rubba bubba

If it's the 4C70MHF, then yes it's a great plastics rod as it is uber sensitive. Heavier plastics (whether jigs or carolina or texas rigged) and flipping are other areas it would excel in.

So how many Carrot Stix did you buy back when they were all the rage here? ;D

I had this problem at first as well. If you put a little bit of a bow/dip when you rig it (so it's belly down slightly), it should resolve your problem. Had this problem with Mann's hardnose toads as well until I hooked it with that slight dip.

I have a Garmin Etrex Vista C handheld GPS that I was wondering if it were possible to get a topo map of individual lakes that I fish and download it into the GPS? Any GPS experts on here that might know if so and where I can get the maps of the lakes I'd like? Thanks!

Depends on what you want to use it for.

arghhh, my eyes, my eyes.....

What a great story and what a toad she caught in your avatar!! Roland pushes his gear a bit much, but Shaw Grigsby is the worst. I can't even watch his show; the pimping is unbearable.

Blow the levelwind out with compressed air while cranking; lube it. If it still does it; exchange it (since it's brand new).

An option to consider - upgrade it and switch it to be one of your plastics rod. Then use the prior plastics rod for cranks/spinnerbaits.

BPS fluoro Palomar for direct tying and Uni to Uni's for the fluoro leaders.

If it were for plastics where sensitivity is a premium, I would say go for it. Since it's for cranks and such I would say it's not needed and you may make things worse by going to the faster action of the LT when crank fishing.

That reel has centrifugal brakes? If so, you got a helluva deal for $25.

Catt's right. Besides, the 2 highlighted above are mutually exclusive; ie. it can't be both fish oil based and petroleum based. The latter is the correct one - it is petroleum based.

For spinning gear you can actually "finger" the spool to slow the line, much like you thumb the spool on the baitcaster. ie. it isn't necessarily an all or nothing if you cast too far with a spinning outfit. It's easier and more precise with the baitcaster but it is doable with a spinning outfit as well. Btw, what baitcaster are you learning on?

I used to use Vanish for my leaders but it wouldn't hold knot strength for squat. Quickly learned from others how crappy Vanish is. Once I switched the problems went away.

JF - you gotta quit, man.

This assumes you only use that singular reel for all 10 hours of each day. My time tends to be spread out amongst 3-5 reels on any 1 fishing day.

I only recently started to use Megastrike and the first day out, I wasn't using it as I forgot I had it to try. No hits at all for a couple of hours. I then remembered I had it with me and after applying, the very next couple of casts I had a nice 1.5-2lbs'er. I then proceeded to outfish my partner the rest of afternoon (who did not use it). I'm a believer. I also agree with it's value as a lubricant.

Go to fishingskirts.com - they have a tool to put the strands in and put the band around. Take a look at the video on the home page. The tool is only a couple of dollars and they sell the bands as well.

Start with 100 to get the shaping and work your way up to 600 to get the smoothness (both feel and look).

How did you use the cola to stop the bleeding?

As Flechero said, it may look like his store rods but it could be something much more custom made to look similar. We don't know for sure.

If that's a Loomis, I would create a different thread on it in specific. Many people here use them but they have different preferences. i.e. Roadwarrior likes heavier tackle, others prefer lighter. If you pick what someone else likes, but it's different than what you like, you'll have made the mistake you fear.

Either will work fine. You'll get more power in your hookset with the XF for the same effort, and may require drag loosening during the fight to reduce risk of tearing the hook out. At this point it's a preference thing determined by you. Everyone can just tell you what they like and why they like it but you may have different preferences.

Great; thank you, sir. This was discussed in an older thread but I'm one for the fight and wouldn't be much interested in the winch approach, so that is very helpful.