J Francho

And there you have it.

You all realize the hooks are bent closed on much of that footage. And it's from the 80s, not 1973.

A buddy has been using the Glory Bags for a few years now. His fish always look good at weigh ins.

That was written by our own @.ghoti..

Oh boy, if I gave up after losing one little jig head and a plastic bait, I'd never be on the water long. You gotta get a longer fuse!

Agreed, Kastking has some great deals on solid gear with good customer support.

I did really well doing this with the smaller Savage Gear Goby Tubes. So well, I had to buy a bunch after my samples ran out.

All good sources for bearings. I'll also mention Dawn at Smooth Drags has just about everything you'd need.

Using WAY too much if that's the case.

What does Abe think?

I've put an Assassin through the paces last year, and really can't complain about it. The dual breaking system is decent, it's light, and it's smooth enough. It's nice than what most companies offer at the $80-$100 range.

@Catt, those are exactly the bites I referred to above. It's the worst when you only feel them spitting the bit on you. Ugh.

When you don't see the frog on the surface, set the hook.

I see the most dramatic results simply cleaning the OEM bearings, and properly oiling them. I've used several, and honestly, any ABEC 5 or better bearing will be good. Anything beyond that, and it's really just prestige, and you're not going to realize any extra distance or speed that you'll be able to use on the water.

It is VERY rare that a largemouth bass nibbles at a bait. It happens, but usually they gulp it. There are a ton of videos out there that show this. The problem is when they gulp the bait, and do not pull on the string. I've seen this first hand, flipping a jig. If I hadn't seen the violent strike, I would not have known there was a fish on. The only other perceptible evidence of a bite was a tiny bit of line movement. I was using braid. Nothing was transmitted back through the blank or into my hands.

6# Tatsu worked for this one.

Jimmies on his ice cream ?

I make a fairly big loop, and use a decent size tag that I hold in my lips for each pass. That way I don't have to finangle my fingers and the loop. A little slow, but the knot comes out well.

Not just the palm plate, but the nose cone as well. It really is constructed like their round reels.

Hockey Tape? Hmmm. I tape the reels on my centrepin rigs. There's sliding rings there already, but I don't trust them, and tape over.

I have diabetic neuropathy in my right foot, and a tiny bit around my lft eye. I can relate to the pain, but not tying knots. I sometimes have shaky hands, though, and at 45 my close eyesight stinks. Been using mild 1.50 readers for seeing the knots. When I use copoly (CXX, usually) or Mono (Seaguar Senshi and Rippin'), I have no issues with an improved clinch knot. I have also found it easier to tie Uni knots, than some of the fancier knots. I'd say just take the time to practice a few knots, and come up with a couple you know you can tie well. Good luck, and I hope your health returns.

I can confirm that "sick" is still a thing. My 10 yo son said so. Paul, the rods look really nice. Do you use black tape to attach the reels?

So, a few guys have issues - most self inflicted - and those are what you see online, never mind the thousands upon thousands sold without issue. I haven't heard of any consistent issues with the K.

Often, the exact number and placement of the shims are not included in the exploded parts diagram.

Do what Gary says - most likely a spacer issue. Without it, the gears are seated too tightly.