Preytorien

A couple of updates.... I soaked the bearings in acetone, then alcohol, then dried, then used Reel Butter. I used a very minimal amount of grease, but enough to keep it from being noisy, and I used the Reel Butter on the pinion gear. It's a pretty noticeable difference. I'm not sure which application made the most difference, the Reel Butter, or the fact that I soaked the bearings for much longer, using less grease, cleaning everything a bit more thoroughly, or just a combination of them all. Either way, it's quite a bit better, and now the inside is even cleaner than it already was. Thanks for the help guys, I'm very happy with the results this time around. Also, I tried with another reel of mine the test of using a wax-based dry lubricant. While the concept is good, the application of it is in need of some refining. It's not easy to get enough in the gear teeth without also getting it all over the rest of the gear. I didn't attempt it with bearings. The area though where it actually did very well is the line guide bar and it's worm drive. Those are elementally exposed pieces, so the dry lube seems to do a good job of not caking, but yet it provides good friction reduction. However, as I mentioned in a post prior, I wanted to see how cleanup was. Using acetone as a solvent, it cleanly and quickly broke down and removed the wax-lube. I'm sure gasoline, lighter fluid, Purple Power, or Simple Green would do the exact same. So I'd say on those two parts it's pretty useful, as for the rest of the reel, I'd probably stick to the tried-and-true grease/oil applications.

That's my guess too. That's the only time I ever have that happen. After I've either 1) hung up and had to really tug it loose, or 2) caught a decent size fish. Either case makes the braid dig into itself, which will put the brakes on a cast in a heartbeat.

Ha. These stories are great. I have no microwave or bulldozer bucket stories, but I regularly catch 8-10in bass out of a small 50' by 200' retention pond in front of our local Home Depot. The shopping center has all kinds of stores and gas stations, you wouldn't hardly even think to look there, but it's fun to try ultra-light rigs out there.

When I have the spool tension knob where I'd likely have it, the drag set where I'd like it, and the brakes where I'd like it..... The freespool isn't too great. Let me ask you this.... When I soaked the bearings, the water didn't look dirty...at all. Granted these are brand new bearings. Shimano A-RB bearings. Do I need to disassemble them from the races and such, or just simply plop them in acetone/degreaser? Additionally, I don't have any other oil other than the oil that came with this reel. Francho recommended it. Would be equally as well off to use Reel Butter or something else I have lying around? You mention using oil, rather than grease, on the gears? Will that wear off quickly or anything? I was using a medium viscosity marine grease, as I figured it'd be good for keeping parts exposed to water working well. I use it a lot on more static parts of the bikes I build. Thanks in advance for the help, I'm pretty much relying on you guys for the direction on this! Fingers crossed!

Yea, it spins a bit more, but nothing like in Francho's video Maybe that's setting the bar high. Either way, it's nice and clean now. It didn't really have all the "packed grease" like I keep hearing, it was actually quite clean inside. I love the reel, and I'm very excited that it's in my arsenal, so I am pretty satisfied with the way it works out of the box. I was just hoping I could get a bit better freespool.

Well, my reel clean didn't give the results I thought it would. I didn't manage to lose any parts or anything, I was very, very careful. I cleaned the gears, the pinion, and the worm gear in Simple Green. I soaked the bearings for ~15minutes a piece in acetone. Then soaked them in 70% alcohol for about 10 minutes. Then lubed them with the oil that came with my Curado. I re-lubed the gears and worm gear with grease, nothing heavy. Cleaned the brake tracks (didn't oil them). I cleaned the inside of the worm gear with a q-tip with most of the cotton pulled off, it's sparkly clean. It seems to behave just the exact same as it did before. Maybe just a smidge better. But nothing to jump up and down about. Maybe I won't notice a huge improvement. This is a brand new reel. I don't have a rod for it yet, and it's never even been spooled with line. Anything you might see I'm missing?

Hey guys, I had an early Christmas gift exchange a few days ago, and I had listed on my wishlist a Heddon One-Knocker Spook. I got the spook, and I'm excited to see what it can produce, but I had a quick question. The Spook is 4.5in long, which is considerably longer than any other topwater hardbait I have. Do you think this will diminish my odds of catching something with it? Understand I live in Indiana, we rarely/ever see 10+lb bass, so I'm wondering how big a fish would have to be to strike at this thing with the idea in mind that he could take it, and what the odds are that such a sized fish is commonly seen here. Am I misguided? I hope this works, I really think this will be a producer. I've had luck with the 3in Spook, but never tried the One-Knocker and definitely not a 4.5in model. Thanks, Phil

VEEERY nice!

My little girl (4months), seems to already be eyeing the Disney Princess fishing poles at Wal-Mart. Great post, we could all use a reminder what the season is about. Not gifts, not decorations, not any of the holiday hullabaloo. First it's about Jesus being born, providing us a all chance, and about being with loved ones. Take time out this season to reflect on what's important. Then on Dec. 26th, start planning for warmer weather and fishing!!!

Also, PSN81, I build my own bikes too. I posted some of their pictures the other day in this thread: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/127976-anyone-recognize-this-jig-who-makes-it/?hl=bike#entry1410299 Nice bike! Nishiki makes a great bike, and they've been around for a loooooong time. I built this one a year and a half ago. The frame is a couple years old, but the components are new.

I may try it out. I have a brand new Curado that I'm thinking of giving it a complete flush and re-lube. I've heard that new reels will perform even better that way. I may use the wax application for some of the job, I'll let you know how it goes. Another couple of things I've been considering are.... 1. How easy is the product to apply. I've only got these in spray cans, which would be awful, but I see they sell it in a small bottle, I'll probably go that direction 2. The wax products I've used are not quite as easy to degrease with common degreasers like the petroleum based products I've used. I'm sure Purple Power or Simple Green will do the trick, but I'll also test that out before I go using it. I'll let you know what I find.

Great advice. Also, I saw an older post that Francho wrote a while back concerning cleaning and re-lubing. I'll be using this as a guide for sure. Thanks Francho! "Pull the spool tension cap and friction spring to get to bearing part #4343. You should be able to get it off without removing the handle or star drag - just position the points of the star on either side of the cap. Then open the palm side plate, and gently pry off the bearing retainer clip part # 32 to get to the second spool bearing part #4343. I good tip to remove that retainer clip is to do inside a big ziploc bag. They have a tendency to go flying! Soak them in acetone in a small glass jar. Swirl them occasionally, and check for bits of junk in the acetone. Change out the acetone until no more junk floats in the acetone. Pull them, let them dry for ten minutes or so on some paper towel, then give them a ten minute bath in 70% rubbing alcohol. Pull them out, and let them dry again for ten minutes or so. Add one drop of Bantam Oil to the inner edge of the race, and gently spin the bearing on a pencil to distribute the oil. Let them sit on paper towel for another ten minutes to let any excess oil drain. Reinstall the bearings, putting the parts in reverse order that you removed them. Lastly, do not oil the brake drum. It may work great at first, but the oil will degrade in this application, and get a little sticky. I prefer the brake race simply be clean. Dip a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol, and gently clean the inside race."

I am a cyclist (along with being a fisherman), and I personally build and service all of my bikes. The mechanical side of cycling has long been aware of the advantages of using wax or paraffin coatings on chains, hubs, gears, etc. to reduce friction, providing smoother drivetrains, and like fishing equipment, usually less lubrication is more. Tolerances are too tight and efficiency is sacrificed with too much oil/grease. Is there some reason this kind of application (wax based) wouldn't also be advantageous for the various parts of reels. Obviously bearings would have to have oil, but maybe pinions, the worm drive, and the gear teeth might like it. Wax also doesn't attract grime and grit as badly as oil and it would be excellent water repellent. I've experimented for years with various oils, poly-substances, etc. for chains, gears, screw and bolt threads and all kinds of parts for my bikes, and I've found DuPont Teflon non-stick dry film to be exceptional for all of the various moving parts on my bike. Maybe it would be good for reels? http://www2.dupont.com/Consumer_Lubricants/en_US/products/non_stick_dry_film.html What do you think?

I'm new to baitcasters, just got my first one this year. I'd like to give it a good cleaning and such, but I've never done it, and I'm a bit intimidated by it. Are there any great instructions/videos on how to do that? Maybe you guys could help out. What are the parts I need to oil vs what parts to grease? How do you flush and re-lube sideplate and spool bearings? Anything else I've missed I should do? Thanks, I'd like to get my reel in great shape before next season hits me.

I haven't often gone out and come back totally empty handed when I use a 4" senko rigged wacky. Then again, really any soft plastic I use weightless seems to do the trick. I think also time of year seems to have an effect on how effective my lures are. Many times early spring will bring forth lures that didn't work in dog days of summer, etc. You get my point. I don't think there's one totally successful lure, just one that fits many conditions.

Yowch! I've had a similar experience. We had just gotten a new little beagle pup and me and the wife decided to take him fishing with us. That was the last time he went. Haha. He decided to "attack" a fish I had just caught with a Pop-R and ended up getting 2 of the 3 treble hooks from the back hook of the lure caught in his upper lip. He howled around like crazy. But once I got the hooks out of him he acted like nothing happened. Now that I think of it, he would've loved the honey trick!

1. Be able to get your lure where no one else can get it 2. Make sure your gear (all of it) is in good order and not damaged 3. Learn bass, learn all about them and how they work (or as close as we know)

Hey guys I have just a quick question. When I spool my baitcaster up this spring, is there some kind of rule of thumb to follow for how much line to spool up with? I know on my spinning outfits, I try to fill er' up to about 1/8in of the lip of the spool and that works great. What about baitcasters? Thanks

Oh believe me I know. It's pretty rough when you've got a 4+ pounder in front of you and you're not even getting a look! Ha!

These are all great answers, and fall in line with my own preference. But that's also a good article. I'll admit I did some more digging and found (like that article states) that fishermen don't make as big of an impact as thought, but that I just use caution and get the fish back in the water pretty quickly. If it's a particularly heavy pressured water, or small pond, I may just let the bedding bass defend in peace. Otherwise I'll just practice caution. I didn't find a whole lot of forum conversations about it, but then again I searched "spawn".....maybe I should use "bedding"

So here in Indiana, mother nature has unleashed a nice bought of cold fury upon us, and it's hard to imagine anyone but the most die-hard guys being anywhere near water right now. That said, I'm already looking forward to the spring, the thaw, and fishing. Pre-spawn will be here, then spawn. What are your thoughts on catching bedding bass? I used to think it was a great thing, but then last year after I caught one, I noticed immediately bluegill rushing in to eat the eggs, then I felt a bit guilty. Those are the next generation of bass, if the bluegill eat them all, my waters won't be self sustaining. Besides, that bass was just defending its kids when I caught it, like we'd all do. What are your thoughts? Catch it, or give the kids a chance?

This looks like it could be a possible copycat of the Topknocker you speak of, but my curiosity is primed. You think this would be similar? I'd like to give it a try since it's very highly spoken of.... http://www.lurenet.com/brands/heddon-lures/heddon-one-knocker-spook

I don't know if they're discontinued, but I rarely see them in stores here in Indiana.... But I've always had good luck with the Mepps Thunderbug spinners. You can still buy them in some places, and on their website, but it seems that finding them in stores is harder and harder to do. http://www.mepps.com/available-products/thunder-bug/140 In a local creek below a dam around here, I can light up smallish bass, bluegill, crappie, and rock bass with them. It might not be lunker fishing, but man is it fun on a nice summer day!

Perfect, thanks for the help

You aren't kidding brother