J Francho

Four "out" in an X pattern.

Might be time for "the talk" lol.

If you are referring to minnow baits, yes. I recommend something in a natural silver color with blue, green, or purple highlights.

My experience with trout, although pretty far removed from a stocked pond, is that they do not hit an immobile bait target. I use minnow/jerk/slash baits when they are keyed into bait fish, but I use a slow, steady retrieve, occasionally sweeping the rod tip a bit. You want to really clean up on stockies? Use a spinning rod and a casting bubble float, and tie up (or have someone tie up) a glo bug, but use brown yarn, to simulate trout chow. Keep the fly rubbed up with floatant to keep it on the surface.

I guess if you gotta use mono, Sufix Elite should fit the bill. Works great for all my winter steelheading.

I use four shoes on my Shimanos, and Daiwa Mag set to 10 when pitching. The spool is pretty much as loose as it can get. So in a nut shell, lots of brake and little spool tension. I'll be trying out my new hand tuned Optimus from Pinnacle today, and I'm sure I'll be using a similar setup.

Looks pretty cool.

I try to find points near deeper water, with hard clay or rocky bottom, if possible. From there, I whip a football jig and twin tail grub out as far as I can, and fish it as slow as possible, sometimes dead sticking it. Other than that, when the water is near freezing, there's not much else that has worked consistently for me.

Great to hear back from you!

Get rid of your accuracy issues here, with a quality spring scale: http://www.chatillon-scales.com/products/handheld-scales/in-series.aspx

They didn't always offer that choice, and the OP is referring specifically to Orange Seals. If one decides to replace the bearings, then I recommend Abec 7 Stainless bearings from Hawgtech or Smooth Drags. This winter, I'll be testing the Hedgehog Air bearings. I suspect they will not hold up to anything other finesse applications, but we are supposed to know that already. My last bit of advice, if you prefer smoothness in casting and retrieve, and Freespool times in your hand are not your primary concern, and you simply must up: just get some good Abec 5 stainless bearings. They are much smoother and quieter in most applications.

There's ton of cool data in those links - thanks for posting them up! Being a Business Intelligence guy at work, data is my thing, so I'll share a couple of points. Think of it as seeing the forest through the trees. I know the testing was set up to prove some points about "stretch," and that strech has been charactarized as a poor attribute ever since the first PE super lines were marketed to fisherman. What I noticed is the consistency most better fluoros showed after soaking, as in no change after soaking. Mono, being variably porous showed poor consistency. This is important, since we use the line under water. Anyway, that's what I take from the test. Also note, that Invisx's popularity is due to it's ease of handling, especially on spinning gear. A little bit of stretch, and a little bit of memory aren't a bad thing, though we've been conditioned to think this is bad. But those are exactly the complaints registered by 1st time fluoro users - often times using a stiff fluoro like Toray Superhard or Seaguar CarbonPro. If you only use stretch as a measurement of good or bad line, then everyone would agree, Toray Superhard or Maxima 100% is the best line. They are good lines, but that isn't the whole picture. As for spinnerbaiting, I stand by my original comments, Tatsu is by far the easiest FC to use, and after trying many, many others, and always returning to CXX, that's saying a lot. I don't always notice much difference between lines when fishing moving baits, but this is a case where I've found something I really like.

The seals are a pain to replace. It's a pretty common complaint, and leaving them off is not always appropriate for all applications.

Personally, I do not think it is worth the effort and money UNLESS the bearing is toast, or you have some specific circumstances requiring a different bearing. Flushing the factory lube, and using a high quality bearing oil will net you gains that are as noticeable as simply swapping for aftermarket bearings. The reason so many feel that the upgrade is worth it is because they do not first perform a complete breakdown, degrease, and bearing flush, and comparing those changes to a quick bearing swap. Most reels in good working condition respond very well to this treatment. Al that said - for many, it is easier to simply swap spool bearings, cost aside. And, since I'm into hot rod reels, it's just cool to upgrade to performance components. If you are looking for good bearings, at a great value, I recommend Hawgtech or Smooth Drags for your source of bearings. Boca Orange seals are clumsy, difficult to lube properly, and overrated. Yes, I have them in four reels, Two TD-X, and an Alphas. The fourth reel is my centrepin reel, and those are running a dry lube. The rest are installed "wet" with Oust Metol oil, seals removed. They require more cleaning and maintenance than my steel shielded ceramic hybrids. As in all things mechanical - get the proper tools. Hands down, the best spool pin tool I've used is the latest Hedgehog tool. Pricey, but worth it, if you are going to changing out several spools. A good set of screwdrivers from WIHA is another great investment.

I find I change fluoro MUCH less than I change out spools of CXX. Most mono and copoly gets "ratty" - for lack of a better term - after a couple weeks of fishing. Good fluoro doesn't. I can only assume it's from sun or temperature damage. I would probably change out my spinnerbait rod every two weeks, but I've had that 20# Tatsu on since mid June. It's still looks fine. I do use KVD Line & Lure Conditioner on all my reels..

Here's a work around: hit "View New Content" and select the filters below. That should pull your recent posts up.

Your point?

20# Tatsu has replaced my longtime favored 15# CXX for spinnerbaiting.

Alberto, come on up to Oneida in fall for smallies - can't cash a check without one!

I like those knobs - look great on the Aldo. I wish someone would do knob screw/covers that were more elegant than a slot screw. Something like a Torx or even just an Allen head would look more purposeful.

I think it looks something like this...

Kent, I doubt the rods you sampled years ago are the same as the rods they are selling now.

Contact Hawgtech. They run a program for "early adopters" with reels not in their database.

For retrieving a fish, it comes into play, as mentioned. A third bearing during the cast would NOT improve the performance, as it would add more unsprung weight to the reel. On some reels (Daiwa and Shimano come to mind) that bearing also allows some "sympathetic" rotation of the disengaged pinion gear, which resides on the spool shaft during the cast.

Japan Tackle, Hi's Tacklebox, BPS, eBay, Plat, and any of the major manu's service departments. Often times, the parts line for Daiwa or Shimano is the best source for finishing your custom fitment with trim pieces like handle screws, retainer clips, tension caps, etc.