Further North

Thank you. I prefer baitcasters too...for most things...have used a St. Croix LXS610MLXF spinning rod for what little drop shot fishing I've done, so far.

Sure. Each side will hire it's own ringers and luck will play a huge part in the final results! What's not to like? Hopefully everyone gets that I'm kidding...I tried to throw as much ridiculous stuff into one place as I could come up with quickly... ...and since the challenged gets to pick the weapons, place and time...no rods less than 9 ft. (gotta go apples to apples, otherwise stats will be meaningless, kinda like NASCAR engine restrictions), reels can only be 1:1 retrieve ratio, my boat, my lake, no practice. No live bait; barbless hooks only. Team HDR (High Dollar Rod) can only use rods that have an MSRP of more than $400; Team BBR (Bargain Basement Rod) can only fish rods that have an MSRP of $120 or less. Total fish inches win. Team HDR be fishin' for teeth... 40" +... 48" = 88" + 37" = 125" + +54" = 179" ...and for bass... Next day, at dawn, we'll go hit the rivers and streams, same restrictions on rods and reels, baits and hooks. Wading only, barbless hooks, artificials only... Hopefully everyone gets that I'm kidding...I tried to throw as much ridiculous stuff into one place as I could come up with quickly...

A-Yup. Heck...some people drink booze that's several hundred dollars a bottle. That's single use product, there. ...but hey..those O/U shotguns? The barrels are sideways. If God had meant us to to shoot O/Us, he'd have put our eyes one above the other. (I'm kidding. I've long been a fan of several Over/Unders with the classic Browning Superposed in early 1931 configuration leading the pack. I once owned a Superposed with a three digit serial number, 30" barrels, twin single triggers and stepped vent rib that weighed in at a little less than 7 pounds. That gun was fast and rock steady...I kick myself for letting it go at least twice a year...)

If that's "plain and basic", then so is the stock on the bottom gun in this picture: ...That's very nice work! Simplicity often equals elegance far beyond what I might call excessive decoration...

Like most things...there really isn't a best because it's going to depend a lot on what you're trying to do and what you like. All the top end braids are very good...but despite that, I keep coming back to Suffix 832 for a lot of my rigs because it sinks and because it comes in the bright green I like to use for line watching. I'm not wild about spider wire...which is more of a tactile thing for me...I don't like the way it feels. I didn't care for the way Gliss looked after a season...it looked fraid and fuzzy...never had a break off, but the look didn't inspire confidence. I tend to use mostly Suffix 832, with some PowerPro (thought that is mostly getting replaced with PowerPro Slick 8) and I have a couple reels spooled with Smackdown and I have no complaints with that either. I have a spool of Max Cuatro ready to go for when I either buy a new reel or some of the older braid needs replacing...but since I use leaders almost 100%, replacing braid because it's worn just doesn't happen for me very often. I have reels going on 5 seasons with the original braid. Couple other useful thoughts: As noted above, I use leaders almost exclusively for two reasons: Toothy fish shred braid. Abrasive structure (mostly rocks around here) nicks braid. I look at braid a little differently than most fishermen as break strength is not my key criteria, rather I use line diameter. If a reel is in its sweet spot with 125 yards of 12 lb. mono, I'm typically going to spool it with braid that has the same diameter as 12 lb. mono, or close. I'm not going to go down to something close to 12 lb. braid as I don't want 300+ yards of braid on my reel because: No freshwater fish I'm going to chase is going to take out that much line, and There's no reason to incur the expense for at least 2x the line...probably more...and there's zero reason to me to waste time spooling the reel 1/2 way up with mono either...really...why bother? Another reason I don't like this braid is that it cuts my fingers...on the other hand, it makes decent floss for when a little piece of that chicken drumstick I ate for lunch gets stuck in my teeth... Hope that helps a little.

Yeah...look at it this way: You don't have to set your beer down.

I use spinning gear fr drop shot fishing on the rare occasions I use it, but... I'm missing something regarding dropping a line straight down. Spinning gear: hold rod tip over the edge with right hand, open bail with left hand, rig drops straight down. When weight hits bottom, close bail with left hand. Casting gear: Hold rod tip over the edge with right hand, press release with right thumb, rig drops straight down. When weight hits bottom, nudge reel handle slightly to engage spool. I'm not seeing one being easier than the other (I might, in fact see using a baitcaster as easier because it could all be done with one hand)...what am I missing?

I'd like to see what that looks like - sounds very nice!

I didn't either...at least to the extent I found. ...as to advantages, I'd have a hard time saying there are any, but could be wrong. Mostly it's aesthetics, a lot like high end shotguns. Wow...and cool. Same here...though I have a St. Croix Legend C fly rod... Good choice on the H3! Seems to be that way.

...they kinda do, it's just that those rods don't get discussed a lot on bass forums. It's not hard to spend $1,000 on a fly rod. You can easily spend $400 for a mid-level rod (and I often do, going with Temple Forks Outfiters). I just took a look...G Loomis has fly rods at $1,400. ...there are other, specialized, custom makers that'll double that. ...then we can edge into bamboo fly rods. The ones Orvis sells pop the cork at $2,795...and they are nowhere near the best thing going...and Orvis is still a mass market retailer (and that's not criticism, not even a little bit). Start looking at a custom made bamboo rod, made by an acknowledged master tradesman...and you're probably looking at $5K, to start. Start adding in special wood for the reel seat, custom engraving for the metal parts...and you can get to elevations where it gets hard for a working guy like me to breathe in a heck of a hurry.... A quick Google search on "custom bamboo fly rods for sale" popped up a website for Oyster fly rods...and a selling price for a "standard" Legacy Series rod of $12,000...or 100x an "average" casting rod...just so you know I'm not making that up: https://www.taigan.com/shops/oysterflyrods/items/42995-oyster-legacy-series-bamboo-fly-rod-by-oyster?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIs4Hxhc692AIVg9dkCh0KZQp9EAQYASABEgINzfD_BwE ...the last car I bought...a nothing special, 2014 Ford Escape, had an MSRP of about $42,500 (I can't afford that, I bought it used, a year later for $23,500)...working the numbers, 100x $42,500 is $4,250,000...or about 280% more than a Bugatti Veyron... Best I could quickly do for "average vehicle cost" was a USA Today piece from 2015 that put that price at $33,560...100x that is still $3,356,000...or about 234% of the $1,500,000 Veyron price tag... Thanks for your post...It sent me down a quick gopher hole of fishing rod costs, and taught me a thing or three...I honestly had no clue you could spend, $12,000 on a fishing rod...my expectations were more in line with the $5,000 - $6,000 I've seen spent on 'Boo rods...which is more like 50x an "average $120 fishing rod...to see 2x that...educational...I really appreciate it. Yep. There's a truism floating around the world of shotgun shooting: "Beware of the man who shoots one gun." That "old timer" in bib overalls shooting a 1930s model 12 at every clay that flies...he's really, really likely to kick your butt...

St. Croix actually has a program for that:http://stcroixrods.com/service-warranty/service-warranty-policies/ Their "Gold Service Plan": Not really. It's all about incremental improvement. There's a huge difference between a $300 basic pump shotgun and a $100,000 Boss, or Purdy to...but every step along the way has it's benefit and associated cost. Same with cars, rods, boats...IMO, of course.

Yup, it was a challenge...but where there's a will, there's a way. ...I was helped out by the fact that I can just barely shoehorn 3 31 series batteries into my battery compartment. Had to put the charger in back and run wires, but it works!

If most $400 rods snap, you're going to call up the company, send in the broken rod, pay for shipping and handling and have a new rod on the way in a couple days.

Can't speak to a 24 volt TM, but we made it back across 5 miles of Lake of the Woods with a 36 volt Terrova...after fishing all day. For reference, the 36 volt Minn Kota TMs (Terrova and Ulterra models) will move my 18 ft. Crestliner 3 1/2 MPH. I hav't looked at all the Ranger 18 ft. aluminum models, but I suspect my Crestliner is wider and heavier and my motor (Suzuki 140) is heavier than your 115...so you might get by with a 24 volt. ...I'd go 36 volt, but there's plenty of people out there who think that's overkill...for my own purposes, I haven't felt like I had too much power yet...

That's unfortunate...

...nailed that... People who are unhappy about what other people have will never, ever find happiness of their own. ...it'd truly suck to be one of those people.

You bet. I spend about half my time on the water with gear, half with the long rod...it varies by the weather and what I'm chasing (everything from trout to musky). Most of what I throw are streamers, particularly for warm water fish...I'll go to the surface for bass if conditions are right. I find it less tiring over the course of a long day on the water to switch back and forth between gear and fly fishing...different muscle groups, techniques, etc.

I noticed he wasn't posting any longer...wonder what happened?

Well, sure...but I still don't believe it's best blow off any Gomers who tell you you're wrong. They've got no idea where you are in your life and have no business telling you what's right or wrong.

I knew there'd be good reasons, thanks!

Optima 34m are cranking/deep cycle batteries. Seems to me that for a trolling motor you'd want deep cycle only.

Haven't worked with Doc Samson, but have fished with Jason Halfen and followed his work. Too notch, all way.

...can a blue man sing the whites?

Yup. I run 30# braid to 8# co-poly all season.

Curious, why would you feel the need to tie direct?