Skeeterboy1

All of my flipping/pitching is done with the Abu Garcia Revo STX in the 8:1.1 gear ratio. This reel is light weight and has a very smooth a powerful drag system.

Hey Steve, I've been lucky enough to use the Veracity rods since early October and all I can say is wow. These rods are the most sensitive and light weight rods that Abu Garcia has. I use them for anything from topwater to drop shotting and I haven't had any problems with them.

I love using the Abu Garcia Orra SX reel. It's a 9 bearing reel with a very smooth and strong drag system. It also comes with a braid ready spool for guys who like using it on spinning reels and also a high capacity spool for fluoro or mono.

The Revo SX reels are great reels but if your not looking into spending the money on it there's another great reel from Abu Garcia called the Orra SX. This is a great 9 bearing reel with a very smooth and strong drag system. It also comes with a Braid ready spool and another deep line capacity spool.

Take a look at the Abu Garcia Revo Toro Winch. I believe that this reel is perfect for those bigger swimbaits. What I like about it is that it has a bigger spool for more line capacity so that you still have a lot of line left after throwing those baits a long way. It also has a very smooth and powerful 22lbs of drag.

I like using Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line. This line is very durable and abrasion resistant. Yeah it may not be the thinnest line out there but that's what make is so durable. I like using anywhere between 15-20lb line depending on the type of structure I'm fishing.

Those techniques that you mentioned are all reaction type strikes. With that being said if your only getting one rod to cover those applications I would suggest a couple of rods for you to look at. The first rod is the 6'10" Fenwick Elite Tech smallmouth rod. It is a meadum heavy with a modurate fast action tip. The second rod I would recommend is the 7' medium heavy fast action Abu Garcia Veritas rod. Both rods are well balanced, very light weight and extremely sensitive.

I like to use the 7'6" Fenwick HMG rod. It is a lightweight and very sensitive rod. This model is a medium heavy rod with a extra fast tip which will allow you to make those accurate and soft casts needed to not spook those bigger then average fish.

I'm sorry to hear that. What happened if you don't mind me asking?

Do yourself a favor a take a look at the new Veracity line of rods from Abu Garcia. These rods are extremely light weight and sensitive. I believe that the 7'6" MH with a fast tip will be perfect for jig fishing. I use these rods and absolutely love them.

I like using a knot called the "quick knot". I like using this knot because it's very easy to tie and is a very strong knot. The only time I don't use it is when I'm punching and then I use a snell knot.

I like the Berkley 100% fluorocarbon-professional grade. I have been using it since it came out and I have never had any problems with it. Yeah it may not be the smallest diameter line out there but I believe it to be one of the strongest and the most durable line out there.

Fenwick makes a great rod for smallmouth fishing. Take a look at the Fenwick Elite Tech smallmouth series. They make six different models to choose from. These rods are very light and sensitive and really strong to handle those strong smallies when hitting a crankbait or jerkbait.

Depending on what you like better either a low profile reel or just the round reels there are two by Abu Garcia that I would recommend. The first is a round reel like the new C4-4600 baitcaster. It has a larger spool that can hold up to 160yrds of 12lb mono/fluorocarbon line or 155yds of 30lb braid. This reel has a very smooth 15lb drag system. Now for the low profile reel I would recommend the Orra Inshore series reel. It is a 7:1.1 gear ratio reel that brings in 29" of line per turn. This reel has a high capacity spool that can hold up to 180yds of 12lb mono/fluorocarbon line or 180yds of braided line perfect for making those long casts from shore with out spooling you out of line. This reel has a 20lb drag system perfect for those bigger salmon that you fish for. Either reel would be a good choice for you, you just have to decide which one feels better in your hand.

I believe that the Abu Garcia Veritas rod with a Revo S would be the perfect combo for what your looking for. The Veritas rods are very light and sensitive with a lot of great features built into it. It comes in 9 different casting models to choose from. The Revo S is a 6:4.1 gear ratio reel with a very smooth 20lb carbon matrix drag system perfect for the techniques that you are working with.

You can't go wrong with the Revo S. It's just over 7oz. and comes with 8 bearings. The Revo S also has 20lbs of drag which makes it very smooth. It is a great reel for the price.

I would recommend the Abu Garcia Veritas Schooling Rig rod. This rod is the perfect rod for launching what ever umbrella you choose to use. It has a soft enough tip with a strong backbone and a long handle to help launch those umbrella rigs a long way.

Sometimes there could be situations where a flipping stick may not be the best for working a frog. There are times when you need to skip that frog under trees in a shade pocket or up under a dock and the tip of a flipping stick just isn't soft enough to help you make those casts. So I would think about what technique I do more if I was thinking of getting one rod? Now there are a lot of rods out there on the market so here are my suggestions. The Fenwick HMG Flipping Stick would be my choice for a flipping stick. This rod is very light weight and very sensitive.

Here are two different attractants from Berkley that you can try. The first one is Berkley PowerBait http://www.berkley-fishing.com/products/soft-bait/attractants-and-dips/powerbait-attractant . This one comes in a 2oz. liquid form with eight different scents with the PowerBait formula. The second one is the Gulp Alive http://www.berkley-fishing.com/products/soft-bait/attractants-and-dips/gulp-alive-attractant . This one is a spray type of attractant that comes in a 8oz. bottle in thirteen different scents to choose from. These are the same attrantants that are used in the PowerBait and Gulp Alive line of baits by Berkley.

Here is another option you can try. You can try the Berkley Nanofil line with a Trilene 100% fluorocarbon leader. The Nanofil was designed for spinning reels and is more sensitive then braided lines. This line casts further because of it's small diameter. If you not comfortable with tying a uni-not you can also use a small barrel swivel because most of the time when people break off using this application it's because of the knot their using. I hope this helps you the next time your out on the water. http://www.berkley-fishing.com/products/line/uni-filament/nanofil

If you look into the Veritas rods from Abu Garcia I think that you would be very impressed. They have a lot of different models in the casting line and also in the Micro-Guide line if you prefer them. There are a lot of features that are built into these quality rods. These rods are very light and sensitive and one of the features that makes these so sensitive is the Abu designed "Extreme Exposure" reel seat. What that does is provides direct finger to rod contact for increased sensitivity. I hope this helps you the next time your out on the water. http://www.abugarcia.com/products/rods/veritas

The Abu Garcia Veritas rods are extremely light weight and sensitive. There are a lot of features that are built into these rods that make them very light weight and sensitive. One of the features is the Abu designed extreme exposure reel seat which provides direct finger to rod contact for increased sensitivity. Take a look at the different models they provide I think you'll like them. http://www.abugarcia.com/products/rods/veritas

Spiderwire is a great braid to use. Coming soon is a new and smoother braid from Berkley Trilene called, Professional Grade Tracer Braid.

Yes the 10" bait is a great bait to use in multiple colors. You can use it in many different applications from flipping to a Carolina rig. But with all of the different ribbon type baits out on the market there's a new one that has a different vibration pattern to it. It is the Berkley Havoc "Federale". With it's ribbed egg sack you get a better hook to catch ratio. http://www.berkley-fishing.com/products/soft-bait/havoc/federale I hope this help you the next time your out on the water.

Have you checked out the Abu Garcia Veritas Rods? The "Winch" model is designed for crankbait fishing. They are lightweight and and well balanced and extremely sensitive because of the Abu designed extreme exposure reel seat. They come in a 7' medium and a 7' 6" medium heavy to cover either a shallow of deep diving crankbait. http://www.abugarcia.com/products/rods/veritas I hope this helps you next time out on the water.