craww

The magnum zoom fluke and for something different, a 12" tiki stick (I make them out of 3 5"ers).

Cant comment on the lews, but with 15lb line spooled to the lip and a 5/8oz sammy I can dang near spool my E7. And the E holds ALOT of line for the record. It justs keeeeeeeeeps going. I own a dozen other reels and nothing comes close. Its an amazing thing to see in person.

Its 13 yr old girl music RW...I think its horrible, but its not targeted towards me. I will say theres worse role models out there.

Yamamoto hula grub with the tails lightly colored blue to mimic blue gill tail + secret weapon lures or strike king perfect bluegill skirt= dynamite. Love throwing chatterbaits. The Yamamoto grub is heavier than other plastics, I can throw this lure accurately from a distance more than any other bait.

Agreed the first time (especially if its your 50e which come FULL of junk) I'd do it overnight and change fluid at least twice. I use the containers contacts soak in. I like to spray them with keyboard cleaner and spin them between fluid changes. Make sure their dry before you relube.

Noted flyfisher. I personally havent had issue with break offs due to their teeth but I definetely agree if one took a bait deep enough it could be trouble. Not worth losing a good fish and or lure. Ive got a spool of 20lb Hybrid that I use for leaders around barnacle covered pilings that should do the trick.

30lb braid with a 12 Hybrid leader or 12lb Hybrid. Tried flouro, its okay but not the end all be all.

Theres a 200 year old 1/2 mile long canal along the river near my home that leads to a 3-4 acre pond, FULL of big pike (we call them pike in VA). I've always been good at catching them by accident , lol; but I've set a goal of catching an honest 5lbr+. Im currently doing research and gathering as much info as possible on them. The interwebs seems to be lacking in specific tangible info on the species. Very generic descriptions like "ambush predators who eat frogs, mice, fish,etc"....Do any of you have any specific info on these Rodney dangerfields of fish? Seasonal habits, techniques you use, their reaction to fronts, etc. I know from experience they seem to be active shallow sooner in the season than LMB, do they spawn sooner as well? i will be using artificials mostly, but will drown a minnow if need be.

I hear alot of folks say that about the H.S. but Ive never noticed the mitigation all over everything. I dont apply much of it, and have had zero issues with the bearing oil (not the grease and regular oil they make). I could see perhaps running open non sheilded bearings perhaps. I did spill some in my reel toolbox and its STILL everywhere lol.

This is at the top of the list for me to try. I believe Ghoti said that this stuff is the bees knees for durability and viscosity. Any comment John?

Like I said I'm fully aware theres a tradeoff, but I believe there are "better" oils than the ones I listed. Simply looking for others experiences as I havent used the higher end stuff. I dont just keep adding oil to bearings like yourself, i actually clean the old oil out to keep performance high. It isnt that big a deal to do, but with my busy schedule its not always convenient to break a reel down after 3-5 trips, soak the bearings, reassemble, etc.

1. Bill Dance craw crankbait lures. I break the bills off and doctor them up to use them as a mop jig trailer. They are large and the most realistic looking trailer Ive ever seen. The hydrafoam or whatever their made of lasts forever. Ive caught over 30 fish on a single one. These are saved for special occasions like mason jar tournaments with buddies. 2. Lucky Craft RC .05. great numbers bait and the farthest casting small crank made. 3. heddon zara gossa ll. just a fun broken back minnow. 4. zetabaits tadpole. Neat little finesse topwater frog.

Been doing my reels myself for a few years. I use a couple different oils for the bearings and performance is good, but durability isnt. I get about 20 hours tops off "wow" casting, and then performance decreases. I fully understand the trade offs between lighter viscosity and durability, and want to expand on the brands I currently use, reel butter,H.S. bearing oil, and the stock shimano oil. In your opinion, whats the best of both worlds?

Used mine more than any other reel I own this year. Its held up well other than some mysterious scaring on the side that Im still not quite sure how it happened. Casts great and is super light. I wouldnt hesitate to get another if I needed a reel. Based off the issues folks had when they first came out, I'd definetely handle the model you get in store FIRST. Tip if you put a piece of tape over where the pins stick out on the centrifugal brakes you can actually run odd numbers of brake settings.

Mines the same way. Its a first gen, bought it when they released them in 07 or 08, not my favorite reel but the thing is bullet proof and has grown on me also. Just cant "snap" your wrist when casting it. I keep 17lb mono on it and it quickly moves whatever it hooks.

I'll slow up and slowly finesse a plastic or jig along if I'm confident a fish could be looking at it or is nearby. Definetly not my favorite way to fish. Deadsticking works, no doubt about it. I think its one of the most underutilized techniques in bass fishing. Probably due to the tournament mindset everyone has. I've caught alot of bass while working out a professional overun lol. Ive also had GREAT results working 8", 3oz topwater plugs and dead sticking for minutes at a time. Its HARD though. Anyone whos ever watched a gill hooked fish dieing after release has noticed that they're usually still more than struggling.

Yes

Me thinks Gsp is going to have a tough time with condit before theres anytalk of a superfight. Carlos is a true fighter and every bout is a war. Gsp don't like being hit, it works for him but its so boring watching him dry hump his way to a decision.

Six over 9lbs but not quite DD's.

Papa joe nailed it. Vertical line tie and a conehead are key. In the millfoil covered lakes I fish, the grass stalker jig is perfect in grass and wood.

Ive given it a fair shot (to be honest I havent tried the Ultra high end types). And the juice aint worth the squeeze for me. Tried 5-6 and it was mixed to say the least. If I found one that managed decent it stretched like a rubberband and wasnt all that sensitive. If it didnt have a ton of stretch it managed like crap. Kind of like nylon based lines but much more extreme. A few brands had the occasional unexpected break off. I love the direct connection and lack of line floating between me and a bottom contact bait, its great in current also. At the end of the day I trust Hybrid and braid w/a leader, they work and save me $.

My topwater sammy/spook set up uses 30lb braid w/a leader that starts out around 5'. I prefer 12lb Yozuri hybrid, as its the closest diameter for strength match Ive found. I've spent countless hours walking topwaters and feel that the quick responsiveness of the braid is easier on my wrists. The 8lb diameter also helps with casting and gives me more line capacity should I hook into a striper. I use leaders to save line. Next year will be either the 3rd or 4th season Ive had the same braid on this reel. The non tangling of the trebles is a huge plus, especially at night.

My personal favorite shakeyhead worm. Plenty of colors, cheap, available everywhere, and the plastic is a good marriage of durability/action.

Can't give specifics on casting improvements, but lets just say its VERY, VERY improved. I have a 7' M fast action spiining rod that struggles to load 1/8 lures. I can cast a 1/32 oz spro hair jig into orbit. No other line, even a thinner diameter braid comes close. I have had no issues with abrasion or knots...I can't wait to use it on a true UL when the shad run next year.

I bought some 1/0's a few years ago. Definetely not a fan of it for TX rigging. A bullet weight and seperate hook have more flex and wiggle. One day I noticed a bunch of bass fry all over a hydrilla covered flat. Looking thru my box, I found some 3" paddle tail bass assasin grubs in baby bass color.limited to shore, with veggitation in the water everywhere, the normal exposed ball head wasn't a good option. I stumbled across these jigs which I'd literally used 1 time in 3 years. Long story short and 30 fish later That started my use of these jigs. You have to watch them when using braid. The hooks do flex a bit. Its the design, just perfect for pulling grubs through grass that I like. Wish someone made a better quality model, but the luck e's work