Basswhippa

I added the driveshaft bearing. Nobody with any Curado ever made nor a Chronarch 200E will beat me because of the reel. It is comparable in every way that matters. Some think the Citica handle is even superior, due to simplicity and lack of maintenance of the bearing in the handle.

Dont be so sure you will catch it again. .. even ib a pond.

You are in luck. lake fork taxidermy sell a 11.5 they keep on hand for cheap. Just know tournament fisherman kill far more trophy bass than a guy who keeps a pb. It is looking at floating 5-10 pounder around goose pond at guntersville. weighed in then released... dead. Post spawn tournies kill tons of bass...Don't let anyone tell you they don't.

Sounds like they care....just for the trout fisherman, not the bass fishing people.

Don't listen to the pros, they just want your money. Step 1. Get some WD40 and open it up and start spraying. Hold the button down for about 10 seconds. Swirl it around until you see it coming from the seams. Step 2. Repeat step 1. There you have it. All you ever need to know about supertuning. Kidding. Listen to the pros!

Interesting thread. Florida produces a lot of giants. I've fished there maybe 5 times in my life and have seen a 16.75 pounder that was caught out of Orange Lake. If GA can produce a world record, Florida can. I don't believe it will though for all the reasons mentioned and the most important reason, there are too many people fishing there these days. The world record was an old and unmolested fish. Fish there these days are molested. At one point in the 2000's a, 1,000 people a day were moving to FL. The economy slowed that thankfully. I've seen pictures of 18 pounders from FL. They aren't documented well but I believe they weighed that. That's a far cry from 22 pounds 4 ounces. CA and Japan have the better environments due to the trout stocking programs. Trout are fatty fish. They pack heavy weight. Take the trout away and California fishing would be what it should be. Pathetic and unfertile deep desert lakes with an occasional 10 pounder.

He did not call him stupid. He said what he did was stupid. Big difference. Einstein was genius but did stupid stuff. We all do. On average the Shimano is great.

The 200E is a very small reel but packs a big punch in terms of capacity and various gear ratios. Someone please tell me why the 50 is so good. Isn't the 200E small enough? What is the appeal of the 50? I know it is nifty, but you lose line capacity and certainly speed and it has less casting distance. Someone told me it is a great flipping reel. Why would it be better than a 200E 7 or even 200E 6 for that matter... Always had the same question about the Calcutta 50. Nifty but kind of useless except for maybe creek wading.

From an aesthetics standpoint, I have no problem with any color rod. I only have one "loud" yellow colored rod. My son has a white rod. There are a couple of problems. First of all, in very clear water, I would be worried. Many of the worst creatures in nature have some yellow. I think it could send an alarm. I don't fish clear water, so it's not an issue. My primary issue with loud (white/yellow/orange) etc. is that in open water, people can see how you are working your rod. If you catch a good one and are pumping your rod, they know it's a creature bait. If you are holding it steady, a moving lure. Dark rods blend in and it is hard to see what folks are doing. JMO

FWIW I have Navionics and it is one of the best purchase I have ever made. That said, it went out on me for about two weeks one time for no known reason. Then one day, I tried it and it worked again.

Get round ABU that you used in freshwatet. Go to beach. Cast. Conversion accomplished.

25.5" long with an 18.5' girth. Gut hooked her with a shiner at Okeechobee in 2011. She weighed 9.4 pounds on a high dollar bathroom scale 30 hours after I had caught her. She was on ice probably 24 of those 30 hours. Think it could have been a 10 pounder 30 hours earlier? I'll never know. I mounted her. Two monthbs ago I caught a 24.25 " bass with a 17" girth out of Guntersville. Estimated 8.3 pounds. Released. Lost one about a month ago that made the both of these look like a minnow. Fishing Guntersville. Got a great look at her and she looked like those 12 pounders they pull from Falcon. Best guess is she was between 11 and 14, but if I had to say, between 12 and 13. We pullled the 25.5 incher down off the wall and held her out about 15 feet like we saw the other, and again, she looked like a minow in comparison.

Loved that movie Deak. LOL

I have had two of those. One snapped. It likely got damaged in transit as I was flying down a lake. It was the first rod that I could use 20lb Big Game and still feel the rattleback jig rattling as I moved the bait around. It was outstanding. Still have a 6'6" one. Great rod. Comparable to a lot of $150 rods today IMO. Sadly I had a perfect 80's Lightning Rod flipping stick that I broke in my locker a month ago. It was a great frog and A Rig rod.

Just hang it off the back let er rip. It is just natural. The birds and the bees and the cows all do it. It simply makes the lake more fertile and helps to grow larger bass and other lower order oganisms at the bottom of the foodchain such as bottom feeders and the lowest of all Jetskiers!

Don't put too much thought into this. Just buy the best priced one. They are the same thing for all intents and purposes. REVO, Phlueger etc.

Here's to hoping it's been warm enought for Ike to suck a giant katydid right into the meaty part of his voice box as he's running down the lake so we don't have to listent to him scream and act like a classless bafoon. I was on a 25 acre lake and heard a 10 year old who just caught a 3 pound bass imitating him. What a jerkbait. Go anybody but Ike. Heck of a fisherman nonetheless.

Ike is a choker. He's already torn up his boat, like he does his fishing rods. Chris Lane is going to win this one, assuming Scott Martin or Rick Clunn don't. Book it.

Just remember, 7 gear ratios are fast but they are the weaklings of the fishing world for decent sized bass. They have no power compared to a 5 or even a 6. If people can't pull deep diving crankbaits with them, or 1 ounce spinnerbaits, think about moving a 5 pound plus fish. Not easy unless you have a heavy action rod with which you can move them and then catch up with the reel.

Man that thing looks like it was made by a Chinese child laborer who has ADHD, forgot his ritalin, is cross eyed, who has just come off his workbreak taking an extended break on a high speed merry-go-round. We have a Verdict and a Veritas and while they aren't St. Croix, Falcon or G Loomis craftsmanship, they aren't that bad. They way I look at ABU's line is that they are good blanks and decent components thrown together by cheap overseas labor. Love my St. Croix, Falcon, All Star (Old one) and Loomis rods but when the price is right, the ABU stuff is tolerable. Never have seen one like that though.

I don't have a 7 to 1. I will say this, if you tend to fish too fast go 6 to 1. If not, faster is better for what you are doing. Also, if you might need a more versatile reel, 6 to 1 is better. Otherwise, preference.

I haven't fished their in years, but if it's the same it's mainly a clear deep smallish largemouth lake. That said, it could be fun in the winter to catch a bunch of 1lbers. Make no mistake though, you could connect with a big one. Over the years it produced a lot of big ones but it tends to be overrun with smaller ones. I think there are very liberal limits as to what you can keep. Check those limits and if you like to eat them, take them out and do so and make room for some bigger fish. Good luck.

A lot depens on what kind of a reel. If it's Korean (Abu, Phlueger, Lews, etc, I've heard they can be a real pain. A lot of reel guys won't touch them and you might really need an expert like DVT or RM. If it's a Shimano, it might be more straight forward. If it's just a slight cleaning, you might be OK either way. Major cleaning, I would use a one of our guys who post here. The guys who say go for it have a point. You need to learn somehow. But you very well may break it or wind of with a box of parts and need to send it to them anyway. You do have an advantage in having one or more. Get one messed up and take a look at the other to see what you did wrong. If you have the money, a reel guy is a good investment.

I had a 6'10" telescoping medium heavy All Star IM10 rod that I could feel the rattles in my 3/8 ounce Denny Braeur Rattleback jigs with 20 pound Big Game monofiliment. I broke the rod. I have not had a rod that sensitive since. Anybody had a rod you could feel the rattles in a jig?

That is a very long and skinny fish. With that excessive length, I don't doubt 7lb estimation at all. Congrats man. If they all are skinny like that, take the small bass out to let the bigger ones put on some pounds.