aavery2

Honestly, I don't know, I don't see the knot and splitring coming in contact with each other that much, but it is sure something that will have to be checked.

One thing I know for sure is that there are exceptions to most everything. My post was aimed at the people who just in general disrespect their elders, you know the ones who won't give up a seat on the buss, who curse them because they drive a little slower, move a little slower in the check out line. Allot of these older folks fought in wars that were much different than ours, they have lived through the great depression and the dust bowl, I guess I was just saying a little understanding goes a long way.

I agree that the second splitring may be redundant, sure would be allot quicker to not have to mess with the second splitring. I made a change to the way I had them originally built, and changed the #2 splitring on the weight to a #1, cleans it up a little , gonna go with this and see how they do. I have ordered some of the Gammi's with the welded ring, they will be the next change.

I just built it as close to the original design as I could, not sure if it would make any difference with only the one splitring or not, but thought I would like to fish it as close to original and then may make modifications after that.

My attempt at a few Jika rigs.

People who disrespect their elders. Those who disrespect the flag and country they swore allegiance to. Multi millionaires that ask common working folks for money to support their interest group. People who discuss politics over lunch.

Many crankbait specific rods are made with a moderate or moderate fast action, let the weight of the bait that you will be throwing determine the power of rod you will use. Longer rods are good for distance, shorter rods are good for accuracy. It's very hard to find one crankbait rod that will perform well in all situations. Most crankbait applications will benefit from a reel with a lower I.P.T. something around 20 to 23 inches. I prefer to throw crankbaits on reels with either dual or centrifugal brakes. Something else to think about is glass -vs- graphite.

I use the 734C for jigs and a 703C for plastics. If your not stuck on Dobyns, the Falcon Cara Headturner is also a very good jig rod.

I have started using TG's Rocketfuel, liquid grease, it is basically a very heavy version of the yellow label rocket fuel. If it's a little too thick, you can custom blend it with any of their other products in the rocketfuel line.

I have been using 832 for about a year now. 832 is an 8 fiber line, 7 dyneema and 1 gore fiber, it is then woven 32 times per inch creating a very tight weave and producing a much rounder line many, thus the name 832. My personal experience with the line has been good, it has good castablility and abrasion resistance, partially due to the gore fiber, but also the coating they use on the line. I have not noticed 832 to sink on its own, and it is probably more fair to say that it is neutral buoyant, that is to say if you have something that sinks it will stay down, and if you are fishing it on top water type baits, it does not pull them down. The only other thing that I can comment on is that the color does not fade as bad as PP, and it is quieter through the guides. My .02

A man's gotta have his priorities...

Mike, I know you work allot of reels, have you ever seen idler gears damaged by the ears of the AR Pawl breaking off? I have never witnessed it myself, but have heard many times of reels that are not maintained and the ratchet becoming dry and wearing through the ears, only to have small pieces of them fall into the idler gears and damage them. Like I said, not a personal observation, just have heard of this occurring.

I work on many reels a year for a major reel repair company, I have seen AR bearing fail, most in the way of the cage breaking, roller bearings coming loose or the sleeves cracking or becoming worn and unusable, but I have never witnessed on any model of reel the catastophic failure that you have mentioned. I would like to see it, it may be enough to change to mind. So whats your thought on why the JDM versions of the same reel are produced without the pawl?

I have an honest question so please don't take it the wrong way. If the AR Pawl is such an important part of the reel operation, then why do the JDM variety of many USDM reel not come with the part installed? Why do most of the major Mfg's of reels not choose to use this or a version of this component in their reels? I remove this part from my reels, and have not experienced any ill effects, as a bonus my reel is a little quieter and has less friction on the retrieve. I do respect your opinon but I say to each his own.

Spoonbill

I have often wondered about this, I assume when you fish you palm your reels, so when you cast is your hand lower on the rod so you can depress the clutch lever and cast or do you do that with the reel in the palm of your hand. Because if you cast with your hand on the lower part of the rod, don't you then have to move your left hand to the rod so you can move the reel to the palming position? This is just an observation I made with a friend of mine who has the same thoughts as you, but when I watched his casts I did not see any time saved.

Steve is a member of another fishing forum. He is a very good guy and makes a nice product, if you would like to talk to him, send me a PM and I will get you in touch.

My thinking on highly pressured lakes may be a little different that some of these posts. I don't like to fish a slow moving or drop shot, shakey head type bait. Why? I don't want to present them with anything that they can swim up to and decide if they want to eat it or not. I go the other route and fish heavy jigs that fall fast, spinnerbaits fished quickly in the upper water colum, frogs and sammy's that I can move across the top of the water quickly. I am going after the reaction bite. Fish have to feed to survive, they do this out of instict, and triggering the reaction bite is the key to getting bit in highly pressured waters. Just my .02

Abec 7 OS Ceramic Hybrid bearings will cost you about 15 each. IMO, they make it possible to cast slightly lighter baits, will give you a small increase in casting distance but make it possible to reach the same distance you cast now with less effort. If you need new bearings they are worth the price in my opinion.

Casting or Spinning?

Not sure where you come from with the 600, I certainly never said it was Ardents top reel. This is what my post was in regard to, you can see he posted the weight of the Speed Spool VS the XS1000 Anyway, certainly nothing to get yourself worked up about.

That's a good point, but keep in mind that you are comparing Ardent's top of the line reel with Lews entry level. Compare apples to apples and you will see a bigger difference.

I think that you will not give up much with the more moderate speed reel and will gain a little in torque. This is a good choice in my opinion.

I suppose that it would depend on what type of baits you were attaching to it, in my opinion this rig seems like it would be better thrown on something with a little more torque. And if he is fishing heavy cover with his jigs the drag is a bonus also. Anyway your point is well taken.

Seems a little counter productive to throw that heavy of a bait (A-Rig) with that much drag with a low torque high speed reel. With that said, I own all of the reels you mentioned above minus the EXO, and if I had to choose one to throw it on it would be the Premier based soley on the amount of drag the Revo produces.