J Francho

There is ZERO reason to upgrade the bearings in a new Curado. Flush them with Acetone, and add a drop of Bantam Oil that came with the reel. Otherwize, it's waste of money. You don't get any valuable return your investment. If you want to do something worthwhile to your reel, get a Carbontex drag from Smooth Drags for about $10. That's an improvement that is worth it's weight in gold.

I learned on spincasters and knuckle busters. Switching to spinning was a struggle, since I was only used to reeling with my right. I even used a lefty Mitchell spinner - back from when they didn't convert - and switched hands after the cast. I've since learned to use a left hand retrieve with spinning, greatly simplifying. For casting gear, I prefer a righty for moving baits; it's what I grew up with. Since I use a two handed cast, I'm not really switching hands. My hend is on the handle before the bait touches down. For pitching though, I like the lefty reels.

It'sa lot easier to handle the fish with cull tags. Otherwise, you're chasing them around the well, and and possibly harming them in the process. I also don't like to separate the fish between the boater and non. I prefer to keep the bigger fish in the starboard side, and fish likely to be culled in the port side well. There's less commotion to the final keepers that way.

Blew my cash on mustard for mustard sammiches. Seriously, though. Good glasses are nice, but polarized by default means the block UV-A/B rays. Unless they aren't "really" polarized. My blue costa 580s were about the nicest pair of sunglasses I ever owned. Dropping them in the drink was the end of expensive sunglasses for me. I think I lost three pairs of good glasses in the drink that year.

It's based on good looks. Or lack thereof.

I have a pair of Costas. They are at the bottom of Lake Erie.

Depends on your style. If it's a topwater rod, then I want an extra fast taper, with the power section spread across the rest of the blank. Topwater rods are usually shorter, and I want to make the most of the rod to cushion the fight and protect treble hooks from pulling out, but enough power to pull a fish from weed cover. Definitely don't want a jig and worm type rod. A short rear handle is nice too. I use an Avid 6-2 M/XF rod, AC62MXF. That's been the perfect rod for me. It's also my jerkbait rod. It's very sensitive, and although traditionally considered a "moving bait," jerkbaits often get bit on the pause where there is slack line, and sensitivity is a must. That's just one example of a moving bait rod. I could go on about each type, but that's beyond the scope of the OP. I've commented on several different threads involving cranks, spoons, spinners, topwaters, etc. You might do a search, and find a bunch of info. I think a lot of people are cheating themselves out of some bites by not using a somewhat sensitive stick for moving baits. I'm not saying you need a $400 rod for this, but consider a halfway decent rod for this.

Definitely mark your cull tags uniquely!

Why a rod is "less important" just because you don't need to feel the bite is beyond me. I hear that ALL THE TIME, and do not agree one bit. Remember, you use the rod to get the fish to the boat. It's important. Choose wisely.

Three guys, in a 17' glass boat? Get the most powerful 24v motor you can get. A Traxxis 80 lb. is $550.

You can get a great rod for around $100-120 retail. "Great" reels don't really come into the picture until about the $200 mark. So, if you are on the low end, you'll probably spend more on the reel. On the high end, the rod.

For whatever reason, I always use the pink tag for my smallest fish. Pink = dink, and that's the first one to go. As far as comparisons go, a balance is the way to go. Faster and easier than any scale.

I get cheapo (around $20) iGogs Fisheyes from gander. They work great.

Two come to mind. Primus in '90 or '91, at Backstreets. They were opening for 24-7 Spies. They crushed it. Rex in '97, at The Bug Jar. Amazing. Just amazing. For big venue shows, I'd have to say Peter Gabriel, probably around '94 when they did the Secret World tour. Paula Cole was singing backup then. A few months later, I saw her perform at Jazzberry's, a tiny club where you practically had push her out of the way to get in the door, lol.

Epic. Great report!

I use both lefty and righty baitcasters.

The number of rigs is really only limited by your imagination.

Interesting....can you share it? PM me if necessary.

I suggest you stick to 3/8 oz. baits and up, while you learn how to use the baitcaster.

For whatever reason, willow leaf blades do not work well on inline spinners. I'd try an Indiana or Colorado style blade.

I haven't looked at the knobs yet to see.

I'll generally take a Daiwa over a Revo every time. The Lexa is a cracker, very well built.

Huge score. Congrats!

That's cool. We do a Take a Soldier Fishing day up here on Oneida in April every year. It's a blast to treat these guys to a day on the water.

My sympathies to the bride.