J Francho

Its sticky, its grease. Kind of like chocolate frosting or caramel. I use a tool made for packing bearings with grease.

You can pretty much use ANY soft plastic on a drop shot rig. Adjust hook size and weight to match the bait and conditions.

I prefer a short handled, medium power, x-fast taper, 6' to 6'6" rod. the reel is nothing more than something to hold the line, ratio doesn't matter, so whatever you like for that one. All you do with the reel is take up slack. My rig is a Saint Croix Avid AVC62MXF, Daiwa Sol, and 8 or 10# CXX. Make sure the rod and reel are comfortable. Rip baiting all day will do a number on your wrists and elbows. Sometimes I get "X-rap-claw-hand" as well. ;D

The 5000 was introduced in 1954. A true classic, that reel revolutionized bass fishing. Tom Tom Maybe first introduced here in '54, but most books put it at Christmas of '52. Borgstrum also made 100s of samples '51 through '52.

Yes, both. If you pitch with your right and use a lefty reel, then you're ready to set the hook as soon as the bait hits the water. For moving baits, I prefer a righty, since my left (palming) hand doesn't leave the reel during the cast. No hand switching involved. If I do move my left hand, for a two-handed-swimbait-chucker-cast, its back on the reel before the bait hits the water.

most likely sending my stuff there, but they haven't answered my e-mail. Uhhh, I would get it back. Do some homework on that guy, and get it to DVT Mike (our sponsor). Seriously.

I use a lithium gold grease that is VERY similar to what David Green uses (sorry David, I got the stuff, or something real close). For oil, Shimano Bantam oil has actually been in my own reels for over a year (I mostly use Daiwa reels....) and it is the stuff. Rocket Fuel is a very good option as well. The best I've found for serious stuff is Oust Metloid, and my 11 year old skater son agrees.

I just got a nice kick in the nuts by my endocrine doc. Despite kicking smokes, my blood work looks pretty shabby. So does my BP, and weight. All that, coming from an October where I was nearly indistinguishable from an athlete, on paper. If that's a lesson never to start in the 1st place, I don't what is. It's not like I'm a fat guy either - 5-7, buck and a half wet, strong as a bull. I've got a plan though, nad I'll report back in month. You can't really take for granted that once a skinny, healthy dude, always a skinny healthy dude. I've never owned any purple clothing, BTW. LMAO.

Well, I'm talking from the point of view of working on 300+ reels a year. There are only 1-3 bearings that affect spool speed. These are the only bearings that require oil. Whether the others requires oil, is really subjective, and the source of a TON of debate. I'm no trying to drop rank on you or anything, just pointing out reality. You won't ever be wrong if you only ever use oil in a ball bearing.

My three year old actually does wear a Darth Vader costume. maybe a little too much, LOL. Awesome commercial.

No never. Just use a good oil on the bearings. About the only place you really need to grease is a little on the gears. Uhhh, yes, bearings can and are packed in grease. It depends on that the bearing's purpose is, and reel's application. However, the rule of thumb is gears get grease, bearings get oil. Worm gears get grease though, if they are exposed, but on spinners, its grease.......ehhh, I guess there isn't a rule of thumb, LOL.

LOL, that two too many Al Gores in one post. Anyone remember "global cooling" in the 70s? Don't get too goofy while you're snowed in.

Read it and weep: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPage?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&appID=492&cmid=catalog_request 8-)

Mmmm-hmmmmm. And sometimes even bigger baits.

I thought you saidit the other way around....NP.

He did say "Then you have those that don't watch the tip or the line and try to do everything by feel." If the tip moves I agree that you should feel it, but I have seen the line move without any vibration reaching the tip so line movement is another matter. In that case, you should be a line watcher or you will miss fish. Read ALL the posts

No we don't, though I've thought about it. Its nothing they'd encounter, they aren't a part of our fishes' diet up here. They don't get to the ocean, but they do use the Great Lakes for smoltification, and spend much of their life as pelagic. Their main diet is alewife, a type of herring. In fact, that's why they were stocked, to rid the lakes of alewife.

I use either 10# CXX or 12# Berkley 100%.

sacks, jigs, flies, plastics, beads.....whatever works that day, all under a float

LOL, no price is good enough to buy 10 years worth of line.

No ordinary person will get "custom" bearings. There are tons of aftermarket bearings though. In most cases, unless the bearing is shot, an aftermarket, even one with higher specs, isn't going to improve your casts. Here's what I think is funny....guys put high spec bearings into their reels. And then cinch the spool tension down. What was the point? There are some other considerations....ceramics can run dry, sometimes are better in freezing conditions, saltwater applications, etc., but for the most part, stick with stock if nothing is broken. In the case of Revos, I've found they respond REALLY well to removing the crap silicone based lubes, and set up with light oil and lithium grease.

No:

I disagree, anything that moves the tip, and you can't feel it -- something's not normal there. The person has a sensory issue, or the rod is really crappy. At least with typical bass gear, anyway. I know I've caught and lost more than a few trout on the pin that I would have never known bit, even if the rod was bent over. That has more to do with the cold, LOL.

I didn't say tease, I said agitate - you're still on bed fish, they don't count. ;D Walleye fisherman have long used drag chains to disturb the fishing area. Who hasn't cursed another boat that motored over the area, only to find the slow bite turned hot? What about the "school of something" theory use by trout trollers? Umbrella rigs for big game fish? I know after I've quietly picked apart a small weed bed that I know should hold bass, to get no bites, I'll run a buzz frog over the top. Not to illicit a "frog bite," but to agitate the area. More often than not, I get bites on the same quiet bait (usually a t-rigged plastic) after just a few casts. In deeper water, I have a couple 2 oz. muskie sized spinner baits or a big Mann's 30+ crank that I'll toss on a (relatively) deep ledge after no success with the jig. That has drummed up business more often than not. Even something as subtle as a drop shot in deep water. I'll put a 3/4 oz. gumball on, not because I need that much weight, but because of the "poof" of detritus kicked up, and audible tick when repeatedly lift and dropping the bait. It can't all be coincidence that the results were all fish that suddenly went from inactive to something that'll bite. Or can it? Obviously, some of these are presenting new food to the area, or simulating new food in the area. But its something that was controlled by the angler - something he did to change things.

That hook hanger would be the first to go.