The Bassman

Reel is from the early 80's. Represented the early transition to today's low profile reels. They were very popular along with Shimano's Bantams at the time. Actually very able casters albeit slow by today's retrieve ratios. They looked great on short pistol grip rods.

Also, any straight Shimano handle will fit. I have a Chronarch 200E handle on mine. It looks like it was designed to be there. I also have a Chronarch 50 MG spool in mine which makes it a completely different animal. Casts as well as my newer stuff. I find myself reaching for it all the time over my Ald 50.

If memory serves me it was called the Falls City Fishing Show in its' early years. I used to enjoy the end of each episode as he referred to his dad who "always had time to take me fishing".

Retention lakes are opening up in Indy. Got out for a little while this afternoon and managed a few small ones. Sure felt good after this past month. I just hope we don't go into a long cold spell like before and have to wait till March for ice out.

You can get a new Curado K for under 150 on the Bay. Daiwa SV TW can be had for less. Both are great reels.

My biggest of '17 (7 lb.ish) came on a dink bass stuck to a #5 Rippin' Rap. Both bass were released unharmed.

Noisy ice is strong ice. Dangerous ice is quiet. It used to make me nervous, too. I've had ice crack right through the hole I was fishing. When ice gets real thick you have to be careful not to trip over the pressure ridges that form from the heaving. What keeps me off the ice anymore is the cold. Give me an April day in the 70's.

I've been fishing most of my 64 years and have considered myself pretty proficient since I was a young adult. However, as I've gotten older I realize how much I don't know. Input from these forums has enhanced my skills considerably in just the past year or so. That said, what I do know is that my skill set involves a very small slice of this sport. I bank fish so knowledge involving boats, finding bass in large waters, and electronics is totally lacking. The wonderful thing about bass fishing is that it can be enjoyed in different ways. I love a warm afternoon of wading for smallmouth. A person in Fla. can't say that because it's not available to him locally. I'd like to think that I'm always learning and improving within the scope of what I do.

Been using TSI 321 for a while now and have no complaints. I bought a 4 oz. bottle for around 18.00 bucks that should last a very long time. I'm not sure about all of its claims but it does seem to last a good while in my spool bearings.

Thawing and refreezing can be hard to predict. There are factors other than just thickness at this point. A brief warm up won't thin ice as much as it will saturate it. A lot of strength is lost when water gets into it. That said, it will eventually become safe after refreezing. This where it becomes difficult to be specific. Test it close to the bank and several times on your way out. Any stratification with slush (think parfait) is bad news. Be careful.

I use and really like G Loomis classic bass rods. American Legacy is a good source. Several vendors on E-Bay have them too.

You ever notice how much better they cast at home with a practice plug than they do in the real world?

We finally got above freezing after two weeks of near and below zero. I'm off today so doing some driveway fishing. No hits yet but getting a few looks.

Such tactics may work on a glossy reel, but I wouldn't do it on yours.

And one day we will have magic reels with no ball bearings that you have to be careful not to spool out when you cast.

Love to fish a lipless. They cast great, have little resistance, and there's nothing like that hard thump when they get bit. Also, I get a lot of strikes at my feet from followers. A real wake me up!

I have a nice 5 wt. outfit that I would love to use for smallmouth in creeks. I've always had trouble controlling my back cast and never mastered a roll cast. Not too many bass in the trees.

I love mine, too. They're a little heavier and sit higher, but I find myself reaching for them all the time. One has a Chronarch 50 MG spool with a Chronarch 200E handle. It holds its own against any of my newer stuff. The other is actually a JDM Scorpion 1000. It comes stock with the MG spool. I added a 90 mm carbon handle to it. The short stock handles that came with these reels are the one thing I didn't like at all.

Probably 6-8 lbs. I own two. Saw the same post on TT. Don't be too concerned about specifics. Too much emphasis is placed on drag strength. I replaced the old drag washers with carbontex and they're more than adequate.

Daiwa's Tatula 2000 looks awful good and it's under 6 oz. I'm a Shimano guy but all of their 2000 choices are JDM.

No. It's bigger. I never cared for the smaller knobs. I even switched out the knobs on my Ald. for PG II grips. Looks a little big but feels great.

In defense of this member he's new and I think it would better represent these forums to not welcome him by laughing him off the stage. I can remember some of my logic being pretty laughable in the earlier stages of my learning curve.

Why? You'll need them at some point. Spool bearings need cleaning and oiling periodically and your brake race needs cleaned and oiled occasionally. When I started baitcasting I thought I was an expert. I realized over time that I was fishing a gummed up reel and getting half my potential distance, A good cleaning and lube humbled me real fast. Wind, lure choice, and reel maintenance will dictate your braking needs. Thumb, spool tension, and brakes (cent. or mag) are engineered to work together. If you're leaving one out you're just compensating with the others. Sometimes you need two on and sometimes you need more.

This afternoon was almost a carbon copy of yesterday. Caught eight with again one just shy of three lbs. Picked up a cheap digital scale on E-Bay a while back to keep me honest. Most came on a blade with the bigger one and an eater crappie on a TRD. Everybody have a safe and merry Christmas.

Much appreciated @Team9nine. You've really upped my game since being on this site the past year. Have a good Christmas