.ghoti.

Acetone and lighter fluid both work very well, but both are toxic, highly flammable, and they stink. Simple green works nicely, is biodegradable and smells pleasant. Get the shields off, if you can. A 50% solution is good enough. Soak and swish for about 5 minutes. Repeat with fresh simple green. Rinse with boiling water, and air dry before applying the lube of your choice. Many people make way too much of this. I've read too may comments about this solvent or that solvent or the other solvent being the best because they leave no residue. Well, there ain't no such thing as a solvent which leaves no residue behind. Whatever you use will leave some residue behind. Don't worry about it. Just get your bearings as clean as you can, lube them properly, and go fishing. I used the bearing blaster with both carb cleaner and brake cleaner; and it does a good job. But, you'll be using toxic, flammable chemicals, and you'll have to use it outdoors, with rubber gloves and eye protection, if you're smart about it. The stuff flies everywhere.

85 here in Ocho Rios yesterday. be about the same today, and tomorrow, and the next day , etc,etc,,,, we really picked the right week to go on vacation.

Ah, now there's a good thought. Ive never tried the mobile version. I will do just that.

I have no goals, standards or expectations when fishing. I fish to get away from all that crap.

First, Lee is correct; I am very fluent in smartass. Cant help myself sometimes. Second, rockcalk, I did not intend my comment to youy as a smartass reply. It just came out that way. My apologies if you took it as such. I don't know you well enough to call you a It is difficult to nuance a typed comment. My problem is this iPad. It will not allow me to post a picture on BassResource; in a post, in a PM, or in a gallery. The only way I've been able to poast a pic is to email to myself, open it and save it on my desktop PC on campus, and then post from there. Since I'm not on campus until Jan 13, and do not go on campus until I have to, posting a pic seems to be outside of my capabilitiy right now, so I'll have just give a list. Norcalbassin sent me a very nice package. Two swimbaits; a Mattlures bluegil and a Huddleston 5" ROF 12. I don't have a swimbait combo but I do have a muskie combo I use for smaller muskie baits. I think it will do nicely for those two baits, and I'm looking forward to to giving the swimbait thing a shot in the upcoming season. Also a pack of Big Hammer swimbait tails. I have the correct jigheads for those baits. I've used those exact baits before and I know they will produce in this area. He also sent two Dirty Jigs & Tackle swimjigs. Both are what I'd call crappie color and will be perfect for Trophy Country, with a white Rage Tail Menace trailer. Two packs of GYCB Cuttail worms, one of my go-to baits, two packs on tungsten weights, and a *** tee shirt. My wife has already appropriated the shirt. It's been a long time since I was able to cram my carcass into an XL shirt. The wife wears my old tee shirts as pajamas, so I will be waking up to a woman in a TW shirt. Sounds like a good way to start the day to me. All in all, norcalbassin sent me a package of loot worth a lot more than 25 bucks. And, all good choices for me. Thanks, Chad.

I have two projects for 2014, both of which will have a negative impact on my fishing time. And on the funding for fishing trips. We recently aquired a small cabin on our local lake. It needs a lot of work. I have a contractor working on the floor right now. They are tearing the floor out, down to the joists, and replacing all of it. That is the biggest piece of the puzzle, and I'm glad the wife agreed to farm it out. I tore out the kitchen completely, leaving nothing but the stove. It's new, everything else went into a dumpster. Once the new floor is in place my work will begin. building a new kitchen, replacing a stool and shower, drywall, trim work and painting, deck repairs, dock repairs or replacement, adding AC, etc, etc, etc. The outside is in good shape. New roof, new siding, new windows and doors. Inside, it has a new stove, new washer/dryer stacked combo, new frig, and a fairly new gas-fired heater. Thw second project is getting rid of the last of my debts. I've paid off all credit cards this year, and I'm keeping only an amex green card. The only remaining debt I have is a home equity loan. I will pay this off sometime near the end of 2014. Then I can retire. And that is my primary goal for 2015. I will be 62 shortly, and I've been working two jobs since 1988. I had my second heart attack three months ago. It's time to stop and smell the coffee.

rockchalk, no offense intended my friend, but your answer reminds of a smart-assed answer I gave to one of my students. He asked how to write a resume. i told him to open Word, type his resume, and click save.

Hope that stuff produces for you. Since the Rage Tail Menace came out, I haven't used any other trailer. Can somebody please tell this old fart how to post a pic from an iPad?

I'm 61, and while I'm not as good as I once was, I'm as good once as I ever was.

I have that blue TD-Z and I'm almost afraid to fish it. I've only had it out twice. I'm not at all into mating rods with reels based on what they look like together, but that Z looks SHWEEEET on an LTB.

If that were mine, I would polish the sharp edges off that nick. Get out the dremel, felt wheel and polishing compound. No need to try to get it all, just knock the edges off.

Got this nice load of loot from Norcalbassin. Thank you Chad. I'll post some pics as soon as I figure out how to do that with my iPad.

PSN81, why don't you do the experiment, since you already have the lube. Then let us all know how it performed. I'm all for experimentation. I've tried a lot of different lubes over the years, looking for the "best". I've come to the conclusion there is no "best" lube. And there are no magic lubes. This is a great way to start an argument. There are some folks who believe their way is the best and only way, and if you're doing something different, then your wife is ugly and your kids are stupid. In that spirit, here is my way. Drag washers and gears get either Shimano drag grease or Cal's drag grease. I have both and can't tell the difference, in use. I use the same grease for both drags and gears because if there is going to be any cross contamination, this is the place for it to occur. Spool bearing get TSI321 I've tried everything I could find for this application, and TSI321 gives me what I'm looking for in a spool bearing lube. If you're one of those folks who service your reel once per year no matter what, this might be the lube for you. If you use any of the very light, low viscosity bearings lubes; such as rocket fuel, once per year is not often enough. Yopu need something heavier, or need to apply a lot more often. TSI solves that problem; giving me the high speed performance of a very light oil, but will last all summer. Other bearings get 90wt gear oil. I used to grease all frame bearings, but getting them clean while servicing either takes a long, long time, and an ultrasonic cleaning unit. Gear oil gives almost the same smooth feel and cleans up a lot quicker and easier. The levelwind is the most problematic part of a baitcast reel. It's a worm gear, exposed to the elements. If you grease it, grit will stick to the grease, and work it's way into the gear, causing wear. Ditto if you use gear oil. If you use light oil it will wash out fairly quickly; again, causing wear. I've been using TSI321 on all levelwind components for the last three years, with excellent results. Any sliding parts, like the clutch mechanism, get TSI321. So to answer the original question; Cal's and Shimano grease are both made for reels. TSI and 90wt gear oil are not. Lube is lube, and there's nothing that says gease or oil nor specifically labelled for fishing reels won't work just fine. An example that comes to mind is what's known as spindle oil. If you have a machine shop nearby, see if they will give you a small sample. It's only sold in bulk quantities. I used this stuff for years as spool bearing lube. It was a nice compromise. Thin enough to give good casting performance, and longer lasting. Granted, there will be application specific issues. You would not want to pack your spool bearings with grease, and you wouldn't want to use light weight bearing oil on your gears, but a little common sense can guide you.

Welcome back, young man. Are we all here? Is that an existential question?

fuhgetaboudit

Fish deep offshore structure in the middle of the day, and slow down. Then slow down some more.

For me, a jerkbait rod has to have a short handle. I use a tip down retrieve so 6'6" is about the max length. I'm about 6'1" and a 7' rod is way too long for me. My current jerkbait setup is a Setyr 6'6" M-XF rod, Daiwa Viento reel, 10lb mono. This is the cheapest combo in my rsenal, and the least used.

The one zi ordered just came in. Wow, what a smooth reel. I have a trout trip starting Sunday. I've spooled the new reel up with #4 Abrazx, and mounted it on a Steez 7' ML rod. I'll post a review when we get back.

I bought about 100 bucks worth last week. Got a BIG box of goodies I won't be able to use for quite a while.

Gammy EWG and Owner Rig-N hooks are about all I buy. You can keep your straight shank hooks. They don't work for me at all.

People who call me "Hey" get shot. People who call me "You" get shot again. Speeedbead is right on the money. Everybody calls me Gotti; like the gangster. At least it's not Goatey.

Placed my order Saturday. Somebody should be looking for a package from Siebert Outdoors.

Well, hello Roger. Where've you been lately. At least I'm an honest thief. I owned up to the crime. LOL

I've always heard that George Bernard Shaw coined the term. I stole it.

Old Wiley may not have gotten dinner, but look at how much fun he had.