Turkey sandwich

All of my rods are spooled 20-40lb braid and 99% of the time I'm using a 4'-6' leader with it. It's helped me adjust to the no-stretch of braid by adding some at the end and cater my presentations to the conditions I'm fishing without respooling reels (or buying 20 rods/reels). I also can't recommend Hybrid enough for abrasion resistance and knot strength. I use 8-12lb for leaders in rock-filled rivers and it doesn't fail. I might ask, why only 10lb braid? Spinning reels?

it's been my go to for crashing the bottom with jigs, Crankbaits, etc anywhere that's rocky. 8-12lb Hybrid leaders have been much, much better for me on rocky rivers and lakes than XL, XT, InvisX, AbrasX, Sniper, red label, anything I've ever used from Stren, and probably half a dozen others. It's not the most limp or the smallest diameter, but it takes a beating and has very little stretch. Saying that there are better copolymer or FC lines out there for fishing rocks and/or the occasional toothy critter is interesting. I have not found those lines.

How it's getting "average" or "below average" ratings for anything strength or durability related is beyond me. The report that it performed under rated strength and well below tensile strength makes me question whoever is doing this review. To me, that's strange not only because it's in very strong conflict with my experience, but also in conflict with every other line comparison I've seen that's tested line and knot strength between brands. Now, rating it poorly for manageability would be a negative rating I could understand. It's definitely a bit wirey and, untreated, it has memory for days. It's certainly not the most user friendly main line, but those strength and abrasion resistance ratings are pretty suspect at best.

It looks like he had a blast!

Man, he looks like one happy dude!

Glad to hear everyone was safe and that tragedy brought the community together. Still, very sorry to hear about friends and family losing homes/businesses.

Bingo. A backpack and some waterproof boxes will serve you well.

How'd it go?

Yep. Thats's pretty weird.

Congrats! I'm trying to force myself to use the fly rod more this summer and this is certainly motivation.

Great day on the water!

Anytime. Knowing the water temperature and where they are in the spawning cycle can be helpful, too. If they're towards the end of spawn and into post-spawn, it can be hard trying to coax a strike out of mature fish.

I'm so sorry for your loss, but glad to see your dad living life up until the end.

Welcome to the forum! The way I would approach your situation, there are a few easy fixes. For spinning reel messes, it's typically from line spooled incorrectly, allowing slack line to gather on the spool, or lures that create a lot of twist (in-line spinners are the perfect example). To correctly spool line, just make sure that the line is coming org of the spool onto your reel in the same direction. There are cheap spool tools available that make this really easy. To prevent slack from gathering, have your son get in the habit of closing the bail with his hand rather than reeling it shut. To negate line twist from lures, add a quality swivel to the rig. To add casting distance (in addition to upgrading reels or rods) one of the best investments you can make in a spinning reel is 10-20lb braid, preferably PP or Suffix 832. There's no memory, so it'll reduce tangles and cast much farther due to the limpness and small diameter. With the braid, you'll want to typically run a 5-6' mono/floro/copolymer leader. The leader will help with abrasion resistance, line visibility, will allow you more control over how a lure floats or sinks in the water, and the lure to leader connection will typically have the weakest link in case you need to break off. Once you get a good connection knot line uni to uni or ablright down, it's a much more stress free set up. As for rods, I have an Avid X that I absolutely love and would put up against pretty much any rod at $300 or less. However, you have a lot of fast action rods covered, mentioned that you're going to be throwing a lot more crankbaits, and don't have the cash to buy all technique secific set ups. My suggestion is to buy a crankbait rod around the $100-125 price point like a Veritas Winch or first generation Mojo Bass Glass and then take the other $200 from your Loomis budget and pick up an Avid X for whatever other presentation you need. Based on he budget you provided, you do likely have the cash for technique specific gear, it's just a matter of how to spend it. Frankly, a $100-$150 crankbait Rod isn't that much different than a $300 crankbait Rod until you start splitting hairs and you're going to have a lot more success throwing treble hook lures on a moderate action Veritas Winch than you will on a faster action Loomis or St Croix with a fast action. (Faster action rods is where the higher $ typically means higher quality graphite, and makes sense except for reaction baits) in short - braid will help with the line and casting problems and less pricey technique specific rods are going to fish what they're designed for better than expensive rods intended for fishing something entirely different.

I have an Avid X built on that same blank, and I use it for both. Super versatile rod.

Cheers! Looks like she's been eating well.

I haven't fished Jackal craws, but I do use a pretty wide variety ranging from bitsy craws to Speed Craws, to a bunch of different Rage craws/chunks, to a ton of other randoms. On the river with clear to light stained water, I'll watch crayfish as much as possible to match color and size and then base the action on how active fish are/season. Zoom's Speed Craws are some of the most versatile, and they're big enough to bite/cut chunks off to match what's in the water.

There's good advice on here already, but a few quick tips... Dominant fish tend to occupy a lot of prime feeding spots. So, that means a few things. First, larger predators are going to take their pick of prime positions that suit them best. If you're fishing grass lines, expect pike and musky to be a part of the equation because those are areas they tend to dominate. Similarly, if we were talking about a lake with a large, healthy largemouth population, they would also dominate a lot of similar habitats. Second, dominant fish within a species are going to get the best pick of spots available and advantageous to that species. You see it in underwater footage of trophy largemouth, in that they tend to dominate the best ambush positions in their area in largemouth dominant bodies of water. Now, applying the same idea to river fishing, you'll find the largest smallmouth typically at the tops and bottoms of a lot of riffles/rapids, boulder fields, areas of converging current with deep water access and behind the points on inside bends, especially if there's cover like downed trees or a change in bottom composition. These areas allow fish to get big without burning calories fighting current and once they get into the 3lb plus range, there aren't many predators that are going to push them from their spots. Big rocks often yield big smallmouth, not necessarily because they're the best feeding area, but often because smallmouth have been relegated to them and they can thrive there. @smalljaw67 hit the nail on the head regarding bait size. Which baits depend on conditions, forage, and where you're finding fish, but big tubes, craw jigs, 4"+ swim baits, and anything representing the larger size of crayfish, gobies, sculpins, mad toms, hellgrammites, etc that smallies gorge themselves on can be really productive. I've caught smallies in the 16-19" range walking full sized Spooks. A similar common mistake is the idea that finesse fishing always requires small baits. This isn't necessarily true. If you can fish larger soft plastics T-rigged, drop shot, or on an appropriate jig head slow to the point of near agony, you'll surprise yourself with the results. Guys like Jeff Little are river smallmouth savants and boat lots of 17"+ fish dead sticking. Anoter tip on the opposite end of the spectrum, has to do with how you fish your crankbaits in current. Fish will orient into the current nearly 100% of the time. One of the few situations fish will haul ass down current is if they're being chased. One of the best ways to simulate this is casting straight up current and ripping a crankbait down current through a boulder field. A good abrasion resistant line is important, and not a gauruntee, but this is a great technique for getting reaction strikes in current. Hopefully this gives you some ideas to play with.

So, this topic got posted twice. dam levels and draw down... So, the dam functions to prevent flooding and to also manage the lower section of the Lehigh River below. Heavy rain and management of the river below the dam for white water kayaking/rafting and trout fishing have a big impact on the water level of the reservoir itself. The reservoir is known for containing big fish, but finding them is going to be based a lot on the water level at the dam in addition to seasonal patterns. In addition to the likely fraudulent reports of 10lb largemouth coming from the reservoir, I've heard plenty of credible stories about 8lb largemouth and 6-7lb smallmouth being caught there. If you can figure it out, it has a reputation as a trophy fishery. I've just never taken the time to figure it out. It's also known as an excellent crappie and perch fishery with a good walleye population if you're interested in fishing for dinner.

Weird, I thought I responded to this last night... I grew up not far from there, but never really fished it. It does hold some pretty sizeable large and smallmouth, but fishing it is tricky. You need to pay attention to dam levels and draw down. I believe there's also a 9.9HP restriction on the reservoir, as well. Good luck, and definitely post your results.

I just purchased a Lure 13.5. I'm hoping to get it on the water the next few weekends and can hopefully give you a review. I'm about 6' and 200lbs. Certainly not a giant dude, but I do have a lot of back problems, so stability, space, and seat were some of my biggest concerns.

Fishing for carp on anything under a 7 weight is pretty undersized. They can run. Like, really, really run.

I grew up near Wilkes-Barre and somehow never fished it. I've always wanted to learn that lake, but somehow just never got to it. What I do know is that water level varies a lot there and can have a big impact on how it fishes.

Sometimes weird days just happen. Glad to see it took such a good turn. That pike had to be a blast in the weeds.

Plenty of folks here love Big Game. Personally, I prefer braid with a floro or copolymer leader.