Turkey sandwich

I use it as my leader line 75% of the time. It's knot strength and abrasion resistance are incredible and it tests well above its rated strength. If you're fishing around the abrasive stuff, I can't recommend it enough. As a heads up, if you're spooling it right to your reels, though, line and lure conditioner is a must as it tends to have a lot of memory.

As for really helping the sensitivity, 30-40lb braid mainline (I like 832 for this), can make a big difference. I also suggest keeping a variety of leader materials available to beat suit the water/conditions you're fishing that day. Generally, for T-rigs and jigs, I'm using Hybrid for fishing rocks/abrasive nasty stuff, and Invisex for bright, clear water, and may not even tie a leader if I'm fishing really dense salad.

Their biggest store is right in Claymont! No taxes!

That's a killer budget, my .02... I'm a northern guy and I love fishing jigs. My jig rod is also my T-Rig rod and I do pretty well fishing either on it. I think most guys do the same since they're predominantly bottom contact baits, anyhow. I have a few "specialized" rods that I'll use for growing jigs in very specific situations, but my MH XF gets 90% of the work throwing jigs. You want a 7'-7'6 MH F or XF rod (for most applications) that balances and is comfortable for you. Most of my reels are Shimano, and I'm very happy with them. For $200 and up, you can get a great feel from Shimano that will be super consistent. I prefer 7.1:1 or faster. As for rods, that budget allows you SC Legend Extremes, NRXs, Steez, virtually anything Japanese, and basically any custom rod you choose to build. Handle whichever you can, and base it on your preferences. All of the above rock. Jig fishing is very, very similar to Texas rig fishing. The tools and techniques cross over a lot.

To me, it strategically makes sense to try different approaches until you figure out the fish. I haven't fished a tournament in a long time, but I've never gotten any push back because I was courteous. Don't cast to the water they're working, and just in general, don't be a jerk. So long as the boater doesn't have a jacked up ego, you might even get a "thank you" for finding a successful pattern.

You need to make the drive to Total Wine. It's an alcoholic's dream come true. The selection rocks and they're surprisingly affordable.

Welcome! Always good having another Susquehanna guy around. Which stretch of the river are you on?

Regretfully, I'm out. It appears I'm getting pulled back into a leadership position with work and sneaking away in March will be almost impossible. I'm pretty unhappy about this, but I hope everyone else has a great time and crushes it on the lake.

Now, I can't say that I own many $400+ rods, but... this post mostly sounds like a gripe that manufacturers aren't making rods specifically to the exact preferences of each individual customer. To make an analogy, to me, it largely sounds like complaining about the specific shade of green an F-150 is available in or the color of the insoles of a pair of pumps my lady friend has 4 different pairs of. To me, unless you build a custom rod, it seems like there are always going to be things that you might prefer. Unless the designs are complete ergonomic trash (and I have yet to handle a $150+ spinning or casting rod that feels this way), I don't understand there being this much gusto behind the hate.

It's a lot of things for me. Growing up, and even still, fishing is one of the few activities that really bring my dad and I together. We're very different people and while he is nowhere near as serious about it as I am it becomes a common ground. In fact, him introducing me to the outdoors might be the thing I'm most grateful to him for. After growing up above the Poconos where getting into nature is pretty easy, I've spent the last 12 years in Philadelphia where there isn't exactly a whole lot of wilderness. A few years back, over stressed by the fast pace of the city, I decided that I needed to experience more outdoors. I have a huge appreciation for nature and love experiencing it in any challenging way I can - backpacking, fishing, hiking, camping, etc. I love getting away from people and seeing how small we really are in the grand scheme of things. It has a huge calming effect on me. I love solitude, peace, and adventure. I love the shared experience of something difficult and unique and I love introducing new people to these things. Fishing is more to me because it allows me all of the above while presenting the challenging of figuring out a puzzle that is never quite the same day to day. Are the fish holding deep on structure? Cruising flats? Sitting in riffles or tail outs? Are they primarily feeding on nymphs? Crayfish? Alewives? Perch? Is there a dominant hatch? Where are the fish in their seasonal migrations? What did yesterday's storm do to the fish I was catching three days before? There are so many pieces to the puzzle you can never have them figured out all the time and that challenge is what keeps bringing me back to the water.

Man, you might have to email Fred Arbogast.

A grub fished on a 1/16-1/4 oz ball head. Other runners up include, T-rigged and light C-rigged worms (have forced myself away from in recent years to force myself into using new baits), soft plastic jerkbaits/flukes, jig/craw. I need to force myself to drop shot more on rough days,.

That looks more like a stonefly nymph than a mayfly nymph, from what I can see. It also semi-resembles a helgramite. The only issue I have with most helgramite imitations (and I've looked d**n hard), is that none of them adequately mimic the way a helgramite tends to ball up when dislodged into current

'My not a hardcore drop shotter, but I do mine on 6'8" MLXF Avid X and it has served me well. Still, it doesn't have the power I would like for the other techniques. I'd suggest a Med Fast 6'9-7' rod and at that price point, virtually every good manufacturer has something nice to offer. I tend to be a pretty big St Croix fan and lots of folks on here have enjoyed the current generation of Mojo rods. Still, Daiwa, Abu, Dobyns and Fenwick have some great sticks around that price point.

This.

Trolling with really light tackle for walleye years back I hooked a musky in the 36" range with a crankbait (it may have been a spoon, memory has its limits) in the tail. A tail hooked musky on 8lb line and a super slow action rod made for one weird fight. Everyone near us thought I hooked the Loch Ness monster. When I finally got it to the boat it was madness - teeth and hooks fying everywhere. Good times.

Hull-a-port, I think.regardless of rack (some maybe easier to load), getting a big kayak on top is much, much easier with a second person.

Sedan. I have the Thule folding kayak mounts and it is pretty close to impossible to load by my self. I generally like the boat a lot except for loading and storage.

I own neither, but would really like to paddle an ATAK. I have a similarly large Lure 13.5 and I can't load it car top without help (just too awkward to lift). The pros and cons are pretty similar to those mentioned above with the Big Rig and ATAK, only likely slower. My suggestion is to either trailer a boat that size or make sure you have friends to help loading it.

I made a change last year after fishing spinnerbait on MHF or MHXF rods for years and picked up a 7'1 (or 7'3, I forget) Fenwick Aetos MH MF originally just for spinnerbaits. Afterer switching to braid from mono, I felt like I was missing fish due to there not being any stretch or flex to buffer aggressive strikes and I wanted to be able to stretch my casts a bit further. At first, I was surprised with the action - they're mod fast is closer to many company's Fast actions, but with just enough give. Since, it's also become my chatterbait rod, and I feel like I'll find half a dozen more uses for it by the end of this season.

Another point I haven't seen mentioned has to do with gear ratios and reel speed. I like a reasonably fast retrieve for shallow running baits because it gets them down fast and I can make a commotion on the bottom. Fishing deep diving crankbaits on a reel 6.4 or above, to me, is work. It may not be too bad up to 10-12' running baits, but after that, it becomes work for me and my fishing tends to suffer. Nerve damage might make me more sensitive than most, but I can't see fishing a DT16, BD8, or something like a 10XD being pleasant for anyone with a 7.1:1 reel.

All of the above reasons for braid plus leader are spot on. The other reason I've switched my gear this way is that it allows for tremendous versatility. Instead of having extra rods and reels spooled dozens of ways, I tie my leaders for what I expect to encounter the night before and then keep another half dozen or so spools available on the water to adjust for whatever I might need that day. Sometimes mono is helpful for adding a little stretch or keeping you in a specific part of the water column, sometimes FC helps reduce visibility in fishing finesse presentations, and sometimes rocks, zebra mussels, and other nasty stuff calls for something like copolymer/Hybrid being d**n near indestructible. And combining them with the low stretch, easy management, and just general lifespan of braid helps put fish in the boat and keep money in your pocket.

I actually don't see the same benefits (most of the time) in spending a ton of money on a medium or shallow crankbait rod versus say a jig or drop shot rod. For me, with moving baits like crankbaits, either slow graphite or glass is cool because I rely on it more for casting distance and keeping trebles pinned than feeling every individual piece of rock, log, or tire sitting on the bottom - the crankbait itself does that for you. For me, I just want it light enough to not wear me out/cause my arm to go numb and with enough backbone to get a decent initial hookset. I don't particularly love foam grips, but I have a Veritas that I actually really like and it's probably the least expensive rod in my rotation. Now, cranking deep is a slightly different conversation, for me.

Most of the fish that I end up taking because of injury tend to be in the smaller 12-15" bracket. For whatever reasons, it just seems like the smaller fish are the ones most prone to getting mangled. I can't tell you the last time I kept anything over 20".

First, relax. taking a step back, look at the bigger picture. You aren't certain if the cork is going to stay intact and it sounds from your description like it's coming apart. That means that in all likelihood (warranty aside) you'll have to either take it to a rod builder and have them replace the handle or buy another rod. Both of those options are going to be $40+. Now, with that said, I would expect them to replace a damaged handle so long as the damage is a manufacturer's defect. From your description, that is without a doubt a manufacturer's defect. I would send it in. I've heard plenty of good things about Fenwick's warranty department, and the bottom line is that they're going to want to keep you as a customer. I might check again if there's a phone number for customer service and call that and just ask these questions. The number is right on the page tel:(877)336-7637