J Francho

Me too, but generally, adding oil supplied with the reel isn't going to hurt. Mixing grease is a little more sketchy, as the detergents added to oil to make the grease can react with each other. If you're going to get pore precise, and use something like Oust Metol or TSI, then DEFINITELY flush those bearings.

Are these widgets sold retail in single unit quantities through typical retail channels?

It is unnecessary to remove a shield in order to oil a bearing. The bearing pictured in your post has a seal. That does need to be removed. Not many reels have sealed bearings, unless they were installed after purchase. LEWITH: A needle-oiler, and one drop of oil to the lip of the outer race, and you're good. I'd say once every couple of months of moderate use is all that's needed.

Generally, for Daiwa Mag-Z/X brakes a setting of zero put the magnets in phase cancelling position, and they have no effect on the induction coil, and no braking effect whatsoever.

How many fish can you catch off a single $4 crankbait? How about a $7 bag of plastics? How many seasons do you get out of your line? Four seasons from $40 spool of Tatsu. I hear about guys changing out their $5 mono every couple weeks. A single $25 top water bait has accounted for more fish than most of my other baits COMBINED. Did I get ripped off by the $25 bait, or the thousands I've spent on other stuff? Think about what you feel is "over priced" here. A $4-ish crank bait, that even if it's marked up ten thousand percent, is still $4. Not a big deal, considering I have Wiggle Warts older than half the members here that are still catching fish. Personally, I think rod prices have gotten out of hand. Makes a custom stick an attractive deal.

That's probably your best plan - don't buy them. It's $4. I have some old Rebels in the box fom 25+ years ago. They were $2 then.

So, the only cost of the cranks is the plastic used in the mold? Sounds a bit naive to me. Many of the higher end baits have quite a bit of R&D into the final product, along with testing, and not to mention the molds themselves and some of the expensive materials used, like tungsten weights. The cost of manufacturing material is probably a small percentage of the overall cost of each new bait. Then there are Chinese made baits, that you can buy in bulk (I'm talking huge quantities) at various price points, buy packaging from another maker, and label the things as "Joe Schmoe's" baits. The price per bait from these sources ranges from around $.50 to $5. Though even then, that's FOB country of origin, and there may taxes/tariffs involved. I can't remember the exact rules. The quality is not what I'd call the same as some of the premium baits out there, like LC, MB, etc.

My set up for skipping is zero brakes, and heavy spool tension. And a trained thumb.

Some of my biggest pike have come on "standard" bass topwaters. Zara Spooks come to mind. Pike season is closed up here during the spawn (ice out through May 1st), so I can only comment on early spring pike. Top waters are indeed effective by then, and continue to be through fall. Other baits that work well are suspending or sinking (countdowns) jerk baits, spinnerbaits, even crankbaits. I target pike in a particular creek near my house, and I would call what I do "finesse pike fishing," using typical bass lures and tackle. Kayak is the only way into these spots.

They look like these flies a local guy ties. He calls them "turd jigs." Likes them for big browns in spring.

Repair by replacement, and never do what you did to get there again.

I'm a Slider guy, lol. I know EXACTLY what you mean. I wrestle with the idea of getting new anglers "over the hump" and truly delving into the detail and minutia found in the rabbit holes that 30+ years of fishing leads you down. It's always important to remember that there some that take our words as gospel. I'm just a dude from Rochester, NY that digs bass fishing, like the rest of us.

Gear snob.

Thanks. We certainly do really appreciate the kudos!

You should have filed that jig down to 1/9 oz. Would have really slayed them.

Back in the late 80s and early 90s, when I was just a kid, I invented the "John Rig." It was a 3" grub on a 1/8 oz. ball head jig with the sickle tail torn off after catching several smallies. I was too poor to toss the bait, so I kept fishing with it, and caught. All the Ned Rig is, is a manifestation of not over analyzing the bait you're fishing, and just see if they'll still bite. I love the the idea of the simplicity, but the complication of rigs, and "proper way" is hard to buy. Reminds me of my militant drop shot days. (See, I'm not immune to over analyzing things!)

I have no doubt that a bass will eat a freshly hatched tadpole, minnow fry, mayfly larvae, or other minuscule creature the size of a pinhead, though I struggle with what bait I'd' use to "match" it. Like I said, irrelevant to bass fishing. You're better off trying to mimic the typical forage in the lake. Sometimes it's craws, other times shiners. Could be alewife or gobies...even sunfish or blue gill. Do a little research about your lake. Local DNR websites are a good start.

I dislike braid, too. But it's a necessary evil. Truthfully, I dislike anything that isn't a topwater, drop shot, or spinnerbait. But I fish other stuff that isn't a C-rig.

Don't get me wrong....realism is an edge I'll gladly go for, but in other ways. Think little action claws on my jig trailers. A realistic paint job or profile on a big swim bait. Sometimes it's a dip the tip of a senko in chartreuse JJ's for a bit of flash. These may not seem "realistic" at first, but they illicit the response you want from the fish: your bait computes as a meal in their tiny brain, and they UNCONTROLLABLY bite. But, match the hatch? That's for trout fishing, not bass.

99% of bass fishing is done without anything of relevance to a bass's diet hatching. Meaning, 99% of the time, it doesn't matter.

Copoly (CXX), not mono. Wait, nevermind, lol.

This is actually funny. Many years ago, on Smith Mountain Lake, this very thing happened. You'd think at a place that big, you could get away from it all....nope. Even after the cut, pros all over the "good spots." LOL, I guess that's why they're "good spots."

I think there might 1001 ways to complicate one of the simplest baits I've seen suddenly take the country by storm. Over-complification is my game. I think I'll continue to stay away from these, and stick to my slider rigs and jig worms.

I caught a non boater losing control, and going all over my gear shift and console graph. If it wasn't so cold, he might have been victim to the "sudden trolling motor oversteer" trick.

Maybe. I find the "slow day" bites come from EXTREMELY slow presentations, or physically demanding presentations. Things that come to mind are drowning a senko in 25 FOW, or chucking an umbrella rig all day for five or six good bites. I like those days when you can throw an "easy" bait - walking bait or popper, spinnerbait, Texas Rigged worm or craw, mid diving crank...but yeah, I'm pretty sure you're right. Though I'll probably never know if a Carolina Rig is good on a slow or a fast day!