FishTank

I have seen the Shimano Crucial swimbait rod clearanced out for $60 at Dicks. At that price you can't go wrong.

You might check out Gander Mountains house brand of rods. They have one that is on sale this week called the Vortex. I think it is only $20. I played with one of these and was impressed.

St. Croix Avid 7' MH Fast and a Shimano Citica.

Sounds like the Daiwa rep was giving you a reason to buy a Daiwa. As far as the Shimano/Lews connection.... It's old news...way old. Things have changed over the years and they are separate entities. The Lews speed spool name and design was used on a few different reels over the years.

Very cool. I have a pair on the way for my Shimano Core. The originals were good but after 7 years they have started to slow down. I hope that they make an improvement.

12lb Invizx is my favorite but I will go up to 17lb if it is called for.

That's a good deal. I wish there was a Cabela's in my area.

I would guess it would be whatever you have the most confidence in. I really don't think matters though. My favorite is black and blue though.

I think I will stay home this year. I have plenty of stuff for this year. If I need anything, I will head to my local tackle shop. The last time I was at BPS, it sort of lost it's fun factor.

At $10 for a pack of 50 that is a steal. I have tried them in the past and did ok with them. I would say they are similar to Yum Dingers. In the end though, I like Senkos better. They catch more fish, IMHO. Are they worth thextra coin? Not at full price but if they are on sale or clearanced, that's another story.

I am kind of curious about this as well. If it is a step down from the GL2, then the Avid is still the best bang for the buck.

I never really see much difference between say 6lb and 12lb as far as mono goes. When I step up to 20lb though, I might notice a little difference.

Pflueger Supreme or a Shimano Stradic.

The Tatula......

I have been thinking of one of these for cranking as well. I can't make up my mind between this and a Chronarch.

I have the Citica G and it is a fine reel. I can't see where you go wrong with it. Just curious why the E instead of the G?

The Curado 300 E is great for bigger baits. The Revo Beast would be another options.

I love going there when I was a kid. We stayed there one year for Christmas. It was, well, magical. We bought all our gifts and a tree in town. It also snowed like crazy. I always like going hiking like others stated. Going to Cades Cove was awesome. I also hiked the small portion of the AT. The Heidelberg up in the mountains (I think it is closed) was a blast. I also have a great memory of sharing my first beer with my dad. It was hot that summer and Gatlingburg/Pigeon Forge did not have enough power to handle it all. With no power the water eventually stopped flowing and where we were the only thing left was beer and pop. They gave the beer and pop away for free in order to keep people hydrated. The only thing that any thing cold was a liquor store in town that had a gas generator. I will never forget sitting with my dad at 10 years old, in 90 degree heat drinking down two Lowenbrau's and eating Limburger Cheese with some crackers and having one PO'd mother.

Ted 2 was hilarious. I also like the one with Liam Neeson.

In several ways, for one I broke my arm years ago and it is harder to turn my wrist out than in. So when I cast with a left handed reel I can feather the cast by turning my wrist in. This way I use only one break on my reels and I can control the cast better. Same thing goes when I'm pitching. Also hook sets are easier for me this way. This is not me but it think it shows about the same technique I use.

Right hand. The key was that I had been using spinning gear for so long that I was use to casting with my right hand and retrieving with my left. With a right hand baitcaster, I was casting with my right then switching hands. It felt unnatural. A left handed baitercaster was the answer. I have not changed since.

I picked one up recently as well. I have only fished it once and it seem like a quality reel and at $49 you can't go wrong.

When I bought my first baitcaster, it was right handed. I had the hardest time using it. I would get backlashes and I could not cast it very far. Then one day somebody handed my a left hand retrieve and all my problems were solved.

Again jigs and soft plastic. Senko style baits are awesome with this rod. For jerkbaits you want a MH fast with a slightly softer tip. For topwater I like a MH or H Fast rod that is at least 7'.

Aldebaran BFS XG has got me excited but we will probably not see it in the US.