Angry John

some tip tops have a spire that should be wrapped but I don't see those very often any more.

sniper and p-line 100% are good and about the same.

http://pizzcustoms.com/reels/ This guy does some amazing work including some baits that are out of this world

I have an ito that was custom painted i am waiting on part from plat to put back together. I also have one sv that has never been used. I have more reels that i know what to do with. If i was going to buy another the sv103 aka new zillion would be on the list. Would like to have a 7.9 in my collection somewhere and i cant seem to get ahold of a 7.9 left jdream http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Daiwa_SV103_Casting_Reels/descpage-D3SV.html

For a long time the thing to do was to put a 100m spool in and your zillion was a casting machine. Those spools are now hard to find and the spools from the 7.9 pe special are easy to get. I would be looking to use this on a punching a frog setup. Now that the pe special spool is available is the 100m spool still king???

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Daiwa-TD-Sol-Baitcaster-/132121391952?hash=item1ec30c7350:g:glEAAOSwB-1Ywipl

Your leader is one of the softest FC around. It has great handling on a spinning setup but if your using it for leader material get something like real leader material or shooter. You will never get away with not inspecting your line and re-tying when required but the harder material will last longer.

Pre-fished beech Thursday last week and pulled a few dinks. With the current weather i am guessing the water will be colder than the 60 is was and drive them back!!!

I dont waste my time with OEM split rings. When i get a new bait, i just cut them right off with a pair of cross cutters. I do love the Texas tackle pliers for hook work and when i change out a hook i use the owner hyper wire split rings. The owner snap is also what i use and the middle size is perfect for bass fishing. The smaller size works well on small trout size cranks and the larger size is good for huge cranks like the 10xd. Jerkbaits are a special type of hard bait IMO and i try and tune them as i go. If when using a smap they still suspend good i clip to the split ring. If they sink i take it off. If they float i will add a heavier gauge split ring to the center hook.

looks like the american tackle reel seat, like on the original lamiglas excel. I loved that Grip and it felt like i had a ton of control and it was very comfy for me.

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewmbf4510tielseil.html go big

does daiwa include megabass? I am daiwa all the way!

take those keitech's and put a jig on the front of them. I have not gone over 6 with one yet this spring but I have two over 5 so far and things are rough with all the cold fronts we have been having. My second recommendation is to fish with a front coming in. I have always and this season also done well as the pressure is dropping due to a storm. It sucks to fish in the rain but they seem to have the feed bag on during this transition. I fish serbert swim jigs but there are tons of good ones out there.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DAIWA-Alphas-103-R-edition-Right-handed-Baitcasting-Reel-from-Japan-B559-/172565374122?hash=item282db2a4aa:g:mpgAAOSwnHZYcLUr

Any of the variants are good. The sol will be the cheapest version you can find, and you can swap spools around. My first one was an alphas and now I own 6

The wolf river in the Memphis area sucks. I have been on it three times and never got a bite. The eastern part of the river is much nicer I hear and I am looking to try those sections this summer.

I am currently trying to motivate myself to go for an hour! It's frigid! !!

If you want to try a daiwa and can go just a few pennies more i would recommend the alphas sv. Its one of those reels that just gets it done, and if you dont have a reel to cast light weight baits its great for that. It is also small and feels wonderful in the hand compared to the larger tat.

If i were forced to put one in the rotation it would be a cranking rod. They have a moderate action so i feel they would be best suited to baits with treble hooks.

Lures like that start to be worth something if you have the orginal box and they are in near perfect condition. The third pic of the popper is still a good lure to use and the 5th pic i would still use but i dont think there hidden gems other than the family history value

I caught a few in CT with those spots but clear in WA and now TN

I found two of those in my grandpaws old box but no cardboard. If we start a thread for this i can share...

I just dont like the look. There are a lot of very good looking reels out there and the open look to the side plate does nothing for me. To be fair i like the oldest version look the best, the ex did nothing for me and this version looks the worst. Some people might really dig the look so i dont hate on others that do.

If your getting your first dobyns casting rod i would recommend a 4 power like the dx 744. The champion 734 is also very nice. I got a 3 power and later had to get the 4 power as a good all round rod.

I use the same owner snaps and to honest they get mixed up and i dont really track what i have on. I have not seen an effect with this snap and changing of the ballance or suspension of a jerkbait. I leave the factory ring on a jerkbait and remove them from cranks and attach unless further tuning is required. I have the largest of the owner snaps before i knew the sizes and they are very big. I have thrown large baits for pike with them but not for bass use unless you were going 10 xd or something like that.