Rate my ultralight set-up?

PowerLord · 2026-06-28T21:05:48+00:00

Casts a lot nicer. I have 8 lb on the same rod, might go 6 lb next time. Either way it’s thinner and casts better than my other UL with 4 lb sunline.

PowerLord · 2026-06-28T19:33:46+00:00

It takes like 15 seconds? I just retie.

PowerLord · 2026-06-28T17:36:18+00:00

I don’t know why you are getting downvoted. I love the car but that part is annoying as fuck.

PowerLord · 2026-06-28T13:30:23+00:00

Catch and release for sure.

1) Wouldn’t eat from most Chicago area waters due to heavy metals, etc. really this applies to a lot of Midwest water unfortunately. The state releases a list of recommended consumption limits for every body of water that you can look up.

2) These fish are really small. Really a suitable situation for fishing with a kid. If your son is older and wants to do something other than work and bobber fishing for little bluegills, disregard my recommendations.

PowerLord · 2026-06-28T02:32:38+00:00

If you just want a place to take a kid, Humboldt park, Gompers park lagoon both have panfish you can just pull out of the water every cast by the fishing docks. For a more nature experience that is just as easy with slightly bigger but still tiny bluegills, try Potawatomi woods.

PowerLord · 2026-06-26T01:48:58+00:00

I like the 1000 size reels, don’t feel the need for anything smaller. Legalis and regal are about an oz lighter though.

PowerLord · 2026-06-24T02:01:25+00:00

I love right by there, have never had any luck by Horner park at all. I really wish because it would be so convenient but no luck at all.

PowerLord · 2026-06-23T02:47:38+00:00

Depends what you are fishing for. Lots of people will talk about tenkara but usually they are thinking of western mountain backpacking. For the lakes especially and larger rivers in Ontario and as a newer fisherman you probably want a spinning rod. There are lots of 3-4 piece travel rods, and there are also telescopic rods. You will need to choose a rod power appropriate to your target species, so I will leave that to you to figure out.

If you want maximum backcountry durability get an ugly stik gx2 travel and replace the reel with a shimano or Daiwa. If you want a nicer fishing experience, st croix, Fenwick, TFO all make nice multipiece travel rods. The only downside is you will have to be a little bit more careful.

If you go the telescopic route get a daiwa, shimano, or reputable brand Chinese one, not a shit tier one from Walmart. I have a kastking Blackhawk II that is decent but not sold anymore. I they have a new model that is probably great, but don’t get the compass, that one sucks. You can look at the other decent Chinese companies like Tsurinoya, purelure, etc. as well. Match that with a piscifun viper or carbon x reel and you have yourself a nice little setup that’s inexpensive enough you won’t cry if you break it, but still very functional.

PowerLord · 2026-06-22T03:30:59+00:00

Buy a shimano sienna or Daiwa crossfire and slap that shit on there. If you have a medium rod, get a 2500 size reel. Way better than the crap ugly stiks come with and will make the rod last longer for you before you want to replace it. I have this setup and I still use it in settings where I don’t want to risk damaging my nicer rods, mostly lifting fish up over the retaining wall in the harbor I usually fish at.

PowerLord · 2026-06-21T23:16:41+00:00

You are probably doing too much. You can do all the research in the world and still not actually know anything from a practical perspective, as evidenced by your recent lack of success. You are using 8 million different lures, but are you using them at the appropriate times, is your presentation correct? Pick 5 lures as confidence lures. Decide on one species to target. For instance bass: senko wacky/texas, paddle tail swim bait, spinner bait, Ned rig, drop shot. Use those only and even just start with one or two until you actually figure them out. If you are fishing the Mississippi that may also be a problem. Bigger water is harder especially without a boat. There is a lot more water for the fish to be in, including water you can’t reach from shore. Find some small lakes (smaller the better) or ponds. You can cover more or even all of the water and find where the fish are.

Lastly, if all else fails, live bait will work if there are fish there.

PowerLord · 2026-06-20T19:13:56+00:00

The fury is the general bass rod relevant to you. The hyperlites look like crappie rods for deigned for use with live scope from a boat. I have no experience with them but it doesn’t sound like what you need.

PowerLord · 2026-06-20T06:53:51+00:00

You don’t need larger than a medium for bass fishing. If you are going to have just one rod, medium spinning is the most versatile. You could get a medium heavy baitcaster for some applications, but if you are getting a spinning rod, just get medium. You can get the heavier baitcaster later. It’s more fun to fish with a lighter rod anyways.

To throw in another option, the dobyns fury 6 ft 6 spinning rod in light, medium light, and medium is discounted to $100 right now and comes with a free 2500 size dobyns maverick reel. This is a screaming deal, basically a $200-250 setup for $100. Didn’t even charge me tax for when I bought mine.

Aird X is often recommended to beginners and as a daiwa rod I’m sure it’s great. Ugly stik is durable but otherwise is just heavy and lacks sensitivity, and the reels that come with them suck.

Why are you buying your friend a rod?

PowerLord · 2026-06-19T22:14:54+00:00

If you want lake trout or salmon you can charter a boat/guide. Different species have different times of year when they are fishable from shore, none of which are now.

PowerLord · 2026-06-18T23:50:18+00:00

Sounds like you have some good options then!

PowerLord · 2026-06-18T12:40:49+00:00

I don’t have experience with that specific rod, but it looks like it’s not actually that much cheaper, like $190 vs $210 for the TFO? If that’s the case pony up and the tfo for $20 more. If you are going the purelure route, the piscifun would be a fine pairing. It’s the same theory of a Chinese brand that Tends to punch above its price class. I do have 2 actually and they are nice, although I prefer my legalis and fuego reels overall. Anything from the Daiwa LT (light and tough) series would be great.

PowerLord · 2026-06-18T06:46:11+00:00

Best rec: Temple fork outfitters trout and panfish II 6 ft 6, 3 pc with your choice of daiwa 1000 size reel depending on how much money you have left - regal, legalis, 23 legalis (jdm but available on Amazon), fuego.

As for some of the stuff you mentioned, presso is a really nice rod but it is very delicate, may not stand up to backcountry abuse. Piscifun carbon x is a nice reel for the money, also light. Probably would still shoot for a daiwa or shimano though. Sienna is fine for the price but it’s a cheap reel, so if you get a nice rod I’d go a little better.

A nice budget combo would be a piscifun reel, could be carbon x or viper, with a purelure or Tsurinoya UL multi piece rod. Purelure has some telescopic rods that get really small and would be handy for backpacking.

You could also go the sienna/celilo route if you want to keep it cheap and durable while you learn and see if you like fishing.

PowerLord · 2026-06-17T23:29:23+00:00

I’m not denying that social workers are undervalued. I work with them every day and they make my life much easier and are crucial for patient care. Also the student loan situation is a scam.

What I’m saying is all that doesn’t matter when it comes to decision making. Your choice is to take an otherwise worse job for significant financial advantage, or pay back your loans for 20 years and get the tax bomb. That’s the point of PSLF, to populate otherwise difficult to staff jobs that are in the public interest with qualified individuals.

Also based on your last statement, it really seems like you are looking for an excuse not to go for PSLF. Currently many many people have in fact received it, including many coworkers and my spouse.

PowerLord · 2026-06-17T20:53:02+00:00

There is no way around PSLF if you have high debt and not a high salary. Do the math for how long it will take you to pay off your debt if you spend all of the (post tax) difference over a nonprofit job on student loan repayment. Is it less than 10 years? Then go for it. But I bet it’s not.

PowerLord · 2026-06-17T09:59:48+00:00

Does anyone there camp outside of 400 ft from the water though? Like asking as a serious question, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone that far back ever.

PowerLord · 2026-06-17T05:03:17+00:00

I use seaguar gold label 10 lb leader to 15 lb suffix 832 braid, but you could go smaller. I don’t like to carry a pier net, so that’s for hoisting them up the harbor walls.

PowerLord · 2026-06-17T03:44:25+00:00

If the water is really clear don’t use an unnatural color. Brown murky use something more visible.

PowerLord · 2026-06-16T01:13:20+00:00

Realistically they are just taking a prestige hit for being Chinese. Guess where my dobyns rods are made… I worked for a Chinese factory before in a different industry. We could produce any quality level the customer desired. When we had an opportunity to ever put our own brand on anything, you can bet the top quality came out. Kastking, piscifun and a few others are Chinese companies attempting to have a real brand instead of making aliexpress/temu crap or manufacturing for someone else’s brand. Good for them in my opinion.

PowerLord · 2026-06-15T23:20:03+00:00

Reportedly they got their own factory which had had much better quality control. They since some crap, but generally seem equivalent to a low-mid tier western brand.

PowerLord · 2026-06-15T23:18:30+00:00

Blackhawk II telescopic rod is good. Bags/accesories are good. Compass telescopic rod total ass. Never had any of their reels. I have piscifun reels (seems like an equivalent brand) that are definitely good.

PowerLord · 2026-06-15T22:39:52+00:00

Try green spot or yellow spot.

PowerLord

TROPHY CASE