Hammer 4

You should have enough backing so the braid doesn't slip onto the spool, so maybe 30' would work. Sorry, most asking about backing are usually trying to save $$$ on braid..

Depending on how much line your reel holds, usually about 1/2 of the spool filled with backing.

I used 10 lb mono n my baitcasters for years, fishing fresh and saltwater, the later where the fish are much bigger and fight Way harder. Learning how to use your drag, how to fight a fish imho are important skills. I think nowadays some anglers use line that's needlessly to heavy for their application.

You have to be really careful. Lots of Fake items come from China from reels to golf clubs. I think if I were spending that much for a reel, I'd buy from a reputable source and pay a bit more.

Get whatever is Easiest for him to use..

12 is a good start.

I have round grips on one of my reels, not a problem, but the flat grips are more comfy for me to use.

Back when I used 30 lb braid, I set the drag, then firmly pull on my line so that I could pull line out. Never had any issues with dig in's , ect..Experiment, see what works best for you, but the drag doesn't have to be all that tight. And as Tom said, use Sharp hooks.

Why would you want/need to lock your drag down..? Simple solution..use your thumb on the spool during the hook sets. Locking the drag down imho, is asking for problems.

I use to fish the local harbors (saltwater) about 95 % of the docks I fished had big boats, I'd guess the least expensive boat was about 250k up to a tad over 1 million bucks. Being in a float tube has advantages, you get into places where even yaks can't go. In the 4 years I fished these docks, not 1 single owner said No fishing, Until, a bunch of young guys, mostly under 21 began fishing the docks. The problem was they would be throwing big ole lures that were way over sized for the spotties, checkers and sandies in those waters. Every now and then I would hear a Clunk type sound, and more than once. Turns out these dudes were hitting peoples boats, and in some cases leaving some nice scratches in the gelcoat. One dock in particular was a favorite as it was the first dock after the seawall, and usually produced the greatest number and size of spotties. Welp, the owner who did fishing charters was on his dock at 7 am one day, as I rolled up, he told me, no more fishing around his dock on account of the damage that was to the sides of his Expensive boat. I tried explaining to him, who I thought it was, and that I've never hit anyone's boat with a lure. Being the nice guy that he was, said look, I know it's not you, and I know who it is, but if I let you fish it, then I can't say no to anyone else, to which I agreed, and let him know I'd skip his dock from now on. Fast forward to about a month and a week later. Hadn't seen any of the guys doing the damage to boats, happens that my favorite dock owner was out working on his boat, and saw me kicking by. He called me over, and said that it seems the reckless casters had not been around for a good while, and if I wanted to continue to fish his dock, that I was welcome to do so. Now, he didn't have to tell me that, and could have kept the no fishing deal going on. I thanked him very much, and added that he was one of the Good guys out there. So, there are good and bad folks, I try and give folks a chance to expose their good side, in this case, it could have gone the other way, I was happy to say the least, as his dock helped produce my winning bag in a small club tourney that made me a tad over $ 200.00.

I have both the CT and Type R..never experienced that. Just to note, I cast righty, but use a lefty reel.

I prefer a AR switch, my Diawa reels have them. However I also have a new Sahara w/o an AR switch, yeah I can make due, but I doubt I'd buy another reel w/o it.

Saw nothing that interested me. I'll stick with what has worked in the past.

Yes, the older shimano's had it, the newer reels don't. I use the anti reverse every now and then. Both are good reels, but the older shimano's imho are better.

I own a Sahara too, I don't use it much cuz it doesn't have the anti reverse like the Fuego does.

Mine has been great, as said above sometimes the line lay needs to be adjusted, no big deal. Well worth the 50.00, but I'd offer 40.00...

Yep, if the water temps rose just recently, could be in the spawn, which would account for the lack of catching bass. OTH, if your getting what feels like "nibbles" it's probably males moving your bait off of their beds. Kind of a frustrating time for bass fishing.

The Owner Flashy Swimmer will let you go weedless. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Flashy_Swimmer_with_CPS_2pk/descpage-OFSCP.html

Big Congratz to both of you..Have a Great day!.

I'm in the same camp as Tom is. 10# minimum on baitcaster, 8# and below, I go to a spinning rig. This has worked very well for the last..cough..years..

You should get some good bites with those..Good luck..

I've always had at least 2 spinning rigs with 2500 size reels..Rods are 7'ML/F and 7'M/F. As Tom said it great fun fighting a 3 lb bass on these types of rigs.. BTW, David Dudley is a bug proponent of spinning tackle.

All the above...

I have both the 3 and 3.8 " . I tend to favor the bigger 3.8, but both catch fish.

^^^^^^ This.