OnthePotomac

A-Jay, do you get good distance with that drill LOL

After looking everywhere on the net I finally found the 70XG CarbonTec's on dear old Amazon. I looked on the old reliable SmooothDrag.com and could not find the 70XG there, and this is the company who had them on Amazon...go figure.

Another suggestion is to use Cal's drag grease on your gears. At least on the Shimano micro gears it works to keep them quiet. I agree on the WD 40...forget it. Another tip on cleaning bearings (not anti reverse). Get a tiny food strainer, lay the bearings in and spray them with CRC Electronic Cleaner with the red tube in the nozzle. This stuff eliminates grease and oil very, very fast, dries fast and leaves no residue. Finally, leave the roller clutch bearing alone and just run a Qtip around the inside with just a touch of bearing oil on it. Excessive oil, or grease and it will not do its job as it should.

Dan, at Shimano jus provided this answer to me on what Carbon Tex drags that fit the SLX: "It depends on the gear ratio. If you have an XG you can use the drag washer from the Curado 70XG. For standard and HG you will need to use the washers from the Curado 200I or 200IHG."

No, never and just think of the huge trout the fly guys have to land with them. Incredibly strong little snaps.

If you have not seen this yet, it is really interesting, especially if you like Rapala baits. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=show+how+Rapala+Lures+are+made&view=detail&mid=1A75D3EE53C18B2232491A75D3EE53C18B223249&FORM=VIRE

Not at all considering they are used to catch very large trout....fierce fighters.

I use fly snaps from Orvis. They come in two sizes and are very strong. Makes changing cranks really fast.

Been using Mizmo tubes for 15 year. Very well made. But lots and lots of excellent tubes on the market.

Braid with leaders depends on the type of water you are fishing. For instance, there are anglers on the Tidal Potomac when confronted with water visibility of 6" to 1' just go straight braid and no leader. And then there are Potomac anglers who will have a rod with a flouro leader "just in case" they can find clearer water. I only use braid on my frog rod, which doesn't make any difference. Everything else is spooled with mono and flouro for me.

I have tried other line treatments and have returned to KVD because the special polymers in Line & Lure are hydrophobic (water repelling) and very slippery. It doesn't allow water to draw back on to the reel spool, which eliminates the line drag that a "wet" spool has. It also protects the line from wearing out as quickly as un-treated line because it resists the abrasion that wears line out. It contains no oils or solvents as in other products that can build up and collect dirt like silicone/oil treatments will. This is from the company.

Aha, no wonder Amazon only shows the bright green in 30lb. Thanks for the responses.

I guess the bight green is a visual thing and nothing to do with performance, so is anyone using it in 50lb? Not cheap is it?

I use a Curado K for my swims.. Very husky reel and very smooth. I have it spooled with 15lb Invizx. but then I do not throw big honkin swim baits. Nothing over an once and most are plastics. I am with A-Jay in that if you are going into big swims, go with the Curado 300, or Tranx, both very fine reels.

Before I bought my Berkley spooler 15 years ago I just laid the spool on top of my work bench and spooled a reel with the line through a phone book.

I first thought the SLK would replace it, but then the SLK is a 150 size reel.

I don't loosen the cast control cap and do flip the spacer at reel cleaning time. Of course the cast control has to come off, but I just wait until the first outing before I set them again for the season.

I have 12lb Invizx on all three of mine with a backing. Plenty of line.

Call the Tackle Trap and I'll bet they can help you. Very knowledgeable guys. Or call Shimano in Irvine.

Anyone know why it moved so much?

Aviator size fitovers for me on the river with a sport band to keep them on. I only have one eye, so if I need to see better to tie, etc, I just drop them down. Also keeps the wind out of my eye (s). Polarized amber lenses.

Last year was February 16 to March 4.

I have one just like the KraKen shown above with the groove and have not used it in maybe 15 years. The last time I used was when I bought an Original Chatter bait from Gander just as they became popular. Opened it up and the hook was so blunt I could not believe it. Out came the diamond sharpener. I wasn't going to drive 25 miles to exchange it, so I called the then little company and a nice lady answered the phone and when I told her what had happened she offered to send a new one to me, which I declined and she went into shock I guess because she kept saying a "you do not want a free bait?" My response was no just tighten up your quality control. She thanked me profusely.

17lb XL mono plus for spinnerbaits

There is a ton of information on here on fuel additives and whether they are needed , or not. Do a search. I have used E10 in my Yammie 60hp (I bought in 2000) since it hit the pumps and no fuel additives and never a problem. I keep the 21 gallon tank filled to the brim when not on the water and therefore no condensation. I have all original fuel lines and bulb...no deterioration.