The Rooster

Based on that last post, I read and personally experienced also that if you tie the Eugene Bend knot with fluorocarbon then you get far less slips or failures of the knot. I use the Vanish Transitions currently which is the only flurocarbon I've tried. I used it successfully all year and didn't have one single knot failure using the Eugene knot. Just a tip to add to this discussion is all. Also I didn't have any issues with the line either except that I thought I was paying a bit more for it over regular Vanish due to the transitioning color of the line, which is a feature I found to be completely useless except for just looking cool and that's all. I thought it was supposed to make seeing the line above water much easier. Turns out it didn't help any at all. But the line is smooth casting, no problems with it, it's managable, strong to the point of being hard to break even when you want it to, and much more sensitive than mono. I used the 12 and 14 pound lines on baitcasting equipment.

Get a wire leader with a snap swivel to attach a hook to, or use a split ring to attach a hook to the leader's loop. Then just tie the line to the other end as normal. You can put the sinker on the line above the leader and let it hit against the leader's other end to space it away from the hook for a carolina rig. Use different length leaders to make longer or shorter carolina rigs.

Was reading down through here and thought I was the only one until I got to this last post. I use the clinch knot cause the palomar is too hard to tie with a bait like a spinnerbait or buzzbait, the blades are too cumbersome to put through the loop of line. For those who think the clinch knot will untie itself (it has on me in the past) I found out that when you put the tag end through the bottom loop and then put it back through the top loop again, it's better to insert it through the top loop by going in behind and pulling through instead of just putting it back through again from the front as what is shown to do on the animated knot website. Once I began doing this it stopped all the issues I had with it unraveling itself while pulling it tight.

The trouble with this is that all it takes to mess it up is ONE person to NOT take it seriously enough to either handle it right or take responsibility and replace it when something goes wrong.

I can tell you from experience that the Extreme is a solid reel. The newer one doesn't have the same braking system as the ones I bought do (last year's models are what I have) but otherwise it's the same reel. They also updated the handle to have the swept in design on the new ones but that difference is insignificant really I believe. The reels are build solidly, have aluminum frames, brass gearing, good quality bearings, good drag systems, and you'll not beat them for quality compared to price. However, if I were to get a BPS reel today, I'd probably opt to pay $20 more for the Pro Qualifier just due to it having the dual braking. As mentioned earlier by someone else, you can literally tune them to be thumb free for casting, all except for stopping the spool for entering the water. My older Extremes function this way, I hardly have to touch the spool, only time I tune it so I have to is when I want an extra long cast so I loosen up everything to the point where my thumb is the only real braking I have on. I firmly believe in the quality of BPS baitcasting reels though. Starting with the Extreme they are great reels. Any of the cheaper ones I'd stay away from just due to the lack of the aluminum frame alone. In my experience a metal frame casts a lot better than a plastic/graphite framed reel does. Also I saw on here mention of the Abu Garcia Black Max. This reel falls in the category of plastic/graphite framed reels and as such.......for me personally.......I'd pass on it.

If that's the sale then it's not on sale at all, $129 is retail price for it. Plus it looks like the same ol' Revo S that's been around for a while.

I'm in agreement with RW, it's the entire package, rod, reel, weight of lure, and line size. What I've noticed is that whether or not I use a smaller spooled reel, or larger spooled reel, the bottom line guide (stripper guide) on the rod must be at least 25mm in diameter for the 8# line I use to pass through freely enough to get the distance I want. If I use any rods having the bottom line guide smaller than this, especially with a larger spooled reel, the distance suffers quite a bit. Makes it nearly impossible to throw a weightless plastic any lenght at all. Also, different sized spools will have either more or less coils of line per the same lenght of cast due to actual spool diameter, and I believe ultimately a larger spool will cast more freely since it has less coils per same length of line and therefore will have a bit less memory in the line and a bit less friction from a few less bumps along the way as the line passes up and out of the line guides. So in the end it's a matter of balancing reel size and line size with the rod. The best balance I've found for this is a 25mm or larger stripper guide for a spinning rod, 8# mono with low memory, and a 3500 sized Pflueger reel, or similar size in other brands (cause I'm switching to Daiwa myself!). The rule of thumb here just happens to be your thumb. If I can fit my thumb through the bottom line guide (the stripper guide) then it's large enough to cast well, and that happens to be a 25mm diameter guide, no less. One other thing that will matter though is action and power of the rod. In selecting a rod, it needs to have an action that's going to allow it to load up well under the weight of the lure you choose to cast. If not then all that sizing of line guides and reels will have little effect since it won't load right to "slingshot" the lure off the tip as you cast. Also, even the aerodynamics of the lure will effect distance, though for a shakeyhead, that's not much of an issue. It should cast like a bullet.

I have two rods that are virtually identical except for one is a medium and the other is a medium heavy. On the medium I have 12# fluorocarbon. On the medium heavy I have 14# fluorocarbon. Is this ridiculous?? It just seems to me that the medium heavy should have heavier line on it for what the rod's power is and what I use it for but I don't really need the line heavier than the 14# I have on it now so I didn't upsize it anymore than I had to. And the medium I'm totally satisfied with at 12#. Just seems there's hardly any difference there though when I think about it. For reference, these rods are Shimano Compre, medium is 8 - 17 lb. rated, and the medium heavy is 10 - 20 lb. rated. I use the medium primarily for jerkbaits, light T-rigs, sometimes a crankbait, and smaller spinnerbaits or buzzbaits. I use the medium heavy for most spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, jigs, and heavier T-rigs.

All of them. 6.4:1 (28" IPT) for most average spinnerbait fishing, it's fast enough to allow me to speed it up by cranking faster if I want, and slow enough to slow down if needed, and seems just right everywhere else in the middle. 7.1:1 (31" IPT) for burning, and 5.4:1 (23" IPT) for when I want to slow way down. These two would be rare for me though, I hardly EVER see a use to burn one, and then when I do slow it down the 6.4:1 will usually cover it by just slowing MY cranking speed down instead of having to use a slower reel. I find that when I crank very slow on a 5.4:1 that the blade will usually stop turning so that's TOO slow. So to answer your question, they'll all work, but the 6.4:1 with some cranking speed modifications on YOUR part will cover all your needs. If your reel is 6.3:1 or some other 6.x:1 speed, it's fine.

My jigs are in a Plano 3700, stored several per slot and it holds 60 some jigs that way. Makes it heavy, but it works.

I have the previous models of BPS Extreme, the ones with the ITB braking and the straight handle cranks (now they have swept in designs). I thought it might be nice to go from teflon washers to carbon matrix since I read so many good things about it online, how it's heat dissipation is great, provides a lot of drag power, and also is smooth on the pay out. I'm a tinkerer by nature, and now that it's winter my brain will be tingling with questions and thoughts of how to improve things even the tiniest bit.

I personally couldn't tell you if it does or not but in the interest of "if it does" when I bought my baitcasters I got all one kind with different ratios so each time I switched I was holding the same profile and feel in my hand. I decided to get all one kind of rod as well(except for that certain one that I just can't stop using cause I like it so well), only exception being that they are different actions and powers, but that part can't be helped. This way, if it does make a difference, I'm as ready as I'll ever be for it not to effect me anymore than it has to.

I had that site bookmarked already. Didn't think about having them just make some for my reel, I thought it was "prefabbed" only for specific models and if mine wasn't listed then I was out of luck. And I didn't know it was as serious as having someone machine the parts. I figured this would be something you could cut with a knife or saw at home. In rebuilding the reels after cleaning, the washers seem so soft that I could not imagine it being that serious. I know if I had some of the teflon material here that my washers are made from I could cut it with a razor. My reels function fine right now also, I just thought it would be nice to upgrade them a little. They're brand new now though so it's not an issue currently. I was just looking to further my own knowledge with this question mostly.

luremaking.com is another site I ran across that has a lot of stuff as well as information on "how to". Check it out.

This is how I do it too. Not the most comfortable way, but it works since I've been too cheap to get a pair of the pliers. ;D

Seems to me we ought to be able to purchase and cut our own drag washers some how. Anyone know where you can buy carbon matrix material, or some other material that would be good to upgrade or replace drag washers on reels?? Reason I ask is because I use Bass Pro Shops branded reels and there doesn't seem to be any places that service these reels or supply parts for them. I'd like to see if it's possible to "super tune" my reels with a smoother drag.

Seems like a few people here are using medium rods with fast tips. This is good to know. I was wondering if my 6'6" Compre baitcast rod would work for topwaters having a soft enough tip or not. Guess I'll try it and see, but seems like it might after reading this.

It's sold out now. But thanks anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Think I'm gonna celebrate by looking at Dozer's store. After all, Christmas is coming!!!

Thank you. That's cool to know, I did want a few lumaflex skirts to try out. I forgot that I saw a video where Glenn (from this site) tells that after a while the skirt starts looking bad and needs replaced. You can't do that easily if the skirt is handtied to the bait.

Yeah it's a Quest rod, model LS-7. It's been a good one too. I paid $25 for it on sale, original price was $40. But it's always felt as though it was nicer than that. Has Fuji aluminum oxide line guides and a Fuji ESC reel seat, same seat as on my Shimano Compre rods. It also has IM7 graphite that's very light and sensitive for the money I paid. I'd compare it's quality honestly to the Shimano Clarus, that is until I saw the handle today. There's a line down one side of the cork grip that almost looks like I used a knife to split the plastic from when it was new, even though I do not do this precisely for this reason, cork damage. Plus I can see it was filled in with wood filler so I know it was made that way. It's still a good rod for what little I paid for it. Guides are all the double footed guides for the first 4 and the next 5 are single footed, just the same as my Compre rods are. It's very comparible to higher rods in terms of parts used, but apparently the handle was where they chose to cut corners severely. No big deal, I didn't plan to purchase rods of this level anymore anyway, not since using a Compre, even though there was a significant price difference, I'm now willing to pay the Compre price to get that difference in quality as well. I just thought it was strange to see how that handle was made was all.

Does that mean you think it would be good?? I'm thinking of ordering some of the spinnerbaits since I can get some made in the colors I want with blade sizes, and even handtied lumaflex skirts.

I have a rod that I got at Dick's Sporting Goods a couple years ago and even though it was cheap compared to the Shimano Compres I've been buying since then, I still like it a lot and actually thought it was of a lot better quality than I paid for when I got it. But in looking at it closely just a while ago I can see that the rear cork grip was applied in layers that were NOT slid up over the blank, but rather had one side of the cork O cut so it's like a C and then slid onto the rod blank. They lined up all the cuts to form one continuous line and then filled in any remaining open places with wood filler. So far this has not been a problem, I never noticed it until now, but over time I can see this starting to split open as the wood filler lets go or washes out as it tends to do over time. Why would a company make a rod this way instead of slipping the cork rings over the end instead??

I was searching for lumaflex spinnerbait skirts and ran across this site......basscraftlures.com. Looks like decent stuff, I'm loving the way you can custom build a spinnerbait from any skirt color, skirt materials, blade colors, sizes, tons of combinations, and then order it to be sent to you. The skirts are handtied also. Also they have an interesting take on a swim jig. It's sort of like a spinnerbait, it's a regular jig with a wire weedguard that has a single willow blade on the tip of it, making it more like a spinnerbait but you still tie to the nose of the bait instead of to the wire as with a regular spinnerbait.

Given his current condition, I'd imagine that ANY kind of fishing would be good, so........ What if the rod and reel don't necessarily go together normally, but would work for this?? I know they make automatic fly reels that you could put on an ultralight spinning rod, make a cast for him with some live bait and a stand up float to indicate a strike, and wait for a crappie or bluegill to take the bait, then if he can move his fingers he could pull the release to take line in automatically with the fly reel. If you wind on some light line such as 6# then I don't see that being too much trouble. Might have to use backing inside the reel before tying on the 6# mono. This idea I have is only a jumping off point, you'd have to look into it to see if it's plausible or not, and if so, how to refine it a bit to make it work. It's the direction I'd go in though. Crappie on an ultralight are a load of fun and feel like a fight worthy of the effort, but can be handled easily enough so that it's not overly too much challenge for him to handle. I'd say a few of those will be every bit as rewarding for him as a 10# bass is to us. If he doesn't have control to set a hook though, you'd want to make sure you use absolutely needle sharp hooks so they pretty much set themselves as the fish swims off with the bait. Missing a lot of fish might be frustrating. However, he may just enjoy getting out there and attempting it, whether he catches a fish or not. I'd do everything I could do to insure a fish hit the line and got stuck though. Think outside the box on this one.