Angry John

Both my 743 spinning and casting rods are moderate fast.

There are several options as the upper kern is the better section imo. There are bass in the lower kern and some pools. Sandy flats campground is one of the better areas with larger deeper pools. Lake Isabella is way down from when I fished there as a kid but the back opposite the dam had a bunch of timber and I liked targeting the canyons. The upper kern is mostly stocked trout and I did a lot of trout catching on 66 and 7' ml spinning rods on 4lb test. Salmon eggs were the ticket most times but live bugs caught a bunch also behind a single split shot. The highland lakes are also nice bank fished a few near the 100 giants area. Highly recommend spending a few days up there exploring.

These charts are not relative to other rods just to those in that line or from that manufacturer. Dobyns fast is not near the same as st crois fast or fenwick.

That's because man is messing with the natural cycles in these forests to include the fire cycle. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Tons of ponds and trout fishing on the peninsula. Not much of a trout guy. Out east near potholes is a much better bass scene. Have you been to American lake and any of the other bigger lakes currently in your area. I lived on the peninsula and it was not what I was looking for.

If you fished more often with a heavier rod you could skip the gym.

Now we have to figure out how to catch these on rod and reel. Musky setup???

No worries you could accept that southern California is a desert and has had to bring water from the north and other states for decades. Look to the redwood tree species for answers. It has specially adapted to get water from fog to compensate for low rain fall.

Rod weight and power are related but not directly so. If you want to pay the steez xbd frog rod is amazing. If you want to save money the gym is always an option.

Lots of us here in TN on the board, so welcome. Sounds like your out east?

Were in the slow season and it may be worth the time and effort to really check out the value in copoly lines. I feel like for me it has everything. My choice is YHB because its strong, has good knots and its sink rate makes it work really well for most things. I like to jack jig fish, so the knot strength does not let me down, its a slow sink line so it works extremely well for jerkbaits, which i find get pulled down on a long cast with fluorocarbon. Why spend big bucks on a perfectly suspending lure just to have a heavy line drag it down. Its cheap and has decent abrasion resistance. I use it for swimbaits, 15lb and a swaiver 168 will drag in a 6.5 no issue. The line is a little thicker so i fish it by diameter with 10lb being my most common size. No single line is perfect and you will have to try a line to understand how it fits into your fishing. The red label is cheap and not the worst grade of fluorocarbon but it wore badly for me. If your in the *** like FL or CA or TX maybe you might need over 12 but i almost never do unless i am fishing 2oz baits or over. Do what makes you happy...

As a first flourocarbon I would go with the invesx. It handles about the best and is easy to get along with. I use a lot of sniper and pline 100%. They are my favorite and both are quality at a not so painful price. Dont know how often or if you backlash, but flourocarbon kinks very easy and they need to be cut off. This can get expensive and I would get used to a brand new setup before switching over.

I have both meirelles and llbean. There both good. I have put one of each on in the dark and wore a misty match for the day. The llbeans seemed more durable and lasted longer. I have a brand new set that will be used when these merrells are done.

There is always a risk of loss but going higher in test means that you outclass yourself on a standard sized reel. The zillion and a few others have a strong enough set of internals to run 2 ish oz baits and not get torn up. The power of the rods also helps protect the line in a fish scenario but will not help in the tree situation. There is no perfect work around other than just getting the dedicated setup.

Treble baits are a lot different than single hooks. The power to set a jig hook is much higher. For a hud your looking at a dobyns 807 or a full sb rod.

Smaller keitech swimbaits. The 3" in Bothell sthe standard swing and easy shiner can be good.

On that rod I use 12 or 15 lb yhb. If your using a 168 in open water 12 is fine 15 will take up more spool room. My reel on that rod is a sv103 with the slightly deeper 1016 spool. The stock spool has the 12.

The spro rat would be a better choice as far as cheaper works and in your weight range.

The st croix avid 74h is good for baits up to 2 oz and doubles as a great frog rod. Its my favorite for fishing the 168 s waiver and does just fine with the hard gills. I would not go 2.5 oz if you plan on superman casting but i have not a single issue slinging the swaiver to the spool empty point on a zillion with 12 or 15 lb line.

I have tried an avid x and still own one. They are good rods but for casting i will still go back to the standard versions. I love the action of the 7mhf blanks from sc3-sc5 and i have at least one of each in that power.

610mxf st croix is what i use and its amazing. I have a bunch of longer rods but this one is perfect for me. Its money on 1/4 jigs and will run a lot of other baits like the hud shad and grass minnow just perfect. Its also perfect for 5" worms. Drop an alphas or core on top with some 10lb pline 100% or YHB and go....

1. You have way more stealth 2. I get some workout with the peddle power but not a killer at all. 3. It forces you to plan better. People with boats can just move multiple miles. They dont have to have a solid plan. 4. I love smaller waters and a yak is better there. 5. I am forced to simplify. I could carry a bunch of rods but i limit myself to 4 because thats how many rod holders i have. Could i have more yes but that just complicates things. 6. Catch a 5 pounder from a boat is no big deal, catch one from a yak and go for a ride.

This is a get in where you fit in category. My best day has been on an swaiver 168 in you know it. I own baits up to 200 bucks. I have never had a hud fish but to be honest i dont like to fish the bait that much. If your getting in, grab a few of the larger keitech;s and just try them out.

Yeah the zillion is basically a tank.

This is so true. My favorite guy Matt Allen catches a ton of fish but does not always handle a rod kindly. People now expect to be protected by warranty for their mistakes.