Jolly Green

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/supertune-baitcaster.html This article is an outstanding read. Personally, I don't care to screw around trying to eke out an extra few yards of casting distance, but the section on improving drag performance has some totally worthwhile ideas. Ghoti and RM are Yoda-wise when it comes to this stuff.

Not mono. My ideal hookset is a quick firm snap from a slightly slack line, and nothing transmits that zero-to-BOOM punch in the lip like braid, imho. I do use a flouro leader but never more than 18" so the stretch there is minimal to nonexistent.

I just found this thread after returning from Gander Mountain empty handed. "Got a C3 5500?" I asked, not even seriously questioning, because of course they would. Nope! Plenty of 5501's for .RM. though... the guy jacked around with his computer for 10 minutes and seemed pretty confused himself that he couldn't even get one shipped to the store, finally announcing that were completely sold out online too. I checked various other retailers' web sites and the last of this generation is drying up fast. Swept handles, huh? Sounds like ad copy for the Edsel...

My best producer is a 3/16 oz. Super Spot in fire tiger. Bass, pike, crappie, etc. can't seem to leave it alone. Chrome/black is next.

Trilene knot or palomar.

x2 I also think it's worthwhile to explore fishing with vs. against the current with different baits. I definitely catch more fish pulling a spinnerbait slowly against the current than trying to fish the same bait with the current.

I made my own out of a cheap telescoping pole used by painters and a spring that fit snugly on the end. I used a couple of cable ties to attach a linoleum knife near the end as well, so I can wrap the line/lure a couple of times in the spring and use the blade to easily cut the line without playing tug-of-war. I keep my own losses to a minimum and routinely pull some pretty expensive lures out of the local trees, whether they're dangling from 6# mono or 50# braid.

Eighth of a sheet of 600 grit sandpaper to keep my hook points sticky.

I usually turn to O.R.C.A. (Old Reel Collectors Association) for such answers but there isn't much there on their web site. L.M. Dickson was a trademark of the Taico Trading Co., a San Fran based importer that slapped the L.M. Dickson brand on a lot of different sporting goods. I wouldn't use eBay as a reliable indicator of the value; my gut says that it's probably one of scads of Penn imitators and isn't worth a lot in the antique reel market. I'd spool it up and see how she fishes!

Fishing is fun. Fishing with artificials is fun for me; fishing with live bait is boring to me. Fishing with artificials is boring to my kids; fishing with live bait is fun for my kids. Fishing is fun.

The article cited physiological damage, not psychological damage, but just in case I always talk a fish through the unhooking and photographing, e.g., "Hey, buddy! Whadja get there? A fluke? Was it good? Yeah? Hey, great job hammerin' that thing, buddy, seriously. Well done. Later, tater!" If they are as fair-minded as I am, they're telling their shrink, "Yeah, the whole thing kind of sucked but the guy was cool about it and this hole in my face has been a great ice-breaker at parties..." I don't know all the facts, and I don't know that I believe anyone who claims to know all the facts, but my gut says that an animal that can eat a live crawdad does not experience pain in anywhere near the same way that I do.

How deep was the fish caught? 2' Did the lure contain rattles or have hinges? Nope, 4" fluke Was the lure a natural color (brown, green) or was it an unnatural color (chartreuse, orange)? White If possible, what moon phase was your PB caught during? Waxing crescent

My choice would be one of the Abu round reels, but I have relatively big mitts; I know a lot of people don't find them comfortable to palm. And speaking of palming, the LH vs. RH debate came down to just that for me. Initially I wanted a lefty because switching hands made no sense to me, but when I actually tried one, I realized that I was passing the rod to my left hand after casting anyway as part of the process of switching from a casting grip to a palming grip. If you haven't done so, get your hands on ANY lefty reel and try it out first. You may realize that you're a righty after all.

I use my Wally World clearance spool of 20# Vanish for leader material only, tied carefully with an Alberto knot, for flukes and other T-rigged plastics. I don't set the hook gently, and sometimes when fishing my local river I get the pleasure of fighting the fish and the current at the same time; I have had no problems with it at all. Pike bite it off like a wet noodle, of course, but whaddya gonna do?

I have just started fishing with soft jerk baits, and have thrown them on a variety of setups using 2/0 to 5/0 EWG hooks, and I find timing to be the key. I was barely landing them at first because I was setting the hook almost immediately and it was stuck through that paper-thin part of the upper lip that easily opens up during the fight. Once I changed up my timing to let the fish pick it up and start to amble away with it, I was golden, solid hook-sets in the tougher roof of the mouth.

Hiawatha 4'6" steel rod w/ Bronson Mercury 2550; $8 plus a lot of TLC to get it functional. This is the baitcaster I've been learning on for the past month, figuring if my thumb can learn to control this thing, modern gear should be a snap. Light? Nope. Sensitive? Ha! But after a few weeks of learning the hard way I can get a 3/8 oz. casting plug out 30 yards with nary a stray loop running over (about 80% of the time). I upgraded my spinning gear over the winter but on this crappy, rainy opening day in Wisconsin I have to say that it's this rig that's twice my age that I can't wait to try out. Bet none of these bass around here have ever seen a South Bend Midge-Oreno, either. Tight lines!

I'm in the process of learning a baitcaster myself. I chose 12# mono to start because I figured I'd be damaging/cutting out a lot of line at first, and I was right. After a week and 300 yards of line, I found out about taping off most of the spool and also how to use the thumb and a couple turns of the handle to work out the nests. After another week and a lot less line in the garbage, I felt confident enough to switch to braid and I'm glad I did because I find it waaaaay more manageable than mono, especially when it came to digging out backlashes. My advice is to start with a spool full of 12# mono, taped off except for about 40 - 50 yards. This way, your backlashes aren't horrible when they happen but you still get the valuable experience of carefully digging one out. As soon as you're comfortable doing so, add 40 - 50 yards of braid to your spool. (Cut off the mono you've been abusing down to the tape only, leave the rest on for backer, and retape the spool OVER the knot between the mono and braid.) I went with 50# Power Pro because it has a similar diameter to 12# mono. Practice, practice, practice.

This ended up being the solution. I got some PB Blaster but didn't use it because the fumes are strong; made me nervous that the smell would never go away. I used an unsharpened pencil and a small hammer to tap it out, and it took some pretty sharp strikes to get it going. Anyway, it's a moot point because when I then turned my attention to the drag I found that the press plate and main drive gear drag surfaces were pitted beyond help; I'm sending this piece of crap back to the seller with a note to adjust his definitions a bit, specifically "near mint" and "mechanically perfect". Missing a spring washer too! I could buy a new one but I liked the idea of buying something NOT made in China for a change. Oh well... thanks to everyone for your input; I appreciate the help.

I got both of those things out of the way; the only things left inside the spool are the bearing and a washer behind it. Stubborn little thing didn't budge with the one tap I gave it, and I'm afraid of deforming the part of the spool that holds the engagement ring if I hit it too hard or too much.

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

It isn't a total rust-donut, but it is in bad shape. I dropped a 2.5" ring shank nail point-first through the spool so that the head was positioned against the inside face of the bearing, and gave it all the controlled oomph I could tugging on the nail with a pair of pliers. It's stuck like Chuck.

Thanks for the replies. I've got the correct schematic in front of me, and there is a retainer that holds in the centrifugal brake, but I have both parts detached already. I tried various improvised pulling tool and even an assertive tap from the back (through the spool) with a dowel, and it won't budge. I'm looking at this C-clamp hanging above the bench and pondering trying to press it out somehow... does anyone know of any "nut buster" stronger than WD that won't do more harm than good?

I recently bought a used Abu Garcia 5501 C3 that is a little, shall we say, unsmooth. I want to at least clean if not replace the bearings but the spool bearing on the handle side of the spool seems to be stuck inside the spool. Am I missing something? There's only one way that I can see that this thing comes out; it looks like it should just fall right out with a little gentle persuasion. I tried WD-40 and LPS-1 with no luck. Any help is appreciated!

I typically cast about a quarter of that, but my technique is pretty conventional. Bet that guy has the boat all to himself!

I've caught my guitar glaring at my rod once or twice...