb still engaged but not locked down to hopefully get a straight free-fall. I use(d) a Chronarch 50e upgraded to 7.0:1, supertuned. But I agree that spinning is a better tool in that there is less coordination (thumb, timing, pulling line, etc.). And for skipping, it is just hands-down easier. Two of the reasons I went back to mostly spinning for my fishing which is predominately with soft plastics.

Congrats! And welcome aboard! Interesting first post

Heh, welcome aboard. And you want to talk to @Raul, @A-Jay, @00 mod about Mexico

Pleasantly surprised. I'm liking what I see!!! As long as the W's keep on a comin'!

Absolutely! Mine is a 30 minnkota. It works like a champ.

Yep. You can buy one from bassyaks.com, though. Mine was coddled and tweaked with parts from local stores and so forth. It is actually pretty decent, but not as thorough as a BassYaks unit.

Welcome aboard! @Delaware Valley Tackle among the supertuners here...

Congrats!

My TM is foot controlled! LOL... well except for the fwd / rev. Steering is foot controlled.

Every kayak maker will probably join the party. Someone will make the killer leg-powered yak one of these days. Some think Hobie or Native already has...but there's gotta be something better out there. Competition brings it out!!

Indeed.

Would be pretty high on my list, no doubt. I'd also look at a Native Slayer, WS ride, of those in a similar price range. I would be electrifying it, so want one easy to make that happen. Would also consider (if I had the $) a pedal driven yak...

Never sat in one of those, but they get great reviews and are priced well. I've sat in the Lure 12 and it was really nice. I love the wheel in the keel design.

Excellent choice, but in order to get the right feel, you definitely want to get sit-in time either in a yak store, even better is to demo one on the water. At 5'7" I started with a 10 footer, but when I bought my main yak I went with 12'. You may find 10 to be a tad cramped with all your gear - if you take a lot. It is going to be easier to maneuver than the 12, but the 12 will probably track a bit better. Get some time in one if you can.

True, but it's funny since you're relatively the same longitude as Charlottesville, which I consider toward the western side of the state. We were in Farmville (Hampden Sydney and Longwood) for some soccer stuff, and there's definitely wildlife there!

DA bears... Indeed. Be careful. We only have bears in the western part of VA, to the best of my knowledge. I remember when I lived in WNY of mountain lions haunting many in the southern tier. Be careful out there!!