Rod and Reel
KastKing Centron Combo Review: A Season on the Water
A season of weekend trips with the KastKing Centron spun combo on the deck of my boat. The good, the wear, and the two things I would change.
A slow morning, a borrowed KastKing Centron combo, and a bass that took twenty minutes to believe. Why that combo stays on my boat.
A season of weekend trips with the KastKing Centron spun combo on the deck of my boat. The good, the wear, and the two things I would change.
Two budget combos, one season. This is where the KastKing Centron beats the Ugly Stik GX2 and where it gives ground.
After a season fishing the KastKing Centron combo, here are the ten reasons I stopped piecing rods and reels together.
A slow morning, a borrowed KastKing Centron combo, and a bass that took twenty minutes to believe. Why that combo stays on my boat.
Five steps to cast further and smoother, all practiced with the KastKing Centron combo. The grip change alone added yards.
Nobody puts the wear in the listing. After a season on my boat the KastKing Centron has honest weaknesses, and here they are.
A full season of carrying the PLUSINNO tackle box. What the lure kit actually hooks, the hinges that held, and who this box is really for.
A full-kit starter box against the classic empty tray. Where the PLUSINNO wins on price and where a Plano StowAway is still the better long-term buy.
The ten ways a tidy PLUSINNO tackle box changed my trips, from fewer hang-ups to a box that fits on the boat deck with room left.
A hand-me-down PLUSINNO tackle box changed a weekend with my grandson. The story of the box that earned its spot in the truck.
The organization system I run in my PLUSINNO tackle box, from sorting by hook size to the one tray that always holds the day's rigs.
The PLUSINNO box is cheap and loaded, but the lures have a weak spot. Here is the honest version, hook quality included.
Three seasons and several thousand casts with the Garmin Striker 4 on the bow of my boat. The sonar, the GPS, and the mount that finally held.
Two entry fish finders, one deck. Where the Garmin Striker 4 out-reads the Humminbird PiranhaMAX and where the Humminbird stays easier.
After three seasons with the Garmin Striker 4, here are the ten reasons I would not trail my boat without a fish finder on the bow.
Twelve years I trolled past the same break. One morning with the Garmin Striker 4 showed me what held the fish, and I have not fished it the same since.
The Garmin Striker 4 is easy to mount and easy to misread. Here is my setup, from Chirp gain to the one read that most new owners get wrong.
The Garmin Striker 4 has weaknesses nobody lists. Three seasons in, here is the honest version, bracket and all.
A season of RIKIMARU braid spooled on three reels. How it handled rocks, weeds and long runs, and the one test it did not pass clean.
Budget braid against the name that defined braid. I ran both this season, and the RIKIMARU came closer than the price difference suggests.
After a season on RIKIMARU braid, here are the ten reasons I moved every reel off monofilament, and the two times I went back.
I blamed the fish for two lost evenings. The real problem was stretch, and a spool of RIKIMARU braid is what fixed it.
Braid is unforgiving to spool wrong. Here is how I put RIKIMARU on every reel this season with zero wind knots, step by step.
The braid fades, the price is unbeatable, and the knots hold. The honest RIKIMARU review after a season of hard fishing.
A full season of the Coleman chair with the 4-can cooler, from gravel banks to firepits. What held, what wobbled, and who it fits.
Two camp chairs, one beach. Where the Coleman chair wins on price and pockets, and where the GCI rocker earns the upgrade.
From coffee at dawn to the last cast at dusk, ten reasons the Coleman camping chair rides in my truck on every trip.
For years we ate campfire supper standing up. A Coleman camping chair with the cooler arm is why we now stay until the logs are ash.
The ten-minute day camp system I use with the Coleman camping chair, so the bank is comfortable before the first bait is on.
The arm cooler is the whole story, and it works. The honest Coleman camping chair review after a season of heavy use.
A season of weekend trips with the KastKing Centron spun combo on the deck of my boat. The good, the wear, and the two things I would change.
Nobody puts the wear in the listing. After a season on my boat the KastKing Centron has honest weaknesses, and here they are.
A full season of carrying the PLUSINNO tackle box. What the lure kit actually hooks, the hinges that held, and who this box is really for.
The PLUSINNO box is cheap and loaded, but the lures have a weak spot. Here is the honest version, hook quality included.
Three seasons and several thousand casts with the Garmin Striker 4 on the bow of my boat. The sonar, the GPS, and the mount that finally held.
The Garmin Striker 4 has weaknesses nobody lists. Three seasons in, here is the honest version, bracket and all.
A season of RIKIMARU braid spooled on three reels. How it handled rocks, weeds and long runs, and the one test it did not pass clean.
The braid fades, the price is unbeatable, and the knots hold. The honest RIKIMARU review after a season of hard fishing.
A full season of the Coleman chair with the 4-can cooler, from gravel banks to firepits. What held, what wobbled, and who it fits.
The arm cooler is the whole story, and it works. The honest Coleman camping chair review after a season of heavy use.