A-Jay

I've been casting, cranking & winding on fish with three 200D's and 300D going on five seasons All have been left at the 'factory' setting - never any need to move it. A little tweek of the spool tension and it's good. Never been a need to open one. (except to clean). Demo'ed a couple (thanks TW) before my purchase. Since then to say I've fallen in love with them may be an understatement. I look for 'reasons' to fish them. I call it the Little Sliver Beast - Because it is. On top of all of that - a 200D helped land my PB smallie last fall. It's a great reel. A-Jay

Nice Job Congrats I need a shakedown cruise too A-Jay

Hello John and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

It's the head from the Freedom Lures Stealth Swim Jig ~ Allows one to use a variety of hooks also fishes around, over, under & most importantly, through any cover effectively. A-Jay http://www.freedomlures.com/stealth.html

Green Pumpkin ~ Makes a decent jig trailer and it's particularly effective on a swing head. A-Jay

Count down to the Classic ~ 04 days - 21 hrs - 10 minutes. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Congrats to your brother. That's one heck of a Big Bass ! A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

His head alone has got to weigh over 5 pounds ! A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

This might help - A-Jay

I have to echo the feeling of the membership above ~ Superior write up. Way to trust your instincts right there. Sounds easy to do but many an angler will second guess themselves (guilty as charged right here) and it often doesn't pay off. As for "playing it safe" - is there ever a good reason not to? Live to fish another day. Congrats to you your finish and good luck moving forward. #prodigy A-Jay

I never did nor do I back reel. I prefer to fish with a pretty 'loose' drag relatively speaking. My style when fishing spinning gear is to have the hookset be the most pressure I place on the fish & my tackle, if I can. After that, I'm rarely in a big hurry to land a bass (or any big by catch). I will often 'check' my drag during a fight (especially on bigger fish) by pulling a little line out against the drag; just to make sure / have confidence that it will slip when called upon & not bind (though I've not really had a problem with that - mostly just paranoid). Additionally and as long as the conditions permit, I have no problem 'letting the fish have it's head' but I will however 'feather' the spool a bit now & then to add just a touch of pressure. A couple of falls ago I landed a tanker of a 25 lb pike on 10 lb line loaded spinning set up. While some of the smaillies I get into can pull my string pretty good, this PB Pike fight lasted over 15 minutes, drag worked fine. YMMV A-Jay

I learned that Cabela's / Bass Pro have discontinued Veteran discounts for purchases on line. Pretty weak. A-Jay

You Are Obsessed, fishing in the snow . . . What's wrong with you ? Everybody knows Bass won't bite when there's snow - they are 'too cold'. Oops - never mind . . . . J/K Nice Job Congrats You know I'm jealous. Stay on'em & keep posting them up ! A-Jay

That's Wild Bill. A-Jay

Bodacious Bass ~ Nice write up too. Congrats on the Personal Best. A-Jay

Sorry to hear about the challenges regarding your new rig. Point of interest - This thread entitled " Tracker 40th ani. Heritage edition boat" Just went over 40 Thousand Views. It will most likely triple that is short order. Unfortunately, the recent portion here is being highlighted by what looks like poor workmanship and perhaps some quality control issues - perhaps not exactly the type of publicity Tracker's looking for. Best of luck to you on a quick & painless resolution. A-Jay

Hello Brian and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Nice Intro A-Jay

Count down to the Classic ~ 08 days - 07 hrs - 17 minutes. A-Jay

I've got to be close to 90 % anyway. Maybe even 95%. A-Jay

Yes Sir ~ this is something I did not know going into it but discovered right off the bat. Really surprised me too. Walleye taking my bugs off the surface at sunset - who'd a thunk ? Still Fun though . . . A-Jay

While we can do what we can to keep our gear in serviceable condition, anything can & does happen. As I hope you never need it, if you venture/fish in remote locations or at night (or both like me), if & when you get the dreaded "Click" of a dead battery, you're going to be very glad you did. Additionally, you can 'help a brother out' if need be. A-Jay

Thanks ~ Do it. You'll be glad you did. A-Jay