FloridaFishinFool

For me 2015 was a great year of fishing! I caught some of the biggest PB fish in 2015 with 1 bass over 8 and another over 9 pounds. I caught a 38 inch redfish the biggest I ever caught. From mid June to mid August I was absolutely blessed out on the St. Johns river having found one spot in a river side channel where thousands of bass boiled up on bait fish every day actively all afternoon until just before sundown for 8 weeks straight. I averaged 30 to 40 bass each afternoon, and in one 4 day stretch I counted more than 150 bass caught and just as many missed. I needed 6 arms and 6 rods and reels all going at the same time out there. I would not be surprised if 2015 was a year I caught the most bass in one year too, but who's counting? I caught a lot of fish in 2015 and if 2016 is anything like 2015 I'll be one happy camper. I've already started on overhauling and updating rods and reels and restocking lures and getting some new stuff too.

Yep! George Lucas stepped into a hornets nest with his latest STUPID comments! He has since issued an apology and a retraction for what all he said in that Charlie Rose interview! You know, when you sell all your rights to your films and film production company for $4 billion dollars, of course whoever buys it wants their money back and will create new product to sell like this new film which has already earned more than $1 billion dollars and counting. George Lucas is just pyssed off because Disney does not want him involved in making their new product! George said he was a storyteller and that his Stars Wars films were all part of a continuing story, and that the people he sold his rights to are a bunch of white slavers using his product for commercial gain rather than storytelling! George Lucas said he had begun writing an all new story for another Star Wars film when Disney came calling with $4 billion dollars. George Lucas said Disney told him they had no interest in his new story and that they would do things their way and George said he was OK with this at the time of the sale, but is now whining and complaining about it. If this newest film was written by George Lucas with already $4 billion in his bank account, how much of this newest film's earning would George have laid claim to? Disney was SMART to not use his storyline for their new film. They want all the money, not to keep forking it over to George Lucas. Disney can do with it as they please now and George Lucas should not have one word to say about it. Go count your $4 billion you took to sell ALL your rights to Star Wars! But hey, this is not the only controversy brewing over this new film. That police hater film maker Tarantino went on the Howard Stern radio show blasting the movie theaters for bowing to Disney's powers of persuasion to put Stars Wars on the big screen as a priority over Tarantino's new violent western film which no one really wants to pay to see it would seem. In 3 days, December 25th through the 27th Stars Wars raked in $150 million dollars. Police hater Tarantino's graphic violence only brought in $4 million in the same 3 day span. If any of us owned a movie theater it makes perfect business sense to go with what sells. Apparently Tarantino does not get that. Oh and check out the last line of this article text below: Quentin Tarantino Blasts Disney On Howard Stern Show As ‘Force Awakens’ Pushes ‘The Hateful Eight’ Out Of Cinerama DomeQuentin Tarantino went on the Howard Stern Sirius radio show and spoke about how Disney is strong-arming Arclight Cinemas to push the director’s 70MM presentation of his eighth film The Hateful Eight aside in favor of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in LA’s famed Cinerama Dome. The director first learned about this on Monday. The western was originally due to play there claims Tarantino starting on Dec. 25th, but now Force Awakens is getting an extended play through the holidays.“It was real bad news and it f**king pyssed me off,” Tarantino told Stern. “They are going out of their way to f**k me.”All per Tarantino: when ArcLight Cinemas told Disney they were honoring their contract for Hateful Eight, Disney threatened to pull Force Awakens from all ArcLight locations.However, many sources tell Deadline that Disney secured the Dome months ago to play the Force Awakens through the holidays. This was further reflected in the fact that the Dome was an option to prospective Force Awakens ticket buyers when they went on sale on Oct. 19. Apparently, Tarantino only recently learned about the booking situation and decided to voice his protest on Stern. Tarantino owns and programs the New Beverly Cinema, a renowned revival house in Los Angeles.For years there was a clearance boundary whereby if a film was playing at the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd, then it couldn’t be playing at the Cinerama Dome. But that’s not the situation here with Star Wars: The Force Awakens: It’s playing at the TCL Chinese Theater, Disney’s El Capitan and The Cinerama Dome.Living here in L.A., The Cinerama Dome is a prized venue for Tarantino. In fact the Cinerama logo appears in the opening credits of The Hateful Eight. The premiere for the film was held on Monday, Dec. 7 at the Cinerama Dome and the director told Deadline’s Pete Hammond, “I made The Hateful Eight for the Dome … This is the first time seeing it at the Dome for me too, and it was like I hadn’t even seen it before, not like this.”“It’s vindictive, it’s mean, and it’s extortion,” an uninformed Tarantino added. The Oscar-winning fimmaker further added that his beef isn’t with Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams, but with the top suits at Disney. In fact, Abrams worked with Tarantino when the director starred as McKenas Cole on Abrams’ ABC show Alias. “I made a lot of money for the Disney corporation,” Tarantino told Stern referring to the days when Disney owned Miramax and released such titles as Pulp Fiction ($213.9M worldwide) and the Kill Bill two pic saga (combined $333M worldwide) as well as Jackie Brown ($40M domestic).It’s no secret that there is a particularly hard fight for screens this holiday season with a glut of films and in fact, Hateful Eight wisely changed up its distribution pattern to accommodate that glut. “It’s so d**n crowded right now that everyone is pushing everything,” said one exhib about the fight for screens. “I had (one studio) tell me I have to hold (their movie) on one line while on the other I had (another studio) screaming at me about (their film). “The real problem is that it’s too packed and it’s hard to juggle all these films and we are telling them (the studios) that’s there are too many movies to juggle right now.”During the broadcast, Stern told Tarantino that Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger was an avid listener. The radio host addressed an absent Iger during the show, calling out: “Listen Bob … I don’t give a **** about this theater. Quentin’s a weirdo — sorry Quentin … They’ve got the stupid 70mm – they got all that **** that he cares about. He just wants to show his d**n movie there. You’re sitting on top of the world. You’ve got Star Wars. What, do you need this?”When reached by Deadline, Weinstein Co. and Disney provided no comment.In a statement yesterday, Arclight Cinemas announced how they were preparing for Star Wars: The Force Awakens; that the Dome was upgraded with dual-head Christie 6P laser projectors and Dolby 3D, which can project more than double the light of an average 3D projection system and enable moviegoers to see the nuances in Star Wars: Episode VII.

I don't have a problem with fishing from the back of the boat. I guess here in central Florida I am spoiled by having some great waters around me that are productive all the way around the boat 360 degrees. I read the OP and all of the comments since and I get the feeling that there is a stigma being put on back of the boat fishing as though it is an automatic given that front of the boat = new waters = more fish and the back of the boat = old non-productive waters = no fish. And for me it just is not so cut and dry like that. On a recent fishing trip on the St. Johns River I gave up the front of my own boat to a fishing friend of mine who thinks he knows where all the fish are. So to avoid conflict over where to go, I told him on that day you have the front, I'll take the back, go where you want to go. You drive. I also told him there is no imaginary line dividing front from back and I will cast around him sometimes if I see a fish say on his left and he is fishing off to the right I will make a cast right past him but never with any intention of messing him up. I'm just not going to let him have all the new water all the time while up front. My attitude on this situation was actually passed down to me by my father. When I was a little boy my father told me that he and his older brother did a lot of fishing together in north Florida on the St. Johns River and smaller places. My dad made it a point to tell me that he would pyss his brother off to no end because of this very situation. My dad said his older brother ALWAYS took front of the boat. He always had new water to fish. My dad being the younger, smaller brother was stuck in the back of the boat. My dad said his brother would cast to a spot and not get a bite and would often not make a second cast to the same spot. So my dad would cast into the same spot the older brother had just cast and catch a fish. My dad did this over and over to his older brother again and again. My dad said it really pyssed him off. I suppose the whole point and lesson for me to learn was that the front of boat did not always mean catching all the fish. And my dad wanted me to learn this lesson and I did. So today I refuse to let this sort of back of the boat stigma affect me. I know there are fish all around me out where I fish and the back of the boat is no different to me than the front of the boat. No one standing up there can cast to every single spot out there around us. And the few degrees out 360 that fisherman up front is blocking me from is not where all the fish are! From the back of the boat I have close to 340 degrees of a circle around me to cast to. So on December 24th about a week ago, I caught a fish in the same manner my father did to his older brother. The guy up front was moving the boat forward to where he wanted to fish next and I moved in right behind him casting a different lure to the same places he had just given up on and I catch one of the biggest bass I have ever caught over 9 pounds. My point to all of this is that we are the ones putting a stigma on back of the boat fishing and this is something that is INSIDE of us, not out there on the water that does not care. And it can only be this way if you let it. Fish do not look at a boat and all run to the front of it to make themselves only available to front of boat fishermen. Back of the boat fishing should make each of us a better fisherman, not a frustrated fisherman. If this is the case, then we need to change something inside of ourselves and with what we are doing and how we think about it, because simply switching a physical location from back to front is not the only solution here. We gotta look within ourselves and turn the back of the boat into the front of the boat inside ourselves, not let it defeat us! This is the mystic in me speaking and my dad from beyond the grave! Thanks for the wisdom dad! Wish you were still here but I'll catch them for you now! And try and pass down to my sons what he passed down to me... fishing- and that the back of the boat is not a bad place to be- or as bad as some make it out to be... What's that old saying? If life gives you lemons make lemonade? Same thing.

Gar & mudfish! Red eye too!

A little late to the party here, but yeah I've heard of it. I have one. A dam fine flipping stick for the price. On the rod itself it is called: "flip trigger rod." My main flipping stick is the old team Daiwa Denny Brauer signature series flipping rod he designed. This Quantum rod is a cheaper copy almost identical to the Team Daiwa rod in every detail, so I protect the old Denny Brauer signature rod by not using it and put all my flipping and pitching fishing over on this Quantum rod that takes all the abuse. I am not crazy about the handle, but not going to worry about it until it fails if it ever does. But the graphite rod blank this quantum is made from has really nice characteristics for a flipping stick. Lots of backbone and super fast. It does not mess around for pulling bass out of cover.

Location, location, location! Where is the Denny Brauer 1987 "flipping Techniques" VHS video tape lake location???

I want to hear a definitive location for this video! For nearly 30 years I have traveled all over Florida and wondering where it was shot. Speaking of Denny Brauer websites... I can not find a Denny Brauer or even a Chad Brauer website. I see them on other websites, but none of their own making. Do any of you know how to contact Denny or Chad Brauer via email? Talk about some guys who keep a low profile and stay away from the internet, the Brauer's are it.

When I am on the St. Johns river watching thousands of bass boiling up on bait fish in huge boils up and down the river- I match the hatch! When I have tried to throw off the wall lures at them quite often they won't even touch it. If I even try and throw a 4 inch swimbait out there and they are feeding on 2 inch bait fish, my hits are much fewer if any at all. But as I dial down into the match the hatch range the hits jump way up. Try the rubber worm in this situation and you might not even get a bite! But under other circumstances it will do very well. I'd say matching the hatch is a situational thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybopUwSuiS8 I have Glen Lau's videos. He still lives in Ocala, Florida last I heard. But his videos are more about watching bass in their natural environment and filming them underwater living naturally and how they feed, not specializing in flipping and pitching techniques though I know he shot his films working hand in hand with an old timer bass fishermen to capture some of the bass underwater hitting on lures. But as far as I know there are no Glen Lau films on specific fishing techniques. http://www.glenlau.com/ And to my knowledge, this Denny Brauer video mentioned in this thread has never been released on DVD. It is only available on VHS video tape. If it were available on DVD I would have one- and they would routinely be found on ebay and amazon.com for sale. I have not found any DVD's of this particular video for sale in nearly 30 years and believe me I look for it! I have close to 100 bass fishing video tapes and DVD's collected over 30 years and this 1987 Denny Brauer video mentioned in this thread is indeed one of the best I have ever seen on the subject. But I must confess I think one of the reasons this particular video has been so useful and educational to me is because it was shot in my backyard environment. If it was shot in a desert lake I probably would not have even bought it. I have little use for videos shot in California or desert lakes or up in the mountains. I want videos shot in my swampy Florida environment because it is more useful to me than trying to adapt some rocky mountain lake techniques into the Florida swamps, lakes, and rivers. And yes over the years I have tried contacting the Brauer's with no success at all. I figured one day I might run across him at a tournament and ask him then.

That is not a good option for me in central Florida. Or I should say not the safest option for me around here. We have some really big alligators around here and lots of them. A kayak might look kind of tasty or might trigger a territorial attack response from a big male alligator or a big female protecting young and nest, or it might think the kayak looks kind of sexy! And back up in the remote swamps and woods around here that is the last place any kayaker would want have any up close problems with a big, aggressive, hungry gator! There are places in Florida help won't come until long after it is too late. So no, I can not say I would be happier in a kayak due to environmental reasons. God knows I would not want to be in a kayak when an 11 or 12 foot gator got aggressive maybe wanting to eat a fish I had on the line reeling in close to the kayak is like offering a dog a bone. No way! Just too dangerous for us here. Other than that, they are great!

Florida has a lot of cover too. Trees in the water and along the edges. I want to spend my time on the water catching fish, not trees and other. I am not out there for lure salvage operations! So I avoid getting hung up as much as possible and take a different approach to retrieving a stuck lure usually by pulling in the opposite direction it got hung up in, in the first place. As stated, I have never used a lure retrieval device and I don't ever plan on it either. And I don't have a problem with losing any lures here in central Florida. I mean if you are getting hung up a lot to the point of having to stop fishing and go into lure retrieval operation mode, then maybe a change in fishing tactics would be a way to go about it differently? When I am on the little econ river just loaded with trees and many fallen into the river it just seems kind of counter productive to use a lure begging to hang up on every cast. So I change. I want to spend my time fishing and catching, not working on lure retrieval and NOT fishing. If it were a problem then I do something different to avoid the problem is all. So if I were to come down there to Mexico to fish with you and it was a problem, I would adjust until it was not a problem and still catch fish.

40 plus years of fishing and I have never used a lure retriever. I can't even remember the last time I lost a lure. So adding one of these now would just be another item collecting dust forever- and adding extra weight to what I carry. So for me, the answer is "not". Don't need one.

Match the hatch in my opinion should by natural inclination be more successful than NOT matching the hatch. On some of my best fishing days matching the hatch is what puts the most fish in the boat and at the fastest rate too.

Hmmm... nothing but crickets on this thread! I wonder if it is possible to email Denny or his son Chad to ask them a question like this? And on a side note... I have an autographed copy of this video tape from Denny Brauer I acquired at a tournament around the time the video was released and I have not seen Denny in person since, but I have followed his career in pro fishing because to me he is one of the greatest bass fishermen ever. Denny has a 6th sense about bass fishing which is very evident in this classic 1987 video tape of him. I suppose one of the reasons I like this video so much is because of the setting being right here in Florida and more than likely central or South Florida. Denny is shooting this video in a relaxing time with no pressure on him to catch fish and he talks a little bit about this as the video progresses. When you watch this video Denny is the only person fishing on this lake. It is surrounded by what appears to be cow fields. There are no houses, no docks. Just pure natural Florida fishing lake in pristine condition and apparently not fished very much as Denny is pulling out one fish after another like those bass have never even seen a lure. So the time of year this video was shot was obviously in the middle of summer here in Florida. I doubt if there was a concrete boat ramp for him to back his pro tournament boat into the water. I am imagining he had to cut his way into this lake, or the land owner may have helped get the boats down into the water just backing into the lake in the grass and sandy mud along the shoreline, maybe lay down some lumber to back in on. It would be kind of funny if the land owner had to use his farm tractor to help pull Denny and his boat out after this video was shot. ***I say boats because Denny is the only person on his bass boat fishing. The cameraman is on another boat. But while Denny was fishing on camera here with no pressure, he has an amazing 6th sense of where fish are in the water. I do not see this with most other professional fishermen. For those guys they run around a lake like a chicken with their head chopped off desperately trying to find fish. With Denny he can just look at the lake and you can hear him say "there's a fish right there!" or "That looks like a likely spot for a fish" as he slides his flippin' jig down into that spot and 2 seconds later is setting the hook on a fish. And sometimes Denny will say something like "there's probably another one in there!" as he flips his jig back into the same spot he just caught one, and bam! In seconds he is setting the hook on another bass! He calls it and then backs it up time and time again. I have never seen any other bass fisherman do this. Most other bass fishermen are second guessing their decisions on where fish might be. You hear words like maybe or that is a likely spot where fish might be, but with Denny he is sure of it and he says so. "There's a fish right there!" But I am going to tell you that in my opinion on this video tape of Denny fishing that unknown mystery lake here in Florida caught on camera was one of the most amazing catches in pro bass history! Denny was working his boat into the wind and slowly creeping along the reed lined shoreline picking apart the cover inch by inch. And just like a fishing machine he quietly places his jig into precise spots without a splash or a noise, and he says "there's a likely spot" and as his jig slips beneath the surface he is silently counting it down one, one thousand, two, one thousand and Denny saw the cattail reed shake and he sets the hook on a nice 6 or 7 pound bass! How many of us are so in tune with what is going on and paying super close attention to detail to notice a reed shake a little bit and do an instant hook set??? I have watched this one catch over and over and over again trying to learn from Denny every detail of that one catch. It was amazing to me. I had never seen anything like that before or since and for someone to catch it on camera was amazing! Denny Brauer showed me in that one catch why he is truly one of the greatest pro bass fishermen ever. After that catch and Denny is standing on his boat holding his trophy bass he is explaining on camera how he did not even see his line move. And that he did not even know he had a fish on the line. The only reason he set the hook was because some plant in the background shook just a little bit side to side because some big bass just 2 feet beneath the surface had just swished its tail to move forward mere inches to inhale Denny's jig and then just sit there. Another thing I learned from Denny watching this video was in how he uses his fingers to feel the line just outside the line guide on the reel. Until I watched this video I had never done that either. Now I do thanks to Denny and this video. Not only is Denny one of the best there ever was and is, Denny is also a great teacher. Denny Brauer deserves more credit in my opinion and more attention before we lose a great one like him. I'd like to see more of him on TV than we do now. Denny Brauer and this one old video tape has been a big influence on me and my bass fishing here in Florida since its release back in 1987. To this day I consider this video probably one of the best flipping and pitching videos ever made and it is just a dam shame this video has never been re-released in digital format on a DVD. It should be!

I grew up in Florida and what you just described is precisely a rig I have gravitated to over the years. A lot of the canals are full of weeds and vegetation that a lure can get lost in real fast and so I had to lighten up the lure to the point of throwing nothing more than a hook and a piece of rubber. I have tried this on various baitcast reels but can not get them to cast as well as a spinning rod. I use a hefty 7' MH-F spinning rod and I like to use just one type of reel on it made by shimano. There are several different models available, but back in the 1980's shimano patented a fighting star mechanism for their baitcast reels. It is a drag mech that allows the user to dial in their preferred drag on the dial, and then use the star to tighten it up or back it off without changing the original preferred setting at the midway point. Shimano modified this patented drag mech and adapted it on to some of their spinning reels in the 1990's and I have been using them ever since. Shimano has even recently reintroduced this type of drag mech to some of their spinning reels, but I have tried their newer version and found that I like the older drag mech much better. The older one just worked better than the newer one I tried out. On this reel I use 20 pound braid. I can use this rig to cast long distances and hit precise spots accurately. I can pitch and flip with it to some degree too. It is sort of a finesse set up using heavier gear, but it works. 7' long rod is about perfect- at least to me. Going shorter just does not feel right and does not cut it for me. Anything longer is just not necessary. And for the reel, definitely try out one of those shimano fighting drag spinning reels. They are easy to adjust when a bass is on the hook. I set the fighting drag knob to midway point, set the drag dial to where I want it, and then lock down the drag with the fighting drag handle so when I need to set the hook it is there and once hooked, I can back off on the drag with that fighting drag handle as needed. It works for canals! Here is a reel I found on ebay similar to the one I use. Same reel, but I do not use a double handle like this one has. I would change that handle to standard. Here is a look at that fighting drag... when the handle is straight up and down at midway point, then set the round dial for the drag you want it to stay at, and then you can play around with the fighting drag handle all you want to without changing your original drag setting. This is ideal for throwing light weedless rubber through thick cover in canals. If it works, it works.

I am starting this thread hoping someone out there knows the answer and can solve this mystery once and for all time. Back in September of 1987 one of the most educational videos ever made on pitching and flipping was released to the world. It was Denny Brauer's "Flipping Techniques" released on the now outdated VHS video tape format. To this day now nearly 30 years later, this video has never been re-released nor brought into the digital era of DVD's. It seems destined to slide off into obscurity lost in the past- but it shouldn't. This is one of the best videos ever made on the subject. Before posting this thread I did a search on this old video tape and I found only one copy for sale- just one- on amazon.com for $78.99. It is a very rare video tape of Denny Brauer, a new classic champion at the time on his way up in the pro bass fishing tournament circles, and on this video tape Denny is shown fishing on what appears to be a private lake somewhere in Florida, but where? I have never been able to find out what lake or, where this video was shot. And so I thought I would ask the members of this forum for help in trying to figure out the exact location this classic educational instruction video was shot at. Does anyone know?

Not all of them, just that if you look at Bass Pro Shops available pistol grip rods made today, all of them are priced under $20. So I think the point was that today's newer pistol grip rods are being built to a lower standard. Like you, I have older pistol grip rods that are of a much higher quality like my old Shimano graphite rod from the mid 1980's. It is a very nice quality graphite rod with stainless steel almost chrome handle. They are not making them like this any more. Here is an example of the higher quality shimano rod of the past: Tournament bass professionals were using these back in mid 80's. It was good stuff back then. Still is today, but this is not what you will find at Bass Pro today, not even close!

This past week I was visiting mom in north Florida for Christmas and I hit probably a dozen pawn shops and scored some really nice rods and good deals. I think I left town with 4 new to me used rods. Now I have some right handed reels (from the rods I bought) to overhaul and throw on ebay to recoup some of the money I spent on getting these rods, some of which I had never seen before. Brand is not important. Feel and quality is- and this can come from anywhere at any time. Don't just rely on new rods! Consider pawn shops, thrift stores, garage sales, and more and find those awesome used rods too!

I dropped even slower to a 3.8:1 curado on a 7' MH-F & 12lb Sufix.

I need a new flippin' and pitching reel too. So come on fellas and fess up. Who makes the best? And what speed?

For me, I absolutely do not stay with one rod (or reel) company. No way! Too many great rods (and reels) out there for me to limit myself to just one brand. In my world brand is not an issue, but a mere curiosity. I hold the rod and feel its characteristics. I either like it or I don't. Brand names are irrelevant. If I had to try and produce a list of rod brands I own it would be well past 30 or more different brand names and custom rods... In my opinion sticking with just one brand is extremely limiting. Be more open to trying others! For me, quite often when I find a rod I like, I find only one of them. And presently I have google and ebay searches programmed for about 5 different rods I would love to just find a second one like it... brand names are just a way to identify that which I seek.

Great idea for a thread... One line that has always stuck with me over the years came from a Bob Seger song called "Against The Wind" when Bob sings this line: " Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then " Back in context of the song: "Against The Wind" It seems like yesterday But it was long ago Janey was lovely, she was the queen of my nights There in the darkness with the radio playlng low And the secrets that we shared The mountains that we moved Caught like a wildfire out of control Till there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove And I remember what she said to me How she swore that it never would end I remember how she held me oh so tight Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then Against the wind We were runnin' against the wind We were young and strong, we were runnin' Against the wind And the years rolled slowly past And I found myself alone Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends I found myself further and further from my home And I guess I lost my way There were oh so many roads I was living to run and running to live Never worried about paying or even how much I owed Moving eight miles a minute for months at a time Breaking all of the rules that would bend I began to find myself searchin' Searchin' for shelter again and again Against the wind A little something against the wind I found myself seeking shelter against the wind Well those drifters days are past me now I've got so much more to think about Deadlines and commitments What to leave in, what to leave out Against the wind I'm still runnin' against the wind I'm older now but still running Against the wind Well I'm older now and still running Against the wind

If I said lower standard let me clarify that I meant that what I see today on Bass Pro Shops website for example is that all of the pistol grip rods cost $10.99 to $19.99 and are made in China type of thing. It is not like Bass Pro is selling any high end $200 plus dollar pistol grip rods. Huge difference in between. Like you, I have an old pistol grip 6' MH fast action Berkley Bionix graphite rod. It is light and sensitive and strong and now 25 years old and still like new. But I am not sure about those new BPS $10.99 pistol grippers is anywhere close to the quality level we are use to today. I'd call that a lower standard. Hey I know a lower standard! I see it in Walmart all the time. My two young sons are always grabbing for them too, the spider man blue plastic kid rod and reels... My 2 year old keeps yelling "mine" every time we pass by them as he is reaching for it...

So what I am reading here repeated a couple of times is that some fishermen believe that they can cast more accurately with pistol grip rods than they can with rod-blank-through-the-handle rods. If this is true, then what is it that makes the difference? Is it because the pistol grip rods are shorter and are held in the hand more like a wand? Or, is it because in rod-blank-through-the-handle rods that maybe the extra rod blank that extends beyond the grip point is getting in the way some how? I am curious what some of you think gives some of us the thought that we can cast more accurately with a pistol grip rod than the more modern type with rod-blank-through-the-handle?

Abu website has most of the schematics for their reels for free download and viewing. http://www.abugarcia.com/AbuGarcia-reel-schematics.html Get the schematic for your reel and replace the part. Simple as that. Make sure when you begin taking the reel apart that you have a place where you can lay out the parts in order as you remove them and put it back together in reverse order usually works. Also make sure you don't have any cats around who like to jump up there and start playing with your parts scattering them all over the place.