J Francho

nice fishing, Dwight! Very cool of you to share with your friend. i love it when I do well, but I love it just as much when I can show someone how to do well, too. Really validates what your doing. nice work all around!

Next time try a plastic Super Fluke.

I'm with Catt here...pic your spots before you head out on the water; make a plan. Start with your graph set to 83 kHz. When you find some fish, switch to 200 kHz or blend mode. Marker buoys and way points help a lot. Any bait that sinks or dives will be fine. the fish will let you know what they want.

Thanks for all the replies, guys. Like I said, I have my own style of fishing these, but wanted to hear about alternatives that would possibly aid a beginner. Care to share the details, like rod power/action, line, brand/size hook? That sounds like a pretty excellent ratio.

Are the Germans dumping on the guy that caught the 40+ brown trout in Michigan? Probably, LOL.

i understand the drag is touchy but why replace the drag star? The handle and the star go together. The stock drag isn't that touchy, but the Carbontex is better, and performs better in freezing conditions with a wet set up.

Thanks. That might explain why I can actually "spool" my Ito on a cast, and only come close with the Sols. Personally, they both cast farther than is actually useful for actual fishing situations. Maybe the bearing upgrade is good for light baits, but I can't see that much improvement over stock using ABEC 5 ceramics. Just made the reel a little less smooth to me. The handles technically are lighter, but more "nice to look at." The whole Aphas/Sol design was a home run.

AFAIK, its the same spool, could be wrong there, though -- always covered with line. I have two Sols and an Ito Ai. The best upgrade you can make to your Sol is Carbontex drag, and TD-Z handles and drag star.

Spawning King Salmon. Ugly buggers:

Started my day in the City Dump on my old boat. Caught some blue gills, and a ton of big perch. Kept a few for dinner. Around noon, I headed out with the new boat, but this time up the creek for northerns, and perhaps a mudshark. I had a mudshark on, but the hooks pulled out. Fun fight anyway, LOL. I ended up 3 for four on the northerns, nothing huge, but tons of fun in a little boat A few pics, enjoy! The boat fishes pretty well, though I did almost dump it when I stood up, forgetting to deploy the outriggers

Sorry, I just dont like the responses I see around here that make it like anything regarding shimano products cant be posted in the general forums, but the main thing is most people, myself anyway, do not frequent that section of the forums so I figured it would be best to ask my question here to get the most responses. Sorry if I came off the wrong way :-/ And everyone thank you for the help I apprecaite it, but can anyone else tell me what applications this reel will perform best for? Isn't the 6:2:1 an all around ratio good for basically anything but not ideal for some things? Can anyone tell me a little about that? I don't see the issue. The question looked like it posed to anglers, not a sales rep. No knock against Bantam, he's great, but maybe the general membership wouldn't post a useful, meaningful, real world experience reply from a guy that just fishes. Here's the deal with 6:1 reels. I learned on knuckle busters that were probably 2-something to one, LOL. Back in the late 80s, my Daiwas were "high speed" 5:1 reels. When I got my first 6.3:1 reel, it felt wayyyyyy too fast. Then I got used to it. My Zillion 7.1:1 still feels fast as heck to me, but I've adjusted. I have four reels that are 6.3:1, one is 7.1:1, and four more that are 5.8:1. I don't like a reel too fast for cranks, topwater, and jerkbaits. I don't like a slow reel for jigs, t-rigs, and finesse plastics. 6.3:1 seems great for spinnerbaits, traps, buzzbaits, swimbaits, swim jigs, and other similar baits. Just use your reel, and get used to it while paying attention to what your bait is doing. And for the final word on what works best with certain baits...the rod has a lot more to do with it.

The 200E is the latest model. Its 6.3:1, or 27 IPT. For beginners, set the brakes to four on, in an "X" pattern. Adjust the spool tension so that the bait drops slowly to the ground with no overrun. You should be able to use this for just about any application. If you're starting out, I recommend sticking to baits at least 3/8 oz.

If you can swing it, get a sonar/GPS combo unit. I have a HB 383c Combo, and while the screen is a bit small, having GPS and the graph is very helpful.

Call Shimano, they should be able to provide you with a replacement kit. I whacked the tip of a St. Croix on a rock, breaking the ring. I called, and it was like $5 for a replacement kit.

If you go ahead with this strategy, please report back, and take pictures. I've never seen such a rig in person.

Actually, they do quite a bit a business with actual "working pros," like guides. A guide has a much better chance of actually exposing a potential customer to the product, and showing them the benefits. Too many think that BASS pros have all the clout. There is much more going on at a grass roots level.

I've owned four Quantum spinning reels and three baitcasters. Reels in the $120 to $150 range. They all suffered some type of failure. I base my opinion on personal experience.

The fish may be getting larger, that seems to be a fact, but no one knows anything about how they affected recruitment. What happens when the big fish are gone, due to attrition? In related news, brown trout are getting HUGE on gobies, and goby pattern baits work well for bass and browns. They seem to linger in the shallows longer, now that there is goby buffet waiting for them in late spring. So it isn't just the bass that are affected by their presence.

Maybe silicone was the wrong word...marine goop works well, just do it in warm temps to avoid bubbling, and place some weight on it while it cures. I would not recommend permanently attaching the transducer to a kayak. Here is a primer article on kayak electronics: http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/drupal/content/kayak-depth-finders. I know guys that have used things as simple as petroleum jelly and duct tape to temporarily mount them with good results.

There's a drainage scupper hole, and the transducer goes there. http://www.oceankayak.com/kayaks/angler_editions/prowler_big_game.html You can silicone it inside the hull, as long as it shoots straight down.

Accounting semantics are about as much fun as watching paint dry.....part of the reason I try not to talk about my job here, LOL.

They displace smallmouth in the make up a lake where they're introduced.

http://www.dundermifflin.com/

Sorry.....I'm doing a big DUH for you now, LOL. It does look like one, though.

Poor [ch960]! All anyone remembers is 3.14, when its as simple as 22/7