fishnkamp

Sorry to hear that i am glad you gt your money back though.

First guides can cost as much as pennies to many dollars. Durability and cost of materials can make up some of the differences. Also sometimes the difference is not so much the quality as the name the manufacturer gives it. One brand name may be no more or less durable than another brands offering. Weight can equate to sturdiness, but obviously a single foot guide will need to be made of stronger material than a dual foot one. That does not mean it is any stronger or heavier overall. Also some guides have inserts that are more durable in order to accommodate using braid which can be more abrasive to a guides surface. Sometimes perceived quality is just marketing. And then you have the other end of the spectrum. My custom rod builder showed me a set of guides the other day that were 'holographic" the ring actually worked like a prism changing from greens to purples to who knows what else. I guarantee he spent more money on those guides than the high quality rod blank he put them on!! Seriously if he had not shown them to me I would have never believed they existed. I hope a rod builder will stop in and give you some more specifics.

Welcome to Bass Resource. Boy I love the area you live in! I have spent some amazing days fishing Dale Hollow and Center Hill Lakes just a little west of you. My wife and I are considering Norris, Cherokee and Douglas lakes for vacation next April. The problem is deciding which lake to go to next! Of course Watts Bar and Chicamagua are on my to do list also. SOOO many good ones to choose from it hurts your head! LOL

Welcome again. Since yo live in Aberdeen check out Mariner Park (it is located in Harford County off Route 40 just below Edgewood). it is a county park with boat launching ramp, picknick tables, walking paths in the woods and places with wood structures hanging out over the Gunpowder River. Often times guys will fish from those structure. Also down by me, in Middle River, there is a park called Wilson Point Park. It is located by Martin State Airport. It also has a launch ramp as well as a park with kids swings, picknick tables and a boardwalk of sorts. Many people fish off that. I have seen some nice perch and cats come from fishing there. Those are just a few. Maybe we can meet next week and do some shore fishing. As I said earlie,r I am not able to go out in the boat till my foot heals, but the doc never said I can sit and fish from shore!!!

thebillsman I am curious what was wrong with your Berkley Lightning Shock rods? I am sorry you had trouble but you have my curiosity running wild. Here in MD we chase rockfish from mid September to December, when they leave the main part of the Chesapeake Bay and enter the warmer waters of its tributaries. Now instead of needing a big boat and planer boards with parachute rigs I can catch them from my bass boat throwing rattle traps (perfectly imitates the baitfish). We throw Bill Lewis Rattle Traps, Redeye Shads, and Xcalibur XR and XRK traps in 5/8,1/2 and 3/4 so I needed to have multiple rods on deck. For the last 4 years I have been throwing these baits on a $300 Irod/ Diawa Tatula combo, a $150 dollar Falcon Buccoo/Diawa Tatula combo and 2 Berkley Lightning Shock 6"6" M rods with Bass Pro Extreme reels. All of these have either Fireline braid or PowerPro braid on them. I have caught numerous rock and blue cats up to 20 pounds. These rods were purchased because I do not normally need 4 $300 combos on board to fish rattle traps. Instead I have about $100 in each of the two combos. I have never had any trouble with them. Their performance is why i set my wife up with her spinning combo. Please elaborate because I am truly curious. Maybe they changed the rod or something? How recent did you get yours, mine as I said are 3 and4 years old. Hey Speed thanks for the video that looks like fun and dinner as well. That rod will work well for you, that bridge would be a problem if it was 20+ feet . Here on the Chesapeake Bay lots of guys fish bridges and bulkheads like that for perch, spot, croaker, even blues. You should have a blast and it will last a good long time for you.

For one all around first rod I would start with gear that is affordable, but not cheap and will not need to be upgraded later. So my combo would be a medium spinning rod in 6'6" to 7 foot. With the idea you may fish everything including live bait off a pier, I would go 7 foot. My reel choice is simple, go get a Pflueger President spinning reel for $60. There are plenty of reels that cost less and many cost more, but it is a 10 bearing reel and I have fished some of mine for almost a decade. I would choose a model 6935. That means you will have plenty of spool capacity for line but will not be too big either. I would choose a line like Berkley original fireline in 14 pound test. I suggest this because the line will lay nice on the reel and since you are just getting started it will help avoid line twist and other issues. Also when you cast, always close the bail with your hand, this will help avoid line twist and you from having a big birds nest to deal with. Now that leaves you with plenty in the budget for a good rod and some tackle. Go to Dicks Sporting Good either in your area or online. They sell the 7 foot medium Berkley Lightning Shock rods for $49. Right now Dick's even has a $10 mail in rebate on Pflueger reel. There are plenty of other options, but I know that one will work for you. My wife is an accomplished angler, with several $300 rod and reel combos to fish with and along with them is that exact rod/reel combo. She uses it to throw crankbaits and rattle traps for rockfish. It has caught bass, rockfish, panfish and even a few catfish. Once you get some time with this combo you will be able to choose other gear that is more technique specific to add to your arsenal . Good Luck and let us know how it turns out.

That is what makes this board great, somebody always has the answer quick! Obviously you are running stainless, but many times guys are trying to run aluminum and still get speed improvements. The difference is the correct answers due to aluminum likes to run deeper. I am one of those guys that choose to run aluminum. I run a 18 foot Lowe aluminum bass boat here on the Chesapeake Bay tidal rivers. Due to running in shallow water with lots of old boats, crab traps, and other debris under water I run a Turning Point Hustler 3 blade performance aluminum prop. I would rather loose a prop that costs $200 bucks to replace than my lower unit! Even so, to make it run at top speed and give a fast hole shot I purchased the prop new for $100, then had more pitch and cup added by my local prop shop. we even fine tuned the vent holes believe it or not. Doing this I cut my hole shot time, now come out level fast, and picked up 4 mph on the top end. My total investment in the prop is a whopping $177.00. Well worth it.

Danny-716 has it just about right. Some of the "fatter" rods may be built that way due to the type of graphite and also what the maker was going for. Sometimes there is less sensitivity. I also heard a quote from G Loomis that they could build you the thinnest, most sensitive, and lightest rod but nobody would want to fish it because it would not be durable enough. There are plenty of really good rods out there in all types of diameters and materials. I have a friend that loves the Abu Veritas rods in a 7 foot medium action for throwing crankbaits and rattle trap type baits. Those rods are really nice and durable except for the guides. Occasionally he has a guide ring come out. He just has our rod builder replace all of his guides and even plans on it when he buys the rod. But he loves the durability and feel he gets on those blanks and can not buy a similar blank for the cost of the completed rod. Now I frog fish with the same rod in a MH and have never had a guide replaced. He is tough on gear and also catches BIG snakeheads and strippers while also bass fishing. For crankbaits and rattle traps I throw an Irod GenesisII 7 foot Gabes Rip Rap Special. It might fit in your larger diameter rod category. There are not very many rods more lite weight, sensitive and well built than that rod. Keep in mind the rod costs $150 not $350 or more. When looking for a good crankbait rod just go look for a rod that is lite in weight, feels balanced in your hand with the reel you intend to fish with and most of all make sure it has a medium action with a more moderate taper. That medium action moderate taper means the bend of the rod goes back further in the blank. You need to have that forgiving blank so you do not pull the treble hooks out, but the rod also needs with plenty of backbone behind it.

Go over to Anglers Express. and see either Chris or Eric. They have some cool rod lines you will not see locally anywhere else. They have Irod, Dobyns, Abu, Powell, Duckett, ***, No 8, and some I am forgetting. They will get you fixed up. If you go up 83 take the Padonia road exit. On your left at a light (maybe second light) is an Irish bar turn left there. go one block over to old Padonia rd. Turn left and go a couple of buildings down. There is a strip of buildings and that is where they are. The rod I chose for it is a 7ft Loomis Medium extra fast. Take a look at the Powell Inferno 6103, it is a 6'10 Medium xf. Might be just the ticket. I own a Powell Max (an original not 3d) 683 casting rod. That is my go to jig rod. Picture a 7 footer with just a bit of a shorter handle makes throwing jig under and around docks a joy. Somehow long rod butts and docks spell trouble.

Walmart and Dicks are always worth watching. The fishing industry is about to bring out next years models soon. These two retailers have a habit of blowing out their inventory around this time. Several years ago I picked up a Falcon Buccoo micro guide trapmaster rod for something like $30. It was retailing on line for somewhere over $70 I believe. That rod is terrific, I throw rattle traps and crankbaits on it for strippers. Later that fall Dicks had an Abu Garcia Veritas blowout for $30. I always go to Dicks, purchase a jig or a pack of gum, go home, go online, fill out the questionnaire using the code from my receipt, and print my ten dollar off coupon. I went back and got it for $20. They were retailing for $90 elsewhere. I bought three, one MH for me that I frog with and two mediums for friends of mine. Two weeks later the Veritas2 s were in the store.

If you live in SE PA travel over to the east side of York and visit Susquehanna Fishing Tackle. George and his crew will put plenty of reels in your hands. besides it is always a treat to go there. If you want it they have it. Just do a search for them on the internet.

Welcome and you sure live in a beautiful part of the world. Have you spent any time on Cherokee. I am thinking of going there next spring>i

Check what your prop is, what your wot is and measure your prop to pad. Just because it has the prop your dealer may have chosen, it might not have your best prop for speed. Get those numbers together and your water pressure at wot. Once you pull all of those together someone can give you a direction to go. Also you did not mention it, but if you are not running a stainless prop you are wasting your time.

There is nothing wrong with Mercs' oil in a Merc. However at the cost of these engines today, I would rather go get the YamaLube that your engine calls for. Hopefully you have another dealer that carries it. Around here many of our boat dealers carry oil from the big three. Also our West Marine carries the YamaLube TCW3 2 cycle oil. I know Mercs oil is good, but may not have additives Yamaha wants to see in its oil. Just my two cents.

Since you are located up near Aberdeen check into Flying Point Marina located off of Route 40 in Edgewood (not far from you). There is a very good reel repair guy located on the grounds there. They may be able to breath some new life into your old reels. Give the marina a phone call first and see if they have his number. His is a separate business.

Look at a Diawa Tatula Type R . The reel is super smooth and is available in a 8-1 ratio. They can be purchased on Amazon for about $140 they retail around $200

Also if you go to Mudd Hole they have the MHX Metallic color series. In that series is the option of their Metalic Blue. I would show her all of their colors. My rod builder uses a lot of them. Check em out on Tom's Custom Rod under galleries.

Sorry, sometimes my fingers get ahead of my brain. Anyway Middle River is south of you by about 25 minutes. You would travel down 95 till you get to the White Marsh exit and follow rt 43 to Eastern Boulevard. I am minutes from Martin State Airport.

Wow you are local. Yes, I used to fish Prettyboy with my other boat. Currently I run the bay waters as well as Conowingo. I have to take you out this fall for some light tackle strippers, it soo much fun on bass tackle. Unfortunately I am home right now trying to get my injured foot to heal. However, if you have a little time and do not mind driving down to Middle River I would love to put some rods in your hand. It will make your decision much easier. By the way if you have not been "into " fishing for a while we have a terrific new tackle shop off Padonia Rd. It is called Anglers Express. They are the only dealer for Dobyns around here as well and they carry Irod, Powell and a bunch more. If you cast my Irod with its Tatula on it you will be amazed. I also can help your grandson on his casting quickly. Give me a call at 410-960-9328

St Croix has the Premier, Avid and AvidX series of rods available in two pieces. ML or Medium will work fine In Abu Garcia take a look at the 6'9" two piece Vendetta. It says ML but all Abu rods run a little stiffer than they say. The lure rating is ML extra fast tipped 1/8 to 1/2. I think that would be a great all a round rod. G Loomis offers a bunch of rods also. Your wallet may have to make the decision. The Abu costs $79.99 but has a rebate of $16 if purchased by 6/25 from Gander Mountain. The St. Croixs will run you anywhere from $120 to $250. There are lots of good reels out there, but for $60 consider a Pfluerger President. It is a really smooth reel and contains 10 bearings. I have several that have almost 10 years of use.

Get it repaired or replace with a Diawa Tatula and do not take it apart! Also make sure to load some either mono or copoly line on the reel. Make sure the knot you tie on the reel is tight. If that slips then the reel will not act correctly. Add say 20 feet of backing just to cover the arbor then tie on your braid. Braid is known for slipping on an arbor. I always load 1/2 of spool of backing (good quality copolymer line which is much cheaper than expensive braid) and then my braid. Doing this means I can fill two reels for the price of one.

Lets go! First your Loomis should be a 6'6 if it is a 783. That is okay because as a worm and jig rod it terrific. It is in the mag family so it is a great rod for worms, jigs, texas rigged creature baits anything that is a bottom contact bait. It is perfect for that purpose and yes 6.1 would be ideal, but if you fish deep the extra speed is helpful if you need to get the bait in and rapid fire it out again. I would leave that alone for those jobs. Now, I love G Loomis rods and between my wife and I we fish 6 of them (no I am not any richer than you I collected them over time). The IMX is some good graphite (3 of mine are IMX) but let me head you down another path. It sounds like you what you need is a 7 foot medium action moderate taper rod and a good reel. I suggest you look at an Irod Genesis II . The line is made up on really lite blanks, eva handles, a very comfortable reel seat with good finger contact on the blank. I fish an IRG 703CC it is called the Gabes Rip Rap Special. This rod is a composite and therefore it has a slower taper perfect for treble hook baits. It specs as a 7 foot MH moderate taper, 1/4 to 3/4 and line rating of 8 to 16. I fish all of my crankbaits and rattle trap type bait on this rod and I know it can handle a spinnerbait as well as I like a slower taper for those also. That rod will run you $155. Now find a deal on a Diawa Tatula or Diawa Fuega. The Tatula reels have a T wing system that throws a bait really well. I would definitely use that combo for everything short of a deep deep diving crankbait, but from what you already own, I doubt you would throw a DD22 type bait anyway. That Diawa Tatula retails for $150 but can easily be purchased for less than $110 shipped from one of the Amazon retailers. I have purchased 4 that way just this spring. Again I am not rich, I sold a bunch of tackle this spring and upgraded. Now onto the grandson. There are lots of good choices for a medium spinning rod but let me give you a couple of suggestion. I just sold two St Croix premier rods and they are nice, but old type graphite and sorta expensive for that level graphite. Take a look at an Abu Garcia Vendetta 6'9' ML (do not worry about the lite rating all Abu's are a bit heavier than their ratings) 6-10 # line -1/8 to 1/2 lure rating. That retails for $80 or look at a Powell Inferno 6'10" medium. It retails for $100. For a reel he will fish for a lifetime without trouble, look at a Pflueger President in 6930 size. Man they cost $60 bucks and have 10 bearings. Between my wife and I we have 6 in different sizes. As for line, I stopped letting my wife use mono or copoly a long time ago. On spinning reels we both have come to use Berkley Original Fireline. Spool him up with either 10 pound or 14 pound green (that is their bright yellow sorta color) Now the equipment part is easy the hard part is making him ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS click the bail over by hand everytime! That I can not help you with! LOL. My wife is an accomplished angler with many fish caught over 6 pounds including a 35 pound cat, 8 pound rainbow, 6 pound smallie etc. and I still have to "gently remind" her once in a while. Good Luck and let us know what you do. If I can help anymore pm me Bob

Well. my wife and I love G Loomis rods and fish 6 of them. But before you go pull that trigger, check out the Irod Genesis II rods. I fish several of them as well. So based on "doing everything else" as your intended purpose and the E6 rod you picked, I would look at an Irod Genisis II IRG744C. It will run you about $155.00. Irod makes two series, the other is more expensive and it is called the Air series. All of their Irods have very light sensitive blanks, eva handles and fish really true to their ratings. That rod is 7'4" long and is rates as MH with a fast tip. The lure rating is 1/4 to 3/4. It is defined as their most versatile rod, excelling at top waters, carolina rigs, spinnerbaits, jigs, pitchin and big worms. I would think it might handle some frogging or toads in a pinch as well. In my mind it will handle all of your other needs except for shakeyheads. I would use your spinning rod for the shakey heads. I use a G Loomis 7 foot ML IMX for that application. It just seems the lite weight jighead you use fall under finesse fishing for me. My 7 foot Loomis spinning rod handles shakeyheads, weightless sencos, and drop shotting. Good Luck let us know what you get.

Wait do not use the "oops warranty" for that. If all you did is break a guide find a "local" rod builder. He can strip off the old guide and replace it for a fraction of the "oops warranty". I do not live in your area, but I do vacation out there. Go give McKee Outdoors LLC a call, they have 2 guys they use for this type of work. They are located in Maryville Tn, about 40 miles south of you. They can be reached at 865-856-8899 If you have a tackle shop closer give them a call and see if they are hooked up with someone. I just had my guy Tom, of Tom's Custom Rods, (located here in MD.) strip the entire reel seat and full cork handles off two G Loomis rods, then replace them with new American Tackle Comfort reel seats and a set of Winn Grips. Each rod only cost $40 to modify. Those rods feel amazing in my hand now. Take a look at his website to see the kind of work a talented rod builder can do. It is at http://www.tomscustomrods.com/faq/ Click on galleries and look thru each one. Now if I did misunderstand you and the rod broke, well that is different, sorry. The Tatula rods are really nice, but also take a look at the Powell Max3D. The Tatula has a pretty heavy lure rating (1/8 to 3/4) so it may be on the stiffer side. Take a look at the Powell Max3D 712 and the 713 rods. Both are 7'1" and are rated as Medium Light 1/8 to 3/8 and Medium 1/8 to 1/2. I own a Powell Max 683 casting rod which I love. It does exactly what they say it does, so their ratings were spot on. If it were me, I would try to repair mine. A single guide repair may only cost you $20. Here is a before and after picture on my reel seat change. By the way we fixed the first one because G Loomis had installed a plastic reel seat that loosened up and I was afraid I would break the plastic lock ring. The second got modified because the all metal reel seat and hardware no longer felt good in my hand after the first rod was customized. Silly butt true. One other thing, the Winn Grips (Winn makes golf grips and these are similar) are amazing, light, look good and when wet they get tacky. They just stay in your hand perfectly. Good Luck let us know how it goes.

Since my boat is aluminum and my trolling motor is thru bolted with a plate underneath it I do not expect to do any top cap damage. Right next to my trolling motor is a Minn Kota electric anchor winch and I run a 15 pound river anchor. I have used it in some heavy tidal current. My main interest in this arrangement was to quietly park the boat in order to dissect the docks better. Now I have to rely on the trolling motor which is not great fishing for shallow dock fish.