BradH

I did the driveshaft bearing (5 bucks?) and Curado E handle ($30 or so) upgrade to mine. I did not care for the small knobs and lack of bearings in the original handle. It's one of my favorite reels now. I use it for squarebills and lipless.

Shimano Crucial Crankbait 7' MH.

Just for reference my 7000 ABU and Curado 50E take the same spool bearings. The bearings are much closer together on the Curado, therefore in theory there is less chance for the axle to flex, making it stronger. Of course the ends of the axle are turned down slightly on the 7000 so it's axle is slightly larger in diameter but the distance between the bearings is at least twice as far. The 7000 has long been considered a big, heavy duty reel. It is a heavy duty reel but outside of line capacity and drag the 50E is really just as strong. The multi-disc drag reels like some of the Revos have just as strong, if not stronger, drag as the 7000. I'll still cast big lures on a big round reel but the quality low profile reels don't give up any strength to them.

If it is straight you just need to know how heavy of an axle you need (2000lb, 3500lb, etc.), the overall length and the distance between the spring perches. You can also put a new axle stub on your existing axle. You have to cut off the old one and weld on the new one. I have done it and it was not hard. As long as you are a competent welder and make sure to weld the stub on straight it's very easy.

Revo S and fix it myself. The handle nut is loose. It's a 2 minute fix. Since it is your first baitcaster send it off to get fixed. Maybe try DVT.

Rem oil is good stuff. If you like to fish in the winter it's GREAT stuff. It does not get thick in the cold as much as other oils.

It's all about line diameter. Thin = deep. Assuming the #10 is thinner I'd go with that.

Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth 6' 3" M/MF or 6'10" MH/MF. Your 50e will be perfect. A 6.4:1 reel is great for shallow cranks. The 6' and 6'6" BPS Crankin' Sticks have shorter handles. I use both lengths from my kayak.

How is the spool tension? Can it be adjusted to where your lure falls slowly when you release the spool? How many brakes are set out? Depending on the age of the reel it can either be 2 that are always on or 6 that can be turned on or off. 8 pound is a touch light but it should still work.

Slip bobber with a minnow or a jig.

In that case you could just use the 50 braid that's on there. You might stick a mono leader on to help keep the hooks from fouling on the cast with topwaters.

I've been using 20 to 30 pound braid (6 to 8 pound mono diameter) for bass and walleye cranks. Gets deep fast and you can set the hook well on the end of a long cast. I use a fluorocarbon leader. Usually 8 to 17 pound depending on what I'm doing.

Yep!

Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, lipless cranks. If you already have decent bass setups you're good. Just use a leader of some kind. On bass sized tackle a 12 to 17 pound chunk of fluoro tied to the mainline with a back to back uni gets the job done for me.

I've seen it in competitive shooting and I see it in fishing. Experience is far more valuable than having the latest, greatest gear.

Wacky rigged finesse worms and 4" senkos seem to get me the most Rockies but I've caught them on about anything a bass/walleye/pike will eat. I LOVE catching them!

Hmmmmm...........there might just be a market. Have you seen the big wings, annoying exhaust and neon lights on the 4 cylinder FWD cars? I might start the "Fast and Furious" line of reel upgrades for the plastic framed 3 bearing reels. Seriously though, I've got a handful of those reels laying around too. I use them for loaners or steal small parts off of them. By the time you upgrade bearings, drag and possibly the handle you'll have more money in parts than the reel cost to begin with.

The Rattlin' Rapala is close to a Bill Lewis Rattle Trap, pretty much a knockoff like many others out there. The Rippin' Rap works better with a rip-pause type retrieve than the rattle traps and copies. It does look eerily similar to a Yo Zuri .

I have to admit I was a little bit of a skeptic on the Perfect 10 but I picked up a couple at BPS the other day. I really liked the colors. I took them out for a test drive and I was pleasantly surprised. Both needed the line tie tweaked to keep the lure from running on one side but that's not really an issue, it takes 10 seconds to fix that. Good hooks and hardware out of the box, suspends well (even on a snap with 17 pound fluoro for a leader) and fishes well both fast and snappy or slow. I fish the HJ12 & HJ14 quite a bit and this thing is very similar other than running a touch deeper and an ever so slightly more aggressive action. I'll continue to use the HJs and add the Perfect 10 into rotation. It's priced right too. Even this little Musky gave its approval.

If you throw a deep diver on a 7:1 reel it's like trying to idle a stick shift through a parking lot in 3rd gear. That engine and my arm have a "powerband" they like to operate in. I speak from experience haha.

I switch between casting and trolling for walleyes using the same bass crankbait rods all the time. Braid without a doubt has been a tremendous help. 20 to 30 pound powerpro has been my go to line. It gets deeper (6 to 8 pound mono diameter), does not hinder lure action and gives you good long range hook setting power. I always have a 6' or so chunk of 10 pound fluoro tied on as a leader, maybe a little heavier for bigger cranks. When trolling I actually think the more moderate rods catch more fish (about 4:1) with everything else being equal. For casting I'll give a slightly faster action crankbait rod the edge on the far end of a long cast but not by very much.

I have better luck with the x-rap type jerkbaits fished fast and snappy in the summer rather than the husky jerks and similar.

This what I use. Deep cranks. Curado 200E5 or Revo Winch Shallow cranks. Revo S or Citica E with a bearing added on the driveshaft and a curado E handle Lipless & jerkbaits. Same Citica as above or a Curado 200E7 You don't need a slow reel for shallow cranks and lipless.

Here's a good question. If you could buy a Revo S in any gear ratio (5, 6 and 7:1) how many winches, etc. would they sell? The parts will easily interchange. There's lots of marketing gaming that goes into pricing. I think the S is a great value but not so much the rest of them if you pay full retail.

It happened to me a couple times. I launched my 200E7 and jerkbait rod into the river. I marked the spot right away on the GPS. A few passes with the lure retriever and I had it back. It was due for a teardown and cleaning anyway. Another time I dropped my Revo Premier on my 6' Fenwick M GT that was my jerkbait rod at the time. It FLOATED!!!!!!