You've got a nice looking family Danger. Happy you had a good time. My wife is from Denver and I met her in Colorado Springs. Never been to Red Rocks, but we had Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak down there.

Get a small cardboard box and look at the screen while it is in the box.

The SLX is not a saltwater reel. Shimano has a saltwater line. I also have never used an SLX, but like Ben B. I have a Curado DC and it is a very sweet reel. I also have a Curado G, and it is a very sweet reel too. The DC will help, but so will learning thumb control. I have backlashed my DC, so it isn't foolproof, but it does help. I think my G will cast further though. Either way, if I am going fishing I take both of them.

I rarely use anything thicker than 10lb mono. If I do, it might be 12lb. One method I have used to try and make mono lose memory is poor almost boiling water over the line after I have it on the reel. I usually get bird nests on spinning gear, not my baitcasters.

Senkos are great. Why give up something that works as it is supposed to? Fish eat 'em! I like to rig wacky style using a #8 octopus hook. I get more and better hooksets with that hook than a widegap 3/0 hook which is the largest I ever use for other types of rigs.

I wouldn't touch spiderwire, but I'm not a big braid fan either. I used to have it on all my reels. Now I only have it on one. Braid gets wind knots really bad. It also has a tendency to wrap around my rod tip when I give little twitches to my bait (I only fish artificials). Rocks will abraid and cut braid. And if you are going to use a mono or flourocarbon leader I suggest you tie a swivel in between the braid and your leader. Some around here will swear it's not a problem, but I have cut the knot right off a leader tied to braid when trying to set the hook and had enough rocks cut the line as I was retrieving a fish that I mostly just stopped using the stuff. Mono works fine and is more forgiving.

I'm partial to Shimano Stradics, but Shimano keeps upping the price and removing features. The last one I bought doesn't have a reverse lever. I would not have bought it had I known that. Not sure about their new ones, but I haven't found any competitors that will outspin Shimanos with their superior bearings. I go into Bass Pro and spin the handles on the various reels. The Shimanos always spin much longer than any of the competition. I'd look at their Ultegra spinning reels. Tackle Warehouse has them for $150 to $170. I like a light reel so I buy 1000s. They're small, but I've landed 8lb bass with them and they don't wear out your wrist from casting all day.

It has been a few years, but when I would go deep sea fishing on a charter boat the Asians would always collect the fish heads from the cleaning station and also remove the cheek meat. They told me they used the heads to make stock and that the cheeks were very tender and flavorful. It makes sense. Someday, we'll all be eating fish cheeks as a delicacy just like fajitas. No one used to eat skirt steak except poor people. Now it is priced at a premium. I think it will take a bit longer for Menudo to catch on.

Hey Johnny7, If you use google maps satellite view to probe Canyon Lake there are places where you can see submerged treetops by the shoreline. If you are looking for bass, you'd do well to fish those trees.

As I wrote, plastisol is PVC, a thermoplastic.

PVC, polyvinyl chloride, also known as "plastisol" which I presume is a tradename someone owns to conceal the fact it is PVC.

I used to live in Wimberley, but I never got to Canyon Lake. I wasn't doing much fishing back then. Doing a web search says it is a good lake for bass in the cooler months. It even has stripers.

I pulled that figure off the internet using "average hourly wage in the USA" as a search term. I don't know what the average wage is where I live nor do I care. I'm retired. I do know there are plenty of jobs available for anyone wanting to work.

Well, let's look at that. A Pfleuger President bc costs around $80 on Amazon and weighs 8 oz. A Pfleuger President SR 25X costs around $70 and weighs 7 1/2 oz. I buy more expensive reels but I wanted to compare apples to apples. I think an $80 reel is very expensive for most people who don't want to even spend that for a combo. The same goes for a $70 reel.

I could be wrong, but I think the largest market for rods and reels is under $50 for most people. The average hourly wage in the US is $11.25/hr. A $50 rig costs around 10% of their weekly gross pay. It's an expensive toy and I think the decision always comes down to money over comfort (weight) and how to balance that against personal/family needs and wants.

Look at the consumer fishing industry and what we've seen over the last 20 or 30 years - a rise in the sale of inexpensive kayaks because a lot of former shore fishermen want to get on the water but can't afford a boat with an engine and its trailer. Sure, the small boat industry has changed as people with more money have decided, "hey that looks like fun!", and are buying higher end kayaks with all sorts of fancy add ons and even motors, but I am willing to bet that Dick's and other retailers sell more of their $350 bare bones kayaks to fishermen, than the higher end ones.

Maybe that is what all those people are doing who refuse to go back into the job market. God bless 'em if so! At least they can eat their catch.

I can guarantee there are more bass fishermen than pro bass fishermen. The only way to prove it is with sales numbers coupled with a survey of what the purchaser is using the reel for. I'd be willing to bet that fresh-water spinning reels outsell fresh-water baitcasters simply because baitcasters have a higher starting price than spinning reels. Without checking, I also think they have a higher high-end price than spinning reels.

I live in the New Hampshire lakes region and I see a lot of kids walking with a reel or carrying one on their bike to go fishing and people fishing from shore and bridges and I can't remember a time I have ever seen them with baitcasters. I've already told you that a majority of the guys in my bass club only use spinning gear. Spinning reels are the reel of choice for most people in my experience because they are inexpensive are easy to use with fewer casting problems than you get with baitcasters. Open-c\face spinning reels are the next step up for kids who have outgrown their Zebcos. Go to Walmart and most, if not all, of the pre-rigged combos you will find are spinning rigs.