Fishwhittler

I have to agree with West Coast Bass. That first pattern looks just a little too green compared with all of the bass I've seen. The silver flanks on the third and fourth patterns look much more realistic (to me). But, go fish them all and see which ones the fish like.

No. Braid doesn't kink, so backlashes with braid don't damage the line. However, braid has no stretch and isn't as shock-resistent as mono, and a bad backlash in the middle of a hard cast can cause braid to snap. This is especially true with heavy baits or if the braid is frayed. Just the other night I made a hard cast with a swimbait, my reel loaded with braid backlashed, and SNAP! Goodbye swimbait. But, that doesn't happen much unless you're using larger baits (for me that's anything 1oz and up), and even then you shouldn't have problems unless you try to cast into the middle of next week. BTW I did get the swimbait back the next day; it was a floater, and I found it floating where I figured it would wind up.

Okay, but there are better and stronger materials available now, so why not use them? Theoretically graphite could be used to create a rigid reel, but you'd have to use more of it and thus end up with a bulkier reel. Aluminum is much more durable and rigid than graphite, and that means you can make a much smaller and more ergonomic aluminum reel that is just as strong if not more so than a graphite reel. I for one much prefer a small low-profile reel for most fishing, and while large reels have their place you'll find most fishermen prefer a reel that is smaller and easier to handle. With that said, I'd have to say that frame-flexing isn't the worst problem with graphite reels. The deal is, all of the big reel companies now use aluminum frames on their main-line reels and graphite frames have become associated with lower-quality reels. Companies like Shimano and Daiwa know this, and so they might not put quite as much effort into designing a graphite reel that works as well as a metal reel. Example: I've got an old-model Daiwa Megaforce, and those were $60 graphite reels. While it worked it was a nice, smooth reel. The frame did flex some when under load, but it could still handle fish just fine. What killed it? A bad clutch design. It eventually deteriorated to the point where you had to push up on the thumb bar to reengage the reel, and while it's still as smooth as ever you can't say it's a good reel. Now, that may have been helped along by an inexperienced *** [hmm, it won't let me say r-e-e-l mechanic] messing around inside (yours truly), but on the other hand I've taken all of my other reels apart and so far they're still working. And anyway, I've taken it apart recently and tried to fix it now that I know (more or less ) what I'm doing, but still no dice. If the clutch wasn't shot I'd still be using it, but a faulty design led to the reel failing in the first place. My point is that a reel is only as good as its internal parts, and if those are poorly designed they aren't going to work for long. Most graphite reels are built with cheaper parts than metal-frame reels, and accordingly they don't usually last as long with the same amount of use. If companies took the time to make a strong, well-designed graphite reel it would work just fine, but why bother when it's simpler to do it with metal? Sorry for going off-topic.

If you look at some factory baits, you'll see that most if not all of the ballast is located in the belly. The location varies by manufacturer, but the weights are generally in front of and/or directly behind the belly hook hanger. On some wooden lures such as Bagley's, a lead weight with an integral screw eye is used as a combination ballast and hook hanger. I don't use them myself, but if you look around you can probably find some. The amount of ballast for a given lure style varies. The shape, body material, size, and other factors all affect how a lure behaves in the water. For example, a round lure requires less ballast for its size than a flat-sided crank bait, and a deep-bodied lure will need more ballast than a lure with a low profile. I would start by getting some different weights and experimenting. BBs, ball bearings and split shot are all readily available and work well for ballasting lures, and can be easily installed by drilling a hole in the lure, sticking the weight in, and filling the hole with epoxy. I hope this helps.

Yes, from what it sounds like, you need to add ballast to your lures. The molded plastic bills from Jann's are much heavier than circuit board, and if you switch to the lighter material you may have to compensate by adding weight in another area.

Great work as always John! That sailfish is spectacular.

BASSclary, have you considered using garolite? I don't know what you're trying to build, but garolite (aka Micarta or circuit-board) is very strong and rigid and the only way to break the stuff is to take a hacksaw to it. I don't know how it compares to aluminum in weight, but it might be something to look into.

Sounds more like a catapult than a fishing rod. That reel seat insert is stunning!

These baits are floaters. PVC foam board is a bit less buoyant than cedar, so buoyancy is not a problem. PVC fishes no differently than a wooden or plastic crank bait - a good PVC lure will catch a lot of fish, and bad ones won't. All three materials give different actions to a given lure style, but none of those materials are better or worse than the others.

Thanks guys! Jeff, I use AZEK PVC board for my lures. AZEK PVC is an expanded PVC foam used for composite decking, and it's not anything like the PVC used for pipes!

Thanks for the response!

Pics say it all. Tablerock Shad Chartreuse Shad Aurora Craw

What about Pinnacle?

Very nice Big M! I love how your simple paint patterns look.

Check out this thread from earlier this year: The Bluegill Color Thread

I don't see how back-play in the handle could help, but I'd prefer to actually try a reel with that feature before passing judgement. But anyway, the 6.4:1 and 7.1:1 BB1Z reels do not have the multi-stop anti-reverse. The BB1HZ, BB1HZL, BB1SHZ, & BB1SHZL models all have 9+1 bearing support, according to the Lew's website. The 5.1:1 cranking reels are the only reels in the series with the multi-stop AR.