SCBASS

Do a quick search on this forum and you will find that many people think that it is one of the best braids on the market. I personally love Sufix but I can't compare it to Stren Microfuse because I have no reason to try it. If you are fishing moderate to heavy cover, I would not go smaller than 30lb test (8lb mono dia).

I'd give the Shimano Curado 101d a look if you want small, light reel at a great price. The MSRP is $200 but Shimano has a $50 mail in rebate for the Curado going on right now. If you buy it online at baitnhook.net, it's only $160 before the rebate ($120 after rebate and shipping). That's right in your price range for a reel thats quality is well out of your price range. I think you would be hard pressed to find better reel for the price. The best advice I can give is to go to your local Bass Pro or Cabelas and handle all of the reels that will be suggested to see which one YOU like the best. I would never buy a reel without playing around with it first and mounting it on a rod to get a feel for it. Good luck and have fun! Here's the link to the tackle tour review on the Curado 100. http://tackletour.com/reviewshimanocurado100d.html

Shakey heads are just small skirt-less jigs. You can rig any plastic you like onto them. I like rigging them with senkos, tubes, hula grubs and even lizards. Small shakey style football head jigs work great for those kinds of plastics. The football shape prevents the bait from laying on its side while resting on the bottom. Don't be afraid to experiment and find out what works for you.

I made this one a few years ago but have already outgrown it. I like the one from Cabelas that Branuss posted. Branuss, hows the overall quality of the rack and do the drawers just sit loose in there?

One of my favorites is the Cotton Cordell Super Spot. I think they have better action at slow retrieve than a Rat-l-trap. Another plus is that they only cost $2. Just get a few different kinds of lipless cranks and see what you / the fish like the most.

With all do respect, I think you are correct in theory but incorrect for this application. Yes I completely aggree that oiling the collars will reduce friction and hamper the braking. In this case, the loss of brake efficiency is negligible. I don't know anyone that uses their reel with more than 4 collars on. I think the oil enables the collars to imply friction gently and smoothly while a dry collar is a bit too aggressive. Dry collars also rub/stick/chatter on brake case which can cause an audible vibration. I totally agree that he should clean and re-lube the spool bearings but I don't think it will remedy the "whining" issue.

My guess is that the noise is associated with the spool brakes. Try putting a small drop of oil on each of the brake collars and see if that helps.

I almost always use a bait caster when I'm shore fishing. Just make sure that you are aware of what is around you when you go to make a cast. Good luck!

Sure can. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1141053342/0

If you were to ship them in cardboard it would probably cost $15-$20 via Priority Mail. That's assuming they were bass rods not some heavy ocean rod. I have shipped many rods and I've always sent them in a cardboard tube. I'd just get some 48" X 3" tubes. Then tape two of them together really well and cut it down to size. For the rods, I wrap about 2.5 feet of bubble wrap around the tip, middle and grip. That way it fits in the tube snugly but is easy for the customer to remove. I also get the plastic end caps that fit into the tubes and tape them up real well. I have always used priority mail and have never paid more than $14 to ship a rod and I shipped some big tuna rods. The reason is that the package is real light but if you use PCV it may cost substantially more. Good luck!

I have the Bass Pro line threader and it broke the first time I tried to use it. The bend at the end of the wire is super funky and too big to fit into the bait casters guide. Instead of sending it back (it only cost $3), I just heated up the end of the wire and bent the end how I wanted it. A lighter, small pliers and 2 mins later it works awesome. Here's the shape I bent the end into.

The patterns look great.

That looks very nice!

Just curious as to how much it weighs?

When I was about 11, I hooked sea lion while fishing off a pier. That same day I made a cast and somehow wrapped my line around a seagulls wing. I reeled it up and the guy next to me untangled it. It just happened that a news reporter for the local paper was walking by and took photos of the whole incident. When my mom came home from work the next day and showed me newspaper article I was so excited.

I'm not an expert so correct me if I'm wrong. I believe the reason is to maintain a vertical fall as mentioned but also to increase the fall speed and allow it to move through cover easier. My reasoning is that the head is pointing straight down, not on its side. If you have a hard time feeling the bites with slack line, then I would keep a little tension. It is not going to make a huge difference either way so go with what your confident in.

I think you would be best off using a casting setup for standard size chatterbaits from say 5/6 to 5/8 ounce. If you are using a finesse chatterbait 1/4 ounce or less, I would go with a spinning setup.

Hey guys I'm new here and I want to say that this site is great. I searched in this forum but I was unable to find much info on the new Shimano Saros reel. I checked one out at my local tackle shop and it feels really smooth. My question is how does the Saros compare to the older white Stradics? The reason I ask is because both can purchased new for about $100 on eBay and I'm tring to decide with one to get. Thanks in advance! -Ryan

The green curados because they are a great reel for the money.