Tim Kelly

I dislike the skinny bail wire on Shimanos, but other than personal likes or dislikes, there's not much to choose between similarly priced LT series and Ci4 reels.

If you have $200 to build a rod for, would you rather it had more money spent on the blank or the guides? I bet it would be impossible to tell the difference between oxide linings and alconite ones in use and I expect they'd weigh a very similar amount.

Bad luck. The rest of the shaft is composite so it can flex, but you managed to bend the upper part. I think you'll have to get it repaired with a new upper shaft.

Put another thin coat of epoxy over the top, make sure it's absolutely the correct 50:50 mix and that it's really thoroughly mixed. Really thoroughly. It will probably cure the lower layer and save you stripping everything. If not you're no worse off.

I'm 52 and had it done about 10 years ago to correct astigmatism and short sightedness. I think it's fairly important that your eyes are fairly stable and not changing prescription regularly. My long sight is still good post procedure, but like most people my age, my close vision is now getting worse, so I need reading glasses. Very pleased with mine overall. Make sure the person doing the procedure has a good reputation and be prepared to pay more for their experience. I wouldn't shop on price for something like that

Not sure what thickness braid you're using, but 30-40lb is minimum with 1/4 to 1oz, med to med heavy type gear. Thinner braid will dig into the spool and cause backlashes and snap offs. You can use finer braid with lighter outfits and shallow spools, but it's all about balancing your gear.

If you use an Anderson connector you can get the appropriate wire size poles for each connector end.

I tried J braid and found it hateful stuff. Very limp and the braiding is very loose. Didn't stay on the reels for very long. Cheap for a reason. I find slightly stiffer braids work better for most applications. I use 4 strand for the heavy flipping type applications, original power pro is as good as anything else, 8 strand for standard spinning applications, Spiderwire stealth smooth 8 in yellow is as good as anything and ygk 4 strand for the ultra finesse rods with 0.2 to 0.6PE. The 4 strand thin braids are slightly stiffer and more robust, which helps with the very fine stuff. I don't use braid for med and med heavy casting applications, but have in the past and find the spiderwire or 832 OK and quieter than the heavier 4 strands, but a bit limp, even in 30-50lb thicknesses.

Like for most of us, it's an expensive learning curve. Enjoy!

Reputation and price are better indicators than claimed modulus numbers.

Just fish it. Honestly, they're good reels and won't benefit in any tangible way from "upgrading".

Reins 4" bubbling shaker is my absolute confidence bait. Just flat out works, and scuppernong my favorite colour. About the only alternative I occasionally use if the fish are on larger baitfish is a superfluke. So nice to have a confidence technique simplified to a point where I don't worry about bait selection. Makes where and how I fish the bait the total focus.

Favorite make some great rods that are available in Europe. Not sure they import them to the States though. To answer your question, the quality of the blank and fittings make a big difference. A high quality blank with cheaper heavier guides will spoil a good blank and a cheaper blank with lighter guides will seem better than it would otherwise. If you get a well made quality blank in one hand and a lesser rod in the other and tap the tip against the ceiling you will immediately feel the crisper sensation of the better blank in your hand. The rod recovers it's shape faster and wobbles less which gives you a crisper feel.

I wouldn't be surprised if they covered the last day. They've got a real advantage with the guys coming back to bass and the FLW guys trying to get in, be mad not to capitalize on it with as much coverage as they can.

The opens are going to be even more competitive this year, seems like a lot of FLW guys are trying their luck. Quite a brave move as it's a long shot to qualify through the opens, especially with so many extra motivated anglers. Looks like a lot of them are going to be relying on their social media profiles to make them some money for a year or two. Hope it works out for them.

??? That sounds like the start of a smutty limerick. Well played.

Thanks guys, I wondered whether it was something like that. Hope he makes a speedy recovery and is back annoying me with his bombastic stylings soon.

Does anyone know what happened to Bass Talk Live this week?

Taptastic

Iambic pentameters, or you're all fired. ?

Spectacular looking fish. Scale perfect and beautifully marked.

They just have to agree to cover half of the annual entry fees and to uphold the existing agreement. I would have thought that was an entirely executive decision and almost certainly as a reaction to Matt's piece on BTL.

Well done Matt on BTL. Bet that wouldn't have happened without Matt bringing it up on BTL.

You didn't hear about the million dollar prize catfish program........... ?

Very cool. Have you caught them there before, or was it a freak catch?