J Francho

Put a piece of electrical tape over it if you are that worried about scratching the reel foot.

That's how I took the end to be - All Star. We get to vote baseball players, so why not.

Usually the lure got cracked, and water got inside.

60% of the time... it works every time. LOL, it works 100% of the time on the fish I catch on a drop shot! ;D ;D

Never heard that expression. Doesn't even bear close to true with my own results.

"Outperform" is tough to quantify. I know it when I feel it, and its not always the same setup for every reel and every application. That's why its called "tuning."

I would prefer a moderate action for diving cranks, and an extra fast action for spinnerbaits, but a fast action will work fine for both.

Deps Buzzjet. Color doesn't matter, just get one that's pretty.

Yellow is the easiest to see. I marker up the last few feet of line with a black sharpie. I'll also swipe 1/2 the spool with black marker to give the line a breakup pattern I can see better. That really helps with the red line. Treating your braid with KVD Line & Lure will slow down the fade.

Man, that's very sad. We'll miss him, but we're better just from knowing him. My thoughts and prayers go out to Jack, and all his friends and family.

Start collecting stamps as a hobby. A couple of 7' medium/fast rods would do me.

Pardon me? You did ask for advice, right? Or were you just looking for validation. Trust me, keep your eyes peeled for a cheap kayak. Way better than an over engineered pool toy. The pontoon rig looks nice, too.

That's a good choice, since the fluorocarbon is more dense than water.

Certainly true, but I suggest that for $200-300 more, either a sonar or DSI unit with GPS is absolutely worth every penny. I have a GPS, but people need to learn how to do it the old fashioned way. What happens when your unit fails? I know my navigation skills went right out the window after about a month of using the GPS. Try two landmarks for triangulation

BCS?

No employer is going to match 401k contributions from a 15 year old part time employee, LOL. The wheels are off the track. Just show up earlier than "on time," always ask if there's anything you can do to help, and remember all the advice you learn.

Same as being seated in a kayak, you'll use a side sweep, or up sweep to twitch.

Alconites....Carrington will have a hard time avoiding them.

I polish the washers too, but I think the first run of line off the spool undoes most of this, and creates a bed for the carbon fiber washer. I think there's a bigger advantage to polishing when using smoother, stock washers. The other thing with carbon fiber washers is that they are flexible, and conform to irregularities in the metal washers.

Some would rather not participate, I guess. The vote in wild card is interesting.

Try two landmarks for triangulation

My buddy Noel laughs back....Vanish....clinch knots......giant smallies. For me, its Vanish - what happens to your fish when you use it! In different hands, lines somehow behave differently.

Leave it as is.....Tennessee grips are gonna make a comeback. They are couture fashion in Japan right now.

I like a plain old medium power, fast action for shaky heads, slider heads, grubs, and split shots. 6-6 to 7' is fine. For drop shot, in open water, I'm more picky. Then again, I should fess up...I don't throw shaky heads anymore :-X I might toss them again, but smaller jigs have been better for me the past two years.

Good luck. Looks like way more hassle than any of my yaks....