J Francho

Awesome picture!

The hooks are good. I believe they are VMC inlines.

Get yourself an MS Mini Slammer as a start. And a tube of Megastrike. Lube that bait up good, and try different retrieves. Some of my best Slammer fish have come on the dead stick. It's a very versatile, and ugly looking, bait that simply gets bit. It's big, but not to big, and doesn't require special gear. Once you gain confidence, and learn where to throw it, and how to sell it to the big bass you can branch out to other hard baits.

I like to rig a Ragetail Space Monkey, upside down, on a lighter 4/0 hook. When the damselfly hatch is on, this is a deadly pond tool. Think of it like a "finesse toad."

Ghost Bluegill

Attention swimbaiters! Megastrike has practically become a necessary piece of tackle in my swimbait arsenal. For soft plastic baits like Hudds and Trash Fish, a good sliming of Megastrike adds a ton of durability to the bait. Big bass have abrasive teeth, and the coating of Megastrike prtects the baits from tearing. I also thing it helps them hold it longer, due to the amino acids. With hard swimbaits, a coating of Megastrike helps the bait slide around in the bass's mouth, ensuring better exposure to the hooks and a better hookup ratio. This is also a case where the additives in Megastrike really flip the odds in favor of the angler since an uncoated bait is often immediately rejected by the fish, once it feels the hard bait in it's mouth. Often times, the bait and hooks are so big, you get hooked up on the spit up, but it's not always a positive hookup. With Megastrike, there's more "positive" info that it's a real bait fish, and it overrides that hard bait signal, and gives you time to set the hook in the fish's mouth..

Sometime in December. No specific water temp stops me.

Sorry, that was a lame answer. Seals are usually rubber or plastic, and usually meant to be removable. They are difficult, but not impossible to replace correctly. Many say that Boca Orange Seals run faster without them. That's true, if the shields are not properly seated on the outer rim. Most press them in too far. Shields are generally metal, ans are either pressed in and snap fit, like the second bearing pictured above. You can't get the press fit shield off without damaging it. I suppose you could repack it with a new shield, but I have no idea where to get that part. As fishwhittler noted, there is a c-clip on the first bearing pictured, that holds the shield in place. You can pop that c-clip, and then pry the shield off to remove. In either case, I've never been able to remove the shield without damaging the clip and/or the shield. I've even damaged the cage that holds the balls in the races attempting to remove a shield. You can run them without shields - many OE bearings do not have shields, high end Shimano pops to mind as one OE - or seals, but you have to keep them clean. To me, if it comes with a shield, leave it. It's too much risk and work to try and remove. Now, if you have a lot of replacement bearings lying around,and are willing o experiment, well....

Seals and shields are two different things.

http://www.newstatesman.com/media/2012/12/literally-unbelievable-video-golden-eagle-snatching-baby-literally-unbelievable

Metal shields cannot be replaced easily. You destroy them to get them off. Just soak them in acetone or naphtha, gently swirling them every few minutes. Replace any dirty solvent with fresh, until they run clean. Then dry and oil.

I know because I owned all three reels. Or, you can find out by calling Daiwa Service.

That's pretty much how I learned to fish.

No, I am saying the PROCASTER is the same as you Capticorn. If it is orange, then it is a Capricorn XTC which uses a shallow whiffle spool from the Black Widow II, and is, well orange, instead of silver.

That is a diagram for the same reel, only it's black or blue, instead of silver.

Just look on the Daiwa Parts Diagram page: http://www.daiwa.com/partsdiagram/index.aspx This will have all the same internal part numbers. http://www.daiwa.com/PartsDiagram/PartsDiagram/PR100H-100HN.pdf

I also prefer a dual cable manual steer. It's great for "feeling" your way around docks and obstacles, and it reacts as fast as your foot can move it. That said, there are times when open water structure fishing that I am a bit envious of my buddy's iPilot motor. In rough conditions, he's locked on a target, and working to keep my boat positioned. Yeah, it looks flimsy, but his has taken a beating on places like Oneida, and it's held up as good as mine.

Nobody makes the best. Most are pretty good. I've come across duds only very rarely.

The 50e doesn't hold a lot of line in sizes over 12# diameter. Probably fine for what your doing with it. The original question....the difference between the STX and 200e is basically breaking systems. I have had a hard time casting any Revo beyond the centrifugal only models (SKT, S). But that may just be me. I have three 200e reels, and love them.

No they're not. They're always built off a similar reel that you can sub parts for.

Dip an Aaron's Magic color Roboworm in chartreuse JJ's for stained water.

Forgot about Gulp. That's another good one.

I'd step up to a Lexa 100 for a few more bucks.

For this, you want a buoyant, do nothing bait that impart subtle action without any shaking or jiggling. Roboworms, Crosstail Shad, Zoom finnesse worms, Power Shaky Worms are all good choices.

Are you talking manual cable steer as opposed to electric motorized steering?