The Bassman

This. ^^^

Just soak them in solvent (mineral spirits, acetone, lacquer thinner), spin them on the spool shaft and air dry for a little while. Re-oil and you're done. Purists use an ultrasonic cleaner but this way your bearings will be plenty fast. Set your brakes a bit higher at first or you'll get a surprise on your first cast.

So said Bill Dance.

Braid to mono dia. comparisons are very inaccurate by reason that braid is not solid. No matter how much it is sold as being round it is not. Braids take up more space on a reel than their mono "equivilant" lb. test.

Thanks for the tip. I service my baitcasters but avoid my worm gear for this reason. I just clean and lube it as best as I can while still assembled.

I have a Curado 100B with a Chronarch 50 MG spool and upgraded handle. It takes no back seat to any of my newer and pricier stuff.

Daiwa PMA 10

Ditto in central IN. Better things on the horizon.

Mix up your retrieve. Let it fall a little then give it a pop. Hang on.

I was the same way with chatterbaits until this season. I forced myself to stick with them a few times earlier this year and am glad I did.

My new secret weapon this year for LM. Are you rigging it backwards? I cut a notch out of mine to give the hook point a little more bite.

Just close your eyes and point. They're all fine. SLX will save you some $ over the others. Several guys have mentioned the Daiwa as being a trouble free caster.

You're likely referring to the Blue, Flatrock, and Driftwood rivers. Throw in Sugar Creek and you've got lots of choices. Problem right now is high water. It'll settle down eventually. There's some good smallmouth fishing available there. If you're live baiting be prepared for some big cats, too.

There's a matching Regal rod lineup that feels really light because of some counterbalancing in the rear grip. would work great for your application. Edit: Rod is actually listed as RG Walleye 6'6" medium through several sources. Wally World has it under 60 bucks shipped. I handled this rod at our local Gander Outdoors and it would be great for light work in spite of its medium rating Sorry. Rod I handled was ML. If you Google it other sources have it.

Roughed up hand vs. just thumb = big bass.

Really didn't mean for this to be a war of words about hooks. FWIW I try to rationalize when I'm losing fish that it's all for fun and if they get loose I still enjoyed the fight without having to deal with a deep hooked fish. (Easy to say that at 5:00 AM when I'm not fishing). I appreciate the input but it's time to take a deep breath and relax.

I googled up several.

Anybody ever get on a bad roll where it seems you just can't keep fish pinned? I was about 5 for 20 tonight on a weightless wacky Senko. Other times I can do no wrong. Hook, a Berkley 2/0 weedless wacky Fusion was plenty sharp and the fluorocarbon weedguard is usually not an issue. The fishing gods certainly humbled me.

Again, don't let the 6Lb. rating throw you. It's thicker than your 8 lb. PP and stronger.

I use it on one of my Stradic CI4+ 2500's. It's very strong and smooth. Sufix rates their lines one size under other US manufacturers. 8 lb. is at least PP 10. Even the 6 is supposedly almost the same dia as PP 10. I don't notice much diff between my 832 6lb. and 8.

Good to see you fishing moving water again. Just wish our creeks would get wadeable here in central IN.

I've had that feeling many times. I had 8lb. Fins braid do that recently. Now I tend to avoid it. Funny, I used my 6lb. to wrestle 3 & 4 lbrs. under a storm drain with no problems. My biggest concern is that the fish gets free of my lure when I break off.

This for sure. Smoothest of the bunch. Daiwas feel good from the top models all the way down and this is coming from a guy who mostly uses Shimano.

This is how it serves me. The small profile makes contact bait fishing very efficient. Moving baits work fine, too. I just don't care for the feel of the aluminum gears that comes with this technique. I hear of guys using these for heavier apps with no problem.

I doubt you'll find anything and FWIW manual drilling can mess up a spool's balance. You're apt to have a buzzing reel when you're done.