padon

yes the better st.croix rods are made in the us.imx are nice rods at a good price. if I wasn't fishing ltb that's probably the rod line I would choose.glx are very nice and I wouldn't mind payimg that price for one or two but when I think about redoing my whole arsenal at 400 plus a rod I just cant come to grips with it.

To me and its only my opinion loomis doesn't separate themselves from the pack until you get to the glx. that doesn't mean the others are bad rods just that you can get other rods for the same or less money that are just as good.for ME again just my opinion some of the best rods under $300 are st.croix legend tournament.

My opinion avid is more rod for the money than e6x I would go 7ft medium heavy cast.and 69 med lite xfast spin.

he used to write some good articles for in-fisherman. shame he doesn't contribute there anymore.

I use the ltb drop shot rod for jerkbaits.works well.

yes you should stop giving yourself that excuse.because even though there is that pressure there are still people out there having plenty of success improvise and adapt my friend. now as far as hunting I do believe in .my area at least the glory days have passed. not that the game isn't there but unless you very lucky or have a pocket full of money your chances of having decent land to hunt are pretty slim.population growth moron growth etc have led to fewer lands open to hunting and huge pressure on private lands.as far as harvesting fish I currently live in PA I see a lot more people harvesting fish now than I did in MD. just seems to be a different mentality.the worst part is you see the same people all the time filling buckets. how the hell many fish can these people eat. cracks me up when I hear them complaining about the lack of fish but constantly putting small fish in their buckets.

well apparently the people at battery warehouse have been lying to me for 20 years telling me to use the 3 amp setting. communists. not surprising I guess since their job is to sell batteries. like fishnkamp I run a lot of batteries on electric only lakes so charging etc is important to me . I have a charger that will charge at 15 amps so I guess that's what ill use from now on. I do usually get 3 years out of my batteries so I guess its been working for me but it takes a long time to charge them.since ive been given wrong info on the charging let me ask this . ive been told by these same people that you should try to discharge the battery as much as possible them recharge immediately. any truth to that? ok I read largemouth 21 post again. I see that is a lie too.which is good because I never knew how to discharge one anyway.i have zero knowledge of electronics so its a good thing I read the posts.another question then. how many years would you expect to get out of a battery with fairly heavy use ? say being discharged and charged once a week from april through October?i thought getting 3 years out of them was pretty decent but maybe if I charge them at higher amps they will last longer.

use the 2 or 3 amp setting for deep cycles trolling motor etc. cranking batteries can be charged on 10 amps

I fish that sixe kietech on a medium spinning rod mostly for smallmouth. legend tournament 7ft medium with a stradic 2500 15lb braid 8-10lb flouro leader. so any of the options you mentioned should be fine.if im not fishing much cover like for river smallmouth I just use a jig head and fish the hook exposed which makes your hooking percentage fantastic.

it will charge your battery but as HEZ said its not ideal. deep cycle batteries should be charged at 2-3amps over a longer time period. I just bought a charger recently at walmart 9forget the brand) that will charge on 2 or10 amps and can be left hooked up. it will kick off when fully charged the turn back on when charge drops below 95. it is also small and extremely light. it was 50 bucks I really like it.

Funny you say that jaderose I'm the same way.it takes me a while on the water before I just relax and let things start to happen instead of make them happen.seems to take a little bit to lose the civilized world we live in and then into the natural world.

I don't tournament fish. have nothing against it and I think we all benefit from things guys learn and develop in tournaments but it just doesn't interest me.i tell people I take fishing seriously but I don't get to serious about it. what I mean is I take the craft of fishing seriously, I read forums like this,i read magazines, books. listen to good anglers talk buy good tackle, gear etc. I love getting in the boat in my garage prepping for a trip checking all my equipment ,rigging up rods etc. then once I get on the water the challenge of putting the puzzle together for that day to see what works best for me.that is all aprt of the fun for me. I may have two or three spots on the lake that im pretty sure I can go to and catch some but part of the fun is looking for new spots, trying new things. just to see what works and what doesn't.sometimes I may take a break sit in the boat and drink a soda eat a candy bar and look at the trees while I think about what to do next. I don't wanna tournament fish because I want complete freedom to do what I want while im on the water. if I happen to throw a ned rig in a tree and catch a crappie I may stay there for an hour and catch ten more. no rush im experimenting having fun.sometimes on a kayak trip down the Susquehanna when the fishing slows I may go over to the shallows and catch crawfish for a half hour just to do it, look at the colors, see what baits I have that match them.i never wanna get to the point that I see some guys get to where how many fish you caught or how big they were becomes a d##k measuring contest. its just fun. but im serious about it. see

lo I know it was a joke deep im not offended . Im really not a Midwest finesse guy id rather be throwing flukes texas rigged worms or bladed jigs. but I will say this time of year or whenever the bite gets tough I wont hesitate to grab some sort of finesse style rig and throw it and it usually pays off. if just frustrating to see guys say they wanna try the technique then immediately start modifying it to their liking. if you wanna try the technique read up on it and follow it and see how it works for you then try some modifications if you feel you need to.

I have two of the exact same rod. for me it does a lot of things real well. light tubes drop shot wacky rigs grubs. I even use it for light jerkbaits and topwaters. very useful rod for me. now for a heavier tube like over a 1/4 I use my 7ft medium ltb.

yes team 99 that's how I feel.im waiting for someone to ask why you cant throw it on a bait caster. its not lure people it a technique , a general system. its not putting a trd on a 1/4 oz head and dragging bottom. google Midwest finesse and read up on it. if the trd had never been invented the system would be the same with slightly different baits.

I think the variation in set ups that jfrancho pointed out has to do with geography and lake type. when your fishing big northern lakes with gobies you want a large profile tube with a heavy tube head. and you want that joker on the bottom of deep water with the wind probably blowing. then you have guys like me who are using the tube for river smallies or as a somewhat finesse presentation for lake bass. I like a 7 ft legend tournament bass spinning rod. im usually using a 1/16 -3/16 head with 10lb braid and 8-10 lb fluoro leaderand 3.5 - 4 inch tube. btw the guys who say they don't like fishing tubes or don't use them anymore are the kind I depend on. lake largemouth around here don't seem to see them much anymore and they like them!!

actually if you read up on Midwest finesse fishing before the TRD or the half zinkerz small paddle tail grubs were used frequently and sometimes still are. manns stingray grub is a favorite of mine (if you can find them) as well as the 3" erie darter. most people are fixated on the TRD and the mushroom head but that is the most basic part of the Midwest system. the idea is a lightweight head and a small subtle bait either swimming or crawling on bottom. I use 4" finesse worms 3-4" grubs small original flukes or fin s fish.there are a lot of small subtle type baits fished on 1/16 3/32 or 1/8 small jigheads that produce very well with the technique, especially in pressured or clear waters.

I usually mix them on purpose.like black and blue jig. Green pumpkin trailer.or brown green color jig black trailer etc.

I have an f150 that I can slide my atak in very easily. I also have a Honda civic that I can load it on easily too.Its fairly simple to take an old moving blanket bath mat etc , lay it on the trunk and rear window, lift the nose of the boat on it and slide it onto the roof rack. not exactly a feat of superhuman strength or civil engineering.

both great boats ,I own a 120 and have fished out of a friends big rig.the big rig is more stable but I do stand in my 120 no problem. to me your choice really comes down to off the water.in other words how are you gonna haul it , car top ,trailer , truck. and how far do you need to move it to launch. the big rig is a lot of boat to move if you need to car top or access remote places. the good news is you wont go wrong either way both boats just have different advantages.

seeing your from mechanicsburg i assume youll be fishing the Susquehanna and Juniata. i can assure you the atak 120 will be an excellent boat. i fish those same waters in a 140 and do fine. i will add a 120 soon. my 140 has a torqueedo because i have to put in and take out in the same spot a lot.i don't have the luxury of a shuttle partner.i put in motor and paddle upstream then fish /drift downstream

huk cabelas guidewear bps 100 mph all good suits all pricey. ive been wearing the huk and really like it

the 68 ml just kind of collapses a little too much for me when you put some pressure on it . all st croixs feel a little stiffer when you pick them up than when you put a reel and lure on them. the 610 mlxf feels a little stout off the rack but when you rig it up it comes to life. to me its the most versatile of all the ltb spinning rods. unless your fishing heavy cover or texas rigs a lot the shakey head rod is probably a little stiff. I love mine for light texas rigs and its my favorite for weightless flukes and senkos I think you will be happy with the ltb 610 mlxf its a very versatile rod. great all around smallmouth rod.

Yeah I love that rod too it's my favorite of all my rods.I don't feel it's at all too light for dropshotting.I had the avid that your referring too and I did feel it was a touch too light but that could just be me.I also have the 68 ltb light that your looking at.in my opinion it a little light I love it for Ned rigs light grubs etc though.

yeah depends on application etc. when I drop shot its usually with an open hook and not extremely deep 30 feet at most.if im gonna use a weedless lure I use the 6 10 shakey head ltb which has a stiffer butt.