Jrob78

That reel is a beast. I have one and wouldn't use it for "regular" bass fishing applications. I use mine for throwing big heavy swimbaits. It's a large, heavy duty reel. I would go with a regular Revo of your choice. They are robust enough to handle heavy cover applications and are much lighter than the Toro's.

I couldn't watch the video but i've seen him use pliers to cinch that knot down. He said it didn't hurt to do that with braid.

The number of bearings in a reel is one of the most overrated things in fishing. A cheap reel with 12 bearings is just that, a cheap reel with a bunch of cheap bearings. Companies advertise the high bearing count as a selling point. The quality of the materials used in the reel and the fit and finish of those parts are what makes a quality reel, not the number of bearings. I'm speaking in generalities, not about your specific reel. As the price of the reel goes up, the bearings are normally better quality and then the count starts to mean a little more. A cheap reel with 10 bearings wont be as smooth or last as long as a quality reel with 5 bearings.

Agree

That just means the rod isn't suited for big spinnerbaits. It doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the rod.

If all you've used on a baitcaster is 20# braid, you might try mono before jumping to fluoro. Fluoro handles way differently than light braid. Also, cheap fluoro is usually harder to work with. I would advise you to buy a spool of 12# Sufix Elite and see how you like it. If it works and you like it, then think about a good spool of fluorocarbon.

I use the Palomar as well. I saw Dean Rojas talking about the knot he uses with braid, he called it a double Palomar. Basically, when you do the overhand knot, you run the line through twice. The bad thing about it is it's really hard to cinch the knot down at the end. Rojas used pliers to pull everything tight.

20 lb braid is lighter than most people use on baitcasters. If you're already using it and like it, stick with it, it wont hurt anything. If you want to use something else, fluoro or mono in 12 lb is usually a good starting place.

Braid is mainly bad for rods that don't have ceramic inserts in their line guides. I believe the Veritas does have ceramic guides. If your guides are a silver metal, braid can groove them. Actually, the braid doesn't do it, the dirt that braid picks up is the problem.

I agree. I've never understood the popularity of the Spot Remover style shaky head. It seems like once it's on its side, your doomed. I like a shaky head jig with some roundness to it so it has a "rocker" action. I like round or football head style jigheads.

Brother in law? Ouch! Divorce might be the only answer!

They make a good bait with great pricing. I don't use their stick baits but the Squirrel Tail Worm is awesome and their flipping baits and craws are great too. The Fighting Frog is one of my favorites.

The reason they are rare or exotic is the fact that they are hard to get. Try the auction site or some of the Japanese sites that actively sell to the US. You really need to know what you're looking for. There isn't any one place that carries a wide range of rare baits.

The Squirrel Tail worms and straight tail Zoom worms, (Finesse and Trick) are typical shaky head worms. I also like Yamamoto Pro Senkos on a shaky head. That said, you can fish any worm on a jighead and expect good results.

Are you looking for JDM baits or hand made baits or maybe vintage collectible baits....? Be more specific.

I would recommend a med hvy/moderate fast action casting rod for those techniques. I would also want a reel with a gear ratio in the low 6's. I wouldn't use spinning gear for any of those techniques but the rod power and action shouldn't change.

This is what I do as well. You don't have to bend them far to make a difference in hook ups.

I only peg when i'm fishing nasty cover where there's a risk of the weight separating from the bait. You don't want your weight hanging on a piece of vegetation or tree limb leaving your bait floating. Pegging allows your bait to penetrate all the way through whatever it is your fishing. In open water, I don't normally peg.

I would also check out some of the All Stars from Academy. They had the Classic series on sale for $29 when I was there yesterday. They are a far cry from the All Stars of old but still a good rod for the money.

Most of the micro spools hold a very small amount of line so it's important to use a thin diameter, light line. I've also heard that some of the spools can be damaged with braided lines. I've been toying with idea of buying a Yumeya spool for my 50E but I don't have a proper BFS rod. You need a rod that can cast really light baits to get the full benefit from it.

When I first started changing hooks frequently I bought a pair of BPS split ring pliers. They worked ok but were still cumbersome. It sucks that you already bought them. If you're going to change out hooks often, you should get a pair of Texas Tackle Split Ring Pliers. They are under $20 and work better than any pliers I've ever used. The design is a little different and the jaws are really narrow so the fit inside the ring. TW carries them and Tackle Tour even reviewed them. They are worth their weight in gold!

Thanks for the heads up! I just downloaded it. You can't go wrong for $1

Those Gamakatsu EWG trebles are excellent hooks too. You would definitely have to use a size 6 with them because they don't have short shanks. I use them on a lot of baits too.

What I do is double up about 6-8" of line and tie an overhand knot in it so you have a loop. You can then hang the loop on your hook keeper (if you have one) or around the reel handle. You can reel your line all the way into the reel but it's kind of a pain to run back through the guides every time. Figure out what knot you want to tie, I recommend the Palomar, practice it until you can tie it well. You will build speed and confidence and no longer need the snaps. Tying good knots is a critical part of fishing, there aren't any shortcuts.

The clearer the water and the clearer and calmer the day, the clearer a bait I will use. As the water gets more off colored and the conditions get windier/cloudier, I will go to a darker/brighter bait.