J Francho

Have you tried U40 Cork Sealer? It changes the feel a bit, if you use a couple of thin coats. Untreated cork feels weird to me now. Too "dry" is all I could say to describe it.

Why not get the Toro Winch? That's the reel for the job, if you don't like the Shimano.

Well, the Smooth Drags product is way better than the OE parts on the Revo. Just saying that I don't think you'll up the drag, though you're right, Smooth Drags do hold grease better, if you go to a wet system, if you want smoother. That's def. an improvement.

Sunny, no wind, during the spawn, Senkos. 8-)

KVD L&L works, so does PAM spray and Chapstick. Its impossible to completely stop it. I use the KVD since its the least messy.

No need to go any further than the Mattlures. I have them, they work. And really well. The baby shellcracker is more of a super shallow/wake bait. Yeah, its bigger, but not big by SB standards. I wouldn't even call it a swimbait, really. Its a good bait too, though.

Handles are all pretty much interchangeable, as are some of the bling. You probably need to be more specific in what you want. Can't see any point in trying to upgrade a Black Max. Carbontex would be a replacement in my mind, since Revos already use a similar material.

I use a Saint Croix Avid AVC68MXF for drop shot in light weeds.

Lucky Craft BDS 2:

I used to do a lot of it on Ontario, before gobies were there, and the bass were scattered.

20 below wind chills is what shuts things down around here. No snow days for us!

Ok, well that's hormones. What causes the female bass hormones to change? Seems like a chicken or the egg argument to me. That's why its called a life cycle, right? Besides, how are you going to tell whether the female bass is loose or still skeined up? Or did I just start a catch and keep thread! I say get on the water, and observe your fish.

Nasty stuff! -5.3 °F here, with the sun shining, LOL.

Wow, you're right. I didn't think of it that way.

Amazingly, paddle power is free in NY. 8-)

Chris, I'll get back to you on trolling...wildly under looked. Somewhat boring. You gotta set goals with it. I trolled for smallies for ten years or so. It's valid.

Color is usually a "general vicinity"thing with me, but when it actually matters, it really matters.

Go to their web site, and click Service and Warranty.

Diameter.

Its basically a coupon. No more illegal than points from Bass Pro or Dick's. : But it would be like Bass Pro saying "If you ever put fishing line on a reel you bought from us, and you didn't buy that line from us, we won't honor the store warranty or return policy any more.". Except I guess there's no law against that in the fishing world. There is in the automotive world, though. What are you talking about? Bass pro and fishing line - makes no sense?!? I'm talking about free tires for life, simply for getting rotations and oil changes at the dealer. Toyota has a new free regular maintenance program offered, like BMW and a few other brands. None are illegal. Sheesh. :

Not that I've noticed.

The only thing I would care about is whether the new owners can maintain quality and price. Otherwise, I could care less about whose name was on the product, unless of course, they changed the name to "Ugly Stik," LOL.

That's all I would use.

They look like UL trout rods to me - any specs? And I guess I don't understand the point of the marketing dept. designing rods.....wouldn't it be more ideal for the fishing staff to be part of the process? Seems like just the opposite of ideal. Don't get me wrong, they look like quality, but are they actually any better than anything else here? Can you compare them to something domestically available?

FYI, this is from an EPA Press Release.