J Francho

Oh man, we laughed pretty hard at that when it came out.

I thought we covered this in the last thread? They're ok. Not the best reel out there for the money. Some people like them. The original made in the USA reels were built like tanks, and weighed as much too. They were very durable, but dated in design.

Daiwa is a better reel than the Ardent, on all counts, in every category. A similarly priced Shimano, Lew's, Revo, Pinnacle, Okuma, or even much maligned Quantum would be better.

Any color topwater will get bit. Bright colors aid in visually seeing that the bait has been taken under, especially on a long cast. Can't see the bait? Reel in while sweep setting the hook.

I have one of those three bank rod holders. It was clearance bin at F&S, like $8 or something. Easy decision. I have a bunch of single ones from various crate solutions that were sent to me for "evaluation." If you look hard enough, there's a scathing review on the interwebz by yours truly. Something I rarely do, but it was so bad, there was no positive light to shed.

I've rigged a fish grip to a retractable leash for just that purpose. Works great in little creeks with gentle current. That craye looks a lot like mine, btw!

Actually, I do not recommend this method, and I'm pretty sure Rob (the creator of the product) does not either. Just spray the spool, and optionally, the guides.

I think we need to distinguish between the terms swivel, snap, and snap swivel. Some rigs require a swivel (Carolina Rig, donkey rig, split shot, inline spinners, spoons) while others are easier to use with a snap, like when you're changing crankbaits constantly, looking for the right color or depth. Basically, you can use a snap if there is a split ring provided to tie to. Snap swivels? NEVER. Not a single brand has proven itself reliable for me.

There's some info here: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-ways-to-remove-exif-metadata-from-photos-and-why-you-might-want-to/ Basically, make a copy of the image file, select the images, right click, and choose remove personal data...

Absolutely it works, on all lines. It's a must have for me. The main advantage with braid is keeping the color in the braid, and holding that fresh out of the box feel. It slows the break in process. Some people don't like that. I'm not sure what you'd do to a lure with it, though? Here's the difference between the two mentioned: http://www.lineandlure.com/media/videos/play/4/Reel_Magic_Will_It_Burn

Braid, always. If it fails when testing, then you did it wrong. Keep tying, good knots are all about practice.

I have owned 20+ Shimano baitcasters. Clearly, you do not understand what I'm saying. You want to call it backplay, then fine. Use your term, though it isn't actually a word. I'm totally done debating semantics. I'll let you be righter than me. That work for you? @GetJIgginWithIt: It isn't a bad pinion gear. 23 Shimano baitcasters do it. I'm not the only one that notices. You can't feel it while fishing, and it's not a defect, just a trait of the design. It's not something everyone might notice, it's so minor. Again, I'm done with the discussion. Sorry for using the wrong word.

Dude, put your thumb on the spool and rock the handle. It's that simple. Jeez.

The anti reverse (AR) bearing prevents backwards movement. There is a bit of play before the rollers are pressed into the the small leaf springs, locking the spool. Shimano uses big rollers.

There's that too, but that's for every reel.

If you flush all the excessive grease, and there's a tiny bit of for and aft movement of the spool, when it's in gear. It isn't a bad thing, and has to do with the super beefy AR roller bearing. The cylinders are larger than many other brands, so there's a micro millimeter of movement required before the the one way bearing locks. Movement side to side would be worn out shims, or too loose a spool tension. Totally different. In contrast, Daiwa and PF use very narrow cylinders for their AR roller bearings, but compensate by using almost twice as many. Hope that helped.

You won't be limited in that boat. Very similar to my old Sea Nymph tiller.

A tiller is nice, if you're into trolling. More a multi species thing on boats bigger than 16'. I've had a 17' deep-V tiller for chasing smallmouths in Lake Ontario. Handled better than a bass boat, and fished smaller waters just fine.

Exactly what I said. Good screen caps, showing the difference. I do the one sided SI display all the time. Many times, I'm only interested in one side.

If I had time in the morning to mow, then that's time to fish.

This also happens to be one of the "multiple posts" where deleted the dupes. There were two or three, IIRC.

No prob, I fixed.

Never used it, but I've used Power Pro, which uses Spectra fiber.

Cocoons.