rockchalk06

I always keep my left thumb nail just a bit long. Digs in between the split ring and I use a pair of needle nose to spin them around.

I'd go KVD elite 2x 1x short hooks by Mustad. You may be able to put a #2 on and not have them tangle. If they do, #4's will be great

They are not junk. They are decent hooks but are lacking in some areas. They are much softer than I like for hooks to be. I've lost a few fish that had a hook flatten out. Some are better than others. I have some on a few red eyes that are great hooks and some on my 5XD's that look like they came from the bargon bin at Walmart. If you haven't tried the KVD Elite hooks by Mustad they are worth a look. 10 times the hook as the stock ones.

Are these in stock and ready to go?

x2 Whats the water clarity and cover like? I'm still sitting at 1.5 pounds for my bigest of 2013.

I think I just shat myself!

I'm smack dab in the middle

For me, a beaver style bait that is texas rigged is where I am going to throw something that I know I have a 99.999% chance of getting it hung up. I throw Texas rigged anything into the brush, sticks or grass. A jig will come through most of it ok, but its not 100% weedless. A jig is more expensive too. A flipping hook, plastic and weight don't cost half as much as the North Star Jigs I use.

Now he's just rubbing it in!

That's exactly why I dumped every one I had. I refuse to pay 120-200 dollars for a reel to have it scream like a banche everytime I cast. It's annoying and frankly shows what crappy quality control a company has. The product should work and work flawlessly. It would be different if all Abu reels did this and had since the company started. But they don't and the problems lie on all the new Gen 3's.

Work of art or not, they catch me fish. d**n near everytime I go out.

Even though you want to save some money, quality jigs will out last a cheap jig. Skirts last longer, hook and paint will lasts longer too.

Raised in Kansas for 31 years. Born and raised a hawk and will die one. You should see my truck during game time lol. I moved here for a women of all things. What makes it worse, I work on the OU campus too lol

If the winch was like my STX was, the spool shaft bearing was an open bearing. It took a ton more lol on it to quiet it down

All 3 bearings? It took sometimes 5 good drops of oil on all 3 bearings to quiet them down for me. Work the oil into the bearings. I had to put oil on both sides and spin them to work it down in there.

If you put a drop of oil in there they will be lubed some. But yes the less oil in there, the less restriction for the bearings hince the increased distance. On a completely dry bearing, I can get it to spin for 20-30 seconds. It's noisy as all get out, but free spinning.

Can't really comment on the Daiwa's as I have never held one, but I went to all Shimano and am really happy so far. I've got 2 Chronarchs and 2 Curado's and will be adding more soon. All 4 just need 1-2 drops and they are very quiet. I have noticed with heavy lures, my 50E makes a little zing if not lubed up good. Try 1 drop at a time until it starts to quiet down. When it becomes quiet note how much it took. You will want to use the least amount you need to as to not hinder your distance. The less the better.

Thanks for the replies guys. Ya the dreams are actually really nice. Dad was the Cheif of Police in a small town that had a decent amount of crime. News was there a couple times of month. I have a bunch of you tube videos from some interviews. I play them for my son and he loves papa the cop lol

All my revos did this. The bearing on the spool shaft does need a special tool or you can damage it. That little pin sits inside the smaller brass gear, so be carefull. It's tapered on one side. All of my Revos made this annoying sound. I finally traced it down to dry bearings. They all required more than the recommended amount of oil. I had to use triple the amount. Put 2-3 drops on the bearings and cast it again. Make sure to hit all 3 bearings. The reason your hearing that sound on the gear box side is because of the bearing the spool shaft fits into. Lube it the same as well. Everyone says just one drop, and that works for most reels, but I had a total of 6 different gen 3 revos and everyone required it. I had to lube them like that about every 2-3 outings. Hince why I dumped everyone I had.

Fill the spoon with your backing. Fill it to your desired capacity. Take a plug or your preferred weighted lure and make a good hard cast. Pull out about 20-30 more yards of backing off and cut the line. Now tie your knot and spool with your braid or fluoro. You now have 20-30 yards more line that you can throw on your above average cast. After a couple times of doing this, you will know just how much to put on.

A few months ago I would have raved about the Veritas rod and suggested it. I was very lucky and had no problems that several were plagued with. I dumped all 6 I had. If you can find one that has no messed up guides, cracking of the epoxy around the guides or chipped finishes, then grab it. I just hated the quality control they had. That said there are a bunch of options in that range. TNbassin has an *** 13 and raves about it. I trust his opinion and will be getting one soon baised on his experience with it. 99 dollars, it looks sweet and is pretty light. Powers are true to their marking. I have a St. Croix Avid and fell in love with it. It's highly reguarded as a great rod around here and was recommended highly. I couldn't be happier. It's a bit out of your range, but they have good rods in that range too. The Premier and the Mojo. The Mojo felt a bit heavy to me, but I'm comparing it to. 4.6 ounce Avid too. Shimano has the Clarus and Compre in that range too. I don't have a Compre, but I do have a Clarus. The Compre felt heavier to me and not worth the extra dollars. I really like my Clarus. It's a 6'8" MXF and its super light. It's my top water rod due to its light weight, soft tip and short grip. It's 80-90 dollars and comes with an over the counter life time warranty. That's all I can really comment on or have experience with in that price range. More should be along to give their 10mm worth.

I kinda wonder if the dreams lately are because of this. Both always have us doing the same thing which are good times and some great memories. My fiancé said that I have been giggling in my sleep too. Dad was a character. He was like a cross between SI from Duck Dynasty and R. Lee Irmy..

Thanks. I had to watch dad slowly slip away too. His cancer came on almost over night. He had a massive tumor of the brain stem for about 6 years and never told anyone. That was like him though. Monday he was working all was fine. Monday evening he was in the ER after a fall. Never walked again without help. I was his home hospice guy for about 5 months. That's **** you'll never get out of your head. I've been in LEO for 11 years and seen some crazy stuff. Nothing prepares you for taking care of a parent.

To the original poster, at the 120 dollar mark, your options are big. Alot needs to be put toward what do you want? Mag breaks, centrifugal breaks or both. How serious are you about baitcasters? If you dump a ton in one and decide its not for you, taking a loss is hard. That said I'd loom at the Bass Pro Pro Qualifier to start with. Also look in the flea market area. There are some killer deals on used reels. Guy has some Curado G's cheap.

I love how people come here and with their first few posts bash something. Your opinions means about this much........"que the crickets"