SV1000

I bought two of these combos last year from GM, they were priced 75.00 each but on sale for buy one get one for 1/2 off. I have been very happy with the 7' Medium rods although I broke one in a temper tantrum last month. I decided to try a clean and lube on one LP100 and disassembled it to the cage with the exception of the mag side. I tried for two hours two get the mag cover off to remove the spool and soak it. From what I can see, it is not removable and as a result, I can't lube the other end of the spool shaft. I put it back together as is and don't plan to buy another "sort of maintainable reel". I called Pinnacle at least three times to get a parts diagram and never received one. I suspect this series of reels are not intended to be torn down or fully serviced since they don't have parts diagrams on their website like they have for the other models. Now I could be completely wrong, if ya'll know a trick to removing the mag plate let me know. SV

Thanks for clarification Raul.

I did my Cruxis for the first time about two weeks ago. I am mechanically inclined but my memory SUX...how I made it through college I do not know. My recommendation is to use a digital cameral to document the disassembly, just do a few practice tests to make sure you can focus close. I was convinced after tearing my ATV down to the case two years ago trying to find an internal knock, without the photos I would have been doomed.

^^^ excellent idea...

I did a 90% teardown and cleaned the entire reel including bearings in acetone. The bearings were soaked in acetone for about an hour and spun periodically to dispace the old lube. I used compressed air too. I only used one drop of "Rem Oil" per bearing, this time I used three and did not find it leaking out while they were on a paper towel. I was looking at VBX ABEC-7 Ceramic:Stainless:Shielded for 14.95, not full ceramic bearings. If I had a 5-10 bearing reel I probably would not consider even ceramic composiste bearings.

I tore down my Cruxis Saturday night because it was not casting well at all and the thumb bar was sticking. Apparently I did not put enough lube in the bearings on my first tear down; I used three drops from my needle dropper and distance is back. I still want to try the ceramic composite bearings in this reel. If it works well for me, I am going to look for some used Shimano Bantams and work them over.

reelmechanic, I was thinking about a bearing upgrade on my Cruxis. Do the ceramic composite bearings need lube? JT, Are the handle bearings ball or roller bearings?

My EX's tongue, works quite well even over the speakerphone of my cell phone...I gotta be careful though, it melts my plastics if they are nearby ;D

I am not sure from your post if your roommate is anti-fishing or anti-CR. I CR but not 100%, Catch and Eat serves a purpose especially on small bodies of water where the bass population is healthy and there is little fishing pressure to keep the dink population down. If we are talking anti-hunting/fishing this is completely different. I have had more issues with anti-hunters than anti-fishing in the large city where I lived and worked the last 30 years in a corporate environment. I had no problem reminding the anti's who were not vegetarian that "yes, I kill and eat wild fish and game; on the other hand, you pay other people to kill the animals and fish you eat", there is no difference whatsoever.

I found a cool article on super-tuning baitcasters and thought I would ask to see who has replaced their bearings and if you thought it was worthwhile. The ceramic ball, stainless race bearing are not very expensive.

I had to do some maintenance on my Cruxis tonight and I also did a search on the Green Bantam Curado that seems to get a lot of compliments. I was pulling up the parts diagrams on Shimano's website and looking at bearing placement. I found one more ball bearing in the Bantam Curado than my Cruxis. So now I start wondering where the bearings are used on the high dollar Shimano's so I pulled up a Calais with 10 ball bearings. I found 6 ball bearings and 1 roller bearing, where are the other 3? http://fish.shimano.com/publish/content/fish/sac/us/en/customer_service/Reel_Schematics/calais_schematics.-MainContent-0010-DownloadFile.tmp/99CL200.pdf.pdf It seems like the most important bearing locations for long casts would be the spool axles and the worm drive...correct?

I needed to do maintenance on my Cruxis and after cutting some line after a nasty backlash I filled it back up with my old but new Power Pro Green tonight. So I will have two Pinnacle LC100's with Sufix and my Cruxis with Power Pro for some direct comparisons. I will tell you what's chapping my butt, the cheapo Pinnacles are outcasting my Cruxis! I lost another fish and a Horny Toad this morning on Sufix, no speed clips or swivels. I was fishing some new growth vegetation in about 18" of water and I felt a tap, I waited for a second and felt tension and let him have it. The end of the Sufix was frayed. I have used the Uni-Knot for years and I don't think this is the problem but it's possible. However, I don't recall losing a single bait or fish while using the PP. I don't want to change more than one element at a time so once I settle on the line, I may try the Palomar knot for a while. Cory, that is definitely what happened, I had not picked the backlash clean and the next cast popped the line. Not the lines fault of course.

Does throwing a Horny Toad count?

Man I used to love summers on Amistad. Some years the water was high, sometimes it was low, during the low years me and my grandpa would motor around after running our trotlines looking for baits that were previously underwater. Every year I came home with a few...sometimes I hit gold and found a Big "O" 8-) Can you guess the era??? My first time out on Gibbons Creek I lost one of my favorite Baby 1-Minus but I shrugged it off. And an hour later, as I'm idling by a tree I see a Bandit, not 7' off the water...now it' in my box. I am puzzled why the person didn't retrieve the lure. The only thing that comes to mind is they were in a kayak.

I answered your question ^^^^ ----------------------knot- BREAK Speed Clip>HornyToad

I'm not blaming the clip for the loss of a fish and a .99 Horny Toad. But the Speed Clips are a PIA; however, I agree that the DuoSnap would be better. The line broke at the snap. That made sense to me when I wrote it and it still does. Now that I am using braid, I use scissors to cut the bait off below the knot, when I re-tie I just grab the knot with my teeth and pull it off the line. I tie a Uni-Knot and have for many years, I trust it. Sorry I didn't answer back quicker, I was out on the lake fishing!

This thread is WORTHLESS without PICTURES!!!

I have a Shimano Cruxis on a 7' Castaway medium-light rod and two GM Pinnacle LP100 combos on 7' medium-lights and I have to say that I like my 79.00 GM combos (buy one get one 1/2 off) better than my 189.00 Cruxis combo. The Cruxis is smooth and quiet but I can cast the LP100's about 10-15 yards farther on the average.

Most definitely, the snap didn't fail and I agree it was the line or my knot. I just didn't think about attaching them to a spinnerbait or plastics so they are less of an advantage than I anticipated. I was looking for No-Knot Fast Snaps but I didn't find them. I may try those for my crankbaits.

When I went to Gibbons Creek (2500ac) a few weeks ago, there were 20-30 boats on the water at 7:00. So there is no way you can be isolated for long. I went around the first point and saw a guy fishing the bank so I idled around him at a distance of 30-50 yds and went ahead about 50 yards to work the bank. He worked for while and then motored around me. Is moving ahead by a reasonable distance proper etiquette? At another location I kept casting into the trees and at one point, I made a lot of noise, knocked my oar into the bottom of the aluminum boat and banged a log in a matter of a minute. I felt pretty stupid and apologized to the guys coming up behind me and said I probably scared the fish into the next county, they said no problem, they were not getting hits anyhow. I am sure they were thinking, "what a dumba$$".

I finally received my 300 yd spool of 20lb Sufix Hi-Vis Yellow Braid from Cabelas and loaded my three reels. I've used it about two weeks and this is what I think so far. As as far as I can tell, the yellow is not significantly more visible than the green Power Pro but I may try red next. The backlashes are worse and harder to pick. I lost one buzzbait this week when I backlashed and snapped the line. I lost one fish and a Horny Toad today when the line apparently broke at the snap. I still had the knot so I think the line broke. It seems to fray less than Power Pro. It is a little quieter to me than Power Pro. All in all I like braid better than mono and probably won't go back. It is too expensive to quit using it now so I will finish out the season before trying Power Pro Red; unless I pick up a couple of dedicated catfish rigs and can respool with the Sufix I have now.

...I thought I would try them for 1.69 so I grabbed a pack at lunch. I realized that they won't work for spinnerbaits or buzzbaits and not that great with plastics when I got home and tied them on to 2 of 3 rods. The lake was very muddy and high tonight but I hooked a few on Horny Toads and then BAM, she sucked it in, I waited for just a second and then let her have it. No fish, no Speed Clip and no Toad. The knot was still on the line so I think the line broke. But that is a different post in a different forum. Pinching that little clip and attaching it to the split ring while it flops around in the wind when I'm not wearing my bifocals is a pain. I can see my Uni-Knot fine so I am putting the clips in the trash can. Just one guys opinion that is worth as much as you paid for it...SV

I am watching most of the bass shows trying to learn. I have HD-DVR so I record everything and buzz through the stuff I don't like. I used to watch Hank Parker but not any longer. Never like Roland Martin, same with Denny Brauer Bill Dance is funny but plays with the fish to much and seems to fish the same lakes over and over. I like the show with the guy with the earring and wierd haircut. That show is interesting. I don't care for Rick Clunn though, sorta dry. I like the mop headed guy that kisses the fish but his laugh drives me nuts so I listen to the show on half volume. I like In-Fisherman and North American Fisherman but I change the channel anytime is see smallmouth, lake trout or walleye fishing...boring to me. I like the spearfishing show and the other show with the four guys and the girl who fish offshore and also spearfish. Of course, that show is entertainment only. I find myself watching the rod and reel techniques and the baits they are using more than anything. This helps me understand how to fish some baits.

I went to the local Academy and picked out my Zoom baits was told the sale was over even though the 40% off sign was up. I walked out with five bags of Horny Toads, five bags of Super Chunks and three bags of 10" worms for 40% off

Looks like it's simply going to take practice to learn the most difficult bass fishing method in my mind. Will it help to use a heavy (3/8 or 1/2) ounce weight to pick up the hit?