J Francho

Take a look at these: http://www.rudyprojectusa.com/. That is the direction I'm going, can't stand contacts.

There was a sidebar in In-Fisherman a few months back that detailed "agitation" baits. There is a man (can't remember his name, though he's been published before) that is throwing HUGE, gaudy deep cranks, hookless, in shallow water to "stir up" action. He also has gigantic spinnerbaits, one of those Musky size Rat'l Traps, and a few others. If fishing is slow on a main point, and he feels fish are there, but inactive, then he'll start throwing these agitation baits. He feels it does a few things, like stirs up detritus, which stirs up tiny critters, which stirs up baitfish, and well, you get the picture. By alternating different agitation baits (sort of like "junk agitation") the fish don't become conditioned. If he gets bit, he stops for 15 to 30 minutes, and then starts fishing with traditional bass baits. He got the idea from walleye fishermen dragging chains in the depths to stir up activity. I'm not sure if the same thing isn't going on when you're junk fishing, or if there is something to the stirring up the bottom, followed by a baitfish pattern lure. I do have some minor personal experience with something similar. In my own experience, Fishing deep structure on Lake Ontario for smallies, sometimes wind and waves would push the boat, dragging the anchor, and I found that by repositioning back at the beginning, we'd often have a flurry of bites. it was always short lived though.

I'm usually skeptical of "aircraft aluminum gears" but in this case, it likely won't matter. This is a finesse reel, and will so no more than 8# line. SInce this is a JDM reel, there is no guarantee.

I use a 6'2" medium power, x-fast rod for this. I feel the recovery time of a fast tip is important for imparting the best action. I use 8-12# coply line on a 6.3:1 baitcaster for this.

You'll need the exact model # (i.e.CU200B) but I suspect the CT200 washers fit your reel. Just call them, and they'll get you what you need.

Since Jimzee posted his collection of fine, fine reels, I thought I'd post a pick of what I'm using. There's another Black Widow II not shown, mainly because its covered with trout and cured egg slime, LOL. They're certainly not as nice as Jimzee's, but they get the job done for me. Almost all have upgraded bearings and Carbontex drags. In fact, the two beat up silver Capricorns have more $$ in them than I paid for the reels originally (about $40). Left to right, top to bottom: Zebco 33 Classic (don't laugh, solid reel, about 20 years old), Daiwa Capricorn XTC 1500, 2x Daiwa Capricorn XTC 2500, Shimano Stradic 1000FG (how did that get there???), an old Quantum IR3, for catshing and pike. 2x Daiwa TD-Sol, TD-Ito Alphas Ai, 2x Daiwa Capricorn Super Tuned Black Widow II, 2x TD-X103HSDL A little birdie told me there might be a more Shimano added to the mix, a Sustain 2500, and a Curado E... Might also be a Fuego in the pipeline as well. We'll see. The Ito is my latest addition, and I couldn't pass it up. I got it today, and immediately dismantled it. Good thing I did, too. I learned a lot I didn't know, like the main gear and crank shaft being aluminum. Yeah, those SS bearings had to go, LOL. Abec 5 Ceramics for this bad boy. I'm sticking with the stock drag washer...for now. If you ever wondered about the guts of a reel, here's what it looks like: Yes, I got it together with no extra pieces (besides the old bearings) and it works better than new Now, melt ice, melt!!!!

GYCB Senkos are $5.99 for a 10/ at Dick's.

Some nice catches there! Thanks for posting them.

For flipping, you only need to drop the rod tip long enough to get the bait moving. See this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBZ2rJqfnOs.

You need three items: cleaner, grease, and oil. There is no such thing as a "3 in 1" product for reels. Use Simple Green at full strength and hot water or cut your cleaning time in half with Birchwood Casey Reel Scrubber. Grease is for gears, oil is for bearings, with the exception of worm drives - use oil there.

I'll be honest, the only times I check is when I'm night fishing, and after a particularly good day. I have never made any correlation, though I think I'd really need a much bigger dataset. I have a friend that has more than 5 years of fishing logs stored in a database, with over a dozen fields tracked FOR EVERY FISH HE'S CAUGHT! It wouldn't be too hard to build a report that would overlay moon phase with this data. Now, if I could only get at the data

Just about every belief system relies on faith, Tony. Just because it may not seem realistic, doesn't necessarily mean that its false, just that it has a greater meaning that we might not be equipped to understand. Some people take it at face value, interpreting it literally. I was raised to look past the literal meaning, and search for a deeper, guiding viewpoint. Its a tough issue to even begin to debate, and I saw this coming a mile away. You can't change my mind, I can't change yours, and we certainly aren't going to convince others. Its easier to simply respect others' belief system, and realize that we're all in this together, and no one is getting out alive. Peace brutha, and where are some trout pics!?! Here's mine, taken during an alien encounter (you can tell by the interference in my camera):

Congrats - you're a very helpful poster, and a clear headed mod to boot. I was terrible at modding my photography forum - I preferred a dictatorship, LOL. I have over 11K posts there, and have the distinction of starting the longest running thread, titled "Ban the person above me." There's almost 10K replies there.

St. Croix uses the following naming convention: AVC62MXF Rod Series Casting/Spinning Length Power Action

I was just wondering. I never heard anything about an unusual breakage with St. Croix. I have heard of issues with Dobyns and Kistlers, but those were all solved by both owners, and breakage is a non issue. I have a few Kistlers, and they are as tough as nails, and light. I also have a few St. Croix, including an AVC62MXF, hence my concern. I too like the Powell casting rods, I have 6 sitting in my cart at TW right now, just waiting to decide to pull the trigger.

Thanks drath. I'm not condoning his blowup at all, but this part is a little bit funny: "...after shouting expletives in front of almost two dozen spectators watching the blast-off." So he swore in front less than 24 people. I think I once swore at 1,000 people in Erie, PA back when I was on tour with my band, LOL. We all lose it sometimes. Gimme a break. Doesn't make it right, but it doesn't deserve this much attention. I'd be po'd too, if I felt like the TD was targeting me. Ish should shut up, take his punishment, and raise his concerns at the next pre tourney meeting, where it would be a good idea to show up on time.

The Tierra is the only reel in that list that is on par with the Citica. the Prodigy is essentially the Tierra with some added, unnecessary eye candy. There is one other option, a Black Widow II, for $99.99 at Tackle Warehouse. Its basically a Tierra with an extra bearing, and a sweet paint job.

St. Croix makes nice rods. Good that you went with the fast though, as I've heard reports of St. Croix's XF rods breaking at an unusual rate. Not my personal experience though, so take it with a grain of salt. St. Croix's tend to run plenty fast and a little on the heavy side in my opinion, so the fast should be fine for you. I went with the Powell rods because for $140, which is less than the high end St. Croixs, I get a lifetime warranty and some really nice actions. Also I don't care for St. Croix's spinning reel seats. Hope you enjoy your new rod and catch some big bronzies with it! Heard? Where? Links?

I'm not entirely sure that was English, but i think you asked for help with a knot? Here: http://www.animatedknots.com/arbor/index.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

Try "bumble bee" ((005)Black/Yellow) in late summer early fall for shallow browns. Don't know why, but its deadly.

Rooster tails are only suitable for burning, a P-M can be run at a bigger variety of speeds. As far as I've seen, they are both around $3 to $4.

Can someone post a link to the story?

Even if there were bass that deep, they're not, you'd be fishing a catch and kill tournament. Good luck. Some of the Finger Lakes here are 600'+ deep. The bass are in 0 to 40' of water.

Small ponds can yield surprising results. I was teaching a friend how to use a baitcaster while on a lunch break last fall, and this 4 lb. 5 oz. LMB took my jig while I was explaining pitching, LOL.

This is SOOOOO true. That fish is here and now, and will only get bigger.