J Francho

Good luck stopping.

Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth. Where else can you have access to several Elite series pros? Instead of immediately bashing them, why not try giving them the benefit of the doubt, and take the opportunity to gain some of their knowledge by asking questions.

I suspect our fishing is similar. Thanks for the info, man.

Maybe Mark or Carson can comment on the line diameter thing. Normally, I'd go with a 50# braid to get somewhere close to a 12# mono of the same diameter. Kanzen specs are smaller, by quite a bit. Would you guys recommend bumping up to 60# Kanzen, say if we're used to the diameter of 50# Sufix or Power Pro?

Mark Sosin is an interesting character, and has a lot of knowledge. It would be worth it, just for diversity of info, but I doubt he'd have much input relevant to bass fishing. Who knows, though?

HAHAHA! Even the fish get bored of them!

I bet! Yep. I got it from Bronzefly years ago. Was my frogging reel for a while.

That handle would look sweet on this old girl. Sadly, i let her go awhile back:

This reel is still in my arsenal. It's over 20 years old.

Welcome to Bass Resource, Mark!

I've been wondering when people would start doing custom dips on reels. I'd be curious to it's durability. It looks fantastic with the handle!

I hear Megastrike has soothing properties for such pain...

I seriously think some of those bad reviews come from the same person. It all sounds like internet hyperbole to me, anyway. I'll be finding out for myself shortly.

This would be my advice as well. Al frame, proven Mag brakes, just a good, no frills reel.

LOL, that might an oversimplification.

If you must have a spincast, I recommend a Daiwa Goldcast. It costs a little more, but it's not a toy, and it will serve you well. As far as rods go, any medium to MH, fast action rod 6-6 to 7' will work fine.

Get the reel down to the point shown in the picture, and clean every part by hand with your choice of degreaser. Soak the bearings in solvent until clean. Let everything dry completely. Reassemble. Gears get a bit of grease pressed into the teeth, bearings get a drop of oil. The worm drive gets oil. Make sure you have the exploded diagram. Tools: #00, #0, #1, Phillips head, 1/8" flat head, 11mm nut driver or reel handle tool, toothbrush, trimmed 1/4" paint brush for applying grease, needle oiler, spool pin pliers, and press, T-pins with bent tip for bearing puller, paper towels, pipe cleaners, Q-tips, baby food jars for the solvent.

You can also buy cheap light wire ball head jigs, and nip the hook with wire cutters. Inexpensive Neko rig.

6-8 lb. steelhead on a 5wt Saint Croix rod. I'm sure I used a wooly bugger or ESL to catch it. Caught many this way, until I switched to centre pin tackle.

Why would Shimano cheapen the G. Loomis brand? You want a $200 Shimano/G. Loomis? Buy a Compre. If Shimano slapped a paint job and the G. Loomis name on a Compre, you'd all be screaming in the streets, lol,

Ugh, that's way too young.

Fish often "stretch" their pre-maxillary process after eating, or when getting ready to eat. It can also be a sign on ammonia or nitrite toxicity, or simply low dissolved oxygen.

Well, then most DO interchange. Often you need to order the drag star as well, to get the whole system to work in harmony. You aren't putting a swept handle on a Daiwa Sol without some modification.

I'm more about model loyalty than brand loyalty.