CWB

TW for me. Better selection and faster shipping. Doesn't take much to get to the $50.00 free shipping level. Academy has free shipping at $39.99 and Fish USA has free shipping on anything. Just bought some Ice Fishing--- yes Ice Fishing stuff from them. If it cost $.99, it ships free. Some stuff on sale there too. I threw the BPS Classic flyer in the trash. Nothing interests me except maybe the Havoc Senkos. If you're looking for a rod or reel, give Ron a shout at Valley Sports. He'll take care of you. Shimano wants to unload the Curados because there is a new model coming out and when it hits, nobody will buy the G series. I'll stick with my trusty 200E7's. Wouldn't trade 1 for 2 of the G series.

Try the 4.5" Strike King Shadalicious. Some people turn their noses up at them but I love 'em and you can usually find them at a good price at Dicks. KVD Magic is Killer.

I use braid on a 7'6" mh flippin stick. There are basically 3 steps. 1) Resist the temptation to swing at the sound or commotion of the hit. 2) Look and make sure the fish actually got the bait and not just smacked it and missed. 3) I you don't see the frog, see if line is moving and/ or reel up and if you feel anything, swing for the fence. This should all take place within a few seconds but if a fish gets my frog, the only time I seem to miss is if he inhales enough slop with it to cover the hooks and prevent penetration.

Just bought a BB1 Pro for crankin' from Ron at Valley. Can't wait to try it.

I use all three but primarily clear. Like RW said, purple (smoke) is good in stained water and green is good all around. Lakes around here are pretty clear so I like the clear best. Can't go wrong with any of the three.

Nice one Big-O. Looks like you've both had the feedbag on for the winter. Yeah, like I'm one to talk.

Simple Green is much to thick. I think it has some type of grit in it also but could be wrong. Will be hard to get it out. Acetone should be fine.

Removing and placing the bearings in solvent takes maybe 5 minutes unless you let one of the retainers fly away. I let them soak overnight then remove them and put them in a clean batch of de-greaser. I use Spry-On heavy duty citrus in a clean, small plastic cap from another spray bottle of something. Works great and smells good if you happen to get some on you. Remove them again and let dry again. Re-assemble, another 5 minutes at most, and then the key for me. I use Hi Quality Mobile light spindle oil which is used in our engraving machines and rated for 120,000 RPM. Ever since I started using this oil I have noticed a huge difference. One drop only! Had to buy a quart, which will last a lifetime but that's fine. Cost me less than a little tube of reel butter of whatever else. I do this at work on my lunch hour and can do 3-4 reels per week. 1 soaking and one assembling. Takes about 30 minutes to thoroughly disassemble, clean, lube and assemble a reel. Once you do enough of them it's a snap. No pun intended. I've worked in machine shops and auto repair shops my whole life so this is pretty basic for me but if you are not mechanically inclined, Do as WRB suggests. Have a pro do it. You'll have parts flying everywhere. For me 30 minutes is well worth it and also gives me something to do. The key is the high RPM low vis Mobil oil. Velocite Oil #6. Good luck.

In response to you question, what I got is a headache.

That was a few years ago my friend and look at the picture. You are struggling so hard to hold it and sweating so hard you had to wear a headband.

You'd need help lifting a five pound bass, let alone throwing it you old geezer!

I use 2 O-Rings and criss-cross them and insert the hook through where the rings cross, under both. This way the hook is 90 degrees to the bait, which I believe gives you better hookups. No tool needed. Wet the pointed end in your mouth and they slide up the bait pretty easy. Never have to look for your mouth like you would a tool. A dab of Megastrike makes them slide up pretty easy too. You'd be putting this on anyway, right?

Ice fishing.

I think alot of this comes from guys seeing the pros or TV show hosts doing this and emulating them. Does it hurt the fish? I don't know, only the fish can tell you that. I don't think there have been any studies done. I don't think tossing a fish back and spinning it head over tail does it any good though. What amazes me though is inevetibly on a thread like this where there is a difference of opinion, a tough guy always seems to emerge and threaten someone with a different opinion. Just say you disagree and be done. Everyone is the UFC champion behind the computer screen. Let's try to be civil to eachother and leave the threats for when you're at the bar and might actually have to back it up. And like D.H. said, if you solicit an opinion and someone gives it, either accept it or keep quiet because you got what you asked for.

The Strike King Caffeine Shad is the most versatile in my opinion. Great fast on the surface or slow at any depth. Big plus is horizontal fall and tail shimmy action like a senko. Only thing is they are very soft and usually a one or two fish bait. But one or two are better than none.

Try the scumfrog bigfoot. Overlooked bait in my opinion. Snagproof makes a swimming frog but they don't work real well IMO.

Never heard of it. They do make a fighting frog though.

Biffle heads swivel. This looks solid.

If I could carry only ten lures I'd be in a mental institution.

Smoke SL150HPT in 7.3:1. Smooth and casts a mile with wider spool. Only 6.8 OZ. and fits my hand like it was made for it. Love the external brakes.

VMC Spin-Shot has been working for me.

KVD 1.5 but the BPS version with the rattles.

Mike's stuff is all top notch quality. He could stand to put on a few pounds though.

XR50 One Knocker in Foxy Shad and Bleeding Bream (discontinued). Far outfishes any other rattlebait I own, which are slowly dwindling.

Are these numbers from the Vickers scale? Hard chrome is usually .002"-.003" thick. We've found it has a tendency to flake in time. Might be different with each substrate. PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coating is extremely thin, usually around .5 microns but could be thicker when used on guides, but holds up very well. PVD is the name for the method used to deposit the coating material on the object to be coated. There are 5 types of coatings used for PVD. That's enough of the science lesson.