21farms

i bought the slow sink and, as others have said, it is a S-L-O-W sink. i guess it's fine for when the fish are busting shad on top and you want to imitate a dying shad slowly sinking to the bottom but i really wished i would have bought the fast sink one now.

i have two of the crucial casting dropshot rods...GREAT dropshot rods but i wouldn't recommend them as a general purpose rod...because of the taper, it's hard to control your lure placement. i also have a powell 703CEF...it's a dream...light, sensitive...great feel and i like not having a foregrip.

ha! i usually take 6 combos with me but i feel that it was getting kinda hard to manage. so, on my last two trips, i "only" brought 3 rods/reels with me. on one trip, on my second cast, the tip of my dedicated topwater rod cracked off, rendering it useless. on my other trip, i birdnested one reel so bad that i ended up having to cut away all but 20 yards, leaving that useless. so, now, i'm going out with 4 rods/reels plus one reel in my bag for backup.

i've noticed that the revo STX is quite polarizing...people either seem to either love it or hate it. i have a curado E and a revo SX (not the STX). when adjusted just right, i enjoy using the revo...however, i've noticed it is extremely finicky as to its settings (way moreso than even the cheapie garcia pro max i have that has a similar magnetic braking system) and i've had my share of frustrations with it. in fact, yesterday, i got a birdsnest so bad that i could not pick it out and had to cut half my line out. looking back at what happened, after changing lures, i think i was in a hurry and forgot to adjust the spool tension control knob. on the other hand, my curado E is a dream...i have yet to get a birdsnest in it and i hardly ever have to touch the tension knob. just my experience.

i have one arriving on monday...funny, when i ordered from TW just earlier yesterday morning, they had 9+ in stock. anyway, a lure similar in concept is the xcalibur one knocker which i have fished with and have had success. it also is 3/4 oz. but, because of the tungsten ball, it is still not as large in profile as the 3/4 oz. rat-L-trap. i don't mind the weight...in fact, i like that it helps me get the lure down quicker so i can start working it sooner.

it sounds like the problem you're experiencing is probably due to your hooks not having a big enough bite to clear all the plastic when you're trying to set the hook. IMHO, the owner wide gap plus hook is the best choice for the ikas because it has a huge gap plus an elevated hook point. i find the 4/0 size in the WGP perfect.

hey, thanks for sharing the pics. what is that piece of string near the top fin? it looks like a length of braid and it was in the tackle tour photos too but they never mentioned it. i just picked up one today from a local tackle store and it does not have that string.

i love braid but NOT AROUND ROCKS...the bad reputation braid has around rocks is well-deserved, believe you me. as for tying knots, i find tying knots with braid easier than tying with mono and much easier than with flouro. some people seem to have a problem with their braid knots slipping but i've never once had that problem (i use a trilene knot 99% of the time, a palomar the remainder). as for your stated reasons for wanting to switch, it just sounds like you need a higher test line or to switch to a better brand of mono. mono is not all created equal...it may be that you're simply using lousy stuff. what are you using now?

mike, if you're having troubles with hookups while crankin', IMHO, the split rings would the LAST thing i'd check! FWIW, i used to loathe crankin' because my hookup/landing ratio was so dismal. so, i made some changes and now, i love throwing crankbaits. my hookup ratio more than doubled and, once hooked, they're gonna be landed 99% of the time (this year, i have only lost one fish during the fight). here's my list of recommendations for you (in order): 1. get yourself a good crankin' rod, preferably glass...something like the lamiglas skeet reese rod or a powell glass CB. this here makes the biggest difference you can imagine. 2. while cranking, always hold your rod at an angle to your line. this allows the rod to absorb the strike so the fish can get the crank into his mouth instead of you pulling it to quickly. 3. change your hooks to some qood quality ones. i prefer owner stingers but Tx3s and gammy's are good too. good luck.

i think that's about right. the revo STX got a 9 but it also has a oversized brass main gear, HPCR bearings, a carbon ceramic drag discs and titanium nitride worm gear.

i have the summit (which has the same spool and UBS). it came with 4 of the 6 centrifugal brakes enabled which was just way too heavy-handed...so, i adjusted it so only two are enabled but even with the magnetic control set all the way to the zero position, the spool still stops on it own and i'm not getting the kind of distance i'm used to with my other reels. my next step is to turn all the centrifugal brakes off and see how that goes. anyway, the other poster is correct: adjust everything else first and start with the magnetic control at zero and slowly turn it up as needed (if needed).

it is the exact same handle design as the: pflueger patriarch pflueger summit pflueger president pflueger supreme bass pro shops johnny morris elite bass pro shops johnny morris signature bass pro shops prolite finesse

when given a choice, always go for the reel with the one-piece aluminum frame. in my experience, that is the one thing that can make the biggest difference between reels. i have a pro max and it starts off the day nice and smooth but, by mid-morning, it's noisy when casting and noticeably rougher turning the handle...not sure if it's the graphite frame flexing so the gears aren't in perfect alignment or what but that simply doesn't happen with my one-piece aluminum frame reels.

micro, i have mixed feelings about the current combo brakes. on my new pflueger summit, i have the magnetic control turned completely off and have turned off all but one of the six centrifugal brakes but still only get so-so casting distance. [i actually liked pflueger's previous-generation inertial transfer braking (ITB) much better...it works so well, i can't figure out why they ditched it (although some of the BPS reels are still using it).]

micro, i stand corrected regarding my statement that the SX and STX has both types of brakes. when i first read your post, i thought for sure you were wrong but when i got home and opened up my SX, sure enough, no centrifugal brakes i've had two revo S's and have opened them up numerous times to adjust the brakes but my SX i've only had for about 3 months and have never once bothered to take off the sideplate because it casted so well straight from the box. so this was my first look inside...thanks for the correction.

the SX and STX has both centrifugal and magnetic brakes. on the S, you can switch any of the six centrifugal brakes on/off by clicking them in and out of the locked position by removing the sideplate (the factory default setting is 2 on/4 off). you can also loosen/tighten the cast control knob. fwiw, my experience between the S and SX has been completely different. i can cast the SX a mile but get far less with the S regardless of settings. i even returned my first S because i thought there was something wrong with it but my second S is exactly the same.

rooster, i've never read anywhere where the exceler baitcaster has an aluminum sideplate either...i just know because, when i remove mine, it's easy to tell. the negative to that would be that the walls are paper thin and prone to denting, i suppose. but really, plastic sideplates are not bad...every other reel i have (curado Es, curado Ds, revo S and SX, pflueger summit) ALL have plastic sideplates as far as i can tell.

hey snapper, i have an exceler. it's a nice reel but a tad finicky to get adjusted just right. is it better than the BPS extreme? at one point or another, i've used or have owned many of the BPS reels and i would say 'yes' but here mainly because of the feel of the components. the daiwa has aluminum side plates and a metal drag star vs. plastic for the extremes. the BPS rick clunn reel is currently on sale for cheaper than the extremes and the same price as the exceler...i think this is a better comparison. the rick clunn reel has a metal drag star and a forged handle (take forged over cast handles every time...they feel great) but a plastic sideplate.

definitely go for the M over the ML. i have a ML lightning rod and i use it as a crappie and trout rod. it is way too whippy for crankin' for bass.

team daiwa is their lineup of rods and reels designed with input from and to meet the needs of their pro staff (guys like mike iaconelli, ish monroe, mike folkestad, takahiro omori, dustin wilkes). TD is more tournament-oriented gear.

i'm in agreement with wayne p. friction at knot tightening will "burn" the line and weaken it severely...make sure you wet the line before cinching it down. flouro is also doesn't like any kinks in the line so be careful working out backlashes. if there are any kinks, cut it off and retie.

at $80, one of the new shimano clarus rods would be a good choice. if you look around, you still might be able to find the previous-generation clarus rods on clearance for $30-$40. like many people, i started out with a $35 berkley lightning rod and i'd still recommend them at that price range. however, putting a $200 reel on a $50 rod just doesn't make sense to me. why not step down to the SX and apply the $50 you save toward the rod? the difference between the STX and SX isn't huge but the difference that $50 makes in your rod will be. at that price range, you can pick up a used powell or a shimano crucial or something along those lines.

at a natural cadence, a high-speed reel would retrieve the crankbait too quickly. crankbaits plane to the side when retrieved at a speed faster than they were designed for. either that or the fish just don't want it that fast. a lower-speed reel allows you to keep a nice crankin' rhythm, plus it gives you more torque, making it easier. like someone else said, toss out a norman deep diver 22 and you'll see why.

here are some pics of my three smallest reels: citica 100DSV, curado E and revo SX. the citica E is the same size and shape as the curado E and you can see just how small it is!

the slower and softer tip of a crankbait rod doesn't transmit the strike to your hand as fast as graphite, allowing more time for the fish to fully inhale the crankbait before you set the hook. when i used to fish cranks with a graphite rod, i can't tell you how many times i got bit short on cranks. and then, the ones i did hook, i'd sometimes lose when the fish went airborne to shake those small trebles out of his mouth. since switching to a fiberglass crankin' rod (lamiglas XC705R), when i feel 'em bite, they're comin' into the boat 99% of the time...i kid you not, it has made a huge difference to my fishing. in fact, so much so that i recently picked up another crankin' rod, a powell 703CB glass max.