J Francho

Yeah, I know. it's really just the thumb "skimming" the spool. I guess mine moves a lot, too. I never notice, but others do.

Great reels for the money. Very sturdy, durable, and easy to maintain.

LOL, you should see my $55 Mattlures Hard Gill after two years. Or my prized, one-eyed Sammy - it's pretty much clear. Here's a shot of my best producing lipless baits after 50 or so of these: If you're worried about scratching your baits, put them in a display case, and don't fish them.

You can't pitch jigs from shore? Why? I've been catching bass everyday at lunch, pitching jigs to beds from shore.

It's the $64,000 question, one I've asked as well. Best I can say is, it depends. On what? Who knows. I do know the pond I hit most days at lunch gets stingy as the summer progresses. The fish are there, I just counted 63 decent fish on beds today, many are over 4, a few over 5, and at least one over six, one that looks bigger, but have never been able to catch. Most people only catch the dinks. Seems like big fish are stingier.

Not sure where everyone gets the notion that brakes kick in at the end....most brakes exert max force at max spool speed (centrifugal and Daiwa Mag Force-V/Z) or through out the entire cast (basic magnetic brakes). I don't know why turning them off works, it just does - like night and day, LOL.

Up here, swimming under ice for 3 months erases any bad memories.

Go by feel, not by marketing. Use the force Luke!

No, they come with Daiichi sharpened VMC hooks. http://www.luckycraft.com/Goods/Hooks.htm

I'm fairly certain he's fishing for bullheads, given his location, and that he said "lake."

A Magic Eraser will get rid of the green. Then seal it with U-40 Cork Sealer, and your cork will look new forever.

Don't bump your own posts, please. Any 6-7' medium power fast action rod will do. Saint Croix's medium is a bit heavier than other companies. I bet the MBC70MF would do. I have a LTB with same specs, and it's well suited for everything in your list.

Night crawler balled up on a hook of a simple drop shot rig.

I'd be curious what use this information would be. I generally make a simple line in the sand: too light to throw on casting gear, and heavy enough to throw on casting gear.

LTB are lighter, and use better guides. Not a ton of difference in sensitivity, but some. The teaser and sweeper are definitely preferable to the AVC70MF and AVC70MHF in feel applications, all of which I own.

I use zero brakes and lots of spool tension to sidearm skip senkos, traps, spooks, and other aerodynamic baits. To pitch skip jigs or t-rigs, I use max brakes, and zero spool tension. In both cases, my thumb is always in contact with the spool.

I cannot begin to count all the fish I've caught that I've spotted. it isn't whether they see you that matters, its what you do when you see them that does. Stealth, man stealth!

Just call their 800 number listed on the site, they usually have a replacement tip to me the next day or day after.

If you can tell your mother you did something, and have a clear conscience, then have at it. Otherwise, no point in asking.

You can go on SC's website and get a replacement kit, with instructions for $5.

Haven't moved the needle much? You're kidding, right? VW's? LMAO. What other cars in the 70s got high 30 mpg? And what kind of emissions did those cars spew? What was the horsepower/displacement ratio? What about basic performance stats like acceleration, cornering, and braking? Yes, I'm having a yurt delivered via camel next week. Seriously though, if we've figure out how to extract 300+ ponies out of a little 4 banger, then it seem logical that we can squeeze 50 mpg out of a gasoline engine. it just takes time. Gas had been cheap, and development methodologies have been centered around a different set of performance goals (read as what the market wants - peppy, nimble cars that are big and safe, an oxymoron really) and it takes time for big corps like automakers to change direction, especially if it doesn't need to to sell cars. Hopefully the recent troubles and subsequent restructuring made themselves a little more nimble. Men on the the moon? I thought they did that on a Hollywood set. Anyway, my full size pickup gets the same fuel economy as my 15 year old Nissan Maxima did. I see that as a significant improvement. That improvement alone allows me to own a full size truck and a boat.

Metal docks sometimes produce better.

If gas prices shoot to $4.25, I'm moving into a yurt made of hemp.

They also eat them in "non trout" waters, LOL.

Wouldn't you just use Mercury tcw3 marine oil?