Basswhippa

Comet and steel wool will remove it.

It's built by the same manufacturer in the same plant. Essentially the same reel. $50 isnt bad for a throw away reel. You could just go get the Lews. They are $50 in the bubble packs at Walmart.

Lews are $50 Chinese bubble pack Walker Mary throw away reels. Use it for a few months, chuck it, and buy another.

Now that Lews sold out, Shimano is the no Brainer.

Cardiff or 5500c3

Best reel ever made.

Yum Money Minnow = Moneymaker!

Let's play a little game. Let's build an extensive list of proven bass catchers. Please put one specific lure only. For example, "Cavitron buzzbait", rather than "buzzbait". Or 1 ounce Spot rather than 1 ounce rattlebait. Just put one post per thread. You certainly can describe the lure and tell stories to back you pick, such as "I love a 1/2 Cavitron buzzbait in white. I've used it for a decade. I've caught bass up to 9 pounds", etc.. You can put other lures after at least one other member has posted. At the end, we will have an extensive list of proven baits. Hopefully hundreds of proven fish slayers. You can then narrow your selection of proven bass catchers and use those that work to your strengths, or expand on new horizons, such as various Alabama Rigs or California trout type swimbaits, etc. I'll start. ZOOM Ole Monster. 10.5" in your color of choice. A proven bass catcher in my southeastern US lakes. Texas rig it or Carolina rig it, and you will catch fish.

Drop a bearing in the driveshaft and you have a reel that is comparable to the Chronarch E. The spool is heavier. Won't cast light lures as far as the Chronarch spool. Will cast heavier lures further. I have 6 of those. Sweet reels.

Goose, you're 9 pound TN nothern strain of the Plateau is similar to a 12 pound Florida. Course you know that.

Those reels are in demand and quite a few people believe they are the best value ever under $150 MSRP.

I lost what I believe to be a 12 to 13 pound bass 3 years ago. I had a 6/0 hook and a 7'2" heavy action road. I was a bit out gunned, even with that equipment. It still haunts me, as it happened very close and my son and I both saw it all go down, with a good look at the fish. Big bass have tough mouths. Use stout rods, especially out of a kayak, if technique allows. A frog qualifies. Be sure to bend the hooks outward a little, so it grabs flesh more naturally. The most comforting thing anybody told me when I told the fish story of the 12 to 13 pound fish loss story was: "The fish have to get lucky every now and then too".

"Muddy water". There is no downside and only upside to using hi vis yellow. I've caught a ton. Nice watching the line swim off.

Catt, I have been reading more and more of your posts. While there are many great posters here, you and WRB are among my favorites. Thanks for the link. Guntersville used to be stocked regularly with Floridas. It is my view that the genetics are heading back to northern strain, albeit slowly. There is a push right not to get back to stocking, like Tennessee is doing with Chick, KY Lake, etc. I've heard a solid source that a gill netter netted three in the 20 pound class back in the 90's, when the stocking was going strong. This was before everyone had cameras on their side. It could be a fish story, I realize, but the TN River is fertile and the bait biomass is amazing. I am hearing of sightings of 16 to 18's in Chattanooga, by guys who have caught 12's. They could be slightly off, so maybe they are 15's to 17's. No telling what is swimming around the Bend.

While I believe it's a blend, dominated by Florida strain, I would bet there are far more native strain genetics than you believe. If it is 100% Florida strain, I would like to see that documented. I do know at Chickamuaga there are much higher Florida Strain blends than they were shooting for.

Good stuff.

My son has the rod you are considering. It is one sweet rod, and we have probably at least 40 rods of all types and makes. He uses his for traps in grass. Considering what you are throwing, I'm not so sure that I wouldn't move to MH. That said, we fish the likes of KY Lake and Guntersville, etc, so we may be fishing rougher cover and likely are around bigger fish.

Curado I's are horrible? News to me. $195 is a lot for an old and heavily used reel that makes unusual noises and is an old and dirty reel. New in box, well maybe a fair price.

7 to 8. Wonderful fish and photograph of a happy lady.

AJay, that is some cool stuff. Thanks for the info.

Skeeter, I got 3 over six one day in November. My previous best smallie was 5 pounds (I hang my head in shame, but I'm more of a largemouth guy) Two of those were over 7 with one just a shade under 8. The largest had a big tear in the side of his mouth from being caught previously, so I figured I would return the favor and release him as well. I'm following this thread closely, with great interest. 12 pound largemouths are easy to get replicated. 8 pound smallies, not so much. Anglers Choice Replicas has molds up to 8 pounds. There are some other choices. I'm maybe just going to get pictures blown up instead.

I just completed two days of Umbrella rigging with a 20 year old Curado. Not one problem. That said, I have Swedish made ABU's that are just as old and older and almost as reliable. I got to throw the new 7 gear ratio Curado HG (or whatever they call it) and I'll have to say I was impressed at the smoothness and power it had over the heavy rig I was throwing. It sustained a strike at the boat by an almost 13 pound hybrid that almost took the rod out of my 6'4" boys hand. After a 10 minute fight on 65 pound braid and a flipping stick, it still felt brand new. Also love my beat up Calcutta 100 I got Christmas 95. It fishes like day one. I do maintain my reels, but I'm no DVT for sure.

Call me what you will, but I wasn't standing in line to buy a Ficht , or one of the new Evinrudes and I for darn sure would never finance something like that. Give me a tried and true black engine or hammer. I purchase my lesser equipment similarly, with care.

Shimano users are superior consumers. Kind of like Toyota Lexus people. They buy the finest engineered tools that last, are serviceable, and hold their value. Diawa folks are similar. Then you have people who throw their hard earned money away on junk. Not only do they not read Consumers Reports (assuming they are literate at all) they don't even know about it. Like Dodge people for instance. The normally finance their inferior POS model vehicle and assuming that it works until the end of the loan term, it is worthless anyway. The smarter of these low end and uneducated car people bought a car warranty that could help with their jalopy. That said, had they just bought something that would last, they wouldn't have warranty issues to begin with. The very smartest of these low end guys buy 3/4 ton trucks where at least the engine is outsourced to Cummins. That way the engine will work and just the body of the truck falls apart. The maker is so bad it went bankrupt and had to be bailed out, yet people can't remember a half decade ago. This analogy applies to the Doyo reel people. They buy shiny things that look like Shimano or Diawa, but they aren't built or engineered like them. They get rough and fall apart in short order.

Oh man. Prayers brother. Keep fishing. It is what your son would want for sure. It will help in many ways. By being strong and brave enough to share this with us, you are helping people who realize whatever they are dealing with may not compare. Bass wishes.