newapti5

I don't know which river you're referring to, but the Susquehanna river in Harrisburg area, though shallow, could be quite dangerous for wading due to its rocky bottom. There's one time me and my fishing buddy were wading along the river for walleye fishing. It was getting dark, and we stayed close to the bank, casting towards the currents in the middle. His lure got snagged, and since he's familiar with the area, he decided to move in and retrieve it. One second he was there, the next he's gone. He emerged from the water about 10 seconds later, and told me he was "sucked" into something. Luckily, the bottom at that spot wasn't as rocky as the river bottom normally is, otherwise he might have hit something hard when he fell.

Yes, I noticed that as well, but not all the time. I'd say about ~30% of my FG knots with 20+ wraps will have some seemingly "loose" wraps at the beginning, and these are the knots that I didn't tie very well - could be the early wraps being too loose, or the first couple half-hitch knots being too tight. Nonetheless, I still believe that these "loose" wraps are crucial to the knot strength, especially during strong hooksets. After I'd fished the knot for awhile, especially after some big ones, I noticed those "loose" knots weren't loose anymore. They became cinched in normally, and helped maintain the knot strength. I think the YouTube channel Salt Strong did a test on FG knot wraps, and they also found that 20 wraps are the minimum to keep the knot strength at the proclaimed 90%+ of tensile strength. For the matter of 20 wraps making the knot too long to pass the guides smoothly, TBH I've never had that issue. I mostly use 20~30lb braids and 12-15lb FC leader.

I think 15 FC to 30 braid is fine, but you'll need to do 20 wraps minimum. I even do 25 wraps for slicker braids like Smackdown.

How should I check the AR bearing besides sight inspection for rust? Thanks!

Mind if I ask how it is compared to others, like Sniper or Tasty?

I was having trouble purchasing them in store. The store won't follow the website pricing, and I had to order online and pickup in store. But despite of that, and their "unorthodox" promotion email pic, the sales is legit.

No. As a Daiwa fanboy, I've experienced some QC issue with Daiwa reels, but I've also run into similar issue with Shimano reels - some of my Shimano BC developed "geary" feeling much earlier than they should.

No, never heard of it. And their pricing isn't that competitive either TBH.

My local Gander Mountain had a liquidation sale 7 years ago, and changed its name to Gander Outdoor. Then it had another liquidation sale 4 years ago, and closed shop. Those are the two times I shop there. I am cheap like that. Besides the majority orders through Internet, I still visit my local shops, but mostly for chatting with friends.

When you turn the handle, the moving parts inside that reel are the main gear with drag pads, the pinion gear, and the idle gears for level wind. These are all rotating parts, so if they got into contact with other parts that they shouldn't, they would only make scratching sounds, not clicking sounds. So if you're sure it's a clicking sound, it may not come from the above gears. A clicking sound could come from bearings - AR bearing and other bearings. You could remove the spool and see if the sound still exists. If yes, then it may come from the bearings inside the reel.

Why do you want to flip the reel upside-down, before the drag star and handle, as well as the AR bearing sleeve and main gear inside, are all locked in place? Try to assemble the whole thing with drive shaft facing upwards, and make sure everything is stacked up on each other with no gaps in-between. Then, you could flip the reel to whichever direction for testing.

It seems to me that you already have the answer. Medium power Expride is good choice for an all-purpose rod, especially the popular 6'10" M model with a 1/4 - 3/4 lure weight range. I use mine for bottome contatct lures and jerkbaits/crankbaits/poppers...

Has anyone tried this JDM lure? Seems like an interesting design. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Deps_Sakamata_Shad_Soft_Jerkbait/descpage-DSSJ.html

What line are you using? With mono, I believe a single improved clinch knot would suffice. But for fluoro, I must use double improved clinch knot and have no problem with it. No matter single or double, sometimes when the line surface is frayed and not smooth, I could have problem cinching it down, even with water to lubricate. And if I force it down, the knot would be twisted into a ball. In my experience, that would be the only case when improved clinch knots fail.

I used to have both Deputy and Maestro. If you're impressed with Deputy's sensitivity, then you'd be pleasantly surprised by Maestro's. To me, their sensitivity are NOT on the same level, with Maestro's much better. Also, Maestro balances better.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256801183711801.html Best cheap handle you'd find.

@Siebert Outdoors Any chance of a Fourth of July sale? Me and my buddy are looking to restock some jigheads. Thanks!

Gee, these look exactly like Abu's knobs on the Revo Premier reels, which I am quite fond of.

In that case, check if you put all the shims back in where they originally were. If a shim is supposed to be with the bottom bearing, but you put it with the top bearing, there is a chance that the bottom of the knob would be pushed against the handle, leaving a gap inside. And the top bearing will be with too many shims, causing the screw cannot be tightened all the way. I hope I make it clear.

I think Gomexus used to make Titanium knobs, but not anymore. I happened to find some on JDM sites. IMO the quality is almost as good as Livre, and they're light as well. They definitely copied Livre though, and for some reason, they never copied any big knobs like the Fino+, which I personally prefer. I think Quantum handles use different knobs and bearings. Shimano and Daiwa knobs use 4x7x2.5mm bearings, but Quantum knobs use 5x8x2.5mm bearings, same as Abu and Lew's.

For light rods, I would go as light as possible with the reels as well. Vanford would be my choice, instead of the relatively heavy Stradics. Daiwa's LT reels are pretty light as well, as the name suggests, Light & Tough.

This is like asking "where to buy a smartphone." A question so general makes answering it difficult. Anyway, if you want genuine Shimano knobs, here's their US official site: https://fishshop.shimano.com/

Besides shims/washers, make sure the bearing(s) is properly installed, which means it's pushed all the way down. I use a tweezer to do that.

Wouldn't you feel the lack of sensitivity while fishing bottom contact lures with monos in PA, especially around some deeper water? Anyway, thanks for the heads-up on the piscifun spooler. I agree that combining line counter to a line spooler seems like a perfectly natural idea. Why haven't they done it? You took the words out of my mouth.

I wish 832 and PowerPro have the same thoughtful design.