J Francho

This is VERY GOOD ADVICE to any shore angler. All to often, shore anglers cast straight out, not realizing their bait is only in the zone for a very small percentage of the time. The only time you would want to cast out far from shore is if there was some piece of structure you are targeting. Use a feel type bait to paint a mental picture of whats under the surface, and plan you're best angle of attack.

15 years ago, 5:1 was "high speed." I like it for quite a few applications - mostly reaction style baits. For worming and jigging, I prefer a faster reel.

Many use a spinning rod when tying this rig for very small finesse plastics on very light line, usually 4-6#, for open water structure fishing. The drop shot is a terminal rig, not a technique, and can be tied using ANY soft plastic, on ANY rod and reel appropriate for the cover/conditions. Try a 3/4 oz. weight, a 5/0 EWG, a 12" worm, tied onto 65# braid on your flipping stick. Throw into pads, shake away. Be prepared to catch a big fish. Now you know how to "cannonball the pads"

Crest, I think it comes down to a difference in application. A stand out hook probably doesn't have as much a negative effect in deep open water structure fishing, where you really aren't imparting as much action as the boat actually is. When fishing for largemouth on the deep side on weed edges, you will need to add a little magic, and for that, I've found the standouts diminish control. Since i do both types of fishing with this rig, along with a few more, and that the mosquito hook stands out on its own, if tied right, There's no need for me to use a different hook.

Carolina rig them. Lift - drop. Repeat. Set hook when you feel something funny at the end of your line.

Dobbing. Well, seriously, I like to think I'm good at spinnerbaits. They are my favorite to fish.

Do you mean Break Strength <> Lb. Test? (as in <> means does not equal)

I've got some open water. As it warms up a bit, I'll throwing hair jigs, blade baits, spinnerbaits, suspending jerks, small finesse worms on light ballheads, and spoons. Let the weight of the bait determine what rod and reel to use. In a general sense, heavier baits are more suited to baitcasting, while lighter finesse baits go on spinning gear.

Baby bass, shad colors, and firetigers are probably some of the best producers. Not sure what it is about baby bass, but I always avoided it in the past - what a mistake. I also like shad color baits with a purple, green, or blue highlight, since that matches alewife in this area. Before the gobies took over the Great Lakes, crawfish colors worked really well. They probably still do, though I haven't been throwing them much.

I'll add that I generally choose line by line diameter and application. For cranking, I generally go with 8 or 10# copoly. For general worm and jig, I like 12 or 15# copoly. Jerkbaits and topwater get 12#. My choices are based on my preference and experience. You have a lot of wiggle room there, but suffice it to say, you can get most anything done with 12# Yo-Zuri.

You can fish 10 to 100# line on that rod, just set your drag accordingly. 3-5 pounds of resistance is a good range. I usually stay close to the lower number, unless I 'm fishing heavy cover.

The MOST upgradeable reel is an Abu Round Ambassadeur. Daiwa seem to have quite a few after market options. Look at Daiwa I'ze, Bassart, Boca Bearings, etc. Simply upgrading handles, bearings, drags, etc. isn't really "super tuning." Most reels over $120 price point are perfect from the box.

You have gizzard shad, though, and they have a thread as well

I don't even understand why this is a question - isn't at least ONE oar a US Coast Guard requirement, by law?

Black shoes and belt should compliment that centrifugal SX nicely. Just kidding, man! ;D How about some pics of the convo?

That's a perfect diagram, grimlin. Nice! The cool part about a roll cast, is that its not the fastest cast in the world, so you can actually guide your bait around obstructions throughout the cast by changing your rod position.

This will help:

I was about to post that "no, St. Croix has it on their site that they're made in the US" but then I realized that they are made in "North America" while all the rods made in the USA they say "USA". Clever St. Croix...clever. Um... Mexico would be Central America, North America would encompass the United States and Canada. That said these rods seam like they are a great buy. Hmmm... last years Citica on sale for $89. plus Mojo equal nice rig for under two bills, Nice! Geography I learned in grammar school: Central America is a region, not a continent. North America includes Canada, Greenland, U.S.A., Mexico, Cuba, and whatever other islands are in the vicinity. The other six continents are South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica.

You can print this up and use to compare for size: http://www.vmchooks.com/consumers/. I usually replace with Owner Stingers or Lucky Craft OEM hooks.

Dry for top end max power, and wet for the ultimate in smoothness and progressive adjustments on the fly. Only my heavy cover reels are run with dry washers. Cal's Grease or Shimano Star Drag Grease both work equally well.

Did you try to simply swap out the brake sideplates 1st? Seems like that would be easier, though they wouldn't match the bodies.

It depends on what type of hook you are using. If the bait is nose hooked with a Mosquito hook or similar, then all it takes is a reel set. If you are rigging the bait with a weedless hook like below, then you need to use a quick wrist snap. Personally, I have a hell of a time not setting the hook, but if you tone it down, you'll be fine. BTW, lose the Stand Out hooks, totally unnecessary, and defeats the purpose of a direct connection between your rod tip and the hook eye - the very thing that makes a DS rig so sensitive.

Cabela's has them on sale for $90.

Stupid, you have to roll the window down first to get out. You'd think they'd demo this on something a little more exciting than a Lincoln. Then again, maybe this product is aimed at the senior citizen market.

I'll try to get to all the questions. The Orange line is Suffic Siege in Tangerine. Yes, it does look pretty sick on the BWII. That is the line I use for steelhead fishing. The water can get pretty crowded, and it helps myself, and other anglers see where my rig is drifting. Pretreated with KVD L&L, this line is super pliable, low memory (even in temps far below freezing), and has a quite a bit of stretch, though that is a good thing. I've landed many fish over 10 lbs. with 4-8lb. line. I get bearings from a few sources. Reel Mech has them, Smooth Drags has them, you can get them direct from Boca Bearings, Hattaras Outfitters has them as well. SWIMBASSER, get your son a Daiwa Goldcast. Its more like a spinning reel, with a line roller and oscillating spool, than it is a spincaster. I'd have to double check the Black Widow again, but I am sure that the frame is aluminum, and the brake side plate is composite. I just can't remember on the crank side, though I seem to think that's cast Al as well. One gripe I had initially was the plastic star drag, but its actually a brass nut underneath, and I this arrangement has worked for years on older Daiwas. Thanks all for the rest.