Angry John

Right I ment below avid.

Well I guess every person is entitled to their opinion. I have owned every bass line of rods they make and still own and fish avoids and above several times a week. A big name rod is generally not that great in the economy lines, and even the avids are now made in Mexico. Below the avids you get much better product cheaper in other manufacturers.

St croix is not good until you reach the avid or above level. BMW is not the same in the 100 and 500 series. Fish an scV blank and you will know performance.

Flourocarbon knots are real finicky and burn super easy. You may have better luck using a different knot. The second thing to try is some actual leader material. It is a different formula and it may help or solve your problem

I dont use swimbaits ever in low visibility water. I also dont worry about what their eating. In cold water I use huddleston boot tails and the like. In spring I use glides, summer is big glide and multi piece hard baits. It's just that simple for me because I dont want a headache when I fish.

If your worried about expense and wanting fresh line take a page from salt water fishermen. A top shot being the best answer. Fill the spool up with a good braid and put 20 ish yards of your flourocarbon on top. I do this a lot and using the Alberto knot means I just cast passing the knot on longer casts.

If your looking for a rod about 150 ish and decent I fish the fenwick elite tech mlxf and for flukes, 4" weightless worms and the like its great. The handle is awsome and balances well with a 2000 series reel.

Away or toward I would consider optimal. Left right would drive me insane

Yes blanks can have a curve to them. Are some better than others, of course. A builder will orient that curve to minimize its effect. A lot of curve is unappealing to look at.

These

Rode out to shelby forest and shore fishery peirsol with my kids. I caught 4 shorts and my son 2. Guys in a jon caught 5 and took them home. That pond is a little small for harvest, but that's just my opinion.

That is a very hard question to answer. Some people like short handles and some long. I went as far as having a couple of custom rods built and I was asked several times if I was sure. For me the pheonix rods are amazing and the x13 is what my custom is built on. In the factory form the x13 is not a rod I like. The handle killed it for me. My dobyns 764 is a great rod with a short handle and I fished it twice and it sits in the corner. I like the blank hate the handle.

I own many nice rods megabass and custom. If I could only have one rod for everything it would be my LEc70mhf. My second most used rod is my 610mxf. If you could have both then add a spinning setup and be done.

Everyone has a favorite stick bait and they just like line act differently. My preference is the dean Rojas cane thumper. They do not have the heavy salt content of the yam bait. In shallow water they sink a lot slower and in some cases that's a real benefit. I also use the 4" on a dropshot to good success. They also dont rust a hook overnight. A bait is a tool and compared to each other will not be exactly the same.

I like my zillion HLC and the 6.3 gear ratio works just great. The size of your crank will matter and I use a 6xd and the norman deep n the most. I have pulled a 10 and 8xd and they wear me out in a hurry. If that's your goal I defer to people who fish those.

Looks good. With all the cork issues I cant believe a lot more companies are not using carbon. Best handle material ever.

The mepps #3 worked the best but I did catch a few big ones on a #5. On a related note their gills are also sharp and I dont think I have ever lost so much blood out of my hand ever. It just kept pouring out.

While living in ct I targeted them for a season just because. They love flash and seem to be caught easily on reaction baits. Large white rooster tails were an all day catching affair along with the bluegill kvd 1.5. Some heavy flourocarbon leader seemed to keep more baits but still bit off a lot. Blade baits also worked great but got bit off even faster. They will also destroy a frog in one or two fish.

Turn up your breaks or better use of your thumb. They both work your style makes the choice

Daiwa certate 2000. If you can find one a sol or advantage is also nice.

Have you looked for a shallow spool so you dont need filler and it takes much less line.

I love a 610mlxf and I fish one regular. The lower end st croix are 68mlxf from what I remember, and I havent fished those. My son fishes an avid 68mxf and that rod is very powerful. He has that to help compensate for his weak 10 year old hook sets.

I believe color matters least among the factors. #1 are you where the fish are, #2 are you fishing the correct depth, #3 are you fishing the correct presentation, #4 are you fishing the right speed, #5 is the bait the correct meal size. #6 is the action correct (this is a huge factor with crainkbaits) #7 sound rattles or no. #8 color #9 scent #10 luck.....

I never did very good at the grove. Its rough. The dog park is decent for a few fish around a pound. My son hail maryed a stick worm in the middle last summer and caught a decent one near 4lb but that was a one time deal. The only one I have repeatedly caught fish is the west most pond in the dog park area.

Been getting bites all year. They are now hitting topwater so I'm happy. I'm off to dog park in shelby farms here in an hour.