NYWayfarer

Wish I would have thought of this before they were gone in my Walmart.

It's for people with really small cars that hate 2 piece rods.

I have been visiting my Walmart clearance isles on a weekly basis. It seems they lower the prices every week. I got Gamakatsu drop shot hooks for .75 (last week $1, the week before $2) a pack this week. Trilene XL 14lb test for 1.50 a spool and Gulp Crawfish attractant for $2.50 (last week 4.50) Still waiting on the power pro to get lower. Still $12 a spool.

Sorry. I learned this lesson at an early age while saltwater fishing. I bought a $9 lure with my allowance, went fishing with my dad and while testing the action a Bluefish came up and bit through my mono stealing my lure. Also bank fishing I was not willing to take a swim to retrieve snagged lures back then.

I take care off my fishing gear and by doing so I extend the life of my gear. The extreme temps that can be reached in a trunk in summertime can damage your line, rods and reels over time. If you live in the north, like I do, the cold of winter then the heat of summer extremes will be murder to your gear kept in a car. Why take the risk? I used to keep a cheap set-up in the car and when I needed it the line was so damaged it was unusable. I had to go home and get something else anyway so it didn't save me a trip

I use the Jawbone silicone skirt jigs. Decent enough for the price.

The more expensive the lure, the bigger the tear you will shed when it gets snagged and lost.

I use 8lb Stren Flurocast for dropshotting. I like it. Haven't had any issues with it so far.

I googled news reports out of Tulsa, OK about a missing fisherman. Nothing current thankfully.

Was it this guy, the African Cichlid compressiceps? I had one. Entertaining little fellow. Lived in a shell at the bottom of my aquarium. Retreated into the shell to sleep and when it sensed danger.

I have had many tanks over the years. Mainly Cichlid tanks South American variety and then Africans. My favorite fish to keep were Oscar's. They are intelligent, as far as fish go. Mine recognized their owner and did a dance when they knew they were getting fed. Anyone else besides me entered the room and they barely got a second glance. Oscars get quite big though and the most I had room for is a breeding pair. I also liked the African Cichlids as they are very colorful. The Zebra Cichlid is a mouth brooder, very cool to breed them. The female scoops up the fertilized eggs in her mouth. When they hatch the fry come out but will quickly retreat back to the mothers mouth for safety. Now all I have is a small aquarium with a Betta fish.

This is true. I have 2 Walmarts close to me. One has their fishing clearance items in the general clearance section. The other has a dedicated sporting goods clearance section with camping, fishing, hunting and boating items right by the section where you can pick up fishing/hunting licenses.

If the phone is as waterproof as they claim then an easy way to find it would be at night. Call the phone and look for the light underwater. If the phone is face up it should be easy to spot the glow in the dark of night. If the phone is face down, covered in silt or the battery is dead then my theory is shot.

I have caught just as many fish with my Mitchell 300 Ugly Stick combo as I have on my Pflueger Supreme St. Croix Premier combo. That being said with the Premier I have felt every nibble, every rock I have dragged my bait over and every weed I dragged my bait through. So my answer to the OP's question is the rod is more important. Mind you that is my answer for spinning. In the baitcasting world the reel seems to be more important. Cheap baitcasting reels with a few exceptions, won't hold up over the long haul.

My goals for 2017 are: 1) Use a baitcaster more often. 2) Use my comfort baits less and try new brands and bait styles. 3) Fish at least once a week during peak season.

Am I the only person that's not a fan of the Kryptek design? Great company. I like everything I have from them just not that design. It's bad enough when you wear Huk gear and people ask "what does Huck stand for?" or "What's H-U-K?" spelling out the letters. One guy who knew I am a comic fan asked me "Why are you wearing a Hulk hat?" He didn't catch the missing L. I have to tell them it's pronounced "hook" after the pronunciation guide in the dictionary if you look up hook.

I have a Triumph and a Premier. I am looking at the Bass X next.

Shakespeare rods are fine for what they are. A budget, entry level offering. Rods like my ugly stick were great until I bought my first Berkley Lightning rod. The Lightning rod was fine until I purchased my first Fenwick Eagle. The Fenwick Eagle was the best until I purchased my first St. Croix... That's as high as my wallet will let me go. Hope you get the idea. Yes it's weird but who cares?

Another great reason for going to a tackle store (BPS, Cabelas, mom and pop,etc) and handling the reel before you purchase. Love my Pflueger reels but ordering them online was a Goldilocks experience. Too small, too big, before just right.

I wear a KastKing gaiter. Got it free when I bought a KastKing reel through Amazon. They sent an offer to leave a review on Amazon about the product I bought. Once it's posted they check to see if it was a verified purchase, KastKing will then send an item of your choice under $10 Looks great and works great. Lightweight, SPF 50 stretch material.

Dick's sporting goods has Yum baits on sale. $2 a pack if you buy 5 or more. I got 2 packs of Warning Shots, 2 packs of Christie Craws and a pack of Sharpshooters for $10

I usually take 2-3 rods with me. Anymore than that is just clutter. I have learned over the years to downsize the tackle I take as well. Less is best with me.

Sometimes it pays to downsize. I have a lake by me that has canoe access only.

I appreciate both the mom and pop and big chain tackle stores. I frequent both often during the year even if to window shop and leave with nothing more than a pack of hooks or some Strike King Shim-E-Sticks. There is something to actually seeing, feeling and handling the tackle. This is especially true with rods and reels. I can't say I never purchased a rod or reel sight online without seeing the item at a store first. I purchased my first Fenwick Eagle GT casting rod as no store around me carried the brand at the time. I also purchased 2 Kastking reels as they are only available online. In all 3 cases I am satisfied with my purchases though I would have purchased the next size up for my Sharky II as the 1500 was smaller than I thought. This is a mistake I would not have made had I seen the reel in a store.

I do the same. My company has a very generous time off policy. I use it to take off a day a week during the summer months to fish. The plus side to not being limited to weekend fishing is I can plan my day off around the weather. I also fish out of the way spots. I might have to travel a bit more but it is worth it for the lack of boat and jet ski traffic. Come to think of it I use this approach to other things in my life as well. I hate crowds.