NYWayfarer

Sorry for your loss A-Jay.

This is spot on. I own one of the new Vendetta casting rods. I agree with the “slight rubberized feel” I like the rod, fit and finish is outstanding for its price point.

I have the Rapala, and the Fish Grip. Those go with me in the kayak as they float. Lately for Trout and Pickerel fishing I have been using the Night Cat fish lip gripper I got off of Amazon. It’s been a nice surprise, sturdy and the scale works. It’s a poor man’s Boga Grip.

The jerkbait Pickerel bite was on fire today. They put a hurting on my Berkley Juke

Fishing the Berkley Juke jerkbait today. I caught another fat prespawn pond Largemouth Bass.

Don’t sleep on their rods. The TP1 Black is a great rod. I have lots of Lew’s reels. Some of my favorites are the LFS, LFS inshore, Tournament MB and of course my ProTI. I would stay away from the Mach Series, I have versions I, II and Crush. They are overpriced for what you get.

Quarantine is over for me and not a minute too soon. My symptoms were mild and luckily the rest of my family didn’t catch it. The pond Bass are finally on beds. Caught the smaller of the two Bass I saw on a finesse Jerkbait. First decent Largemouth of the year for me.

My favorite medium casting rods are my St Croix Bass X and my Lew’s TP-1 Black.

That’s my feeling exactly.

Thousands, a large chunk of which came between 2016 and now. That’s when Life became less hectic so I could actually go fishing regularly.

I have both the KK Blackhawk II and the Compass telescopic rods. Out of the two I can recommend the Blackhawk. It has floating guides that take some getting used to is the only complaint I have. They have to be adjusted every few casts. The Compass has fewer guides. It’s has the sensitivity of a wet noodle. As far as Kastking reels go. I agree with the above response that their spinning reels are where they shine. The Sharky II is a great reel. I lost the handle cap on mine or it would still be in my rotation. The baitcaster to look at IMO is the Crixus Armor X with an aluminum frame and Winn Grip knobs for under $90

A Smallmouth killer for sure.

$100 Lew’s LFS $189 Shimano SLX DC For the lower end of your budget I would go with the Lew’s LFS one of the best $100 offerings especially since most other companies have raised their prices (Looking at you Abu $120 Revo X) the LFS has aluminum frame and the Pinion bearing supported pinion gear. For the higher end of your budget the $190 Shimano SLX DC is my choice. Once you hear that DC whine and see the casting potential it’s hard to put it down.

Yes. It works fine on a baitcaster. Most of mine are spooled with 10# or 12# Big Game.

Knee, back, elbow…it’s a roll of the dice to see what’s going to bother me on any given day.

I like my Fenwick Eagle and HMX but not enough to try their higher end stuff. If I am going to spend over $200 that rod is going to be from St Croix

KVD is the best of the ones I have tried. Reel Snot is basically mineral oil. It gets down deep into a spool of line. I really notice it when stripping old line I used it on. It got all over my hands. Lew’s line conditioner smells like a men’s cologne and does not work on line memory as good as KVD. Never tried Reel Magic based on the reviews both here and online.

If you would wear one no doubt in a dangerous situation I would like to throw out there that entering a floating plastic bathtub and paddling around in it is a dangerous situation. Wear a PFD while kayaking, always.

The Perch color is deadly in these parts. I fish all the ways mentioned and they all work. One way that was not mentioned was with a split shot about a foot or more up the line. It helps with casting further which is especially good for the smaller lighter versions. It helps pull the bait a bit deeper on the retrieve.

Big in-line spinners. The kind you can throw with a baitcaster. I watched Bill Dance use one in a video once. They are not just for trout and bluegill

I still love my Big Game. It’s go to mono for baitcasters. For spinning reels I use Vicious Fishing ultimate mono. It’s small diameter and doesn’t have much memory. Other lines I have used that I can recommend are Sufix Siege and Stren.

Same here with having my line cut. Usually happens on the hookset. It’s been a rare occasion. Most of the time with a treble hook bait, like a floating minnow or a spoon, I feel the tug and keep reeling keeping steady pressure on the line. The line doesn’t get sliced up that way.

My favorites are the Z-Man ShroomZ, Berkley Half Heads and the Kastking Madbite Ned kits (both regular and EWG style)

Largemouth PB on a Z-Man Finesse TRD tiny child rig. Smallmouth PB on a Z-Man TicklerZ Texas rig

When the Pickerel are around I put the soft plastics away until I weed them out. For the toothy critters I tie on a Rapala floating minnow, a jerkbait like a Storm Thunderstick or a spoon. 10# mono has handled Pickerel in the 2-3 lb range