J Francho

What about heavy cover?? I don't get the spinning for all soft plastics, but I use spinning for many of the light rigs. That said, I just don't see a wacky Senko as a good heavy cover bait. There are so many better options out there that fish better in heavy cover. If you must use a Senko, consider bubba shotting them on a weedless EWG using 40-65# braid.

Put your beat up LFT Minnows on a wacky jig....

Its all about balance. Most long, heavy cover rods have long handles, making the actual length of the rod in front of the reel seat similar to most 7' casting rods. There are some out there that are poorly balanced, so try before you buy.

Just use an Owner Beast hook to get your paddletails down.

To me part of a good Senko presentation includes skipping the bait to its destination. While I can skip a Senko with a baitcaster, I'm much, much better at it with a spinning reel. We watched Dean Rojas fishing a frog at SML last spring. He skipped that frog with every cast. We asked him why, and he said he felt fish were less weary of a skipped bait, and that it might even gain favorable attention. Additionally, I find is easier to take up more slack with a spinner. Whether that's actually true, I can't prove, but its a perceptual thing.

It really depends on the specific spot, and what cover is there, along with the structural layout. But, I generally keep it to one or two rods.

I have five Avids, and two Legend Tournament Bass. Great rods, the Avids probably offering the biggest bang for the buck. I fish with several guys that have Premiers, and they love them too.

Somehow I got whacked, work laptop is completely hosed - profile corrupt. Looks like I'll have to reclone the dang thing. I was running up to date corporate McAfee.

FTO Speed bags work great for me. I use a carbiner to clip them to my tackle bag.

I suppose you're referring to the removable gear box. Nothing oddball about it. Reels have been built that way for over 50 years. No, you aren't.

Two pages of replies, and three people that have actually used them, along with one that thinks they're great for "flippin' frogs," whatever that means. So, the score is +2, -1, and a bunch that take TT for gospel. :-?

Those instructions, while not entirely the worst advice, certainly do not give you the best performance gains. By greasing all those contact points, you basically delete the gains from polishing. Grease the main gear, pinion, idler gear, yoke, yoke posts, and pack frame handle support, pinion support, crankside handle support, and any worm drive bearings with grease. All knob, and spool bearings get oil, as does the worm gear, and any spool engagement/clutch parts. Also, I've mentioned this before about orange seals....it is really easy to screw up the seal installation. Bearing upgrades, especially spool bearing upgrades are best left to experienced experts. I think all the "press" about "super tuning" and upgrades has led to more issues from DIY'ers. Probably 80% of all users should leave this to someone more qualified.

My buddy has the pitching model, and it works great for its purpose. Powerful reel, though a little funny looking.

Either would be fine on that rod, though I don't crank on a spinning rig. For small cranks, I use a medium power, moderate action rod.

Flipping doesn't require anything special, since done properly, never engage the freespool. For pitching, I prefer aleft hand retrieve since I cast with my right. I use Daiwa TD-X103HSDL reels with the thumb bar on top. This way I can palm the reel, and flick the switch on and off without switching hands or touching the handles. See the two reels, front row on the right: Now, cover and bait weight would determine the other characteristics you want in a reel. Fishing in heavy grass, I'd use a stout, moderate to mo. fast, heavy+ rod, and a reel with significant drag. I recommend upgrading to dry Carbontex washers. For tossing light baits under overhangs or docks into relatively thin cover, something like a Sol would be great right out o the box.

You can flip and pitch with any reel, each are just casting techniques.

Application? Rod power/action/line rating?

I have three Shimano Convergence rods, 9' to 12'-6", all with Daiwa reels mounted to them. The Convergence series are great steelhead rods.

The easiest and most beneficial user upgrade would be Carbontex drag washers.

Start with a professional cleaning, then decide if you want more.

Spinner or BC? I have three spinners that have been through the ringer, and they all work great.

we used to get pulled by horse and rope on a big scoop shovel. d**n i feel old now....... I'm 37, and we did that when I was a kid, LOL. Forgot about that until now. Thanks for the memory!

Just about every time I dropped in a halfpipe on my skateboard. Protective gear was pretty primitive in the 80s, and we hardly ever wore helmets. All I got was a trick hip, and sore knees, and some great memories.

Northern Pike. Very similar to bass fishing, bigger baits, heavier gear, a little more predictable. Bite turns on and off like a light switch, though. King Salmon, during the spawning run. Very seasonal, they are biting out of agitation, not hunger, since they can't really feed. Getting bit is like shooting fish in a barrel, staying hooked up with a 30+ lb. fish is another story. Brown trout, easily my favorite salmonoid, and very similar to smallies in open water. Fun as hell in spring on c-rigged tubes. My favorite is spooning in current, though. Amazing and powerful strike. Rainbows - when its the dead of winter, and all the lakes are frozen over, small stream rainbows will keep you entertained on light tackle. Steelhead, genetically the same as a rainbow, but physiologically different, are probably the one fish that makes more fuss on the end of a line than a smallmouth. That they are often in the double digits, well you get the idea. They pose a challenge in that they often are line shy, making you use very light leader, but they are crazy when hooked.

See, and people say you have no sense of humor!!! ;D ;D That was pretty good!