Micro

How are Quantum rods? As good as their reels?

Let me tell you a thing or two about Daiwa Zillions....

And I decided to grab this Northern Watersnake as he came near my boat. He left me a love bite....

Snakes won't bother you. However, I have had a Northern Watersnake crawl up my outboard. He kept coming at the boat and finally he disappeared. I looked around for him and found him wrapped around the linkages near the hinge. I purposely inched my boat up to and underneath basking Brown Watersnakes. When they dive off the branch they land in your boat. Fun times! I've caught countelss snakes while fishing, some nicer than others. I caught this Black Rat Snake several hundred yards from shore swimming across a lake. I brought him home and treated his eye and released him later where I found him.

I would NOT recommend Chickahominy Lake or River. That's where I fish. There's no bass in them.

I don't want to hijack the thread, but it looks like you shortened your shaft as well. I did that on my PD and it was a pain in the arse. But now I'm not casting over a foot of unnecessary shaft.

Who makes a good quality cranking rod with a long butt? My Elite Tech Crankshaft rod has a butt section about 10 inches long. When I'm palming my reel, the end of the butt section does't quite reach my elbow. I think the butt on my rod is about 10 inches or so. I'd like to look at some cranking rods with some longer butt sections. Any ideas?

I actually already have some 7/0 Gamakatsu EWGs. I got some crimp on hook weights that I am going to try. I looked at Gamakatsu weighted swimbait hooks. I would have had to go up to 10/0 to get a hook as long as the 7/0 Gama EWG.

It's funny this thread came up. I went out to a local lake today for a few hours. I hardly ever care just how far a rig casts, as long as it will cast as far as I need it to and handle the technique I'm fishing. But when I fish off a dock, all the distance I can get is great. Especially if I'm fishing crankbaits or lipless. I took one of my Zillion 100HAs out today. I had it on a Fenwick HMG 7' medium with 12lb Trilene XL. I was throwing midsized deep diving cranks, glass shad raps and lipless. That friggin' combo is the bomb diggity. I thought my Revos cast far. I obviously couldn't pace the distance. But I was making nearly across the inlet where the dock was. And trust me, it was impressive.

A regular swimbait hook?

I recommend the Boga Grips. It's a precision tool and will last a lifetime. If you must get something else, I would recommend avoiding any grip that has teeth like these. They can tear up a fish's mouth.

The Soron replaced the Cardinal 800, which had only been out about a year or two. The Soron is essentially the same as the 800 series, but with a couple more bearings, a different color and a gimmicky braid spool. The braid spool aside, the 800 series was/is bullet proof. I have 4 of these reels, one 804 and three 802s. The reels are all aluminum. The body, sideplate, rotor, and bail arms are all aluminum. The main shaft is stainless steel, oversized, and very rigid. The spool sits on two stacked bearings and is well supported. There is no flex or spool wobble. The gears are hardened. The reel is very smooth. Not glass smooth like some Daiwas, but smooth nonetheless. You have good feel through the reel. The drag is very well sealed againt water intrusion by a rubber gasket on the drag knob, and another by the bearings under the spool. The finish is rock hard. I've had mine for over a year and a couple have gotten some rough treatment and the finish is no worse for the wear. In fact, they still look new. My brother-in-law has some of the 806 and 807 series for saltwater striper fishing. They have seen some abusive use and they are functioning perfectly - still. The Soron's braid spool looks silly, IMO. I can't imagine that the rubber bands on the spool are going to last. It's easier to just tie on some backing before putting on braid. I'd buy a Soron for the reel, but not for the braid spool. Otherwise, I'd recommend the Soron, because my 800s have performed so well.

They are great baits. I fished mine on a Matzuo 5/0 long offset worm hook. It's about 1/2" longer than the Gamakatsu. This year I plan on trying a 7/0 Gamakatsu EWG. I've got big expectations for this bait.

Thanks for the replies! How easy is it to adjust the brake on the 300?

I've got to figure this out. I've got to figure this out. I've got to figure this out. I've got to...

I played with this reel a couple of days ago and it's really nice. I'm thinking it would be a good reel on a 8' medium heavy/medium fast musky rod for throwing B I G treble baits for landlocked stripers. Anyone have a Luna? Thoughts?

Perry himself said there were photos. At least this site quotes him as saying it... http://www.mrlurebox.com/GeorgePerryBass.htm

I wonder if this really is Perry's bass...

Expect some overruns until you get used to it, and until you find the best settings. IMO, the best way to start out is to adjust the spool tension knob until the lure falls very slowly, perhaps requiring the slightest jiggle of the rod tip. Then set the brake to about 50%. I think this is a good starting point. Adjust as necessary.

I came home tonight to fillet mignon, Chesapeake Bay blue crab crab cakes, garlic potatoes and steamed broccoli. I'll have to go out and check the cars for dents in the morning.

I do appeal to it. I just bought the TD Zillion 4.9 High Power. I may still pick up a Chronarch B given its price.

If you are on a budget but want an excellent jerk, Bomber Long As are great. There are floating and suspending models. I really like the Tim Horton models. They look great and have good hooks. Nice actions, too.

I can't comment on what Loomis rod to buy - I haven't a clue. But the attributes of a good crankbait rod and a frogging rod are a little different, IMO. Finding one for both is going to require compromise on both ends. What kind of cranks will you be fishing? What sort of frogs? Based solely on what you have mentioned, I'd go with a Medium Heavy power, Fast action rod. I'd choose a 7 foot rod. I think anything heavier power won't be good for crankbaits, and anything lighter lighter will be questionable for frogs.

Last year, my local BPS had barrels full of Zebco reels for $4. You could buy one and turn it in for varying discounts on reels. I did this and got like $30 off a new reel.

The only issued I had with the Winch was that mine didn't cast lighter baits all that well - at least not as well as my other Revos. It cast heavy baits very well. DD22s it would cast a mile. And all that was fine since it was primarily a heavier bait reel. But I wanted the versatility of being able to handle a wider range of baits. In this respect, I thought my Curado 200DPV was better. The ONLY thing I didn't like about the Curado was the size. I think the Winch would make a great swimbait reel.