BobP

The problem with a swivel is that they don't go through guides very well, so you usually have to keep your leader shorter than many guys like to make them. I always use at least 6 ft for a leader, sometimes more, so can't cast it while leaving the swivel on my slack line. A knot works.

To answer the second part of OP's question, YES you should do something to prevent the load of braid on your reel spool from slipping. I tie a few yards of mono to mine before spooling the braid. That always works. I haven't tried just taping the braid to the spool. If it dries out and releases, you're back to square one.

Gee guys, all this talk about specific high end tool sets is Making me feel inadequate. I walked into Home Depot 20 yrs ago and bought a set of miniature screw drivers for about 7 bucks. Probably made in Pakistan. I take the 10mm wrench out of my generalized wrench set. A small paint brush to spread grease, a paper clip to prize out side bearings. That's all I've ever needed to completely take down and service all my Shimano, Daiwa, and Ambassadeur reels. Maybe an occasional larger wrench if I'm working on a spinning reel. High end tools are nice, but...

And a paper clip with a little 90 degree tang bent in one end to remove those recalcitrant side plate bearings from baitcasters.

Senko wiggle is a combination of the softness of the plastic and the weight of the Senko, about 3/8 oz each.

Don't overlap the foil. Use a piece for each side that runs from the top of the shoulder to the bottom of the lure where you plan to apply white belly paint. After applying the foil, burnish down the edges to minimize the seam then apply a coat of epoxy before painting. It's hard to find adhesive foil that's thin these days but a little online research can help. The foil at home centers usually are pretty thick.

My favorite is Superlube multipurpose grease with PTFE bought at NAPA stores in a 400 g can. Very slick stuff and will not gum up or become hardened. It's white, looks clear when applied and seems to last a long time. It's also sold in little tubes but the can is reasonably priced and lasts for years in reel lubrication.

In N.C. There is no title required unless the boat is bought on credit. Pay cash and there has to be a bill of sale with a notarized seller's signature in order to register the boat. Blank bills of sale are included with your WRC (aka DNR) registration documents. Seems to work OK and no standing in line at the DMV. The WRC reports the registration to the tax folks for personal property tax purposes.

You can use a spinshot ds hook that includes a swivel, or just a small swivel above the hook. The previous posts have good tips on avoiding twist caused by a spinning reel or baits not hooked straight on the hook. I just tie mine straight to a plain ds hook and have no problem.

I usually start my ds leader at 8-10" when vertically ds-ing, so it's off the bottom but not too far off. I'd want the same altitude when bank fishing, whatever that means according to the slope of the bottom. I favor using cylinder ds weights because the seem to hang up the least for me. On 6 or 8lb line, You can cast a ds as far as you want with a 3/16 oz weight with a ML spinningnrod, IMO.

I use naphtha and a toothbrush. It cleans well and dries much faster than dish soap and water.

Put the KVD's on and see if they tangle. You really can't tell whether a set of trebles will fit w/o tangling until you try them, but the KVD 4's often work just fine in replacing #6 trebles.

I have a Daiwa Tatula 100h with the T-Wing system and it works fine. It basically gives you a wide, freer line guide aperture during the cast and then a narrow line guide during the retrieve. Added distance? Maybe a bit. My thinking is that it makes pitching and short casts a little smoother. Not a huge improvement, but not entirely a gimmick either. I wouldn't buy a reel to get the feature but wouldn't shy away from one either.

JMHO, epoxy is not a good topcoat for spinner blades. It makes the blade heavier which affects performance. It also pulls away from any sharp edge as it cures, leaving the edges of the blade prone to quick wear and chipping paint. Moisture cured urethane like Dick Nite S81 MCU or KBS Diamond coat work better. A single coat of Dick Nite will give you a topcoat that is equivalent to a factory topcoat in my experience.

Your hookset can make a big difference too. Braid does not like a snap hookset and the instantaneous strain can break the braid pretty easily, even up to 20 lb braid.

With Devcon Two Ton, if it isn't hard enough to gently handle in about 5 hrs, you did something wrong in measuring or mixing. I've used Devcon for about 15 yrs now. I used to just eyeball the 2 parts to get equal size pools. If the epoxy is in the 70-80 degree range, you can get pretty close. But no matter how experienced you are, you will eventually screw this up so now I always measure it with a pair of syringes. If you get the volumes off, it will either not cure hard, will take longer to cure hard, or will yellow faster than it otherwise would.

I've owned a 98 Triton 19 ft boat with a 150 EFI Merc for 15 years. 99% chance your problem is thenrelays, not the wiring harness. They have a habit of blowing the trim relays periodically so I keep a set in the boat at all times. The relays have points like in an auto distributor and they eventually fuse together. I started taking them apart and burnishing the points smooth, then reusing them. Repaired relays last as long as new ones in my experience.

Makes it a little harder to keep the bait down but no, it doesn't negate the usefulness of the technique. You should be concentrating on eddies and other quiet water for bass anyway.

If you are fishing from shore there's really no way to not get snagged throwing a dropshot or any sit-still presentation. As far as moving Baits go, you just have to develop the touch to know when your bait first touches down and start the retrieve before it can settle into the rocks. The occasional snag is inevitable. If you use mono or fluoro line, check out a video on the "bow and arrow" method of getting a bait unsnagged (plucking the line repeatedly under moderate tension to free a bait).

Look, most of the higher quality reels these days are made in the Far East - Japan, Korea, Indonesia, and some in China. If you don't want to buy a reel assembled in that area of the world for social or political reasons, that's one thing. But if you are prejudiced for quality reasons, it's misplaced. Reels from any of the major companies like Shimano, Daiwa, Pfleuger, or Abu are designed and engineered in house and then their assembly may be contracted out to a company in another country or in a factory owned and operated by the reel company in another location. That's just how things are done these days. And quality is a heck of a lot better now than it was in the 70s and 80s.

It's mostly personal preference. What Rod allows you to twitch the jerkbait the easiest and with the best rythym. I use an old All Star 6'6" TWS graphite Rod that has a moderately fast action and is a little tip heavy. Don't care for fiberglass. The 6'6" Rod is short enough not to be hitting the water as I work the bait from the deck of my bass boat. The tip heaviness of the rod helps to propel the bait as I jerk it. I don't want to use a high modulus worm rod for this because the tip is too light and the action is too fast, so an inexpensive IM6 or 10 Rod works better for this presentation. JMHO.

I use MCU on crankbaits. Dick Nite S81 and KBS Diamond Coat are the most popular brands among bait builders. There's no specific wait time after painting. You just have to be sure that the paint is really dry because if it is damp it will wrinkle under MCU. As far as dipping goes, yes you can BUT you need to know that MCU begins to harden via reaction with atmospheric moisture and dipping lures in it will cause it to begin to harden in the container pretty quickly. After that starts, there's no way to stop it. So most of us dispense it into a small container and brush it on. Hang the lure up to dry and drip off any excess. It should be hardened in a couple of days. Throw away any finish left in the small container. Never pour it back into the main storage. MCU ins and outs are discussed in depth on tackleunderground.com

Yes, balancing a Rod with extra weight in the butt can make a huge difference in how it fishes and feels. I made a flipping stick that was hugely tip heavy and was tiring to fish. Cut off the butt cap and added lead weights until it balanced with the reel I used with it. Huge difference in how it handled and there was no fatigue fishing with it. The extra 1+ oz of weight seemed like a lot when I did it but supporting the extra overall weight was unnoticeable while fishing and the balanced Rod/reel combo is a pleasure to fish. This applies only to rods that are used for bottom contact presentations, not to rods used for moving presentations which are tip heavy anyway while fished.

All good advice. There's a learning curve to painting crankbaits and you just have to dig in and start doing it to develop the knack. I use a lot of painting templates to control where paint goes (and doesn't). Cut them from artist's frisket material and leave the adhesive backing on the plastic sheet, then simply hold the template against the lure while painting. Flip the template over after drying it to do the other side of the lure and you can save the template for other lures, building up a "library" of templates for future use.

Dick Nite MCU (s81) is my favorite. KBS Diamond Coat is also popular and has fewer storage problems. However, the DN will soak through airbrush paint to form a monolithic finish that is hard to beat, imo. If you insist on dipping lures, go with the KBS because it will last longer. If you dip in DN, you WILL shorten the time it is useable because it will begin to harden in the storage container after contamination by atmospheric moisture. If you want to use DN, dispense it into a small jar and flood coat the lure with a brush before hanging it up to dry and drip off the excess finish.