Further North

I love fly fishing for smallies, and do it a lot. I use a 6, 7 or 8 wt. rod depending on conditions and how big a fly I want to toss. I've become a fan of Temple Forks rods, though about half my rods are St. Croix. I also really like Lamson reels - very often close to if not the lightest for the size, great drag and not over-the-top pricing. Lines are kind of whatever works - I have an Airflo streamer on one rod, A Rio Clouser on another, a Scientific Angler Hover line on another, a Rio Versitip on my 10 ft. 7 wt. and a Scientific Anglers GPX sinking line on one of my 8 wt. rods...horses for courses... Flies...I'm not a fly fishing purist, so I try to learn from what works when I throw gear...so a lot of my ties resemble what works there - I tie baitfish that look like Rapalas, crayfish looking flies that resemble plastic baits, and use a lot of common flies like woolly buggers, poppers and things like that. Consider Thin Mints in larger sizes, and Take a look at a Slump Buster...but then tie it bigger.

Here's a couple from NW WI

Pertaining to glass boats For aluminum boats....I run a 2005 Crestliner CMV 1850. Why they quit making them, I don't understand.

Curiosity got the best of me ans I searched for "T3 Ballistic"...Tackle Warehouse has them for $109.88...I can't seem to post a link though. ...my grandparents retired to Rogers AK, on Beaver lake in 1969...but it's been years since I've been down there.

St. Croix will still offer an upgrade if you break a rod ans send it in for repairs. ...other than that it appears that they have abandoned the plan. E-Bay is your friend - I've sold a bunch of stuff (mostly fly rods and reels) this year, bought some as well.

I used to use all spinning gear also, here's why I moved to baitcasters: Accuracy. I can control outgoing line speed much more easily with a baitcaster. I am much less likely to over-throw a shoreline into the woods with baitcasting reels. Distance. I can through my best baitcasters further than any of my spinning rods. Space. Baitcasters are much easier to store in my boat rod locker without creating a tangle of handles and reels. Retrieve speed. Many more options with baitcasters. Techniques like pitching that benefit from getting the bait back fast are one positive. I can always slow down a fast reel by cranking slower...I can't always speed up a slow reel. Lure size. This is a preference, but I prefer the way a baitcasting reel handles the heavier weights. I also find it easier to adjust drag if I need to, and having my cranking hand more closely aligned with the rod axis seems to help as well. I still have and use spinning gear (there's plenty of things it excels at (jigging for walleyes comes to mind; light weight lures like Rapalas and small Mepps also), but about 70% of my gear fishing is with baitcasting gear these days. I also throw flies a significant amount of the time (not itty-bitty trout flies...great big bass, pike and musky flies). I think being competent with different gear makes me a better fisherman and I'll use what works best on a given day with specific conditions...or what is most fun for me that day. Folks should use what they like and enjoy themselves.

I've been using VMC Rugby jigs the 2nd half of this season, the newer "Swingin" Rugby" jigs are an interesting evolution. They work, but I can't say that they work any better than anything else. I do like that they have offset worm hooks though. Makes them a lot more weedless.

The only times I've had this issue is when I'm fishing in really rocky areas (not an issue for you as you've stated), or if I've got something fraying the line (guide, weight...even one time the line guide on the reel). I'd start by stuffing part of a cotton ball (or a small piece from a pair of your wife's nylons) through the guides on the rod. It doesn't take much to put a tiny nick in braid, and once it's nicked...it's toast. If you get nothing there, try the line guide on the reel. If it's not that, it's either your weights...or your knot. Not much else left.

If I have any indication that the fish are not hitting because I'm tying braid right to the lures (very seldom), I'll tie in about 4' - 6' of 17# Fluorocarbon line. Why 17#? The lightest braid I use is 20# and I don't want the weak link to be the leader. One spool of 17# fluorocarbon line will last me years. ...on a slight sidebar: We have a lot of toothy fish here (pike and musky). If I get bit off more than once in a day, I tie in about 18" of Tyger Wire. It's cheaper than losing baits....

Same here...I've never figured out why anyone would want to cast with their right arm, then switch hands to reel.

Thanks - I am moving more and more in the direction of technique specific rods where in the past I've sort of chosen a general purpose rod, or made something adapt where it wasn't really the best choice. I really like the TFO rods I've bought in the last few years (most of my got-to bass-pike-musky fly rods are TFOs, as well as about half my conventional gear. I made a move last spring to a different boat (Crestliner CMV 1850) with a lot more and much more useful rod storage and that fishes better than the walleye style Lunds and Crestliners I'd had before and it is a lot easier to have technique specific rods accessible on-deck with the new rig.

First post here, have been reading about Dobyns rods a little and have seen them mentioned here. ...a little background, I live in NW WI, fish lakes and rivers with everything from light action spinning rods to bait casters to fly rods...I'm far from a purist (I'm a fisherman first, everything else is just a way to catch fish). I tend towards fishing plastics for smallies, but manage to trip over a lot of largemouth in the process. I currently own mostly St. Croix and Temple Forks Outfitters rods, like the way both fish, but have seen some good comments and reviews about Dobyns rods.