NorcalBassin

Sorry to hear about your rod... hate it when that happens. At that price point you probably can't beat the Berkley Lightning Shock rods. If you can find another $20 in a couch cushion, a Shimano Clarus would be a nice upgrade. http://www.***.com/Berkley_Lightning_Shock_Casting_Rods/descpage-BLSC.html http://www.***.com/Shimano_Clarus_Casting_Rods/descpage-SHCLCR.html

Make sure to pair it with a Stella or Core to stay under your budget.

Tough call for me between Shimano and Abu. Shimano holds the lead right now, but I'm about to pick up an STX... we'll see.

Thoughts and prayers with you and his family. Recently lost a family member way too young to an aggressive cancer as well. Cancer is just a horrible disease.... wouldn't wish the mental torment on anyone.

Nasty!

Recently fished a night tournament... had all the blacks and blues ready to go with the buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and topwaters as well as 10" worms. Thought for sure we'd kill them with all the "night" gear everyone typically recommends. After a couple hours of nada, we went back to what we'd use during day light and the bite magically picked up. Wish I'd known that before I bought all the "night" colors.

Considering that you're going to be throwing sizes down to 1/16, you should probably go with a spinning set up. That's a nice chunk of change you're willing to part with, so your options are nearly limitless. That being said, I'd probably go with an Avid (AVS63MLXF) and paired with a Stradic CI4 (STCI41000F). If you went with a rod rated 1/8 and above, your options really open up (I'm sure a number of higher end rods will still launch a 1/16 bait despite being rated 1/8). Best of luck with your search.

Steel is quite a bit bigger than lead and tungsten, so that's the biggest negative if you're using t-rigs or drop shot. However, that extra size may not matter much with c-rigs or if you're in muddy water. I am more than happy to pay a little extra for the tungsten since it is smaller than lead and more sensitive. Shop around because you may find some pretty good deals on tungsten. However, being able to get steel cheap at Wal Mart can be tough to pass up. I've been using "Bulk" tungsten bullet weights and have been pleased with price and performance. http://www.***.com/Bulk_Tungsten_Bullet_Weights/descpage-BULKTWT.html

I think the "Black Friday" sale was 20% last year... uh oh.

As mentioned, In-Fisherman has a good series of books. KVD also has a pretty good book if you're looking for little tweaks for popular techniques. Ike's book is an entertaining read and also has some pointers.

Wow, awesome job... that's some talent.

2-3 swipes should do.

I don't have an STX (yet) but have to say the same thing about my Citica. That puppy launches for a reel at this price point and I'm far from an expert with baitcasters.

Interesting that it doesn't say on the ad link. I just called them to find out and the rep said that the sale is over Tuesday night. Just gets harder and harder not to order something during this sale!

I've got so many gallon size ziplock bags full of never used plastics stashed in my boat that it's almost embarrassing. I try not to look at many new baits because I know I'll end up buying a bunch of them. That Bait Monkey is relentless!

Had something similar happen to my wife's phone. A buddy of mine works in law enforcement and we had him call the number and give them one warning not to do it again. Amazing how that works. Just call your local police.

Uh oh, that almost looks like an SNL skit. That's not Timberlake in the background, is it?

You should probably set your goals a bit higher and give yourself a 5-6 year plan to chase an MBA. You may get a great job with an AA, but if you lose that job and have to look for another that has MBA's applying, you're gonna be in trouble. If you have a certain job you want, you need to start making yourself into a candidate that has what the others can't offer... not cross your fingers and hope for the best as you go up against people more educated or qualified than you. College is an absolute blast... enjoy putting off real work as long as you can! ;D ;D ;D

For an avergage league I'd have to agree that it would take the fun out of it. However, if it was a high stakes league with a 4-digit entry fee, then it would probably be worth it. I'd imagine in Vegas it could be worthwhile.

That could be a problem. How about a single buddy's house? 8-)

Well, 1/3 isn't too bad. As mentioned above, Maynard and Couture won and BJ got lit up for 5 rounds. Florian was overwhelmed by Maynard's take downs and couldn't do anything off his back... absolutely dominated him. Couture took all of 15 seconds to take Toney down with a dive to a single ankle and it was all over from there. Randy actually went easy on him since he had him full mount from the ankle take down and then only GnP for a few combinations before transitioning into a choke. He could have just pounded on him for 4:30 if he wanted to. BJ looked almost as bad as he did against GSP... Edgar is like Tigger in there. Literally never stopped bouncing around and won 50-45. Rematch with Maynard for the title should be interesting (Maynard dominated Edgar a couple years ago for Edgar's only loss). Nice solid card overall with Maia's decision being a boring fight but Diaz and Davis being full of action, blood, and eventual unconsciousness. Hometown boy Lauzon also destroyed Ruediger and got him to tap with an armbar.

A buddy of mine has picked up an 8 and 10+ pounder with a 2" tube. You just never know who's staring at that finesse plastic when you drop it in the water.

HA... that's one heck of an endoresement. I have to say that the LTB is at the top of my list at this point. What reel did you pair yours with? Thanks again for the help fellas.

Great reputation... you won't be disappointed!

GP- $100-$250 for the rod... combo would have to stay below $450 or my wife would come unglued. KY... that combo does look sweet and I imagine it's every bit as good as it looks. RW... I haven't looked into Dobyns rods before, so I might have to go to BPS or Fishermans Warehouse to check them out in person. By different than the others I just meant that I didn't want another rod from the exact same series. I thought for sure you'd recommend an Avid.