Pantera61

Yeah, whole sordid tale is pretty much souring me on a Tracker.

I find that quite disappointing. I purchased Team Daiwa crankbaits many years ago and found them to be about the sharpest on the market. I had once experience where the hook actually pierced the bony lip plate. Such is the nature of the industry.

It's got Abu written on it, of course it's a solid product!

Helicopter Lure. Nothing beats it through duck weed!

Many people advocate setting your drag and leaving it, especially in freshwater. Say you are using 6lb the drag should be set around 2lb whether using a 2000 or 2500 reel, with either reel you are not utilizing the full force of the drag. My new tierra 3000 has a 13# drag set at about 5#, more than enough than enough to land the fish I posted in the other species section this morning. Don't you think it's a bit like towing a boat with a 4 cylinder as opposed to an 8 cylinder, though? Both can do the job but what about the long term effects? With all due respect I don't think that is a good comparison. If one were catching nothing but fish 10lb and more I'd yes you are right, then go with a 4000 reel, not a 2500. IMO most that are using 2000 or 2500 size reels that the average fish is probably a few of pounds or less with the occasional larger 7#+being caught. I have a couple of 2000 reels that I use in saltwater, the fish are bigger than a few pounds and very strong, the reels do not wear out. Yeah, there was a bit of hyperbole in my answer but a wise man once said, "It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it"

Many people advocate setting your drag and leaving it, especially in freshwater. Say you are using 6lb the drag should be set around 2lb whether using a 2000 or 2500 reel, with either reel you are not utilizing the full force of the drag. My new tierra 3000 has a 13# drag set at about 5#, more than enough than enough to land the fish I posted in the other species section this morning. Don't you think it's a bit like towing a boat with a 4 cylinder as opposed to an 8 cylinder, though? Both can do the job but what about the long term effects?

If I ever buy another boat, it will be a G3, Triton or Xpress aluminum. No Lowe? I don't like the layout of the Lowe boats. I've had my Express for 10 years and I haven't had a single complaint with the boat. I should have known better than to have an MG trolling motor and my dealer was the pits but the boat itself is great. I've made some adjustments, extended the original deck and sold the outboard and I've not been gentle on the water but the XPress has treated me well.

There are other benefits to a using a 2500 series reel over a 2000 in the Daiwa line. First is a more powerful drag, an increase from about 8 lbs to 15 lbs. Second is the wider spool should reduce problems with loops and other line funkage.

She's an amateur. I dated her teacher.

Megabass Pop X in black bug pattern

the Flying Lure

I do a mix of both. My primary tactics rod get the quality, my secondaries get somewhat less quality but not garbage. First string gets Daiwa Certate and Revo Premiers and Elites Second string gets Revo STX or SX. Rods would be Evergreen or Megabass for top Abu or Falcon for seconds. Abu replaced Daiwa. Works for me.

@Mattlures: I'm not talking about anything beyond protecting a basic cast of a prey animal. I understand what you're talking about protecting and I'm actually in total agreement with what you're saying.

As the guy who made the comments regarding the claws: I was being facetious. And actually you're wrong about patenting a duplicate. There is a huge difference between making a cast of a living or non-living creature and actually carving or sculpting a reproduction of a living thing. If you pour plastic into the mold of a fish and finished product does nothing except look like a fish, no motion, no action, no nothing, what can you patent? Your lures, on the other hand, reproduce a mechanical movement or are have motion or action is patentable.

As the guy who made the comments regarding the claws: I was being facetious.

I was on this guy's side until about half a second I saw what he was suing over. A crescent shaped claw? Are you kidding me? A claw that is actually a copy of natural crawfish claw? It's a good thing he's not appearing in my court or he would be explaining why such nonsense is taking up such valuable court time. A patent is supposed to protect innovation, not duplication. There ya go, a sound defence. I've heard worse.

I was on this guy's side until about half a second I saw what he was suing over. A crescent shaped claw? Are you kidding me? A claw that is actually a copy of natural crawfish claw? It's a good thing he's not appearing in my court or he would be explaining why such nonsense is taking up such valuable court time. A patent is supposed to protect innovation, not duplication.

or shoot your eye out ... ;D

I have 4 Vendetta rods, the 6'9" spinning and 3 casting rods, the 6'3", 6'9" and 7' med moderate. Reliable, responsive, sensitive and handles well with a fish on the other end of the line.

This is a 32"-36" Tiger Musky I caught using Fireline Crystal. Yeah, it's a bit noisy through the guides and a bit on the rough side but it works. Well.

You might recall Herb Reed of Sluggo fame and Gene Larew also sued other bait companies successfully. They both won.

Braid is fine.

If you are comparing 2010 models, you know, apples to apples, the Premier is the better reel for one simple reason, the quality of the bearings. The Patriarch has stainless steel bearings but the Premier has H(igh) P(erformance) C(orrosion) R(esistant) bearings. Both 2010 models use the dual braking system. Although I haven't used the Patriarch, I have been using the Premier 2K10 since the beginning of the year. I started with 1, liked it so much I bought another and I'll be placing an order for another very shortly. I've used the Premier for shallow cranks, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and pitchin' and it hasn't failed in any capacity, casting, drag performance and smoothness on retrieve. For the $30 more, you're getting the top of what an American angler has access to.

the 1/2 Rebel Pop-R or prop bait