craww

Just to confuse you more, check out the old yellow carbonlites. My local store still has some. GREAT reels. Similiar performance to the JM and PQ, but much lighter, and it'll cast light baits a touch better. I had a Johnny morris Signature that I really liked, Honestly the smoothest reel I've ever owned. However it was terribly heavy and it couldnt cast much below 3/8oz. The carbonlite is the better choice if weight matters to you.

Me and buddies used to use spinning reels for this type of work (some of them still do) on pflueger president 4000's. I'm sure everybody will advise against it, but we'd use 20lb and never had any issues. Catching alot of big fish in the slop and timber, including the occasional big Cat and ticked off snapping turtle. You also get some added casting distance with a smaller diameter. Brand isnt to big of a deal for me. Power pro, suffix, and spiderwire stealth all served me well.

Mono is 2-3 times a season. Unless a proffesional overun says otherwise lol. I've had braid on a curado for 3 years now and have no need to change. I use 6-8' leaders so I rarely lose line. I'm giving flouro another shot this year, in the past I've never kept it on my reels for very long for a few reasons. Trying a new brand. FWIW, I've noticed another benefit to KVD L+L, it really seems to help braid keep its color. The line looks the same as when it was spooled 3 years ago.

That line is fine unless your fishing in a lot of cover regularly. Spinnerbaits cast pretty decent, so you can go up a diameter or two if you want. I personally prefer mono, 12 yozuri hybrid.

For what its worth the smaller Lucky Strikes are much lighter and don't cast as well as the LC's. One of the things I love about lucky craft is their smaller cranks (RC .05, BDS 2) cast better than anyone else's. Got to use the RTO 2.5 for the first time all day friday, had a GREAT day caught alot of fish from the back of the boat fishin behind my buddies bandit who wasnt getting bit.

Spots are great rattle baits,they fall slower than others and simply get bit. Redfins are great shallow water baits, and quite popular with the landlocked striper crowds. I can't think of anything else they make that's worth having.

Bummer man. I had high hopes for this reel, but have to admit, the build/design quality ain't there. I suppose I had too high of hopes for a reel that can be had NIB for sub $100. They should've just upgraded the old C.L. Took mine out on friday for all day use flinging jigs in timber. It casts great, pitching it wasnt as good as expected. Still havent flushed the spool bearings for what its worth, I'm sure their LOADED with junk. The drag however is really really good. Best I've ever seen on a BPS reel. Smooth and powerful. The side plate screws really bug me though. Stupid, just stupid design lol.

Classy move dude. Not many folks are that humble

Good point, to be honest my reel doesnt have the issue you describe. I did notice the pinion in mine seemed a little rougher than normal, a little sandpaper and regrease of the main gear smoothed it out.

I think its the pinion gear. Mine felt kind of rough. A little grease seamed to help mine. I cant comment on the duralumin break in. An old trick the linders used to do was after loading the gear teeth up with toothpaste, they'd put the drive shaft in a drill and turn the gears at high rpm's to simulate break in. May be worth a shot to you, just make sure you keep everything in alignment and clean up after your done.

kut tails,shad shape worms, and while I haven't tried it, the new Houdini shad looking bait looks sick!

Depends on the appilcation, I throw alot of RC's. The .05's get 10lb hybrid for casting distance with the 1/4oz bait. I used the 2.5 yesterday for about 8 hours on a lake thats basically a flooded forest. 17lb suffix seige really impressed me. I threw it over and through trees all day, even pulled some fish outta wood. It didnt show any sign of wear, and handled really well. Even bent some heavy wire hooks on an underwater stump.

Good to hear .Ghoti. I inherited a few of the old original thin fins (I think thats the name) and those things casts like a potato chip! Man they catch fish though, lol.

Depending on the equipment that connects you to the fish, he's correct. I've been blessed to be able to catch alot of large bass. At one time I had an almost laughable sucess rate landing BIG fish on rattlebaits. One lake is shore fishing only, and those big fish at the end of a cast would throw the bait quite often. I noticed when watching videos of Butch Brown and Bill Simeintel, they bring fish in the exact way FAT-G describes. So I started doing it also. IT WORKS. Now obviously you cant do it on light line or ultra thin wire hooks. But most of the time its the way to go. Also don't forget, your reel has a drag lol. Just because your cranking, doesnt mean the fish can't take line before it breaks..

Awesome man cant wait to get em wet. How do they cast?

X3 If shes big, wind as quick as you can while doing everything in your power to keep her head down. Big fish are alot more likely to throw a hook.

Norman flat broke that is.Have you guys gotten to use it? I picked one up earlier and think it may offer something a bit diffrent than the fat squarebills EVERYONE'S throwing. I cant think of any other thin, yet jointed shallow cranks. Runs down to 3', so it should do good on a certain prespawn flat I frequent.

Some buzzbaits just won't run right no matter how much ya tweak em. I've found these off kilter models catch fish just as well when cast parallel to the shore where the fish approach from the side. In open water I suppose the fish get a better look and not so much. I've got 2-3 or that have been trashed by big fish to the point their unuseable lol. I had high hopes for the titantium terminators a few years back, since they were marketed not to bend. Well they don't bend, but they do run completely on their side out of the box.

Personally? I often will stick with using a technique that I enjoy doing (topwater and jigs) even when i know it ain't the best way to catch em' at the specific time. I have an idea what to switch to but, convince myself to keep throwing a lunker plunker or the like, lol. Generally? I think alot of fisherman are intimidated by big/deep waters.

I used to cut a slit on top the head and drop a 1/16 lead weight inside, then glue it back closed. Really helped casting distance and get the bait down. The fish seemed to like it as well.

Xps has been treating me well so far this year. Still not sure im a flouro guy, for a few reasons..but its growing on me.

Great line. Bullet proof. Been using it for years and its been great. I owe my personal best to its abrasion resistance. Hooked an 11.4 fish on a medium action rod. She wrapped me around a horizontal tree that I didn't know was there. For about 2 minutes u could hear the high tension sound of that fish sawing back and forth...eventually she came out thank God.

Flicking a spool with your finger and counting the spin time isnt as important as you'd think. Heavier spools tend to spin longer...It don't translate to real world fishing. I had an old JM signature series reel that I bought in 06'. One of the selling points was the guy at the counter showing how long it "free spooled". It was very impressive compared to the Curado D and a few other reels I was considering. On the water however, i found the thing struggled with anything under 3/8oz, and still couldnt cast as far as other reels I owned even with a heavier weight.

When i first saw them i thought "man they copied the houdini shad". Which is a killer bait btw. None the less I think they'll have an awesome action and get bit.

Mines the 7.1 and is gonna be used for jigs, plastics, traps, squarebills, and buzzbaits.