02-06-2014, 11:50 PM
Well, I kinda started the short rod thing when everybody else was using the 7-footers. Now, of course, everybody's going shorter. I use 45-inch custom ones because I can't buy what I want. Shorter the better though IMO.
Shimano Calcuttas for reels. Not everybody's on board with that, yet, but most are, and those that aren't will be some day after crying all the way home, or are just too hard-headed (or can't afford one) to drop a couple hundred. They're the ones who post sillly stuff about fighting some 1,200 pound laker for 26 hours and the fish "spit the hook out." Please.
A properly set Calcutta drag with a 3 1/2 foot "pole" should land ANY laker in the Gorge in 20 minutes or less if the angler actually pulls on it. And the hook isn't likely to tear out either. Note: A fish has never in the history of the planet "spit out" a hook caught in its flesh. Fish don't spit anyway. The hook is pulled out, from a force on it, on the other end of the line to which it is tied, usually due to angler error, and a less-than-perfectly-smooth drag.
When you're starting out, the rod, line, reel, and jig aren't near as important as what you do with them, and you can only learn that on the water. With someone who's done it, or a guide, or lots of trial and error on your own. All 3 work. You learn quicker with some than others.
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Shimano Calcuttas for reels. Not everybody's on board with that, yet, but most are, and those that aren't will be some day after crying all the way home, or are just too hard-headed (or can't afford one) to drop a couple hundred. They're the ones who post sillly stuff about fighting some 1,200 pound laker for 26 hours and the fish "spit the hook out." Please.
A properly set Calcutta drag with a 3 1/2 foot "pole" should land ANY laker in the Gorge in 20 minutes or less if the angler actually pulls on it. And the hook isn't likely to tear out either. Note: A fish has never in the history of the planet "spit out" a hook caught in its flesh. Fish don't spit anyway. The hook is pulled out, from a force on it, on the other end of the line to which it is tied, usually due to angler error, and a less-than-perfectly-smooth drag.
When you're starting out, the rod, line, reel, and jig aren't near as important as what you do with them, and you can only learn that on the water. With someone who's done it, or a guide, or lots of trial and error on your own. All 3 work. You learn quicker with some than others.
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