J Francho

I use KVD L&L religiously on ALL lines. However, to the original poster, I would say take that reel outside, and tie the line to tree or fence, and walk out a 100 yards or so. Then, reel it in under moderate tension, not enough to stretch the line, if it's mono. That should take care of the bad spool job.

Uni, Palomar, Snell all work for terminal connections. Line to line, Alberto, Uni to Uni, Triple Surgeon's work well.

Yep, the FAQs have all you need to know.

I don't think changing the handle will do much to improve it, though any good rod builder should be able to do the work. The increased performance in today's rods is much of a "sum of the parts, " including upgrades to components, especially the blanks.

Goodnight Irene? LOL.

I'm having a chat on Facebook, with writer Rich Zaleski. He reminded me that he did research and wrote a four part series on this very topic years ago for In-Fisherman magazine. Here's what he had to say: -Rich Zaleski

Good Grief! Nice ones, Dwight!

I keep a pretty steady cadence, three twitches, and about a 3 second pause. Give the fish something to track.

Try the color pattern "clown."

Here is the article submission guidelines: http://www.bassresource.com/fish/article_submission.html

Who cares if the reel is well made and works?

Awww! Congrats!

Rogue Limited come with Gamakatsu hooks.

Nice. Mine is a bit older, a '98 with a Pro Max Sport, TM, and Trophy 28 prop. I'm thinking yours has a little more giddy up than mine.

Looks like a 21XRD. Nice. I have a 21XDC. WHats on the back?

Almost all reels from that era were like that. I think it was in the 90s that I bought my first instant anti reverse reel.

The ratcheting dog and bone style AR was pretty much all there was back in the day. I think it was the mid 90s when I got my first IAR reel. Incidentally, the dog and bone style is included as a backup on a few Shimano reels. It's pretty much the strongest design. Hard to get it to fail.

Meant bass, lol

I've had beds on beds pick up the sinker, lol.

I'd LOVE to see him post up here!

Can you elaborate on "finicky"? Is it like the Gen 1 Revo STX, where it went from zero to too much, or something else? Since I prefer moderate taper graphite cranking rods, this probably isn't the reel for me? My slow cranking often involves moving the bait with rod, not the reel, so I'm guessing this isn't good match.

Looking forward to your report, once you get on the water. Hopefully, you'll see some improvement in your stock reel. I want to be sure, there are other reasons to upgrade bearings in your reel. I have a few reels with Abec 7 ceramic hybrids, but I didn't install them for performance reasons, more for freezing conditions. I run them dry, with dry lubricant. They're not my favorite, and not the smoothest either, but once it warms up, it's a simple swap back to my SS bearings.

Just read and follow the Forum Rules and FAQ, and it won't feel like that at all.

Very intelligent. I wonder if the AR on the BB1 pairs better with a glass cranking rod?

Unless you have some issue with the lead being larger, or lead is against the law, there's no reason to use tungsten. Yes, you get "more info" from tungsten. But I don't think it's that useful. I can still feel what I need to feel from the lead. Besides, the fish is supposed to eat the hook, not the weight