NorcalBassin

+1 with the casting technique trial & error plus you're throwing a moving bait with a treble hook... should definitely be good to go.

Have that same rod for frogs and have to say I've been pleasantly surprised.

Happy Birthday 'Merica... definitely a day to celebrate and (safely) have a good time.

I use it in 12# on my jig rod and couldn't be more happy. I use Sniper for most setups but would gladly use Abrazx if I had more spools lying around.

Plus it's also loaded with kokanee. Hayden Lake is also great down the road from there, but it's too small to make any lists. Absolutely love it up there and wouldn't mind retiring there in 20 years.

TheHookUpTackle is live for 15% off. They used to give the discount to excluded brands (except Megabass) if you called, but I'm not sure if that's still the case. https://www.thehookuptackle.com/

More of a bad news update to this thread... just called Tackle Warehouse and they confirmed they're not going to have a 4th of July sale. Crazy no Memorial Day, Father's Day (10% off gift cards), or July 4th sale from them when everyone else still seems to be having theirs.

If the combo is in the budget it will be worth it when you're using the boat for towing tubes, etc. I have a 20ft Starcraft with a 115 and the family loves the separation the walk through windshield offers compared to a single console. Much more family friendly and there's still plenty of room up front while I'm fishing and folding the back row of seats down gives a nice back deck for whoever I bring along with me. That said, your garage height limitation complicates things and you're not going to lose with any of those options you mentioned.

I'm curious how that Arashi Swimmer performs vs a triple trout or Bucca at a fraction of the price. Crazy that the Veritas is already up to a 3rd generation. My daughter loves the gen 1 6'9" spinning rod but I'm not sure I'd ever buy another Abu rod.

That is pretty. I'd definitely pick up a couple of those puppies.

Wow, glad to hear everything worked out. My only bear encounter while on foot was while hiking with my wife and parents along the Russian River on the Kenai Peninsula on our way back from watching the salmon work their way up through some runs and small falls. We heard some brush move off to our left while hiking back and no more than 30 feet away there was a huge sow brown bear. When we made eye contact she stood up, turned her head and sniffed the air, and then gently plopped down and trotted off in the other direction. We had bear spray but I went from confident to feeling like a little ant in no time with her being no less than 8ft tall. Needless to say that's the closest I've ever come to actually fearing for my life and that of my family. Thank goodness she didn't have any cubs with her. We get some fairly large black bears where I live now, but that brown bear made our bears here look like a raccoon. We've had prints from a large mountain lion on our back deck before, but fortunately we've never actually seen them or had them mess with our horses or pets. We love nature and living in the mountains and it's humbling to know we're not always at the top of the food chain.

It's Ish and about frogs, so it pretty much comes with a guarantee even with the typo.

I'm going to have to hold off on what I'd like to say...

Took the family out for dinner on the boat and a couple hours of fishing. Gotta love it when the topwater bite cooperates, the girls get some fish, and you get quality screen free time together with teenagers. Caught some nice spots on a Teckel topwater that I just picked up. Still tough to beat the Rover lately. My oldest with a nice spot on a Keitech. My youngest with one from an underspin. My wife on net duty and the girls kept her busy.

Not sure how long the sale is on for, but Kittery Trading Post has a buy 3 get 1 free sale going on with their lures, including Megabass. There is still a pretty good selection of dark sleepers and some of the more popular oneten colors. https://www.kitterytradingpost.com/search/?q=megabass&lang=default https://www.kitterytradingpost.com/fishing-marine/?q=fishing lures

I really like Dobyn's rods and Gary seems like a great guy that stands behind his product. The Champion XP's are very nice rods for the money, but if you're looking to possibly branch out in that up to $300 range you may want to take a close look at Shimano Exprides and Megabass Orochi XX's.

Just finally made the switch from straight mono to braid with a short leader for topwaters, and I was pleasantly surprised to see they seemed just as eager to hit it in clear water and my knot held up with a big girl that jumped no less than 6 times. Range of fish went from about 1/2 pound up to the big girl of the day at 6lbs 2oz. I'm sold. Small fish honors go to... Big fish honors for the day...

Awesome combo! Workhorse of a reel and the addermine is a great versatile rod.

Changed all of the fluids and plugs in the Honda and went for a quick solo trip to a different lake to test things out before making any long runs at my home lake. Motor ran great with no issues and the fish obliged with a solid bite up to 3.5 lbs. I'm pretty sure SM are the only bass I've ever caught that actually bite my thumb when I'm lipping them. Those things are feisty. They continue to love the Keitechs

I had a similar experience that same day. We see ospreys flying around and getting fish all of the time, but it's been years since I've seen a bald eagle let alone up close. I stopped fishing for about 5 minutes to watch it eat its fish and then eventually get tired of the turkey vultures getting closer and closer for scraps. The pics didn't turn out well due to the sun shining right at us, but it was pretty awesome and a bit metaphorical.

+1 for the Stradic Ci4+ since Cabela's is marking them down from $229 to $149 for their Father's Day sale starting Thursday. Seems like premium Shimano reels never go on sale like that with major retailers unless it's going to be closed out. Heck of a deal on a heck of a real.

My question would be similar to OP's... where are the (presumed) DD spots hanging out on my home lake? Six years ago the owner of Powell rods caught the WR spot here, but it's since been beat a number of times by a number of anglers at Bullards Bar. I doubt we have any WR's swimming around here anymore since they halted trout plants a few years ago and kokanee plants have been hit or miss (unlike Bullards Bar), but I'm still dreaming of running into a DD spot.

I'm also in that $5/pack club for stocking up on senkos, and the pro-ocho club with them being a close second favorite for me. Can't lose with either when you find them on sale.

Took my dad out for a few hours and after an incredibly slow first couple hours things busted wide open. Ended the day with 85+ with the only bummer being him losing his would be PB (5-6lbs) right at the side of the boat. Just as he started lifting to guide it into the net she simultaneously turned for a big run and snapped his line. At least he got to see it. Not a PB but still a nice one. Quite a few LM's today. And the spots were wolf packing on seemingly every point. They didn't seem to want anything but Keitechs.

I was able to get in a quick trip with my daughter over the weekend... always awesome seeing her catch fish and have a great time out there. Also enjoyed catching some myself on topwater