The Pond King

Hi everyone, I'm familiar with breaking down reels and cleaning them. However, when I was looking to simply oil up the bearings on my Daiwa baitcasters, I noticed that some Daiwa baitcasters have some kind of brace that's blocking the bearings on the handle side. I'm sure this is part of the zero adjuster feature. How do I remove this brace to access the handle side bearings to apply oil? I'm not looking to tear down the entire reel, I simply want to expose the handle side bearings to put in a drop of oil. I tried researching YouTube videos, googling online, and researching forums, but I couldn't find anything. I've attached a picture to show what I mean.

I have one. A 7' MHF. Chinese made or not, it's a good rod period and an excellent value for the money. It balances better than an Avid 7' MHF and is slightly more sensitive, too. It also has Fuji guides and decent cork. Plus, it's only a third of the price of an Avid. I like buying American made, but you can't deny that this rod punches wayyy above its weight. I also handled a $80 Falcon Evo 7' MF spinning rod at Walmart and was shocked at how light and sensitive it was. Again, it beat out an equivalent St. Croix Avid 7' MF spinning in terms balance and sensitivity. They're cheap in terms of price, but they are good quality.

I wasted too much money on heavier swim jigs. I don't really fish 1/2oz swim jigs much. There's never a need to fish 3/4 or 1oz swim jigs on my home waters. I fish 1/4oz almost exclusively, and every now and again a 3/8oz. For spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, I prefer a 1/2oz, but definitely not for swim jigs. There's lot of good ones on the market. However, you can't go wrong with Dirty Jigs or Sieberts. The ones by 6th sense also look good, and I have one on the way. However, my favorite swim jig, overall, is a JDM Keitech Swing Swimmer. It's not really well known because it's a JDM bait, but it's probably the nicest swim jig I've ever seen. The quality and attention to detail is outstanding. Look at how beautiful it is. Pics don't really do it justice. It looks even better in real life.

I have a lot of these jigs because I bought them during the blowout sale where I got them for a $1 each. There are two versions. Once uses a regular j-bend hook Gamakatsu #604, and the EWG version just uses a Gammy EWG hook. Neither of these hooks are stout, but it works as designed since it's a football jig. It's not designed for close quarters pitchin' with heavy braid. I'm huge braid fan, but for the Dobyn's football jigs, I recommend using 15 - 20lb fluorocarbon to add some stretch so as to not bend the hooks out.

Threads like these make me feel glad that I'm not the only one. I've been buying so much tackle lately it's not even funny. Too much money has been squandered on tackle lol. Lately, I've been obsessed with the chatterbait, so now, I have a boatload full of them. Buying tackle when you already have more than enough is not a financially sound decision because you're just incurring liabilities and depreciating assets, but life's too short not to have fun. There's much worse things to waste money on.

If it were me, I'd go with a St. Croix Triumph 7' MLF (TRS70MLF), and I'd buy the newly released Shimano Sahara FJ 3000 spinning reel.

There are different schools of thought on hook setting technique. Some say to not set the hook right away and wind down until you feel pressure and then use a sweeping hook set especially when fishing with fluorocarbon for football jigs in situations where you're casting out far and deep but even also for flippin/pitchin. Others say that you should set the hook right away as soon as you feel a bite i.e. soon after you feel a bite, lower the rod as you reel up the slack as quick as possible and set the hook immediately. I've experimented with both, and regardless of the scenario, setting the hook as soon as you have a bite has resulted in higher percentage of hook ups in my experience. I believe that as quick as a bass can hit a lure, he can also spit it out just as quickly. Sure, there's cases where a bass could hit a jig and hold onto to it for a while, giving you the leeway to take your time, but I'd rather not take my chances. Senkos are another story. Senkos are so soft and full of salt that a bass will hold onto that thing and swallow it every single time if you wait too long, but I think a bass can detect that a jig is unnatural and spit it out. You should also check the weed guard. Depending on the manufacturer, some weed guards are really stiff and some are really limber. You can clip off some strands to make it less stiff or you can fan out the guard or do a combination of both. You should always trim the length of the weed guard so that it does extend passed the barb of the hook. There are times where I don't shorten the trailer to get the largest possible profile, but to make the lure more compact, you can cut off some of the trailer. I've seen a bass strike just hit the tail of the trailer before. With a more compact profile, there's less of a chance that he'll miss the hook. Your set up should work fine, but I feel that a Dobyn's heavy is like other manufacturers MH. Flipping jigs have thick wire hooks and often times, stiff guards. Perhaps, a Dobyn's XH, 50lb braid, and bone jarring hook set might help, too.

Fishing pressure is a very real thing. Once a bass has been caught, with a hook through it's face, fighting for its life, it's gonna take some time for that bass to recover and become unconditioned to lures again. This is why finesse fishing is becoming very important now due to the increased pressure, but if everyone else is finesse fishing, then what?

Hey guys, I’m looking for a dedicated 3/4oz to 1oz football jig rod. I will be using this rod to cast long distances and drag football jigs in various water depths. Now, I do have a GLX 844C MBR, Dobyns Champion Extreme 745HP, and even a GLX 954 FPR. I find that the 844C and DX 745 are fantastic rods. However, I feel like they are slightly underpowered for 3/4oz and 1oz football jigs, in my opinion, but they can get the job done without any problems. For instance, the DX 745 isn’t as powerful as you are led on to believe from reading the specs. As for the GLX 954 FPR, I’m aware that it wasn’t designed for dragging footballs but have tried fishing football jigs with it, anyways, and it’s a tip heavy pool cue, so I can’t fish with it comfortably all day. It’s simply just too powerful and too long. Anyways, I’m looking for a rod that is between 7’ – 7’ 6” that can handle 3/4oz football jigs and the occasional 1oz. I’m looking for a rod that is perhaps a half power stronger than DX 745 but don’t want a pool cue. The GLX 855 JWR has piqued my interest, but there are not many reviews on this rod. Anyways, I don’t want to be one track minded and be able to make the best choice. As you know, reading specs isn’t always reliable as each manufacturer has their own ratings, so I need your guys’ help from your guys’ experience. I’m looking for a rod with enough power to be capable of handling heavy football jigs that are dragging across bottom but can also effectively deflect the jigs off of rocks while simultaneously not being a broomstick. In addition, I’d like this rod to be super sensitive to detect what my jig is making contact with on the bottom and to easily distinguish it from a fish bite. Which rod would you recommend for a high end 3/4oz and 1oz football jig?

I'm beyond impressed with the new Shimano Nexave FI spinning reel. It's only $50, but it performs like a $250 reel. The 2500 is 8.8oz which may be slightly heavier than other 2500 class reels, but I don't notice it. For reference, I've owned a Twin Power ($420 retail) and Stradic FL ($220 retail), and I own a Ci4+ ($240 retail). I kid you not, it feels smoother than those spinning reels. The Nexave is really all you need for spinning.

I'd recommend the Avid X 6' 6" MF, but it's been discontinued, unfortunately. It's an excellent rod. You might be able to find it on the used market.

Mike, why'd you have to post this? I've been spending too much on tackle lately, but I can't resist this sale! Honestly, your jigs are the best.

Bass Pro has a sale on Strike King Ochos. 30 pack for only $6.99. This is a great deal! On TackleWarehouse, you'd pay $4.59 for an 8 pack, so $6.99 for 30 is a steal. If you include tax, it's 25 cents per bait vs 62 cents. I checked out the Ocho's underwater action on YouTube, and they've got a nice shimmy. It's very close to a senko. Strike King KVD Perfect Plastics Ocho 30-Pack | Bass Pro Shops

Thanks for the replies y'all. I guess there really isn't a consensus on this matter and probably comes down to personal preference.

Hi y'all! I recently purchased a bunch of Dobyn's Extreme Football Jigs that were on a blowout sales for a $1 each. These jigs look great. However, they use an EWG hook vs a J bend hook that I'm used to. Anyways, I wanted to get your guys' opinion on EWG hooks on jigs. Based on your experience, how's the hook-up ratio on jigs with EWG hooks? Does it matter?

This is the single best deal I've ever found on jigs. I can't thank the OP @Columbia Craw enough for posting this. I made three orders because I kept going back and buying some more because it was such an unbeatable deal. I ended up buying $276 worth, so that's 276 jigs because they were only a $1 each. You can't build a jig for $1 even if you went to Barlow's, Jann's, Lure Parts Online, or even eBay. Although these jigs were only purchased for a $1 each, the quality of these jigs are easily on par with $5+ jigs on the market. These jigs have a hand tied collar, gammie hook, and super high-quality skirt that's made out of living rubber and silicone. There are $5+ jigs on the market that don't even have a hand tied collar, and they come with a cheap rubber collar that either rots aways or gets the skirts out of alignment; it's laughable! Some $5+ dollar jigs on the market have a cheap Mustad hook and a rubber collar. These jigs have already made me better jig fisherman because I'm not hesitant to throw these jigs in rip rap. After losing a few to the rocks, I've got my technique dialed into where I'm not losing as much to snags while still maintaining bottom contact. I don't really care that much if I lose a $1 jig, but I would definitely care if I'm poppin' off multiple $4 - 5 jigs. Jigs gotta be fished in some nasty stuff, so losing jigs are inevitable. I'll still be ordering some Siebert's jigs because his jigs are still a cut above, but since I'm good on 3/4oz and 1oz footballs, I'm just gonna get a bunch of his grid iron brush jigs in 1/2oz.

I have ordered from them before, and they are legit. I thought I ordered a 7' 2" Light GLX trout rod, but I actually ordered the G. Loomis Trout Series Rod accidentally in the same exact specs as the GLX trout rod that I originally intended to get. Coincidentally, they just so happened to be out of stock of the Trout Series Rod and offered to upgrade it to a GLX version for free, so I got a $500 rod for $300. After receiving the rod, I still wasn't satisfied with it after getting my hands on it. I didn't like the recoil guides, and even though it was a GLX, it didn't feel as sensitive to me. Maybe because it was a two piece. I ended up contacting their customer service, and they let me return it for free. They have pretty outstanding customer service that goes above and beyond the norm. Buy with confidence.

This is what the rep told me: It is quite common after M&As for products and services that were previously available get discontinued or the quality drastically drops.

It really is a shame that they aren't carrying those jig heads anymore! I've been meaning to try those plain wire jig heads with a hula grub because of your recommendation. I just contacted them to see if they'll be having them in stock for the future. I sure hope so.

Thanks so much for posting this @Columbia Craw! I stocked up. This is the best deal I've ever seen on jigs anywhere. I'll probably never need 3/4 and 1oz jigs ever again. I've previously bought Dobyns' football jigs (not the Extreme) before. They are great quality. They use a high quality skirt, and it's hand tied. The only negative thing I'd say about it is, that the 604 Gamakatsu jig hook they use is not a heavy wire hook. I'm not confident that it can take the abuse of fishing with braid and hard sets on big fish, so I bought some of their Extreme Football jigs because it looks like it has a beefier hook.

I have a lot of experience with St. Croix rods now as well as with G. Loomis, so I can help you. Off the top of my head, I own an Avid 7' MHF Casting, Avid 6' 8" MXF Casting, Avid 6' 8" MXF Spinning, Avid 7' ULF Spinning, Avid X 6' 6" MF Casting, Avid 6' 9" MLXF Spinning, and I have an Avid 7' MF Casting on the way. I also own a St. Croix Legend Elite 7' MF Spinning, Legend Elite 7'1 MHXF Casting, and I even own a St. Croix Victory 7' 3" MXF. One of the best models out of the St. Croix Avid line is the Avid 6' 8" MXF Spinning. The Avid 6' 8" MXF Casting is just as good. Interestingly, the casting version of the 6' 8" MXF has a slightly more sensitive and lighter tip than the spinning version even though they are the same power and action spec wise. They are both good rods and among the best models in the Avid line, in my opinion. Light, balanced, well designed, reliable, and alright sensitivity. Although it's not what you're looking for, the Avid X 6' 6" MF Casting feels like it's the lightest, most sensitive, and the best balanced out of all of the Avid rods that I have. The aluminum oxide Kigan guides haven't given me any issues yet, but I just don't like mini guides when throwing weightless soft plastics. The worst out of all of the Avids I own is the Avid 7' MHF Casting rod. It's tip heavy. However, I've finally come to like this rod now somewhat because it works well as a spinnerbait, chatterbait, and swimjig rod. It can do alright in a pinch for jigs, and it's acceptable as a pitching rod for 3/8oz weighted Texas rigs, but the sensitivity is lacking for my preference when it comes to bottom contact baits, and it's not pleasant for these techniques because it's tip heavy. Out of the rods you are thinking of choosing, go with the USA made Avid 6' 8" MXF Spinning. It's the most comfortable spinning rod I own. I like the foregrip on this rod. Fits my hand like a glove. That's the best part about this rod. In fact, I like the Avid 6' 8" MXF more than my twice as expensive Legend Elite MF Spinning, but that's a story for another time.

Peraventure..

My personal favorites are.. 1. Senko 2. Fat Ika 3. Flukes like D Shad, Caffeine Shad, or Zoom Super Flukes 4. Yamamoto Kreature I tried other soft plastics weightless, but if it’s not salt impregnated, they sink too slow. For example, the Yum brand. I plan on experimenting with a “floating” worm in the future by twitching a Zoom trick worm on top water.

I have a St. Croix Legend Elite that's way worse than that. I couldn't believe how much space there was in between the threads. Terribly loosely wrapped. It's just a little less noticeable because every guide foot wrap is a dark gray thread that blends into the dark green color of the painted blank. What's more, only the first guide from the reel seat has a highlight threads; a very mundane and boring rod from an aesthetic perspective. It really must be old grandmas with arthritis wrapping them things. I have low end and mid range rods that are made in China with better thread wraps than this! That's sad. What's worse is that I had to wait 4 months since I purchased this on Black Friday because they ran out of stock due to covid. I'm thinking St. Croix is rushing these builds, and they're coming out looking ugly. Who knows what their raw blanks really look like. I'm certain they paint them to cover the blemishes.

After doing lots of research and digging through many old forum posts, I decided to do something completely radical, and decided to get the Avid 6' 8" MXF Casting rod. I realized that I have a need for a 6' 8" MXF Casting rod because I don't currently have one in my line up. Thanks for steering me away from the E6X guys. I was sooo close to getting the E6X.