Preytorien

It must be the addage of if you think you've got too little grease....take a little more off?

I'm relatively new to baitcasters. I got my first on last summer, and I'm hooked, no pun intended I have a question about drags. I took the reel (Curado 201G7) apart this winter (since a lot of reel gurus out there say that Shimano comes pre-packed with too much grease) and cleaned the reel, and re-greased it. I re-greased the drags, and only used a pretty small amount, some suggest using only enough to make a fingerprint mark on the metal washers of the drag assembly. Now, I've caught a few dinks, and the drags held up fine, fish were landed no problem. But a couple of nice keepers this year got off because when I set the hook, the drag slipped and let line out and I didn't get a solid hookset. This is all while my drag is as tight as I can crank it. I'm no Barry Bonds with my hooksets, so I can't imagine I'm yanking so hard that I peel the drag. These are brand new Siebert jigs, which have high-quality Owner Deep-Throat hooks, so they're quality and sharp as a tack, I doubt they are the problem. Any ideas what I can do to more effectively get hooksets? What do I need to do to prevent my drags from slipping? I'm assuming it's something to do with greasing? I used specific drag grease.

Yep. I agree.....San Diego Jam, Duncan, Pitzen.....they're all the same if I are correct

Agreed, but I usually use 50lb Power Pro (.14in), not 20lb. The Red Label is .16in for 20lb I'm already considering another brand, in 12lb. Hopefully it's more manageable, this stuff is like trying to cast nylon guitar strings

That'll probably be the way I go. I got used to the manageability of braid, now I'm afraid I can't go back. But now I've got plenty for leader material

I typically use a Palomar on a jig, but make sure the lines don't cross and make sure the line is nice an moist or you'll burn/weaken the line. Otherwise..... I've switched to almost a completely used San Diego Jam.....it's incredibly strong. I snagged a pond fountain the other day with a jig (guide rope that holds it in place), and moved the fountain 10ft or so to the left, trying to break my line off.....only then did the jig hook bend open.....the knot didn't fail, moved the whole dang fountain before the hook bent. I was using plain ole' 50lb Power Pro - and a SDJ knot. This guy has a really simple video for tying an SDJ.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kua4mbpwC14&safe=active

Mark another one up for manageability. I've used all the way down to 20# and I just simply like the 50-65lb braid's handling better. I get better distance and far fewer backlashes. I did notice when I used the 20lb on my casting reel it dug in pretty bad, especially with significantly coated braids. I guess for me it also comes down to confidence. I've got more confidence in a heavier line, therefore I'll be more likely to pitch it to a spot where I'm more confident I can pull it (hung lure or fish) in out without running a risk of breaking the line. I know, I know.....the true breaking strength is higher so I could theoretically downsize.....but I think it's just a mentality thing for me.

I may try just a lighter line. I got the 20lb because I liked how the braid laid on the spool and didn't dig in so much. I thought maybe staying within the same diameter would help the same for flouro. Like Knightiac said, it's like a stiff mono. When it worked I liked fishing it, and even caught a couple good ones with it. The sensitivity was very nice, so I would like to try using it a while. Does flouro "break in" or is it just always that stiff?

Spraying the line last night with KVD didn't seem to alleviate the issue. Maybe I'm just not sure what to expect. I came from 50lb Power Pro to Seaguar Red Label flouro. Is it just a line with inherently and significantly more memory? I almost never have backlash on braid, yet I like the properties of flouro. However, I had several backlashes and had to constantly keep adjusting brakes to keep it from happening. Overall it wasn't a good experience, I just wonder if I'm doing anything wrong? Using.... Curado G 7.1 Left-hand reel Crucial MH/XFast Rod 20lb Seaguar Red Label (not convinced enough with flouro to throw down $$ on Tatsu....yet....) Threw jigs, T-Rigs, and Spinnerbaits 3/8 - 1/2 oz

Got it guys. I have KVD, which I sprayed the line last night with it. So that should set me on the good path. Thanks guys I appreciate the feedback

On a recent video that Gene posted he talked about immersing spooled line in boiling water to eliminate the line from popping off the spool of the spinning reel. I tried it and wouldn't ya know it, it actually works quite well. I was wondering, would this also help reduce tangles on a baitcast reel with 20lb flourocarbon on it? Just take the spool out and set in the boiling water for 5 or so minutes. What do you think?

That's interesting, I've never heard of that technique. Sounds effective, I'll have to try that next time.....which happens to be this evening!

All great ideas. Thanks guys. I didn't attempt the same actions in the deeper water. I figured since they were following it up to the bank I'd at least be able to observe how they reacted, and never thought to throw to deeper water. I had a 1/2oz jig tied on to the only rod I brought (I hate carrying more than one rod while on the bank), which was a Curado/Crucial with 50lb PowerPro on it. Next time I'll use a 1/4jig with my spinning rig (8lb copolymer) and try to just fish it slower and change up colors if need be. Thanks for the help guys

Yesterday was a slow, and I emphasize SLOW, day on the water. After trying a number of weightless soft plastics, and then also running some lipless crankbaits around (getting no bites), I decided to throw a great looking Sibert Jig, a custom colored one, in a frog pattern with a green RageTail craw trailer, all dipped in JJ's Magic clear garlic dip. After a while, I kept noticing the bass would follow my jig up to the shoreline (I was bank fishing), and they would stop about 3 feet from shore, and just eyeball my jig as it sat on the bottom, sometimes coming within inches of the jig. Whenever they'd back off, I'd twitch the jig and they'd come in again for an inspection, but never once would they actually bite it, they just inspected it. I've fished this body of water mulitple seasons and seen bedding bass here, these weren't bedding bass, they were just following the jig up to shore. Any ideas of what they were doing? Any ideas of what I could do to draw them into a strike?

Yea, I'd go with something that she likes. I find my little one seems to eye the Disney princess outfits. Make it fun for her. Go out to catch bluegills, use beemoths and worms. She'll have a blast. Have a good time, you'll make moments both of you will always remember! Great job taking the family too, I like to have my wife and daughter join me. We have a great time, it's always a fun time. Take a lunch and make it an adventure.

^^.....this While I have both types, I find myself using the light spinning setups in pre-spawn and late fall when it seems finesse seems to get the job done better. Conversely, I use the heavier BC setups in warmer weather when I'm frogging and punching more often than not. But yes, ghoti is pretty much dead on. I didn't start bass fishing until 3 years ago, until then, I was a crappie guy. Now I'm pretty much content catching anything with scales, fins, and gills.

I use one of the little navy blue tackle bags you get free with the Bassmaster subscription. It fits 3 Plano Hydro-Flo boxes in the main compartment, and a smaller utility box in the front very effectively. It's my super-mobile bag, I love it.

I have used the ~$20 Spiderwire brand from Wal-Mart. They seem to work very well, and they're pretty neat looking. I tried them on side-by-side to my dad's Maui Jim polarized glasses, and other than being lighter than the MJ's, they did the same job.

The Mata Dredge Brush jigs are spectacular. They're almost impossible to hang. I throw them in some awful stuff and never stick them. I like the thicker skirts too, I think the more strands make a more tempting jig or something because it works. Mike's made me some custom color jigs that I should have in a couple days. I'll post a thread with pictures of them when I get them. I'll just say this, it's a color combination that isn't seen too often, but might be overlooked. Stay tuned.....

Same boat over here in Indiana Average mid-50's temps and some 60's days, but the fish seem to be stuck in winter mode still. I wonder when they'll snap out of it

Nice fish! I'm going through a bit of a drought right now too. I'm in Indiana, where the air is only hitting the mid-50's so my bass aren't quite to spawning yet, so it's more like fishing late winter, so it's pretty slow. I'm excited about landing something more along the size you hauled in.

Yep, I do. I use a Med-Hvy / XFast BPS Carbonlite rod for both jigging and frogging. It does equally as well for both. I use 65lb Sufix 832. The only thing I'd suggest is to not do as I did and use a 5.4:1 reel. I find that it just doesn't pull in line as fast as I'd like for jigging, although it's nice for winching bass out of thick grass. But to answer the OP, yes, to save room on that kayak and also $$ you can use them for both.

Yep. Got a 201G7 this winter, and now that I've had several trips out with it, paired with a Crucial, it's my new go-to rig. I'm very happy with the G.

I've used them quite a bit. Likewise I have issues with them in vegetation. I think that's just an inherent nature of the bait - like a buzzbait, in bad vegetation you just can't avoid getting fouled up. You could replace the trebles with single hooks, but I've found most of the salad I catch hangs on the scoop and eyelet on the front.

I like those ones that resemble a bluegill pattern. Some of the areas I fish have a rampant bluegill population, so the crawfish/shad patterns don't produce as well. Those bluegill shallow squarebill ones would probably light em' up!