islandbass

Alconite are more than a match for braid. Matter of fact modern rods with good guides, even aluminum oxide, can stand up to braid without any trouble. The good thing about braid is that it can almost make an ugly stik feel like a loomis. Just be mindful of your drag setting, especially when fishing with crankbaits or when you're freeing snags. Rods can snap with as little as 2lbs of force. With braid's nero zero stretch you can place a lot of stress on your rod yanking lures free. That is a recipe to snap a rod. Good to see you've find braid.

1.- Nothing really special, I just wipe them dry and leave them in a well ventilated shaded place to allow them to dry thoroughly. 2.- For general everyday maintenace yup, it pretty much covers it all, for a more in depth maintenace which should be performed once or twice a year ( maybe even more if you use your reel a lot ) better have it done by a specialist like ReelMech. 3.- The Shimano lube is good, you want a little more performance there are other types of lubricants, but for the normal wear and tear it 's fine. I'll just add one thing. If fishing in a hard pouring rain or of you accidentally dunk it into the water, some water can get in. So after you wipe the outside down, open the reel and take a look to see if a drop or two made it into the reel. I have wondered how the water gets in, but it can.

Unfortunately, you can't eliminate it completely at 20# but you can do some things to minimize the occurence. I use 30# braid myself and it hardly ever happens. This line dig occurs anytime the angler pulls on the string hard enough on the line. The exertion applied to the line causes the line on the spool to dig into itself. Common times for line dig are: 1) Pulling line off of a tightly set drag. You know, you make a pitch to an opening in the pads and pull off line to give your lure a more vertical fall. As you pull off the line with a tight drag, the line digs into itself. As you retrieve, the line on top is loosely laid. Your next pitch starts fine until you get to where the had dug in. Frrruuup. Lure stops dead cold in the air and falls. If you casted hard enough, you might have a little overrun. Solution: Refrain from engaging the spool while you strip line off the reel. Engage it after you've pulled off the amount of line desired. In free spin mode, the braid has zero chance of digging into itself. If you get a bite on the fall, your thumb should already be on the spool as you're stripping line anyway and can act as your make shift drag. 2) Freeing a snagged lure with the rod and reel. EG, your lure is stuck. You attempt to free it by yanking with your rod and reel. Every time the rod/reel is yanked hard, it causes the line to dig in. It is not noticed until the next cast. Heavier lures can "bust" through the line dig better than lighter lures. Solution: When snagged, attempt to free your lure by removing the rod and reel from the equation. While in free spool mode, strip off enough line to work with. Put your rig to the side and work only with the line to free the snag. Since you're working only with the line, once again, there is zero chance of the line digging into itself because it is not part of the lure freeing equation. 3) After a major backlash. Just be sure to undo the bird's nest with a super low drag setting, being careful not to tug on the line hard enough to cause line dig. 4) Spooling the line onto the reel loosely. Try to add line to the reel so that the braid is snug. Not too tight and not too loose. Loosely laid line invites line dig. As a rule of thumb, line dig becomes less of an issue, the thicker the diameter of the braid. As I mention, I use 30# myself and when I keep the things I mentioned above in mind, I hardly ever, practically never experience line dig and that is the truth. -ib

Count me in, from Drizzle to Deluge. Hard core, any weather condition except lightning, considering the electrical conductivity of graphite. Some of my best fish came during the rain. In addition, if I didn't like fishing in the rain, I wouldn't be living in Seattle (Contrary to popular perception, Seattle does not get the most rainfall in the country. But we do get a lot of it in greater concentrations thus giving us the perception of a lot of rain).

I don't think there anything wrong with your reel. I take it that you're using braid? It sure sounds like it. That is a natural trait for line to "dig" into itself as you described. Do you have 20# braid on there? The best solution if you wish to use braid is to step up to at least 30# braid or better yet, higher. The thin diameter of the braid is the culprit. You can also switch to a different line line mono or fluoro and there won't be an issue of line dig.

A good overall, general purpose setting for beginners is 3 brakes on and 3 brakes off. I prefer 2 on and 4 off but in time you'll figure out what works best for you. Here is a pic of an older curado for 3 off and on, but the steps would be the same for your Citica. Congrats on your new reel. I scored a new curado 101D back in Feb as a birthday present for $133.

I think that is impressive work. Well done, Eddie. Thanks for sharing.

The baits you used were the same but the major difference was in the presentation and line used. If I were in that situation, I would have switched to what he was using, because the bass were telling you and him what they preferred at that time. The difference in retrieve is another likely factor. I don't mind being outfished by my partner and as a matter of fact I want them to outfish me. I get just as much pleasure. I usually fish alone but when someone fishes with me, it is usually my kids, nephew, brothers or dad and I want them to catch fish so they can know the same joy and pleasure I feel. That's just me.

The numbers don't mean jack by themselves as you have presumed. I thought that way too at first. I think you might find this very helpful. http://flw.flwoutdoors.com/article.cfm?id=141123

I haven't fished mine in the salt either and won't ever. To my fellow anglers with Trions, do not use it in the salt. It clearly states in the user manual freshwater only. It's a bummer, but that is what I have an Abu G Round, Curados, and Cardiffs for. My Trion battles chum salmon that can spool a Curado 201D. ;D True story. A brute chum spooled my full capacity 201D and a 22 minute battle. I am not knocking shimano. I am an equal opportunity reel user and don't have absolute loyalty to any brand.

Much appreciated, Rich. If things work out right soon, I am going to delve into this rod building thing, knowing full well, I am probably going to get hooked onto it really bad. ;D Thanks. -ib

Wow. They are way beyond 10 on the coolness scale. Are the spilt grip carbon fiber pieces purchased that way and where can one get such bad boys. I too like the look of carbon fiber. Well done, Rich!

Beautiful work, Bob!!

Awesome job! I am glad to see I am not the only one giving this a shot besides D and Bob. Any plans to do some final shaping?

Right on, PWE! Like I said, you won't regret it. 8-)

They should cost the same. I will guarantee you that once you switch to a lefty reel, you will be much more comfortable. Dang. I sound like a used car salesman, but this is a guarantee for sure. Just go back and exchange the reel. If it were a combo, then return the whole thing and exhange it or if that isn't possible, get a different rod with the left handed reel of your choice. There are many left handed options these days.

It looks as if you made a very common mistake that I made myslef with my first bc reel. Take the reel back and get one with the handle on the same side (the left) as you find on your spinning reel. Until you do, it is going to feel awkward and before long you won't want to use it anymore. A right-handed reel is not necessarily made for a right-handed person. It is called right-handed because no matter what, the angler's right hand is going to turn the crank, regardless of whether the angler is right or left-hand dominant. A quick exchange will solve your problem or, you can do as many have here when left-hand casting reels weren't too common, retrain your mind and body to fish the "other" way. The former is far easier to do. Left handed reel, or you can turn the rod upside down. ;D I hope I understood what you were asking, but just in case, unlike a spinning reel, which has the reel underneath the rod, on a casting set up, the reel is on top of the rod. I only say this becuase I've seen people fishing with the rigs held upside down.

yes. You get a better graphite and better guides with the compre. Now I don't have a convergence, but I do have a clarus and a compre. I note a difference in sensitivity between those two with the Compre being better and the Clarus is even higher up from a convergence. So, it would follow if the Clarus is a step up from the Convergence, and the compre is a step up from the Convergence, then the Compre should be (and will be) a above the Convergence. Shop around places like sportsmans. I found my compre on sale for $54 and that is cheaper that a Clarus.

Don't worry about highkacking, those are awesome looking grips! Thanks for sharing your great works. Where did you get those carbon fiber handles? If I ever take up rod building, I definitely would like to give those handles a shot. Thanks.

Yep. George is a really great guy. I made a tutorial about how I did it, and in it, I refer to his great article. My approach is a low tech and simple way. If you're interested you can see it here: http://www.americananglersfishing.com/index.php?page=21 I just want to mention that I am NOT a rod builder nor a rod expert. I did what I did to see if I could do it and split grips I like quintessentially for its aesthetics. -ib

You will need to check the regs. Many places I fish, trebles are prohibited on non buoyant lures, especially in rivers. Either way, check the regs. You will then learn if the officer was right or wrong. If he was wrong you won't have to pay. If you are, it's a bummer, but now you know. Sorry. In the salt water here, the penalty for using a barbed hook is $75. If you're caught with a treble, that's $225 because there are 3 hooks. :

I hear you. It sounds more and more like investing in making my own jig heads might actually be more economical in the long run. Perhaps making my own drop shot weights too.

WTG, D! It's a good thing to break a rod in. 8-)

First Fish of 2008 and First Field Test of Split Grip Rods My first fish of the season was an unintended consequence of field-testing my two new rods. I finally got a chance to field-test them in an on the water situation. The Lightning rod was tested first. A ½ oz football jig was dragged along the bottom with a sweet beaver as the trailer and the reel was a Curado 101D with 10# Sufix Siege mono. The Rapala rod was tested second. A ¼ oz drop shot weight and a flat, 3 brown FX Roboworm were used in conjunction with my daughter's 1500 Daiwa Sweepfire spooled with 6# Stren mono. My expected findings for the rods were: Berkley Lightning Rod Enhanced sensitivity as a result of palm in contact with blank Bottom piece of cork, although small, should be sufficient for making two-handed casts without the fingers touching the blank. Findings: True. Contact with the blank did result in receiving clearer feedback. I was able to paint a good picture of the grassy bottom. The set up is extremely comfortable to wield. Two-handed casts are very easy to make without the bottom hand touching the blank. Alright! Rapala Spinning Rod No significant increase in sensitivity even with split grip because no part of the palm is in contact with the blank with hand in default position. Findings: Holding the rod was very comfortable. As for my expectations, it might possibly not be true. I have mentioned in other threads that the sensitivity of this rod was unbelievably poor, but I was able to get a good read of the bottom almost as well as the lightning rod. However here is the kicker [img width=500 height=375]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/alemax15/CopyofSTA74182Large.jpg I just learned from four other folks fishing that the lake had recently been stocked with rainbow trout. When I heard that, I knew I could nail at least one rainbow with the drop shot. After a few casts and retrieves to get a feel with the Rapala rod, I made a cast where the trout were. No rocket science here. The trout anglers were getting bites with the Power Bait. On the first retrieve I felt two little hits on the dead stick. The second retrieve I felt a couple hits on the dead stick and on the third retrieve, I knew I got one. Yee ha! First fish of the season and although it wasn't a bass, I'll take it. The last fish I caught was in August 2007. Don't know about you, but that is a long time. I am glad to get the funk off. I really don't think my ability to better feel the bite is a direct result of the split grip conversion. Yet, in 40-degree weather with cold hands and being pelted by intermittent rain and hail, I was still able to feel those hits and the eventual strike that hooked a little trout, and on monofilament to boot. I am inclined to believe that my perception of improved sensitivity might be more a function of knowing I put some time and effort into converting the rod and therefore psychologically it is a better rod in my hands. Here is a picture of the little trout. [img width=500 height=375]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/alemax15/CopyofAlexfirst2008fish04-08-08.jpg I started fishing at about 5:15 pm and was back in the car all packed by 5:45 pm. It was definitely a sweet evening. Not only did I catch the first fish of the season and used the converted rods for the first time one the water; it was the first fish I ever caught from this lake (0 for 5 initially). Bass beware I'm coming after you soon. I am very happy with both rods. The lightning rod will get more use this season, and I think I found a new trout rod. -ib Conditions: Overcast Rain and Hail, 40 degrees Fahrenheit = UGLY Location: Five Mile Lake, WA April 8, 2008

Is there any chance there is too much line on the spool? Typically one only needs to fill it up to 1/8" from the top. Another possibility is that the line might be spool backward.