OnthePotomac

Buy treble hook jackets for them. BPS and Cabelas sells them very inexpensively for a pack. They work. They come in two sizes, but the large is for a very large treble.

If anyone wants to get into cleaning their own reels, I recommend an excellent DVD on reel cleaning by http://www.lakeforktacklerepair.com/ It is a detailed, step-by-step on how to lay out your parts and how to lube them properly. I think it is $30, but well worth the money. They do not use pictures, but are video taped doing each step with an explanation of what they are doing in sequence. I believe they won an award for the DVD.

The Daiwa Capricorn is an excellent reel and is basically the Exceler. The only difference is the DigiGear. Last year Cabels's ran a special on the Capricorn for $60 and they sold out in three weeks. Believe me, they are not junk.

It should be a great worm rod with 10lb floro. Ten lb floro has a smaller diameter than 10lb mono and should perform much better than going down to 8lb on a baitcaster. I use 10lb floro for my worm fishing on a Citica.

Here is a good article on KVD and his take on trebles. http://www.insideline.net/weeklynews/2008/08-0702.html

I have read posters on other forums, who fish frequently say they leave their floro on until it is too low on the spool for them. I believe one angler said his was on 3 months and finally got too low on the spool. Floro is pretty sturdy stuff.

The best deal going on Shimano upgrade kits is at www.biggreenfish.com. His bearings are best described as ABEC 7+ they are that good.

JimmieO, you got it right buddy.

Hammer4, two ABEC 7 bearings for the spool will cost you $10-12 and they might improve performance a little. You do not want to venture into ceramic bearings for that reel because they are really expensive. Leave whatever is at the base of the drive shaft alone, because be a bearing or bushing, it is only a stabilizer for retrieves and has nothing to do with performance. Good cleanings and good lubricants are essential also. As a note, guys who use ceramic bearings are usually involved in casting distance competitions.

I am not superman, but Extremes heavy? I must be missing something. I have 1-7' medium for cranks and 5-6'6" MH for plastics, topwaters, frogs, traps, silver buddies, jerkbaits and some cranks. I fish 7 hour outings and the rods do not bother me at all and I don't miss bites. I know I am a lot older than you guys. Rods are like anything else in that everyone has a preference, usually not associated with price. Ever fish with a Berkley Lightning - great rods for $35.00.

I converted my Shimano's to CarbonTex and you will love them. Apply a very light coat of Shimano drag grease to them. I put it on and then wiped off all excess with my fingers. I believe you can also use them dry, but I was advised by a reel expert to do the wiped off coat of drag grease. What a difference they make.

You really have to try with and without a rattle to see which works. If you have a jig on which you want a rattle, you can buy jig rattles which slip on over the hook ahead of the trailer. At least on the Potomac both work at various times.

On the 4.5" I use a 6/0 and on the 3.5" try either a 5/0, or 4/0. I prefer the Eagle Claw and Lake Fork swimbait hooks because they have a wide bend away from the plastic and have a screw on the hook eye to screw into the nose.

This may help. Lay out your cranks by bill length, short, medium and long. Then look at where the line tie eye is on the lipl If it near the lure, the crank will run deeper, if it is down on the lip it will run shallower. If the lip is real short and pointed down, it is a shallow runner, usually 1-3'. Your medium lips will usually run 5-8 feet. The long lips with the tie near the bait will usually run 10" +. The regular short lips will usually run 2-5'. Another way to do it is to go through the BPS and Cabela's catalogs and see if you can match the lures. In the end, the depth is so affected by line size, type of line and cranking speed that you will never get it precise anyway. As suggested, in the future mark the weight and depth on the lure with a Sharpie when you take it out of the package. I prefer to mark mine on the bottom of the lure. Hope this helps.

I fish both Texas rigged with a 3/16 slip sinker and let the bass tell me which they prefer that day.

SouthernHaze, multiply the gram weight by .0353 and that will give you the fraction of an ounce in a decimal. For instance, 14 grams is .49 onces, or just under 1/2 once. IMHO the best thing an angler can invest in is a gram/once digital scale. You quickly learn that the weight on the lure package is usually a lot less than the lure actually weighs. I also use it to weigh all plastics. It is surprising how heavy some plastics are.

Dick's, Gander Mounain, BPS and Cabela's all sell reel grips in many colors. The problem I found at Dick's is that they have a limited color selection.

Soccerplayer, if you want a real in depth primer on changing treble hooks on crankbaits, read this interview with Kevin VanDam on the subject. http://www.insideline.net/weeklynews/2008/08-0702.html

If you want a very nice, limp floro try German made Triple Fish. It is excellent line and not expensive.

I have not used the Invisi-Braid, but I do use 15b Untracast on one of my spinning reels and it is terrific braid. Very smooth to use.

Here is a good article on florocarbon. It pertains to Sugoi brand, but the information is applicable to floro users.

:)The Curado 200E7 hands down. $180

I only throw plastic swimbaits and have been happy with BPS 20lb Excel, which I also use for my spinnerbaits. It is inexpensive and reliable.

I had a 6' Med spinning rod which is now 3" shorter and I cannot tell the difference. I also have what was a 6'6" MH bait caster, which is now 3" shorter and it is my tube rod full time. Works great and has landed many, many bass. I must point out that my rod repair guy respaced the line guides on the bait caster. It sure was cheaper than a new rod.

No, it will not. It is not invisible under water and the company will admit that it is not. I think it is called marketng. I like Ultra Cast a great deal, but use the green where I fish.