BradH

I don't think it makes a difference but if you like the way it looks who cares, buy what you like. This rig is as about as "unergonomic" as it gets and I don't have any issues with torque or fatigue from having the handle so far away from the centerline of the rod. I'm chucking lures that are 10 to 20 times heavier than the average bass lure with more resistance in the water on the retrieve.

What? No US Reel????? I voted ABU but I could go either ABU or Shimano.

About the only advantage I have found on braid is when it's cold the line doesn't ice up and get stiff quite as bad and it might cast ever so slightly farther. The effects wear off pretty quick though. For me, fishing in the winter it is worth it. I'm using Armor All on braid so the KVD stuff might be better or not as good.

If you have three PQs already I'd wait and go fishing with them after your rods get here. Figure out where the hole in your lineup is as far as gear ratio/inches per turn & application is and base your next reel purchase off of that. That BPS card will buy a PQ and if you figure out you like them they come in four ratios to cover any bass fishing application. If the Revo S came in more ratios they might not sell as many winches, SXs and STXs

I think about the only reel handle I felt had too small of knobs was my Citica 200E. I thought about those grips but I just put a Curado E handle on instead. It has bigger knobs plus a bearing in each of them.

Got my GEN 3 Winch a couple weeks ago and finally sat down yesterday to put line on it and mount it on a rod. The handle nut was loose so I had to take the retainer off and go another notch with the nut. The handle was not tight to the driveshaft. Minor stuff. I did notice they only put two bearings in the handles. The old winch had four. No big deal, I took the knobs off, removed the plastic bushings and put two ball bearings in. If you do the same mod I'd leave the copper thrust washers in. They keep the end play tight and without them in it was noticeable. Flushed spool bearings and I'm ready for action!

I had a smallmouth take a shot at my lure retriever the other day.............. Count me in as another "cynical" angler. Rapala came out with those lipless, squarebill and jerkbait lures a few years ago with the single, large rattle in them and overpriced the heck out of them with lots of advertising hype. The lipless is killer but the other two are turds. Thankfully I have been cleaning the lipless out of sale bins and online sales for under $4. How's that maxrap working out for them? I'm not a Rapala hater either. They make some of my favorite lures. I think I've got a discontinued Yo-Zuri with a funky curved lip like that. Maybe I should go find that thing.

For me the big advantage of the STX and the Megabass it copied is the internal weight system. They all suspend but the weight transfer baits cast better than a Husky Jerk or Rogue type suspending jerkbait. I can spend more time with the bait in the water and hit spooky fish from a greater distance. For the same price as an STX you can grab an Xcalibur EEratic Shad and not have to swap out the hooks. They have the same type of weight transfer system as the 110/STX and the hardware seems to be better than the STX. SPRO McStick is a good one too and it also has a weight transfer system and has great hardware right out of the box. Whenever I see them marked down to $5-$10 I empty the shelf

I wouldn't mess with it unless you have line twist issues. Even then, if you close the bail by hand and don't try to reel in line while the drag is slipping you should not have many line twist issues.

I've been using the Veritas Winch 7'6" MH for casting deep divers. No complaints here.

I'll second the use of the ML BPS Crankin' Stick. I have an older one with a 50e that I use for casting shad raps, flicker shads, small squarebills and small rattle baits.

I also have the 6' 3" Daiwa S rod and I LOVE it. Not only is it a good jerkbait/topwater rod, I like to fish rattle baits with it using a rip-pause cadence. I topped it with a Curado 200E7 so I could suck up the line fast on the pause. Fantastic rod. I bought the W&M jerkbait rod as a Christmas gift for my Dad. Bad mistake. Way too SLOW. W&M has a couple rods I really like but I probably won't be looking at them for much of anything anymore.

That's exactly how I do it today. EC 254 and rigged stiff to work over branches and rocks.

I ordered one yesterday, the Gen 3. After I fish it I'll know more.

Yikes! I top out at about 50' of water where I'm at and even in the winter I catch them moving on and off 10' flats next to a drop that is usually 20' to 30' deep. The problem for me on river trolling is the runs are just not long enough to mess around with getting downriggers, planer boards, long lines of leadcore and that sort of big lake thing set up and running. It's short runs, get it all in, jig down and repeat. I've been able to get my deeper work done with 30' taildancers running on 20 pound braid with a short fluorocarbon leader, usually 10 pound and about 6' long for starters. I have never used a rig like you describe but I see no reason why it wouldn't work. You could probably get by with some cheaper hardbaits too. Floating rapala, storm thunderstick, etc.

I river fish smallmouth, pike and 'eyes in the winter in the midwest. I watch my sonar and I have my "spots" that I like to visit. I don't know what it looks like back east but I look for deep spots on the outside of a bend or up against a bluff. I troll upstream with cranks, usually balsa (shad rap, minnow rap, taildancer) and I vertical jig downstream with hair jigs or a drop shotted clouser minnow. I work these spots back and forth picking up fish both ways. I keep the cranks bouncing off the bottom so I adjust my cranks based on how deep I need to go. If I'm up against a sharp drop running 4 rods I might be running a #7 shad rap on one side of the boat and a taildancer on the other with some other stuff on the two middle rods, bouncing cranks off the drop from top to bottom. As far as hair jigs go I tend to use 3/8 or 1/2 to keep vertical in the current. If you are in 5' to 10' you might be able to get away with 1/4 if the current isn't too heavy. Wood and hair when the water is cold.

Perch

I have an older BPS Bionic reel that I forgot I had. I found it about six months ago and was surprised to discover it had a metal frame, four bearings in the right places and one IAR bearing. I see the new ones have a metal frame as well but the previous edition was a plastic frame. I cleaned it up and took it for a test drive. Actually, it's not too bad. The drag isn't the best and there are no bearings in the handle so if I get bored I may change that. If you have one of those it might be worth messing with just for fun and to learn something.

I went out this Saturday (South Dakota/Nebraska border in January ) jigging, drop shotting and deep crankin' for smallmouth and turned up these two fish, and a bunch of pike, before I caught a smallmouth.

I have these and I love them. I also always have a jaw spreader, small bolt cutter for hook cutting, an assortment of pliers, split ring pliers and a big landing net. I've also had my share of hooks through the hand while dealing with a pike, even the little ones will spin like a crocodile ripping apart a gazelle, with a mouth full of teeth and hooks. If I want to weigh the fish I hook the scale to the net.

I agree 100%. I've been replacing the factory bearings when they are shot with ABEC 5 or 7 SS shielded bearings. I've got a couple with ceramic but there is no performance advantage that I can tell and they just cost more. If the factory bearings are still good I just clean out the excess lube and add a single drop of oil. That seems to be the best bang for the buck.

I've caught bass down to 12 to 14 inches on them so there's no worry about the size being too large. Try the BPS brand of 7" stick bait if you get a chance. In the 5" I still like the original senko best but in 7" I have better luck on the BPS. Cheaper too.

4600 for bass. Check the gear ratio/IPT to make sure it suits your application. Some of my 4000s are 5.3 and some are 6.3 and they will move more line than the typical "5:1" or "6:1" low profile reel due to the larger spool diameter that gives it more inches per turn. I'm not sure what the new ones are but I've got 4000 series ABUs with both ratios. For your viewing pleasure. 4600 in the middle.

Shallow- Rapala Crankin' Rap #5, same as the old Storm crank Mid- Norman Deep Little N Deep- Norman DD22

Trailer hook 95% of the time. If you rig the hook so it stays semi rigid behind the main hook you can even fish them through heavy cover without much additional snagging.