Angry John

If your in the leader club then flouro leaders are harder than main line. Leader material does not have to be manageable for casting.

I don't buy the stretch thing. IMO if you need more abrasion resistance then it may be worth it, but generally knot strength is not as good with flouro. Choose the tool that works the best and forget the hype!

I use them for river trout all the time!

I use Boca lube just a drop. Can't run my reel with zero braking so its no loss imo

I like 10 lb YHB but 12 might be great to.

If you know the "good" colors why not try a different bait that may have a slightly different action?

Frog has to be the popping spro Sammy's Duo pencil's R2S bubble walkers

I love Croix. I own about a dozen or so. If your looking for a cheaper option the Fenwick elite tech rods are very nice in hand

65 lb braid. I like 832 or sonic braid.

Get a kayak. Now you don't need gas or registration or a gym membership. Boom there it is.

Start off with a few rc stx and if you get the hang of it look into the more expensive baits. Later in the spring the xraps work good when there moving a little faster

Jrob nailed it. Start with all your settings maxed and slowly ease up. Winter is a great time to practice pitching. Do be careful of glass.

I like the owner hook covers but they have bulk on the auction site. Use those and 3701 cases to maximise your storage.

10 lb YHB is hard to beat.

I like data tables. Which spool fits each reel, your years worth of catches and time and bait. Information and facts are a lot harder to come by than opinion.

If you are using flouro then an xfast is great. I used a lamiglas excel 702 that was great and now using a Fenwick elite bass 610 mlxf and I like that rod better. Both of mine doubled as trout rods and they work great. I also have a dobyns champ 702 but I like the Fenwick more.

CT and WA close all waters that are trout stocked for a "closed season". I could also care less about trout to keep but I do catch and release if the bass bite sucks. I dropshot them so the fish is hurt very little and I have never gut hooked one. Lame policy for put and take lakes.

They use liquid nitrogen to freeze the skin. If your lucky they can use the fudex cream. Don't know that is the correct name of the cream but how it sounds. My entire family deals with skin cancer.

I wear a full brim hat. The military style is OK and my wife has fun calling me an old man.

The spool will fit. Tested on tt

I also use the bps bearing with the locking snap. I use the smallest sizes for trout spinners. For most applications I don't use a swivel.

When you use smaller guides most of the time there are more guides which makes more contact points with the blank. There should also be less guide weight dampening the vibrations in the blank. The theory to practice on this has mixed opinions.

10 lb p-line 100%. I have used 8lb sniper and that was good to.

Why let another ruin your peace. I fish to get over bs not cause more.

Yes you can throw swimbaits any where any time. They might work but for the described conditions they would not be first choice. If you already had the gear why not give it a try. I love swimbait fishing and want others to enjoy it to. My earlier post was aimed at baits that I would throw in that situation first. Hate to see a guy new to big baits get frustrated because they don't hookup. They do make hudds in white and dark perch patterns that might help you get bit this early in the season. When it warms a little more a cheap glide bait like a s-waiver or even the slamer would be good proven baits to check out.