Micro

I like the Shimano centrifugal brake on my Curado 200DPV better than the centrifugal brake on my Revo S. I don't think it peforms better, but it is easier to get to and adjust. I liked the hinged sideplate on my Curado - it's a very good feature Abu should emulate. Performance-wise, the brakes are equally effective IMO. I can get a little better distance consistently on my Revo S. I set both the Revo S and Curado brakes with 2 brakes ON and 4 OFF. Then I just leave it. Then I only adjust the spool tension knob as necessary depending on the lure. It's too much trouble to change the settings on centrifugal brakes while you are fishing. As far as my Revo SCs, SXs and STXs, I prefer the magnetic brakes. They are highly refined and effective. I wouldn't characterize them as un-user-friendly at all. Just the opposite. There is nothing that says you can't just set the magnetic brake at some point and leave it like you do the Curado and Revo S, but it isn't optimal. No more optimal than it is on the Revo S or Curado to leave their brakes on one setting. But the externally adjustable magnetic brake gives you the option to change the setting if you want to, without taking a sideplate off.

Revo S. PERIOD (as RW likes to say). The Revo S is built just as well and perfoms just as well as any other Revo.

My Johnny Morris Elite baitcaster, which is comparable to the Pflueger Supreme, lasted from March 2008 (BPS Spring Classic) to August 2008. In August it developed an almost inaudible high-pitched whine. And I started loosing distance on casts. I disassembled it and cleaned/relubed it and it worked better for awhile then the issues started again. I simply returned it under warranty and got another Revo STX (my 9th Revo). I don't know what the problem was, and I didn't really care to find out. It might have been something simple. All I know is that I started accumulating Revos since they came out and it's the one real that has never disappointed me. The JM Elite did perform very well up until the whine started, though.

I haven't found anything it's not good at. It may not be the BEST at everything, but it, so far, has been good at everything I've tried. If I had to have one line (in fact, I really do), this would be it.

Now that's a good day!

Sweet! Pretty water.

I stopped using Yums for that very reason. You have to really cook them across the water, or they roll on their sides and strike all sorts of poses. The Ragetails I tried rolled occasionally, but they perform MUCH better than the Yums. They are the best frog for buzzing, IMO. They really kick up the water. I got some new ones in the mail () and they do seem to do better than the ones I bought when they first came out. I like Zoom Horny Toads. They are good for slipping through pads and cover, but they don't buzz as well as the Ragetail. IMO, the Ragetail is the best full-sized buzzing soft plastic frog on the market. For a "finesse frog," if there is such a thing, I really like The Wright Bait 4" Frog. This little frog can be fished on a Gammy 2/0 EWG or an Owner 2/0 Twist Lock Hook. It doesn't have much action when buzzing it. You can fish it like a fluke. Jerk it and those little leg do all sorts of things. It slips through slop, sinks slowly slight nose first. It's made with garlic and the bass really hold onto it. Order a couple bags and try these little hand-poured gems.

One more...

Took my son out today. We fished around a pier where I have been having luck with finesse worms and jigs. The finesse worm and jig bite has been tapering off so we tried drop-shotting around the pier. Picked up a few. Here's my son, Collin, and his first drop-shot bass.

My favorite is the Ima Roumba. This bait has an extremely wide wobble. Retrieved slowly, it makes quite a wake on the surface. I fish it near tructure and over grass. I've caught several nice fish with it. It's a little pricey, but a great performer. It comes with the sharpest hooks on he planet. Check out the video. http://www.***.com/descpageCRANKIMA-IRC.html#

Hybrid is low stretch. It has a little stretch, but not a lot. It has good knot strength. It has high over-all strength. It is stronger than its rated test. It has high abrasion resistance. It is a little stiffer than mono, but less than pure fluoro. It is affordable. A little more than mono, but a lot less than fluoro. IMO, 12# test is the best all-round test. I use 10# on some of my lighter baitcast rigs.

You mentioned mono, fluoro and braid. Another choice is copolymer. Copoly line is a hybrid line - nylon and fluoro. It has attributes of both: a little stretch and good abrasion resistance. For an all around line, Yo-Zuri Hybrid in 12# test would be perfect. It's got a little stretch, but not too much. It's extremely tough. It has good knot strenght. It transmits sensations very well. It's a wee bit stiffer than mono, but no where near as stiff as pure fluoro. It's the perfect all-purpose line.

I do too. I just find that I don't need to like when I am fishing a worm. I can set it more like a spinner bait. I fish mine texposed as opposed to t-rigged. I just use a typical bullet weight that you thread onto the line. Then I tie the hook on, put the bait on, peg the sinker with a toothpick tip, then slide the sinker down to the bait.

What Avid said is good advice, too. I fish mine on a "spinnerbait" rod, a MH/F rod, that has a little more softer tip than my worm rods. It works well. I tried fishing the SS with the hook set far back as depicted on that website. I didn't find it particularly effective, and did find that the front of the SS would work backwards causing the worm to kink throwing off its action. Not all the time, but a lot more than traditionally hooked with the eye of the hook nearer the nose of the bait.

Except that the Lamiglass doesn't have the butt he's looking for. I don't think there is a dedicated crankbait rod with a butt that long unless you have on custom made. Fenwick's Techna AV AVC80MHMC and AVC76MHMC both have fairly long butts, but also have long forgrips. Both are medium heavy power with moderate actions rated for 15-30 lb line. These are "muskie rods" but should work well for big, deep diving cranks.

I don't set the hook with swim senkos like I do with traditional plastics. Often times when I'm retrieving the bait there is simply a sudden weight on the line and the fish is on and hooked. I loose very few fish. BTW, I usually fish them weightless or with a 1/8 pegged bullet weight rigged on a Gamakatsu 3/0 EWG hook. As far as nibbles go, I think that just comes with the territory. I get them too, but I don't loose many tails. If you are setting the hook too hard on a swimming bait, you may be yanking the bait out of the fishes mouth. George Welcome is the expert on Swim Senkos. Maybe he'll chime in.

Another vote for Terminator and Dave's Tournament Tackle.

This is true. I have it in writing it is on the deceleration page of my car insurance. Check yours. Most auto policies only cover a trailer for liability, not physical damage (collision and comprehensive), UNLESS you add the trailer to your policy. If you do, your trailer would then be covered for physical damage. If the trailer is showing on your dec sheet, then it was added to your policy and you are being charged a premium for it.

I read the license agreement and this is all it said... 11. You retain copyright and any other rights that you already hold in Content that you submit, post or display on or through the Services. I downloaded it. I like it so far. It is a lot faster then IE.

Dang, Muddy. ;D

Here's my backyard.

Hannahs coming. It's been raining most of the afternoon here in southeastern VA. We're getting the extreme outer bands of the storm now. Very little wind. It's eerie because right now the stars are out. But it is more humid than I've ever felt. It's like stepping into a sauna. Isabel was a nightmare for us in Virginia. I know it was a minor storm compared to Hugo, Andrew, Katrina, etc. But even a Category 1 storm like Isabel will put the fear of God in you. During that storm, I saw 9 big trees fall with my own eyes (and that's just what I saw). I saw all of them fall while I was standing on my front porch. I saw a hundreds-year old white oak topple and split the house two houses down from mine. I remember sitting in my house with my family during the storm and we could hear trees snapping outside. The worst part was that night, after the storm had passed. The power was out (for 2 weeks, BTW). It was scary-still outside. But you could here damaged trees in the distance giving way. You could hear sirens off in the distance, too. Very sobering. Here's what my front yard looked like the morning after Isabel. You couldn't see through those trees behind my house before the storm. I got off extremely lucky.

I wanted to say something here, but Sam already gave all the answers. >

That wasn't Burley, it was Berley. Different guy.

Shimano Curado 200DPV. It's a little bigger than the Revo and sits nicely on a big cranking rod. It's got a big spool with lots of line capacity. Super tough, super smooth, casts a mile, and has a 5.0:1 gear ratio - ideal for big cranks. The best part is there's still lots of them to be had. My local tackle shop has several in stock, and BPS in Hampton, VA had several, too. I can't help but believe there's a lot more sitting around. I got mine on clearance for a tad under $100, but I know you can get them new for less now, since dealers are getting the 200E.