new2BC4bass

DogBone, I don't plan on buying any more rods, but would still be interested in reading a review of the X-Matrix. I did a lot of research when I was looking into buying a couple fly rods for bluegills. If I remember correctly, the Douglas line offered good value for the money. However, I was looking for cheap.

Funny, but not funny. As some said, it could have been dangerous. A cousin living 2 miles up the road from my parents got a bee sting. By the time he got to our place his eyes were almost completely closed. Good thing we didn't live a mile further down the road. An allergy isn't something you necessarily have your whole life, so be careful. I was 22 before I got hit with them.

Glad the operation went well. Be good to yourself, and be on the water next spring.

🤣 Guess I didn't word that properly. Haven't fished those baits in about 60 years.

Advertising makes it sound like an excellent choice. Too bad it is so fugly.

I resent your posting a picture of my brothers! 🤣

Can't comment on either braid as I haven't used either. I can say I like your idea of using a Hi-Vis line. I started fishing at 6 with a Mitchell 300 and fiberglass rod. We fished nightwalkers, leeches, crayfish, and grubs off the bottom. Line watching was a must.

I can't help with rod selection, but I can sympathize with wanting about 8 good rods to do everything with. I've picked up a slew of rods over the past 15 years. Selecting just a few for an outing is a pain. One I wish now that I didn't have to deal with.

Started fishing with spinning reel when I was 6 years old. Used 8# Trilene XL. Later went to 4# XL. Never had any wind knots. Tried 10# Sufix 832 on a 7'2" LF Fenwick River Runner. Didn't like it. Didn't use it enough to get wind knots. I did send a jig flying when 30# braid wrapped around the tip of my only MHF spinning rod. I read all the time how much better braid is for spinning. Maybe I haven't tried the right braid. I have several used spinning reels that I never put line on. Guess I should try some YGK. Small guides on a spinning rod is another thing I didn't like. I felt they hurt casting distance. Others disagree. Again, maybe because I wasn't using the most suitable line.

Mike has cleaned several of my reels and installed new bearings and did a polish job on one of my Curado 51Es.

Nope. Wish I was the type that liked to tinker. Would save me a lot of money. Luckily (or unluckily!) I don't get out often so none of my reels see a lot of use as I like to rotate my gear occasionally. Even so some haven't been used in a long time. Probably need a good cleaning from sitting around.

Hope all goes well. I assume you aren't on blood thinners. That's a plus. Personally at the point where I need to consider getting something done with my prostrate so I can do more than dribble. 😨 And I ain't talking basketball. I don't know anything about how your operation will be done, but I shaved my chest when I was in the hospital for my brain tumor. Made the nurses job easier and caused me less pain. And shaving wasn't painful unlike what Steve Carell endured in "The 40 Year Old Virgin". 🤣

Charger and 8 batteries included. Charging tray holds all eight 2800mAh batteries. Gives me an extra set of batteries should the ones in the flash die. Kit sold on Amazon. Kit scheduled to arrive tomorrow, flash the 21st. Love fishing, but never learned too swim. I couldn't do what you do. I may not swim like a rock now since I carry my own floatation device around my stomach these days. 🤣 I might make use of the heated swimming pool if I was at least 50 pounds lighter. I see you're from New Jersey. I worked in Warren, NJ for almost 38 years as a CNC lathe programmer. Of course, I did set-ups and in the early days was running lathes a lot. I programmed and set-up any new lathes as soon as they were hooked up. Still set-up and ran off small jobs until I retired. Retired but still do all the lathe programming remotely so I guess not really retired.

Whew! I'd have to hire a porter! Been Checking on the flashes. Seems the Flashpoint is a rebadged Godox. I also compared the Godox TT685II to the Godox V860II. Basically the same except the 685 uses 4 AA batteries versus the 860 lithium ION battery. Initial price difference is the 860 costs $50 more. Was thinking about going with the 860 considering the cost of batteries. However, I just remembered they make rechargeable AA batteries Looked them up. Charger plus 8- batteries is $29 so still cheaper than the V860. Don't believe I need to be concerned about the slightly faster recycle time of the V860.

Camera backpack arrived today. Will have room for the 25mm f1.8 should I ever decide to get one. Obviously it's too small for the 50-200mm lens. Will close with the battery grip on the camera, but it's close. I don't see a way of fitting the battery grip in the bag if I take it off the camera. Removed two dividers. Not too heavy at all. Will have to see if I still think that after carrying it for a while. Basically I figure on carrying it from the car to a spot where I will be using it. Such as at a rodeo. No long hikes at my age and current physical strength. For general walking around, the 12-60mm will be on the camera, and no backpack taken. May even take the battery grip off. casts_by_fly how thick is that bag? How come the camera appears to be sitting level? Mine tips forward even with two dividers under the lens. Obviously the battery grip doesn't help the situation. I can't make out much of what is in your bag, but I can see you are way more into photography than I am! Also do you have any advice for a flash? Have a Metz 48 on the E-510. Considering a Godox TT685O or Flashpoint Zoom II AA TTL. Not familiar with either, but they seem powerful and at the limit of my budget. Can't see spending more for what I'll be using it for. Thanks.

That would be a pain. I prefer quality reels that last me for years. Probably cheaper in the long run. You don't need to spend big bucks to get a quality reel these days.

Unless the Bait Monkey has you in a headlock, I would try the spinning rod first.

Agree. But my B-I-L doesn't understand why I am willing to put up with the occasional backlashes. He uses spinning only. I've only used bastcast when fishing with him. Well up until the last time I visited when I forgot to bring a baitcast reel with braid. It just so happened that I had shipped a spinning rod down along with a couple baitcast rods and the spinning reel I brought with me had 30# braid on it. Was depressed not to be able to use a casting rod for fishing in the lily pads but must admit the spinning rod worked well even though it was an older Fenwick Elite Tech MF jig and worm rod.

I personally think $125 was an appropriate price for an older reel of that quality. 50# braid should be good. I went 60# after reading several suggestions for using 60#-80# braid for frogging. For me I think 60# is a bit too heavy. I can't imagine needing 80# braid.

I'm not qualified to answer. I have 10 brands of reels from $30-$300 (on closeouts). Like them all.

I looked at Lowepro's website. It looks like the Adventura BP 300 III is what I am looking for....except I hadn't considered a backpack. Was looking for a bag to carry over a shoulder. Not sure how hot my back would get here in Florida with a backpack. $130 backpack. Looked at a few other backpacks. $60 CADeN for DSLR/SLR. Waterproof. Lens on camera plus room for 4 more. $54 Mosiso backpack. Waterproof. Almost same size as the CADeN. $60 Tarion Little larger. Lens on camera plus room for 5 more. Comes with rain cover. It's looking like a backpack is the better way to go. I don't think I would like a sling bag (one strap). Two straps to distribute the weight. Most shoulder bags are either too small or too expensive when large enough. The Mosiso was rated number one at another website. Guess I'll give that one a try. It's 20% off and comes in many colors, but only that much discount in black. I thought hot pink or purple might be nicer, but only 10% off. Haha

As mentioned here and in your other thread, the Curado 200E/201E are very good reels. I personally had better luck dialing in the braking system on these reels than on the new braking system. One thing to remember coming from spinning is that you can't cast a baitcaster like you would a spinning reel. The cast must be smooth. I would suggest learning by using a sidearm underhand cast. Watch the pros cast. It keeps the rod loaded throughout the cast with less effort on your part. Start with an aerodynamic lure of at least 1/2 oz. I'm originally from PA. Live in Florida now. I used 12# mono or co-polymer on almost all my MH rods. I may try some 15# on a couple reels now that I'm in Florida. It takes a pretty good pull to break 12# mono if your knot was tied correctly. It's easier on the hand to use a short dowel wrapped with tape. Less likely to injury your hand. Whatever you do don't use the reel to break the line. Probably didn't have to mention that. Just thought I'd throw it out there.

At that price you should have bought all three! Years ago I got my first Curado 51E used for $125. Later I got a new one on closeout for $98 TMD.

Curado 201E with 60# braid is what I had on my frog rod. Will put it on my next frog rod. Previous rod as stolen.

The 50-200mm lens has its own padded carrying case with a strap. I am going to use that case rather than buying a camera bag big enough to fit it in. That will allow me to buy a smaller camera bag. Needs to hold a DSLR with battery grip. The small bag I have doesn't quite have a big enough partition for the 12-60mm lens although I could force it in enough to close the lid. So now I need a bag to hold 3 relatively normal size lenses plus the camera and flash.