BobP

I think the "class" in retail blades are either the Hildebrandt or the BassPro XPS. I usually go with XPS.

I have 5 yr old baits with Createx Fluorescent Yellow on them that look the same as when painted, so don't worry on that score. I paint 100-150 baits per year and buy mostly 4 oz bottles, but buy a 16 or 32 oz bottle of cover white for basecoating. I shoot Smith Wildlife, Createx, Polytranspar, etc just depending on what colors are useful. I like to shoot paint straight out of the bottle without thinning or color mixing, so for me, buying a set of standard colors would not be very useful. I think Createx is the most consistent in quality and 'shoot-ability" but its color palette is limited compared to others, which are formulated specifically for wildlife painting. One specific recommendation - I really like the Polytranspar Superhide White for color basecoating. It's by far the best cover white I've ever tried - has lots of pigment, dries fast to a very hard smooth surface.

www.hughescustombaits.com/ Don't see why the url didn't work. This one seems to be OK on my computer. I copied/pasted both url's from the website. ??

Well, if I fished for peacock bass, I would too. But throwing a dropshot for 2-5 lb average bass, I'll get more bites with 6 lb fluoro. At least, that's what I believe.

You want a durable waterproof surface to paint water based paint onto. On plastic, the surface is already waterproof so just shoot a white color basecoat, color, then a durable topcoat. On raw wood baits, you need to start with a coating like epoxy, Super Glue or wood hardener/preservative before applying paint. Player's choice. BTW, only a few epoxies can be used in crankbait finishes - e.g., bar top epoxies like Envirotex Lite or 30 min glue epoxies like Devcon 2 Ton. They will level well and stay liquid long enough to brush them on the bait. Quick cure "5 minute" epoxies will not work, so don't try them.

There are several custom painting shops. One of the best is Tim Hughes (http://www.hughescustombaits.com/). It isn't necessarily cheap but Hughes will do it very professionally. Send one in, you get it back looking like a factory finish, in any pattern you choose or designate.

An average good cast is 70 FEET, not yards. If you're Mr Wonderful, you may get out to 100-110 ft (~35 yds). Double that because you will be losing line as you trim it when tying on lures - and you get about 75 yards max needed. You could split a 150 yd filler spool in half and use it on 2 reels. That said, I spool up a whole filler spool of braid (usually 150 yards) because I don't want to end up with 2 short pieces that have to be knotted together. Since braid lasts indefinitely, I think using the whole spool on one reel is the best strategy.

I have CU200's that have worked flawlessly for 10 years. It was a watershed reel when introduced and a big reason for Shimano's reputation for high quality among bass fishermen. That said, there are reels with smoother retrieves, and reels that cast farther with fewer backlashes, and reels that throw lighter baits better (many of them are Shimano products!). But a well maintained CU200B is still a good reel that will last indefinitely. Whether it's a deal depends on the price you pay below its original $119 retail price. BTW, the Shimano Citica is Shimano's current reel at the $119 price point and is basically an enhanced CU200.

A longer rod will not get a crankbait deeper than a short rod unless you do the "kneel and reel" with the tip underwater. But it will cast farther and your crankbait will therefore run at its maximum depth for a longer distance. Most guys don't realize that virtually 100% of crankbaits on an 'average cast' of 70 ft are only running at max depth between 30 and 15 ft from the boat. This is compiled data from hundreds of baits, hundreds of casts over a course measured by an underwater observer ("Precision Casting" by Mark Romanack, 2001). If you can cast farther, which a long rod will help you do, the max depth portion of the retrieve is correspondingly longer. A long rod is not magic, but bumping cover for a longer distance will on average get more fish in the boat - however you do it.

I hand turn the rod while wrapping the guides but I'm not gonna sit there turning a rod for 2 hrs while the epoxy gets hard enough not to sag! Any a/c motor that turns 2-10 rpm is good for epoxying guides and rotating it while the epoxy sets. I made a turner from a gear motor I found on the internet, with a 1 1/2" PVC pipe threaded with 3 thumb screws to hold the rod. The other end of the rod is laid in one of the V-blocks I used while wrapping the guides.

I use a 6'6" graphite rod for small cranks when fishing the bank (for accuracy) but when I want long casts in open water, a 7'6" can drive casts through wind and gives noticeably more distance. I use a St Croix 7'6" MM saltwater graphite rod for open water and crankbaits up to 3/4 oz. Fiberglass just isn't for me.

I sometimes use a 7:1 for pitching jigs to get the bait back fast for the next pitch BUT there's always a trade-off. To me, the 7:1 seems on the ragged edge of being too weak to crank big fish out of heavy cover. And it's too fast for cranks and most other moving baits. Had I to do over, I'd probably stick with a 6.2:1 because it's fast enough for just about anything but can be slowed down if needed. If you have lots of reels, a 7:1 is a nice addition - as is a 5:1 for big crankbaits. But a good 6.2:1 reel can handle a wider range of presentations. JMHO, and in the end, it all comes down to what feels right to you.

I have a Prodigy and it most resembles the Advantage in terms of internal parts, per the schematics.

I don't know if your drag is supposed to be lubed but if it is, do yourself a favor and use drag grease, not the grease you use on the rest of the reel. Drag grease is thick sticky stuff based on cosmoline, not the light grease used in wheel bearings, for instance. PTFE (aka Teflon) and carbon drag washers can be run dry or lightly greased. Fiber washers should be greased. Using the right lube will make the drag work smoother and much longer. Many reels come "over lubed" from the factory because many users will run a reel until it fails, not until it needs more lubrication. If lube migrates into the drag system, it will cause the symptoms you describe. Shimano ACE-2, Penn Muscle Grease are 2 drag greases. And don't forget there's usually a drag washer under the main gear that works to determine the drag's 'break-over' point. It should be serviced just like the drag washers inside the main gear. Oil bearings and the level wind worm gear, grease most everything else and don't over-do it.

Buy a "highly pigmented" water based airbrush paint like Polytranspar's Superhide White for color basecoating. It's cheaper than aerosol primers and you won't have to put up with the permanent stink that solvent based primers often give to a lure. Just one in the tackle box and all your lures will smell like crap.

I've tried ABEC7 and TG ceramic bearings in several Abu and Shimano reels. The 7's will get you 5-10 extra FEET. The ceramics a couple of FEET more. The ceramics were noticably louder and generate more vibration when they are new. IMO, it's worthwhile to buy ABEC7's only when you need to replace spool bearings. At twice the 7's price, you can keep the ceramics! I buy 7's not because they cast a bit farther and are marginally smoother, but because you can buy them cheaper than the replacement ABEC5's used by many reel manufacturers. My last 7's cost $8-9 dollars each. If you are looking for big performance gains, I think you'll be disappointed. There's a lot more that goes into casting distance than the ABEC rating of the bearings in the reel. If you get 5 more feet out of a cast, is it worth it to you? Take your foot off the trolling motor one second later and your lure will reach just as far. IMO, use the exta $20 you saved to buy a few good lures instead. JMHO

I think the "how far I cast" is pretty amusing. Do a field test and have 5 of your experienced bassing friends make a "long cast". When measured out, they will average right around 100 feet. A normal cast is about 75 ft (uh, that's EXACTLY 25 yards). So now you read how KVD casts 70 yards with normal Quantum rod and reel. That more than twice the distance of an average fisherman's "long cast". Yeah, right. Don't believe everything you read.

I use 5 min epoxy but any will work OK - the 5 min variety just sets faster so you have less chance of misaligning it while it cures. You can remove an epoxied tip the same way as one installed with tip or hot melt glue - heat it up. After having a few tips pop off during fishing, I switched to epoxy.

A lot of reels have a screw inside the frame, beside the spool that also has to be removed to take off the side plate. Remove the spool and see if there's a screw head on that side. If so, that's probably it.

If your airbrush will shoot it (i.e., if it has a tip that's >3.5mm) craft paint works but there are downsides. The particle size is larger than airbrush paint so the dry paint surface will be rougher. You always have to thin it, with a/b paint you can usually just squirt it in and shoot it. It's gonna clog your a/b more often regardless of thinning it. When it does, the a/b will often shoot water and run all over the bait while the paint particles stay clogged in the tip. The big problem is that you are layering paint over paint as you paint a bait. If you or the a/b screws up on the last color, you have to rinse off all the paint and start from scratch. That is very frustrating and I decided years ago that anything that minimizes screw ups was worth it. If you eventually get an a/b with a smaller tip (say, a .2mm or .3mm) to help you shoot detail and do finer shading, the hobby paint is then useless and you'll have to throw it all away. Bottom line - it's worth it to buy a/b paint. Get it in 4 oz or larger bottles and the price is quite reasonable, plus it last a long long time. JMHO

I'd throw in another $20 and buy a Shimano Citica. You get what you pay for in reels and the Citica will give you years of service and high Shimano build quality.

You can't catch fish if you don't keep your line wet.

Mann's Baby 1-

Drag is different from one reel to the next, one brand to the next, and one day to the next - so there is no 'formula' of clicks, etc that's going to give constant performance. Drags change due to the amount and kind of lubrication in them, wear on the drag's friction disks, condition of the spring washers, etc. I just pull line off and estimate if it will be high enough to set the hook but low enough to allow a fish to take drag before the line breaks. Where you fish is also a big consideration. Open water? 2-3 lbs will wear them out no matter how big they are. Grass mat? Better lock it down 'cause you can't afford to let them run at all. Treble hooks? Maybe a little less drag. Single hook? Medium to heavy drag.

Carrot, don't know if I'd use electrical tape because it tends to deteriorate with heat and shed its gooey adhesive - but otherwise, you're 'right on'. I suggest blue painter's tape. It doesn't matter what size line you use for backing. A given volume of 20 lb weighs about the same as an identical volume of 6 lb. I almost never spool a reel full of the good line - half of it will never see the light of day. That saves a bunch of premium line over the course of time.