Turkey sandwich

If you're regularly fishing from shore, the shorter rod may make casting around trees, weeds, and other shoreline obstacles a bit easier. Generally, a medium weight rod will also be much more versatile. They both have a place, but it's rare that I don't have a Med Fast or X-fast spinning rod with me regardless of conditions - from shore, wading, in the kayak, or in the tin boat.

For durability and abrasion resistance, Hybrid has treated me very, very well. I also use braid main lines and rely on FC, co polymer, and mono for my leaders because in addition to its low diameter/strength, it lasts forever, is 10x more manageable than the other options, and allows me to swap out leaders for versatility. If you opt to just spool the Hybrid, line conditioner will keep you from losing your mind.

Stretching the budget to $200-210 Avid/Avid X are great rods, and for my taste the best rods I've fished for under $250. If you're set at $180, don't overlook the Fenwick Aetos line. They're really solid rods.

I was looking for a new chatterbait/spinnerbait rod last year and jumped on the Aetos deal when they were around $90. I picked up a 7'1 MH MF and paired it with a reel from the company not to be mentioned in something like 8:1 or 9:1 ratio and spooled it with 30lb 832. I wanted something with a slower action primarily to help launch my bait a mile, what I got was an interesting/pleasant surprise. The Aetos MF has a surprisingly fast tip, but loads far enough down the rod on the back cast to still sling anything over 1/4 oz a mile. I was originally hoping for something a little softer/slower with no stretch in the braid, but I've grown to really like it. Any faster a tip and it would be uncomfortable to fish (heavy vibration plus nerve damage do not a good time make), any slower and I would sacrifice a lot of sensitivity. Because of the sensitivity, it also makes a killer swim jig rod around both dense cover and open water. For a sub $200 rod, it's definitely a winner.

I fish rocky rivers primarily, and for all of the baits you've mentioned, I fish braid to a Yozuri Hybrid leader 90% of the time. Curious, why are you moving away from braid as a mainline?

Mono and FC stretch, sometimes quite a bit. The conflicting info is primarily industry marketing and sales crap. Without actually testing line, or reading studies, you'd likely have no way of knowing. There are guys on here who can explain the sensitivity characteristics of FC far better than I can, but the gist that I've gotten is that the density of FC coupled with it's tendency to not absorb water are the key elements in any perceived difference in sensitivity. That said, I may be mistaken and guys like @WRB likely have much better explanations. As for your immediate question, what lures/techniques do you plan to fish on this particular set up? There are lots of good mono, FC, and copolymer/hybrid lines out there that accel at different things. Why, in particular do you want stretch?

There's something special about fishing with family. I disagree with my dad and brother about a lot of things, but a love for the outdoors is one of few things that brings us together. I try to get my dad on the water a few times a year (he's 71 and struggles to spend hours on the boat, especially if I can't put him on fish quickly), and I try to get up with my brother for stripers at least a few times a year (at least until I feel compelled to throw him in the Chesapeake). Joking aside, the biggest gift I've ever gotten from my dad was a passion for the outdoors, and I try to pay it back any time I can.

This covers it really well. My go to is Yozuri Hybrid for the rocks, trees, docks, etc, but CXX is also very popular here for the same purpose. For heavy vegetation, 85% of the time, straight braid is the ticket.

The flight was actually really inexpensive. I think we paid $250/ seat out of Baltimore and even over the summer (tourist season) I'm seeing them advertised under $400. If you plan to go, reach out with any questions.

i've used a lot of grubs over the years - Powerbait, Yamamoto, Fat Albert, Kalin's, etc and they all work. As for rigging, I'm almost always using them as a trailer or just swimming/hopping them on a ball jig. I can see a C-rig working, but it's far from my first choice for grubs. As for colors - grubs, to me, are primarily a clear to stained water bait, so I fish natural colors or natural colors with a dyed chartreuse tail 90% of the time. The exception, for me, is if I'm fishing them as a trailer on a spinnerbait, swimming, chatter bait, etc and I want contrast between the skirt and the grub. In that case, I may go all chartreuse or with something dark in stained water.

As a younger fella, I can't imagine that much loss at once. I'm sorry, Catt. Keep your head up the best you can. Hopefully some of the quality time on the water will help you with your thoughts.

It's true. It's hard to beat Cleveland in the winter. Lake Erie > hot springs Ignore the smiles. They were totally faked

My .02. Most of my bass rods are St. Croix. I own Premier, Rage, and Avid X rods. The jump from SCII to SCIII is huge. SCIII blanks just feel like a much, much more expensive blank than anything else at the $150-200 price points. I still like and use my Premier for certain things, but the Rage and Avid X lines are just better rods. As above stated, the other components play a big role, too. Microguides, grips, reel seat, etc all play into how the rod feels. I'd suggest handling both, if possible, but if you do, you'll likely feel a noticeable difference between the current gen Mojo and the Avid X. For $200, I don't know of a better rod made. As as for warranty and support, regardless of what's in the fine print, St. Croix places the customer experience first and is known for having probably the best customer service in the industry. They don't want you buying one rod and being sorta content, they want you buying nothing but St. Croix by making the entire experience awesome.

Welcome to the forum! For nasty weather, I layer. I have a breathable North Face raincoat/she'll that allows me to throw on a fleece or down jacket underneath. I can put on a number of breathable base layers ranging from the heavy duty cold weather stuff to a light dry- fit t-shirt when the weather calls for it and it's super versatile. I really like this set up. I've used it in the boat, wading cold rivers, and as of this past week, on top of a glacier and hiking waterfalls and stayed very, very comfortable. As for bibs, I like the Sims and Guidewear stuff, but I've gotten by wearing either snowboard pants or breathable Orvis waders, depending upon the conditions. If I were set on fishing bass tournaments, I'd probably have a pair of Gore Tex bibs, as well. In any case, check out places like Sierra Trading Post and you'll get some pretty crazy deals. I think my rain jacket/shell and 650 fill jacket cost me $150 combined and will last a long, long time.

Thank you guys! The trip came out of nowhere and it was absolutely breathtaking. The next time I go will be during a run. Iceland gets sea run arctic char, brown trout in the 10lb class and salmon. It also has some of the most beautiful rivers on the planet. How do I upload a video directly without putting it on YouTube first? Hakarl is the gift that keeps on giving.

When it's sunny and clear I like life-like and flash, so it comes down to mimicking the baitfish for me. I have plenty of both colors, but on the bodies of water I fish, anything that looks like alewives, perch, madtoms, etc tend to get the nod. On most bright, clear water days, I'm usually alternating between burning that crankbait as a search pattern and following with finesse plastics. Thanks for posting about gold @A-Jay. This is a reminder that I obviously need to buy more tackle before the season picks up here.

Learning how to feel your lure and the bottom will help in identifying your snags, as well as simply looking around to see what's around the shore/the water you can see into and realizing that in most bodies of water, what's underneath the water doesn't look all that much different from the shoreline.

The 3.8 and 4.8 are both really versatile and strong producers for me.. What I like most is that I can fit them as a trailer to almost anything from a football jig to a spinnerbait when the conditions dictate it. They haven't quite replaced grubs and tubes for me as numbers baits, but I tend to have one tied on in some fashion most days. What I've found works - swim jig trailer - football jig trailer (especially in current, will often use a swinging rugby head for this as well) - spinnerbait trailer (adds a TON to the profile and vibration On dark days/murkier water conditions) - keel weighted hook (simplest, and most common rig for me) - underspin ( when I want a more subtle flash - especially effective for slow, fluttering, jigging) - weightless (very slow, lethargic presentations) With these, I also like that the use of different skirts and jig head shapes doesn't tend to negatively effect the action much so long as it's hooked properly.

Bingo. Sometimes you can do the snap trick, other times release pressure to allowed a lure to float free, and sometimes you may need to reposition yourself to shake the lure free. In none of those instances is breaking strength a major indicator of success (at least at 8lb test or heavier).

I use 832 on my casting reels with a variety of leaders and Power Pro slick on my spinning combos (I like the high vis line for line watching) typically with 6-10lb leaders. I like both lines a lot. That said, what kinds of snags are you running into? Heavy line isn't always the solution. If you're hanging on trees/rocks, what you do to get un-stuck is more important than the line you're stuck with. Also, abrasion resistance in your leaders is probably more important than test strength for the above scenarios.

There are some great short ones that I need to figure out how to edit together. The hakarl video... Is something.

So, I kind of randomly spent a week in Iceland (no access to this site there). While not a fishing trip, the scenery was amazing, the people were even better, and then there was the hakarl. I'll upload some pics and videos this week if you guys like. This trip was amazing and one that I cannot recommend enough. Here are some cool pics to start. I'll try to upload the hakarl video....

That sucks. I just got back from Iceland and was able to try some killer Scotches not available in the states. Reykjavik is awesome.

If you don't have a boat, much of the Susquehanna and Delaware are wadable.