TrippyJai

Good choice. Let me know how you like it.

No issues with knot strength. Good luck trying to break the line at the knot. Won't happen.

Go with McCoy and don't look back. I can get P-Line and Yo-Zuri local and I choose to import McCoy and pay the extra shipping costs.

McCoy Mean Green for copolymer. I don't use my KVD line conditioner on this line. I have left spools on my reels for over a year and a few casts will make it limp again. It does have stretch though.

Sad to hear this. RIP.

I had a Fenwick Elite Tech Crankshaft that grooved with Big Game mono. According to the Tackletour review, it uses Pac Bay DPL frames with SiC guide inserts. I wish I had taken a few pictures before returning the rod. If I recall, the grooves were due to me trying to free a snag.

Yes. I have everything I need to catch bass anywhere in the world.

You can upgrade with a straight or swept handle from Hawgtech and keep the stock handle for back up so that when you buy a Core or Chronarch in the future, you can put the Hawgtech handle on the better reel.

I'm going to start of by saying, you don't want to spend too much money on this reel because it's not going to sell very well if you ever plan on selling it. If you plan on keep it then that's fine. I would upgrade the spool bearings to Boca Orange Seal Abec 7 bearings. You can reuse these for other shimano reels in the future. Carbontex drags are great and will cost around $10. Personally, after these 2 upgrades, I would replace the handle knobs with the bigger power knobs and be satisfied with my upgrades. Knobs - BNT 4220 https://fishshop.shimano.com/vip/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441848608 As you can also see from the link, handle knob bearings cost $4.28 each (BNT4120). The drive shaft bearing upgrade BNT0031 will cost $10.38. There is no worm gear bearing. I've this upgrade before and it doesn't make much of a difference. You can order your parts from that link. All the parts I listed are interchangeable.

I've had many close calls over the years which luckily didn't pass the barb and it still hurt. Can't imagine what the pain will be like before it numbs.

I don't think I have a dream combo for bass fishing because if I really wanted that badly, I probably would have it already. We aren't talking about cars here that I'll never be able to drive which makes it a dream item.

The Mean Green is a copolymer. Both lines are the same, except different in colour. The Clear/Blue should be the same as well.

Having the box, paperwork and tools will help sell a used reel faster and will also add more value to it (about $10). I buy a lot of used reels and I prefer to have everything that came with it, especially the schematics. If I'm buying a reel that I already own, the box doesn't really matter to me, maybe unless it was in NIB, but if I buy a reel I've never used before, I want everything that came with it.

What can you do. It's a hit or miss when dealing with different companies. I have emailed Strike King a bunch of times and have never gotten an email from them. Then you hear some guys are getting more than replacement baits + free hats. Recently, I dealt with Mustad and they were superb. I emailed them about a pack of the DB flipping hook not being sharp and asked if I could return it for a replacement. They sent me 10 packs of hooks.

Other than bumping into something, my most successful retrieve has been slow steady retrieve.

Move up to 20lb or 30lb. It's only 6lb/8lb test diameter. No reason to use 10 or 15 unless your crappy fishing throwing 1/16oz grubs/tubes.

I got sick because I left my window open. I knew it was going to be cooler at night, didn't expect it to be freezing.

Buy used. Check out a few forums that have buy/sell section. Plenty of great deals to be had and you can also make reasonable offers within your budget. Even eBay has plenty of good deals.

I prefer 6:1 for anything that needs to be constantly moving such as a crankbait, spinnerbait, some top water baits, chatterbaits, etc. I would only use a 5:1 for deep cranking which I don't do. 7:1 for the rest such as flipping, pitching, t-rigs, heavy cover, etc. Don't care for the super high speed reels like 7+:1.

Too sweet! Happy Birthday

How much are used Sol's going for? Seems like a deal.

I don't like using braid when it's slack line presentation such as weightless senkos. It's even worse when there is wind and the line get blown.

Interesting because I have a few baits that have the faint rattling sound you're refer to. I think it's because I only managed to free half the bb's stuck.

I have a few that have stuck rattles. They are not silent versions. I smacked them on the table and some baits came loose and others are still silent.