Marty

I have been burned, on more than one occasion, by the infamous "kiss of death."

First, let me say that I didn't watch any of the videos. There is no answer, other than the smart-alecky one that the best action is the one that the fish will respond to at any given time. You sort of answered your own question when you referred to the mood of the fish. At any given time, fish might respond to different actions than at other times. You can look at your lure or test it in a pool, or whatever, and decide what looks like the liveliest, or best, to you, but that's not necessarily what the fish is looking for.

Instant or infinite anti-reverse is nice, but I never viewed the other as a problem. How much backplay is there in the others? Maybe 1/8", if that? I can't know anything for sure, but I don't see how that can cause problems and I have just as much confidence in those reels as those with the infinite.

I have fished for carp on and off for about 15 years. There is nothing I ever hook into that makes my reel sing like a carp does. I know they're a problem fish in some places, but still a great sport fish as far as I'm concerned.

I carry a few #3 spinners and they're no less effective than they used to be. Perhaps they just fell out of favor as a new generation of lures hit the market.

I'm sure the fish can see the snap swivel but I seriously doubt that the visibility would make the difference between a strike and a non-strike. I use Power Pro on three spinning reels and have it tied to a duolock snap; no leader.

Unlike Zel, I'm not sad to admit that I have some reels with line that's years old. I do that because it hasn't caused me problems. I've never used fluoro, but with both braided and mono, I change when I've cut off enough line from nicks, retying , etc. that there's not enough left for my longest possible cast plus a few yards to spare. I'm strictly a recreational angler and comparisons to KVD don't apply to me. He has to do everything he thinks he needs to do to catch every fish that strikes. Paranoia is a necessity in his business and, as has been pointed out, he pays less for his line than I do.

I can't stand long handles. If you really like this rod, you can cut off a length from the end that suits you and cover it with a rubber chair leg tip which then becomes the new butt cap.

I don't think it matters what knot is used to tie line to a spool. If a fish makes such a long run as to take all the line out, then that knot is gonna break, period, regardless of what kind it is.

I've also caught numerous yellow perch in open water while fishing for smallies, but I've also caught them in weedy areas while fishing for largemouth. They'll take a variety of artificial lures. If I were targeting them I'd use small crankbaits or 2-3" grubs on jigheads. Perch are popularly thought to be among the tastiest fish.

I don't know about boat wakes, as they may spook the fish, but I have caught numerous fish on topwaters in choppy water and the buzzbait is my first choice on top under those choppy conditions.

Here's another alternative, $13 from Cabela's. The jaws are pretty wide so they don't cut the fish. There's also a pre-drilled scale hole in one of the handles and I drilled a hole in the other handle as well.

Looking at the bait from the rod position, bend (not twist) the line tie in the opposite direction from which the bait is running. Just a slight bend will do, no need to overdo it. A pliers can be used, but Bass Pro Shops has an inexpensive tuning key which makes the job easier.

FishTank, do those counter-rotating baits run any truer than conventional buzzbaits, which in my case, always seem to run well to the side?

I have removed and discarded the hook hangers and added screw eyes to which split rings get attached. Even if the weld on that hook hadn't broken, you would have wanted to replace the hooks anyways, since Jitterbug hooks are among the worst I've seen.

Pike will readily hit any lure in your tackle box, from bottom crawlers to topwaters and everything in-between. I'd give a very small edge to spinnerbaits in shallower water and a grub on a jighead for deeper water. Pike easily cut line with their teeth, so you will have to decide whether to use a metal leader or not, considering loss of lure and considering pike swimming around with a mouthful of crankbait.

I don't know how much time to give it and I know nothing about acidity. However, if it's there I'd fish it, it's the only way to know for sure. My gut feeling is that it's possible for fish to start using that tree as cover almost immediately.

I've always used corn. But I've seen a lot of carp caught on cereal, such as Wheaties or Bran Flakes. Grab a handful, immerse and squeeze out the excess water until it's the consistency you want.

Are you certain that the jumpers are bass?

I also use a snap, of the duolock variety. Not a snap swivel.

I've used lines ranging from 8# mono to 15# braid. Like the man said, it depends on the cover, plus personal preferences.

The question I'd like answered is how does this line behave compared to other lines which you've used on these same spinning reels?

While text size is adjustable, it seems that the size on the index pages remained the same while the size in the actual messages got smaller as a result of the recent server work.

Their web site shows the number 800-944-4766. Is that the number on the package? I think they were bought by Rapala recently, so things might be a state of disarray.

RM, I'm not very good mechanically and I don't know many of the reel parts you mentioned. I can't change bail springs on the reel in question, but there are a couple of models that I can change them, thanks to the kindness of a Daiwa service tech in California who was kind enough to draw a sketch, write instructions and mail it to me. On these reels (the old "BL" and "T" series), when the spring breaks the bail opens without proper tension and it won't close with the crank, but both are corrected when I replace the spring. On the reel which generated this thread, it has been doing better since I started to avoid snap casts. Thanks again.