Montanaro

This is a very difficult tournament for many fishermen. If you are on fish you can lose em. If you never found them you can find them and if you can't find them you'll never find them. Fickle chesapeake.

I usually disengage reel and put thumb on spool and pull line out until I reach a spot where the line goes under other line in a 'v'. I grab that v and pull up a bit then pull main line out again.

I can ask around if you like. Bass nation of wv has clubs from all corners of the state. If you sign up on their forums (use full name as username) and ask, one of the state Board members will help you out.

Plenty of people throw normal sized weightless flukes of baitcasters. No need to pigeon hole yourself

Have you looked at the Bass Nation of West Virginia website? There is a list of clubs and contact info as well as a message board.

Not that I'm aware. Just skunked. It happens

Dshad have heavy salt content increasing total weight.

I ended up with A. Powroznik B. C Lane C. Iyobe D. Roumbanis E. KShort

If you like senkos then try yamamoto dshads. Casts a mile with a 4/0 ewg and shimmies on the fall like a senko.

Oh I'm aware, but it's still fun and if a flash of orange can trigger a strike then it was worth it.

What's difference between steez sv103 deep spool and the rcs100sv deep? Appear to be same line capacity and specs? Steez one has more colors and is more expensive? The steez 105 shallow spool casts slightly lighter than rcs1000sv deep, but has similar capacity on 12lb, 80 yard vs 90. I'd probably be better off buying the cheaper 1000 as I doubt there is 30 dollars worth of performance difference.

Bought the 6/0 owners Sits much lower on the frog than stock hooks. Will sell if someone wants em

Voila

Thanks for the input. The tdz with abec7 bearings casts great but does get a little wild. I think I need new pads for the tension knob as that could be a reason why it gives me fits. It will be buttoned up and only a slight adjustment makes it near free spool.

What's difference between deep and shallow 1000 other than the obvious? I don't like a lot of line on my spools and usually have considerable amount of backing. Using the duo gfix spinbait will require probably 10lb copoly and still be good enough for poppers and soft jerkbaits.

So if I go spool, should I go 103 or 105. Lightest I'll be going is 1/4. Probably smallest being gfix spinbait and probably 10lb test

High end reels are more important than high end rods. If you don't share my view then maybe you should look to strike a balance between rod and reel quality.

Outside the whole finicky spool tension and brakes. What's the weight on the sv anyway? My tdz+6'6" steez is less than 10 oz. Another point. If I buy sv spool and keep tdz I'm out roughly $100. If I sell TDZ and buy jdm alpha I'm out $50-$60.

I have a tdz 103 in fair shape with some upgrades and was thinking of selling it for an alpha sv. I use tdz on a 6'6" mh rod for multiple techniques. I want to throw small poppers, small jerkbaits, and larger spinbaits with the alpha sv. The tdz can handle the duty but I feel that it may be time to replace it with a fresh new reel. The tdz can be finicky with spool tension and brakes making it difficult to set up for skipping. Is this a fair upgrade or is the bait monkey on my back for no reason?

Caught a couple smallies with em. Good for rocks but not brush. They do not go over limbs well. They are fragile so if you crank rocks you may get a day or two out of em. They have a lot of resistance for a moderate diver. I prefer the lil johns.

It'll catch em. It's just a wakebait, I don't throw many wake baits but I'm sure there isn't much difference.

I have some clear 5 inch hollow body swimbaits with a slight blue back. I'm going to a lake without shad and want to use them but I feel I'd be more successful if they looked like bluegill. So I bought scent it markers in orange black and yellow to doctor them up. Anyone else do anything similar?

Easy. Buy 35 more dollars worth of stuff.

I've seen a smallie pass a small hook still attached with line to a snap swivel with the swivel still in its anus.

The crank case hurts my fingers on certain reel seats when setting hook, finger gets trapped between case and reel seat. Tatula rods reel seat is designed for this. My other reels are not as wide and the problem doesn't exist.