santafish

Tbh those rebellions are fantastic rods.. was hoping the zillions would be Steez lites but it seems like outside of certain models they are very different rods.

Was out this past weekend. Susky River level is really high still versus what I'm used to but they were hitting everything I threw except chatterbaits. Had lots of success on stickbaits, dropshots, and finesse paddletails.

Headed up to north Branch of the Susquehanna later this weekend on my kayak. Anyone been out that way recently?

If you're really worried about warranty, probably best getting a nrx+ second hand and leveraging the expeditor program if anything goes awry. Most actual warranty cases in any brand is a major pain in the butt. Either months to replace the rods or some kind of dispute. Have heard good things about dobyns service but personally have never liked their rods at their price points. I was in a similar position and just got an nrx so I'd stop wondering what I was missing by not getting 'the best'.

Welcome, only fished in Michigan once myself but it was great fishing. I'm jealous.

I would look seriously at the 6'9 ML Zodias. Very fast for solid hooksets on single hook applications but not so stiff that you're compromising the line integrity. I wish they had the elongated foregrip that the expride have but the handle isn't uncomfortable by any means and still feels very ergonomic. I bought one on sale thinking I might regret getting it instead of an expride but once I used it and felt how sensitive and crisp it was I never looked back. I fish on a kayak FWIW and while the zodias doesn't quite play in the same sandbox as my nrxs or adrenas I've never felt like I was lacking any feel or comfort while fishing them. Maybe step up to a medium if you're throwing 1/4 oz jigs a lot.

Performance is key but it can't look like a total POS. I'm not a fan of cork.. as least in most modern rods due to pitting etc. I am a fan of carbon fiber or high quality EVA, just don't show wear as much and feel like they're going to last longer. Out of all the rods I own have to say my favorites are by far the poison adrenas, crazy light and very sensitive with an unconventional but very comfortable grip. I will admit though that the OG st croix legend Xtremes with the shark skin handles were the first rods to really get me to consider a non cork handle. Since then I've never looked back.. especially as cork quality in even high end rods have gotten worse.

Happens to everyone. Get some Daiwa SV spooled reels just in case.. have to try pretty hard to backlash those. But some guides are just total tools. I was out on a guide in Michigan once (visiting family) and thought it would nice to take my sister and her husband out with us as they've never fished before. Long story short this a-hole of a guide proceeds to yell at them and tell them that they screwed up whenever a fish would spit the hook. We were trolling for salmon so not sure how common it is to lose fish but the landing ratio was pretty bad. Guess who hates fishing now because of this experience? Don't let guides stress you out man - just enjoy your time out!

When I do that it says I can only send 0 messages a day. Must be some kind of waiting period before being able to send PMs.

Can't figure out how to PM some of you guys who are in the area. Guess it'll have to wait till I figure it out one day. If anyone wants to fish feel free to PM me and I'll respond once I figure it out.

I fish marsh creek all the time. You one of those hardcore musky guys?

Also a Pflueger is absolutely tiny. I used to use one for my trout combos and it's about the same size as Shimano 500 reels.

I'm in the Philly area so pretty easy for me to get to NJ.

The color is just on top, basically the bottom of the lures are white ish and all the fish will ever see. I may carry different sizes with me but carrying different colors of ploppers/choppos just sounds crazy to me.

Honestly I bring a ton of rods every time I go out but 99 pct of the time I'm really only using my medium fast spinning setup and my mh/f casting. Other rods are really just for ease of throwing a different bait without having to retie all the time if I want to swap baits. I do find that a more moderate fast action helps because you can still get decent hooksets on single hooks but also get away with using treble hook baits whereas a true fast or x fast kind of rules out trebles.