cadman

I have a 2007 Terrova on a 20 foot boat, with Walmart batteries, and so far I am very happy with the batteries. The batteries are on their 3rd year and so far both batteries are holding up. JMO

It seems that every now and again, someone will have a problem with a name brand. Several years ago I bought (3) Revo Premier Gen 1 reels. I love those reels, still have them to this day. Last year I bought (4) Daiwa Tatulas Type R reels. I've used 1 of the 4 and it wasn't what I thought was a great reel. In February I bought (3) Revo MGX reels at half off from BPS. I have been using them regularly and I love my MGX reels. I have heard so much negative talk about the MGX reels and how cheap they feel, however I do not have any complaints about them. They are very lightweight and are very easy to cast. All in all every manufacturer will at some point have a problem with their reels even their flagship reels. So, If it were me, and you love the reel get it fixed or replaced and use it. If you still don't like it go on to a different brand.

I started fishing those as well this year to see what all the fuss was about. I am a die hard jig guy and I fish a mix of jigs 90% of the time. Well my wife and I were out in the beginning of April, and the water was below 55 to 58 degrees. We were both fishing jigs and I was not doing well on my jig, so I tied the only underspin I had in the boat on my wife's rod. A couple casts later she started picking up fish. I thought wow that was interesting , I would have never thought that this would work. She got 3 fish that day the biggest being 2 lbs, but I was really surprised. We've been out several times since and have not gotten any on the underspin, but I will keep trying to see if this is something that has potential. I fish mine with a Berkley Havoc.

I have (3) Revo Gen 1 Premiers, love them the best. After a good cleaning love them even more.

I put naphtha in a small jar and put it in my ultrasonic cleaner. Cleans the bearing very well without any residue. Once the bearings are dry (I wait about 1/2 hour, as naphtha flashes off quickly), I put on my favorite oil and I'm good to go. There are a lot of ways to clean bearings, find the one that works for you.

I sometimes use the weighted wacky jigs, but I like the weighted wacky hooks better for skipping under docks and they come in 4 sizes.

I use a custom made weighted wacky hook.

All jigs can be made out of bismuth which is non-lead and a substitute for lead jigs. Although bismuth is not cheap, it is still cheaper than tungsten. Just some more info for guys in Massachusetts.

Contact Smalljaw67 on this forum , I'm sure he can help you out. He does some great ties.

There is no visual way of knowing if the jigs are baked long enough, short of taking them to a lab for hardness testing. With that said any of the methods and times of baking are fine as mentioned above. Like Dave A mentioned you can bake jigs for 30 hours and they would still be fine. The reason times are given is those are recommended minimum times, for the powder molecules to cross link and harden. Yes you can take jigs that have cooled and bake them again with no harm to the paint . I do that many times when I want to add 3 or 4 colors.

There are a lot of items to use to use as mentioned above to keep the hole open in your mold. Finishing nails will work as well. The thing would be is to try to find one that has as close as a diameter to the weedguard hole in the mold. If you find a size, naturally use the painted end, however I would cut or grind the points flat so you can get the nail as far in the cavity as possible. if the nail has a tendency to fall out when you turn the mold over to pour, take some tape and wrap it around the shank of the nail, the part that sits in the mold cavity. that will tighten it up. And like mentioned above, you can leave the nail in the jig head and paint the head, however I would take the nail out as soon as you paint the jig, because the paint will stick to the nail and when you pull it out later it will chip around the hole.

I have the same mold, and what you can do is stick in a (.081) drill bit (shank first) into the spot where the weedguard is supposed to go, put your hook in, close the mold and pour your jig. If the mold doesn't close, go down a bit on the drill size. You want the drill bit to fit snug, so it doesn't fall out when you turn the mold over. Take the drill bit out of the jig and repeat the process on the remainder you need to pour. Once you are all done paint your jigs, and then glue in the smaller weedguard into the weeedguard hole. The 1/8 oz head was not made for the FG-30 weedguard. It was meant for a smaller weeedguard. If you want a bigger weedguard to glue in later, then drill out the existing weedguard hole to the size you want. You have a PM

Bluebasser86, You have a Pm.

Yes you can use a 5317 hook in a Brush jig mold. It's cheaper to buy your Do-It molds from anywhere except Do-It. I buy all of my molds from Zeiners or Lure parts on line.

Very Nice Allen

Very nice tutorial. Thank You for the step by step and yes everything goes better with "Dropout" BTW the red silicone. When that cures in the mold, does it come out easily without any residue so you can re-use the mold as it was originally designed?

Now here is someone that reads and listens. Frankford Arsenal's "Dropout" is the best product for easier pours.

I rarely clean my pot. When I pour which is at least 2 to 3 times a week, I just scrape down the sides on the inside all the way to the bottom with a spoon. Then I mix the bottom of the pot with a spoon, and many times all the crud will float up to the top. Then I just spoon it off. I will regularly put wax in the pot and light the flame. This cleans all the lead crust on top. Once the flame is gone, I spoon out all the garbage on top and my lead is clean on top.

It will always drip most of the time. However you can clean the pot and maybe make the situation better. The reason I say better, is because every Lee IV pot I had, each of them leaked at some time or other. What I do is start the pot up, so the lead is fluid. Empty all the lead, and unplug the pot. Un-assemble the plunger, and let it cool then take some steel wool, and clean off the entire plunger. While the pot is still warm to hot, put on a pair of leather gloves, and steel wool all the sides of the pot on the inside. When it comes to the spout, steel wool that carefully, so you don't damage it as it is brass. Once done, empty all steel wool traces, and it should be better, as the plunger will seat better in the hole.

Man all you guys with these nice fish. Job well done. I've been so busy at work, can't get the boat out yet. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks. Keep posting those pics.

I put ZPI bearing on my (3) Revo Premier gen 1 baitcasters, and noticed a substantial difference. First and foremost have your reel cleaned properly and then decide. You may not need new bearings.

I'm an Abu fan as well. 3 Revo Premiers Gen 1 baitcasters and this year I bought (3) MGX's (baitcasters) for over 1/2 off each. I'll see how the MGx's perform for me. I've been happy with Abu Revo's so far

It's going to be for a baitcaster.

I am looking to pick up some of this line in 10 lb test. I have been using Yo-Zuri Hybrid and Berkley XL with no issues. I just want to try something different. This will be used for jig fishing with a Revo MGX reel on a St. Croix Medium 6'8" LTB rod. Anybody use it and what are your likes and dislikes. Thanks in advance.

I have (8) Johnny Morris Signature Series rods some older and some newer and they are the best rods for the money. I never broke one either and are comfortable to fish. Like mentioned above, the hook keeper should have been put on the bottom of the rod. I cut mine off as well, as it catches line. But overall an excellent choice.