kickerfish1

The # of guides could be due to the length of rod. Generally more material and guides will make a rod slightly more heavy so I dont think more guides would equate to better feel. The quality of guides would have more of an impact though.

I would just do it as a hobby and see where it takes you. I am not sure many if any can do it as regular job exclusively. Your startup costs are going to be somewhat significant and also you have to have some kind of advertising to direct people to the website. You will need to do more than just pour plastics more than likely. You can do jigs, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, pour lead weights, etc. You may want to call someone that has a website and ask them all the questions you listed here. They can tell you how there business progressed and about what they make per year off selling the items. I wouldn't count on this paying the bills for you and your girlfriend. For every product that excels like Rage or Roboworm there at probably dozens that fail rather quickly. When you factor in time, material like plastics, led, skirt material, molds and such for pouring, packaging, shipping, etc vs what you sell them for there will be your profit. Unless you are filling dozens of orders weekly you won't make much.

If there happened to be a fish kill over the winter you won't catch anything. Also it could be possible the guy was yanking your chain. Like mentioned try live bait or something like a senko. If you don't get bit find another place to fish.

With the exception of the jig with a craw trailer frog and lipless baits are among the furthest and easiest casting baits on the market. Almost everything else will be more difficult.

Not 100% sure what to tell you. You mention both backlashes and the lure tanking straight down into the lake. Generally backlashes could be caused by casting into the wind or not having the right combination of line/rod/reel, or the reel not being setup properly. Also factor in the learning curve for those starting out with casting gear. The only thing I could tell you may be the release point of your cast may be off it is going straight down and then backlashing. Maybe try casting a bit in your backyard using various styles and release points. Also would suggest casting out and some and pulling another 10 yards of line off your reel. Then place a small piece of black electrical tape there. This will prevent your backlash from going far into the reel.

You could note the strengths of picking a certain of line for certain lake structure conditions or such but for me I just prefer mono, as I will turn around and throw topwaters using the same outfit as well.

For 2016 only have lost a few weights and a Booya one knocker and a Spro Aruko shad. Not too bad or too costly so far. Last year I recall a day where I lost 6 jigs, I shakeyhead, and countless texas rigged books and weights fishing flooded brush. Losing items is kind of part of of the sport. What makes a beat up fish catching lure really cool is knowing that it has survived the weedbeads, brush, rock, dock pilings, poor knots, frayed line, zebra mussels, toothy fish, or whatever other obstacle could get in its way.

I am sure they will sell plenty of these reels to schmucks that think higher bearing count = better reel. A friend bought his son a China made 12 ball bearing spinning reel for something like 15 bucks. It is the worst reel I have ever used. It feels like a coffee grinder ready to fall apart at any second.

I recall some Daiwa Pro caster reels that I had back in the 90s labeled "High Speed" with a gear ratio of 5.0:1. Sometimes slower gear ratio's can help guys that have a tendency to fish fast slow down some. On the flip side if you are using a real fast gear ratio by modern standards you have to be careful not to move the bait to fast. I have used ultra slow and ultra fast gear ratios for soft plastics. Personally, I know I have to make a conscious effort to pay attention to what I am using but both will work.

When they get that "bug eyed look" to them you know its a good fish!

Congrats on the catch and the PB. Guessing that fish could push DD status. It passes the eyeball test for sure!

A lot of folks swear by the Conquest DC for reaction baits. I haven't owned one yet but I have seen a fair amount of used ones pop up for just over $200. I have 2 Exscence DC reels and love them though they aren't my first choice for apps requiring a lower IPT. Another question to ask yourself is if you want a standard JDM reel or a DC reel? Standard reels are excellent but if you really want something unique that will up the fun factor of fishing give a DC reel a shot.

Here is a link to the video with the upward cast. This the Steeze SV I believe so I am not sure how fair it is to the topic at hand other than it contains the letters "SV" Good memory new2bc4bass. My first experience with the SV concept came from putting a SV spool in a custom Alphas reel. Blown away by the performance and ease of spooling the reel with a 1/4 oz casting plug I bought an Alphas SV 105. The reel was a bit finicky at first and lacked both performance and user friendliness. A friend said to oil a certain part in the reel and flush the bearings. I have used it since and it seems to be a night and day difference. Casted it a few times this spring into a pretty strong head wind and not a single over run. I believe the problem that may be causing some people fits is the inductor sticking.

Quake - Are you running the HH bearings dry or with a light drop of oil?

If you want an already assembled banded skirt and you want to buy in quantities of 5, I would look at Dirty Jigs or Boss. If you are wanting skirt tabs you are best off sourcing them from a lure parts shop. TW carries both material and already assembled if you are looking for a one stop shop that won't kill you on shipping as long as your clear $50.

Nice last minute grab! I just wasn't a big fan of the two tone paint but I have heard nothing but glowing things about the 13 Met especially its performance. Once I set eyes on the mirror like paint of the Met MGL, I decided I would just hold out for that one. Hoping that the decision will be worth it

Dwight, I am not sure I would classify it as a one trick pony. I use it for all my reaction baits and feel it excels at it.

^^ Looks good! But for the cost of those parts you could have bought a 2nd Met!. But I shouldn't be one to talk.

Probably hundreds of years!

Nice combo Matt, and congrats on the PB crappie! Simply search for "supertune". It is not so much upgrades as it is the polishing of various friction points inside a reel. Nice combo Matt, and congrats on the PB crappie!

Seems like your profile name matches your spending habbits!

This, The green spool of Sunline Shooter Defier. It casts like braid IMO. This stuff is as good as it gets and there is a reason why it is spendy. I have been so impressed with it I will be picking up another spool the next time I order.

To the best of my knowledge Shimano USA won't service a JDM Shimano reel. However many of the same external and internal parts are usually pretty similar fitment wise so there are usually no issue finding compatible parts. For example the Chronarch 50e and Scorpion 1000xt share many of the same parts but some things may not be exact. If there is a particular reel you were interested in you could always see if there is a US equivalent.

Interesting. Good research. Thanks for posting your findings.