Teal

300 is a great budget. Rod and reel quality has gotten better over the last 12 years or so. I've taught several people to use a baitcaster on budget gear. I would focus my attention on the reel. Lews, daiwa, Shimano and even Abu, make good options in the 150 range and 200 range that can be found for much cheaper. While a good soft tip will help you with the rod, a quality reel with good breaking will make this experience better and will help with the learning curve. I'd highlight, the daiwa tatula sv reels, lews tournament pro, and the Shimano curado as workhorse reels for anybody new or veteran. If you really look, you can find these reels much cheaper than retail. As for rods, I like the tatulas, tatula elite, furys, seirra, and the Shimano rods. I am into a little bit higher end gear now, but I own several daiwa tatula sv reels, lews tournament pro reels, and I have several Powell, dobyns, and daiwa tatula rods.. they are great for any level of experience and not super expensive. Like I said before l, look for the deals. I will say that I've picked up more dobyns recently just due to how Gary Dobyns is involved and his customer service. It not strange at all to call his shop with questions and he actually answer the phone and talk to you and answer all your questions.

Folgers at home daily, gas station coffee often and Black Rifle coffee whenever ever I buy some.

Man it amazes me and I work there. I work for GP

Raiders back! Welcome bac buddy

I ain't gonna lie, the thought passed through my mind that it would be a sin to put a daiwa on a loomis/shimano conquest rod, but I ended up putting a daiwa zillion 8:1 on it anyway because it was a steal and I came to my senses

Professional tap dancing monkey at a ply wood mill. Ex law man of 10 years

I've had luck fishing in and around milfoil. But what I have found, if you have hydrilla, or elodia, fish seem to prefer it over the milfoil especially if they are close in proximity. Like team 99 said, pitch and punch around it, find the holes, but looks for high percentage areas, like ambush points, current breaks, milfoil that is close isolated emergent grasses or wood cover.

I make my own arky jigs. 3/8 and 1/2 oz I give them.the edge over.my.brush jigs, I can skip them a little better

Google pro, you can look at previous images, I gravitate to the ones where the water is low and you can find contours and structures like stumps, brush piles, rock piles, and I have even seen an old road bed

I've very few issues with FC. To there are 3 pretty important things to have. 1. A quality FC. Seager, and Sunline are good stuff 2. A quality reel, with good cast control or breaking system, with correct adjustment made 3. KVD LINE AND LURE... some guys on here don't use it, some use it sometimes, but if you are new to FC, or a using a cheaper FC, or something with a lot of memory, it doesn't hurt to use it. Its helps a ton.

Just fish it! Haven't heard any outcry on breakage issues with that line of rods. Besides the original veritas rods, carrot sticks, and the first run of megabass levante, I don't know of any rods that are just lemons. Care for your rods, don't step on them, don't allow them to be broken by ceil fans, truck doors or tail gates, don't high stick fish and you will be fine. I've only had 2 break in 20 years. I broke a veritas when they first came out, and the other was a 18 year old fenwick rod, that sat on my dad's porch for a year and my son broke it last summer setting the hook on a stump.... keep them indoors. I agree with the others, I read alot of reviews, and i take them with a grain of salt.

It's a personal preference. What something is worth is up to the user/buyer. I personally was in same boat as you for a while, until I tried some of the higher end tackle and now I'm believer that some of the upgrades are worth it to me. I used to be a mid range tackle guy, but in the past year I have absolutely wowed my self, by putting my toe in the water with some super high end gear. But in the same token, if you aren't an avid jerkbait fisherman or inexperienced, I wouldn't spend 25 bucks on something I wouldn't use, or something that would be in my arsenal alot. For example my first 2 super high end rods, was a custom squarevill rod, and a conquest 844 for jigs, because its something that I do often. And its making a huge difference, but in same breath it's not necessary to catch fish. Back to the megabass 110, trickdarter, other.MB baits, yes I do think they perform great. Great colors. My only concern is durability. But I've only broke. 1 in the last 4 years. However, ive seen alot on fb pages where guys are breaking the lips. Duo, jackal, a a lucky craft all make good jerks, but it seems that the vision gets bites I wouldn't get otherwise. I understand you concern on a high end rod breaking, that's why I went with the conquest instead of the NRX.

I've been using yozuri. for several months now on a few spinning rods and on a casting rod. I think it's fine around cover. Hell, mono, was king for a long time and people still fished the same areas. Just go up in size if needed. Yozuri hybrid, is.good stuff. Size matters more than line type in your case.

I did it with a v6 Explorer before the Tacoma.

I think I'm the guy that you want to answer this question.... because I have a 2018 tacoma, and i haul a 19ft 10in Javelin. I have said it over and over again, if i had to drive further than I do, I would have at minimum a half ton truck. My closest lake is 2 mins a away. The next is 15 mins and the 3rd is 35 mins. There are some ramps, I don't use because they are too steep, and as strong as the Taco is, it can't beat gravity.. and I don't even want to try it. You have figure out exactly what you are going be doing. Just some things to think about.

Congrats brother.

Very nice. A great example of using the rod to control the fish. Young guys and new fisherman should watch the technique. Glad you had a great day brother.

2 inch grub on spinning tackle and light line will catch big fish of every species in Nc

They can be killer around docks, rocks, and weed lines in the summer when fish are pressured or when they push back tight to cover after a front or heavy rain.. and like blue said, the smaller ones and the big ones. I like the xrap in the summer.. but I also like pointer 68 around docks... it's something they don't see everyday. Guys ain't just beating banks and skipping docks, and pitching hard jerkbaits. I.think because jerkbaits shine so well in cold water, they get painted in to a corner... I've had some good days with a big old rogue in the heat of summer.

7 foot plus or.minus 6 inches It's all preference.

Add tatula elite to your list. I hear alot more feed back on them than the rebellion. Zodias is right around that price too I think. I have a Levante jerkbait rod now and I love it.

Check out seibert outdoors web page, he actually sells a set of 5 jigs in the head shape and weight of your choice in his 5 most popular colors. All 5 are awesome. They cover it all.

Keep it simple! Stick to the basics. Over time you will find little nuance colors that work well for you. But for bow start with green pumpkins, black and blues, and your PB&J variants. I have found a couple of patterns that are close to the basics that I have alot I'd confidence in like a sweet craw or occochovee craw. Just play around with it but dont get crazy. These patterns work for most waters.

Addition by subtraction. Keep your head up @Koz

Depends on what you do as fisherman...your style, things that suit your needs. I could say that you u a 7'6 heavy to xH flipping rod but you may not pitch, punch, and throw heavy topwaters like I do.