J Francho

That's no slouch!

The Lake Fork Tackle trailer works pretty well. My only gripe is that after getting a bunch of "misses," and adding the trailer, I was hooking dinks on the trailer. Any decent fish ate the whole frog, and the trailer was just in the way.

My next boat purchase will be something very similar. I fish a particular small lake that 5 mph limit, shallow, and loaded with pigs. It's pretty silly launching a 22' bass boat at a primitive launch to fish it, lol.

Yep, carp spawn is pretty violent. Several males smash into a single female in order to physically expel her eggs. From a distance, it can look like mini geysers in the flats.

Makes up for the past week of tight lipped non action.

Got 20 minutes in at lunch today. 7 bites, 7 fish, best five went around 19 lbs. anchored by a 5-7 kicker. Not as big as Noel's. No pics since it was pouring rain, though if I bettered the top fish, I would have figured out a way not to kill my phone, lol. All came on YUM Dingers, any color worked, wacky, skipped along the shoreline, about 3' back.

Yes Chuck, please do! I think our members are getting short changed about what they might think they know or don't know about these fishing machines.

??? I'm not sure I understand. Can you post a picture?

That's good work. Can I ask what bait?

Seriously, man. Be careful. Landed my butt in the hospital for a couple days three weeks ago with chest pains. I'm okay now, but that was a wake up call, and I'm only 41. If you have to get your string pulled, take you wife with you and hit a park with some shore fishing.

Interesting. I've NEVER had any issue with their service, or Daiwa's, Pure Fishing's, or even Quantum's. I deal with these guys on a monthly basis. I even recall a time where there was a drag upgrade, from a two washer arrangement to a six washer arrangement. The person in question, Dan Thornburn, did a free swap for the upgraded spool. Knobs wear out. People complain about durable plastic knobs being cheap, and then complain when the softer rubber ones wear out, LOL. You can't win them all.

Have you ever called Shimano Service? 1-877-577-0600

Start with finding the perfect rod for what you throw the most. Build from there, as necessity or desire to improve the gear you're using arises. That's how I did it. No sense buying a sick crankbait set up, if you never throw them.

Finger tight is fine.

NO!

Dartaniums are terrible when run dry - very sticky.

I would NOT put gear grease on the drag. Get some Shimano Star Drag grease or Cal's.

Sounds good, everything except the hot sauce, lol. We'll leave that debate for another day.

Bob, get a couple lengths of pipe insulation, and slide it on the top cap of the gunwales, to protect your rods from scratches. I'd skip the green carpet, and paint it white, and get real bass boat carpet. That fake grass likes to eat small hooks.

The washer behind the drive gear on the Curado E series was that stamp cut teflon crap, and grease would spatter, and it could get sticky. My guess is that the carbon matrix was a quick, inexpensive solution to that problem.

Absolutely yes. Use them anywhere there are fish and a buzzbait can get through. I love catching fish on this crazy contraption.

Do not wait to set the hook on a hollow body frog. All you are doing is increasing your odds of failure by giving the fish time to realize it isn't food, and spit the bit. Frog disappears, swing hard. Simple as that. Now, a Texas rigged toad is a different deal. There is a slight delay when lowering the rod tip and reeling down before setting the hook.

Take care, and get well soon!

No, Chronarch E series come from the factory with a carbon matrix (not Carbontex brand) washer under the drive gear, and a Dartanium washer under the keyed waqsher. The carbon matrix washer should be installed dry, while the dartanium washer runs best with a vapor thin coating of drag grease. If you bend or break the dartanium washer, I recommend replacing with a Smooth Drags Carbontex washer for durability. Install it dry for power, or cold weather use, and greased for ultimate smoothness at initial break away.

Nice fish, Noel!