islandbass

Congrats! I realize there is a coolness factor associated with not using any brakes, but just add a little braking to keep your sanity. The brakes can actually help to minimize the seeverity of the backlashes and therefore saving you some time out of the water. It is one way of letting the reel work for you and pardon the pun, to give your thumb a break (brake). ;D

BassChump, There are at least two local (oregon based) fishing forums that can better address you for the great Oregon fishing around you. If you don't already know the names of those two forums, send me a PM and I'll send you the links. The reason I bring this up is that while the info you will get here is great and applicable, the other two places might provide a little more insight in both the smallmouth and largemouth bass in Oregon. As a fellow Pacific Northwesterner, our smallies seem to be real suckers for the drop shot and 3" senkos rigged texas and wacky style just to get you going. ;D

I would be one to not want to risk the fish of a lifetime lost because of a compromised screw. The real question is whether or not you're willing to take that risk. I too would go the split ring route. Using the split ring would also greatly reduce any leverage a lunker might have to throw off the treble.

You might as well go with the Citica E. It is as close to the cool looking gray and the Ds. I myself don't care that it went back to its green color. I think the citica looks cooler in the Es. I will concede however that I my current stance is based on photos only. I have not seen either in person and so my stance just might change.

Man, that is awesome!!! Best of luck to you, young man. Go get 'em! 8-)

I think the rod might be your culprit. Medium action power to drive a single hook home might be difficult with some medium powered rods and not others. In your case, I would think it is the rod. Before all these super lines came out, mono was just about all that was available and people have used it with great success. This is why I am inclined to think the rod was the cause. Spiderwire mono is tough as nails and a solid line. Currently have it on one reel in 8# test.

I agree with one exception, little kids. For example, when I fish off the dock or canal with my little boy who just turned 4, he is wearing a pfd no ifs, ands, or buts. Very sorry to hear that.

I think that is pretty cool! Were you planning on having just a contest on accuracy or longest cast or both?

I am glad to say that I have finally gotten this monkey off of my back and it has been there for a long time. My daughter is my first fishing buddy and she has been a trout catching machine since day one. However, catching a bass until today has been so elusive for her. So after a very long time of trying and trying and trying, her persistence has finally paid off. We faced a cooling trend and overcast skies after a good period of decent warmth. On the way to the lake she told me that she was not going to leave until she caught a bass. I set her 6'6 spinning rig with a drop shot set up and I set up mine as well. The first 30 minutes was not productive for either of us and to be honest I was awaiting a comment along the lines of, Can we go now? Instead, she says, Papi, we have to move to another spot. There is nothing happening here. I thought I needed to clean my ears because hearing those words was like hearing music. The other neat thing was the degree of determination in her voice and attitude. You could not only see it, but also feel it. We moved to another spot that has been productive for me in the past. We had to pass our car on the way to that spot so I unloaded unneeded items we were carrying. Unfortunately, time was running out for fishing because we had other plans. We only had about 20 minutes left. So as I unloaded the unnecessary items, I decided instantly that I was going to give her my complete and undivided attention. I put away one rig and told her that I wasn't going to fish so that we can both focus on getting that first bass. We were fishing riprap and while she held the rig, I kept my hand on above the rod's fore grip. Then, as she dragged the weight over the rocks, I asked if she could feel the vibrations. She said, Yes, those are rocks. Shortly after, I felt a nibble but before I could tell her or say anything, she blurts out, A bite! and yanks to set the hook. I thought to myself that maybe she should be teaching me. Goodness gracious that has got to be a good instinct because when I started fishing, it took a long time to figure what was a bite and what was not. Naturally, that kind of move will just yank the lure away from the fish. I shared with her that unlike a regular hook set that all she had to do was to reel up the line until there was some tension. We're down to our last five minutes and she is still determined. She encounters a snag and so I grabbed the rod above the fore grip to pop the rod and managed to free it. My fingers were still on the rod when the weight landed and I felt very small tug. I didn't say a thing. Apparently my daughter did too. She says she has one and starts reeling up the line. Oh the joy to see the line moving and you know they're hooked. I was Iaconelli-ing it loud and proud, fist pumping, and yee-hah-ing it all the way to the bank. Speaking of the bank, folks on the bank of the other side of the canal gave their approval with cheers and applause of their own. I quickly took photos and she released the cute little bass. Beautifully hooked if I may say so. She did well! First time lipping a bass, readying it for release. My little girl did it. And she didn't give up. This definitely made my day (despite going home skunked fishing solo in the early morning) and I know it made hers. Sorry that this is long winded. Location: Lake Union, WA Conditions: Gray, Overcast, 65 degrees Gear: 6'6 MH Compre/2500 Symetre, 8# Spiderwire Mono (trunk rig) Technique/Lure: Drop Shot/Sniper Snub -ib

x2. Dave is the man!!! The way he spiffed up my Kmart special Round reel as he told me was incredible. This used to be my last resort back up reel and now it casts on par with my curados, even in tossing lighter weighted lures. 8-) Thanks, Reel Mech!

Thanks, Marc! That is an awesome shot of you with the space needle in the background. PS Can you tell I am a Lami fan by holding onto old catalogs? ;D

Are you the one with smallies I've seen in older Lamiglas catalogs? I haven't met you in person but that is an awesome pic. 8-)

Glenn, You did everything that I would have done. Sometimes that is just how it is. :'( The last time I fished Lake WA from a boat was in January. 22 degrees, 5.5 hours of fishing, beyond frozen hands... The first fish was hooked and landed by my buddy in the last ten minutes of fishing. I hooked into one shortly afterward but my hands, but I lost mine. : If you're ever in the area again, let some of us know, like Big Bass Dez. This boy can fish. 8-) BPM2000 is also in the neighborhood.

Glenn, You are sure right that bass fishing can be very tough here. Man, I wish I knew you were here. The Seattle area is my playground and despite the tough conditions, I could have showed you where to find smallies from the bank . Lake Union would have been a better choice. Oh well, better luck. Next time you're out here, let me know. I realize we never met, but sheesh. I feel like a bad host. :'( On days like that, you might find smallies @ 30-50' deep and even then it is tough to coax them on the drop shot or a dragged football jig with a double tail trailer.

Jeff, Definitely send it to him! He resurrected one of my reels from being a glorified dust collector into one whose castibility now matches that of my better reels. No Joke. I know you're talking about cleaning. He cleaned my reel and added abec 5 bearings to a reel that initially had bushings. The difference was noted on the very first cast. x 1 x 10^100000000000000000000

First, let me say that I am no expert, but I tidy up inside my reels after every salt water excursion. No, I don't have some expensive calcutta but a trusty Cardiff and although it isn't high end, I treat it like it is. Fortunately, it is not that hard since you would just be maintaining the reel, (cleaning out debris, maybe adding lubricant, etc.) and not overhauling it. For that I highly recommend takiing it to the Reel Mech. He is the man! Click here to see a link to maintenance for Shimano reels. Now you might not have a shimano reel, but the steps involved in maintaining the reel are going to be similar. http://fish.shimano.com/publish/content/global_fish/en/us/index/customer_service0/reel_maintenance_instructions.html It's not as hard as you might think and this is coming from someone who has little mechanical aptitude.

Welcome home and thank you for your service! Go get'em!

I want to say when I got into baitcasting that I had the same question. However, that premise is false. A RH reel or a LH reel is labeled as such because the cranking handle is on that side of the reel. Therefore it is NOT labeled as such based on the hand dominance of the angler. A RH reel is NOT necessarily for a right-handed person. It simply means that the crank is on the right side of the reel and vice vesa. Trust me. I know what you're thinking. The first casting reel I acquired was a RH one because I thought it was for right-handed people. That was a big oops for me. :-[ I have since learned to fish with both and I am glad that I have although my preferences as a right-hnaded person are LH reels. There are a myriad of threads and posts of this here that you might find helpful if you use the search feature here. As to your qusetion, there wasn't much of a choice since LH reels weren't too common so people learned with what was available. That shouldn't be the case today. If you strongly prefer LH reels as I do, there use them. You will probably be more comfortable using a casting reel whose handle is on the same side as your spinning reels. It also leads me to think that the inventor of the casting reel was left handed. ;D

The E is over 2 oz lighter and $20 cheaper. Those are two great pluses.

Hey Muddy, don 't know where you are buying rods, Compres rarely cost over $99; $85-$90 is the regular price of a Compre. Raul, I just downloaded the Shimano catalog. I too thought the compre was < $99 with an MSRP of $89, but the price on them has gone up. :'( Some of the Compre models now exceed $99 at MSRP. It appears that the Crucial's price also got bumped up.

I think the rod, whose hands the rod is in, and the type of line used can make a difference in improving what you have experienced. I almost always feel the nibble, take, or tug. If I don't, and it is super rare, I feel the vibration that gets transmitted through my line. This is more subtle than the other scenarios previously listed. When I feel that vibration, I know it has to be a fish because I know I didn't cause it. I use a 6'9 avid dropshot rod, and 6# or 8# berkley 100% fluoro. I guess it must be my hand. They don't have any new ones to replace it with at BPS or *** though. I'll guess I'll just have to make due with these old meathooks. Dang, that is a sweet rod and line choice for sure! Well, don't feel too bad. I have mentioned this before, but even an ugly stik is sensitive in my hands. ;D

I think the rod, whose hands the rod is in, and the type of line used can make a difference in improving what you have experienced. I almost always feel the nibble, take, or tug. If I don't, and it is super rare, I feel the vibration that gets transmitted through my line. This is more subtle than the other scenarios previously listed. When I feel that vibration, I know it has to be a fish because I know I didn't cause it.

So if i have a small 1/8 buzzbait i should use baitcaster? Only if the reel is capable. Not all baitcast reels can cast effectively 1/8 oz lures. Some can't, and many have difficulty. Also, the skills of the angler come into play here too. I can tell you that a curado can cast a 1/8 oz buzzbait quite well.

Cha-Ching! Hit the nail on the head. x2 As for how heavy I'd go on spinning, 10# mono.

For me it would depend on the gear ratio I want. For example, the Curado E comes either in a 7:1 or 5:1 gear ratio. If you desired a 6.x:1 reel, you would have to get the Citica E. I think the Curado is also .2 oz lighter but I could be wrong. Determine your need and the final decision will be easier to make. Or you can do it in the way of the dark side and get at least one of each. ;D