Rod Size

have been looking hard at the Ugly Stik Tidewater and Intercoastal series rods. these seem to be geared more to my liking and budget. i don't troll an awful lot, i'm more of a park and cast or drift and bounce kind of fisherman and these seem to fill that bill more

  Agree here,, Intercoastal was my choice before i went to Trevallas
royg

Thanks guys you just answered a couple of questions i had, But have one left, what pound braid/mono can I reasonably expect to be able to break off,  with out a swim?
 Just finished stripping old line of a couple of reels and are heading SW in a day or so.
 Thanks.

All my reels that are spooled with spectra have 20# on them, except one that has 30#.  The first trip I used that 30# setup I snagged bottom and had a very hard time breaking off.  I never bought 30# again.

-Allen

I use 40# braid with a 20# mono leader.  I'm sure I could break the 40# if I needed too, but you can't grip that stuff and I don't want to put that kind of stress on my pole/reel 

A knife should always be handy too  :-)

40# braid with 20# mono ... the mono will break.  Some people (including myself recently) like to use leader that is heavier than their main line.  Then the onus is on your knots breaking or you cutting off (and leaving 10's of feet of expensive hard to degrade spectra in the water).

The only downside I have with 20# spectra (Power Pro) is that it is a bit limp and you need to be careful of getting tip wrapped.

-Allen

What are you guys fishing for and where with that kind of line size?..

What are you guys fishing for and where with that kind of line size?..

40# braid is the same diameter as 10# mono.  So, I use it because no matter what I snag when I'm fishing for little stuff, I'm only going to lose my leader, and hell, sometimes I lose nothing at all and bring the snag up to me  :-)

I'll also be able to jump straight into the rivers when the Kings start running without having to change poles or line.  The braided stuff is awesome.  It's expensive, but you get what you pay for. 

havent been to sportco yet so i do not know if they carry these puppies. i do know that cabby's and BPS carry them in their online catalogs. and like i mentioned earlier, in the store there in Lacey.

BPS?

This thread has been a big help.  Not only are there specific brand recommendations, there are also some functional suggestions too.  Thanks to all. 

BPS?

Bass Pro Shop.

-Allen

BPS?

Bass Pro Shop.

-Allen

heh  sorry for the confusion. i use so many abbreviations and acronyms during the day in my line of work that it sometimes is hard to break the habit when i'm not there.

btw, right now BassPro is having a sale on the Salty Carrot Stix. they are listed on the website at the normal price of the freshwater rods, $149.00 and they actually go up to 7ft 6 in.

yesterday after posting i finally broke my sportco cherry and went to the one in fife.. holy crap! i been shopping the wrong places!! now i see where some of you get all those wonderful toys...