BobP

There are several online retailers that sell that particular knock-off and I bought a few awhile back. If you are asking whether they are exactly like a $27 Megabass Ito 110 the answer is NOPE. The ones I got were some of the nicest knock-offs I've seen, with chrome finish and good plastic quality. When I test floated them, they suspended head UP which is not the attitude that most prefer on a jerkbait. I corrected the problem with a little lead tape before painting and the lead doesn't show. Decent jerkbaits. But do they have all the moves, including the subtle body roll of an original 110? Sorry, no. I've bought and painted about 50 different knock-off baits through the years. Many went direct to the trash can after the first outing, some worked so-so, a few had an action that was different from the original but were good in their own right and caught fish. But I never found a single knock-off that looked and acted exactly like the original bait they were ostensibly copying. Sad but true.

Try some 5" hollow belly soft swimbaits on a 1/2 or 3/4 oz Kalins saltwater bullet jighead. It's a versatile bait that you can fish at any depth, 3 to 30 ft. The 3/4 oz size sinks quickly and makes it easy to keep contact with the bottom. I catch more bass with it than I do with deep diving crankbaits - and I love fishing crankbaits.

Lure finishes have 3 functions: looking pretty, keeping water out of the bait, and preventing damage from impacts and abuse. When you paint a wood lure with water based acrylic paint, you need to undercoat the bait first with a waterproof coating to keep the acrylic paint from raising the grain of the wood. Then you need a waterproof, durable topcoat to keep the acrylic paint dry. Many guys use a slow cure epoxy like Devcon Two Ton for undercoating and topcoating because it's strong, adds protection from water intrusion, and will not react with solvent based coatings you might use in finishing the bait. Solvent based finish products contain a variety of solvents, some of which will react badly with other solvent based products, causing bubbling, etc. I can't speak specifically to spray enamel since I've never used it, but I would suggest coating the lure with it before you paint, as an undercoating, and also afterwards to protect the acrylic paint. Let it dry thoroughly after undercoating, for a few days. My guess is that it will not be nearly as durable as other choices like epoxy or moisture cured urethanes but it may serve for at least awhile. Acrylic paint contains no solvent, so coating it with a clear enamel should not cause a problem.

I would call Southwesternparts.com and ask them if they can help with a part.

I often wrap my own rods and most times, I'll use a spiral design. Farther casts? Not that I have noticed. Fewer broken rod tips due to twisting forces? Maybe, but that's so rare in a bass rod to be inconsequential. My reason is that a spiral wrap lets you use one less guide and still get good performance - and one less guide is less weight out on the tip of the rod where additional weight is most noticeable. Not a huge deal, but every little bit counts, so why not?

We're going to Saranac Lake next weekend and would appreciate any info on smallmouth fishing in Lower Saranac Lake, where we'll be staying.

Why do you need thinner? You don't say what kind of baits you are painting or what you thin. Wood baits are different from plastic baits. I've never had epoxy topcoat bubble from a reaction to a finish product. D2T contains no solvent and once cured, it is very resistant to any chemical reaction. I do thin my Devcon slightly (a few drops only) with denatured alcohol to improve brushability and help expel any mixing bubbles. If you use a different thinner in your epoxy and also use a solvent based product anywhere in your finish, yes, you can get bubbles due to solvent incompatibility. But in my experience, bubbles UNDER the epoxy are caused by air being forcefully expelled from a wood lure due to heating or because the epoxy topcoat was physically compromised.

Nobody can guarantee what a bass will or will not bite on a given day but there are some generalities. Probably 90% of spinner bait fishermen use either white or chartreuse/white. It depends somewhat on the forage species that the bass are using in a certain lake. White for shad is a good fall color. Chartreuse/white where bass are eating sunfish or where the water is more stained.. Time of day, water temp are not big color determinants. You want some wind on the water or moving water for a good spinner bait bite. Blade type and size are important. Colorado blades for more thump in very stained water; willow leaf otherwise. Blade size matched to the size of the forage species is a good idea. For soft plastics, a transparent shade of green like watermelon in clear water, a solid green like green pumpkin in moderately stained water, a blue shade like junebug in very stained water. There are endless variations in plastic colors but you don't need to go crazy - a few options will work 99% of the time. Smallmouth tend to bite wilder color combinations than largemouth, including things like all chartreuse spinner baits.

I would try flushing the old bearings and re-lubing them before ordering new ones. Bearings tend to last a long time unless they are abused or corroded and if you can clean them and get them to run smooth, there's really not a big benefit to changing them out. I rehabbed several Abu Promax reels from the early 1970's and found that clean and smooth running original bearings performed as well as new ABEC 7's. Ceramics are usually a marginal improvement but it's not a night and day difference. More than just the bearings determine how well a reel casts: basic reel design, spool mass, the braking system, and the cast control are also critical. All areas have to be working right to maximize casting performance.

There are 2 basic kinds of bait scents. Some are water based, some are oil based. I'm familiar with Kickin' Bass, which uses a fish oil base mixed with different scents like garlic, anise, and craw. Some water based scents claim they disperse in water better than non-soluble oil based scents and so are better attractors. Oil based scents say they stay on the bait longer and work better when the bait is mouthed by a fish. Either kind probably masks unnatural odors, another function. If you are going to mix your own scent from oil, does it matter what kind of oil you use? Will any kind of non-petroleum oil work as well as another? Probably but I don't know for sure.

Like cars, appliances, TV sets, etc, as you move up in price in a product line, there is usually a "sweet spot" of price versus performance - after which the marginal performance differences get smaller as the price differences gets larger and larger. For instance, does a St Croix SCV Legend Elite perform three times better than a SC2 St Croix? No. But they cost 3X as much. Is a Shimano Core three times as good as a Citica in any measure of performance or quality? No. You have to decide for yourself what features are essential, nice to have, or don't matter to you - then base a buying decision on that compared to the $$ you have available to spend. Pride of ownership and bragging rights are critical to some guys; others think buying anything more than adequate is sheer foolishness. For me, the sweet spot in casting reels is the $125-160 range. I'll often buy more expensive reels but won't go cheaper because you begin to see things like graphite frames, minimal bearing counts or excessive bearing counts with low grade bearings, older and less effective gear train and drag designs, etc. You do get what you pay for - but it becomes more and more expensive as you get less and less for your money.

It's mostly what you have more experience with. I can put a cast within 6" of the bank from 50' reliably with a baitcaster, with a variety of rods and reels. With a spinning rod in my hand, it's a total crap shoot because I only use spinning for dropshotting in deeper water. JMHO, baitcasting is inherently more accurate because it's easier to control. That doesn't mean there aren't guys out there who can thread a needle with a spinning rod but I think it's more an art form with a spinning rod than it is with a baitcaster.

Big Game - found anywhere, good performance at a bargain price. Negatives - not very consistent diameter. Since it's found anywhere, you can get spools sitting on a store shelf for years exposed to UV light, degrading. I'll assume that's not true at Academy and I wouldn't hesitate to use 8# on a spinning rod. Are there better copolymer lines? Yes, but not at bargain prices.

Most will say it depends first on water clarity. If you fish heavily stained water, a leader probably isn't necessary. If you fish water with clarity better than 2', a leader will probably get you more bites. Also, you don't want a leader if you are fishing heavy grass since braid blends in with grass and helps cut through grass when fighting a fish. If you are fishing unweighted plastics like a Senko or trick worm, braid without a leader tends to float and can cause excessive bow in your line that can make feeling a bite difficult. A fluorocarbon leader can help in that situation. Learn to tie an Alberto knot. It's the smallest braid to fluoro/copoly knot and makes fishing a leader less problematic.

I hesitate to make such open-ended statements - but yes! A favorite topcoat epoxy of many builders is Devcon Two Ton, a 30 minute bonding glue epoxy. It stays liquid long enough to brush on a lure or two but cures to a sag-free state in about 1 - 1 1/2 hrs at room temperatures. Epoxy tends to yellow slightly over time due to UV light exposure. If that's an issue, you might choose Flexcoat UV epoxy, a rod guide epoxy with UV light filters. Measure it accurately and mix the heck out of it and you will get a hard durable finish. Poorly measured or mixed and you get an epoxy that refuses to harden and/or which yellows quickly. You can thin Devcon with a FEW drops of denatured alcohol to improve brushability and lengthen brush time. No need to thin Flexcoat.

In the real world, a medium action rod will be more accurate for most guys because they won't be trying to overpower their casts to get distance. Developing a controlled casting stroke that lets your rod do the work contributes greatly to accuracy.

Absolute longest? An early 1970's era Ambassadeur round Promax 1600 paired with 8-10 lb mono and a medium power 7 1/2 ft casting rod. I don't know how - but the old round Promax reels were just configured right for very long casts. With 2 black brake blocks installed, you can turn the cast control all the way off, leave slight side-to-side play in the spool, and bomb 1/4 oz crankbaits farther than with any modern reel I've used - with never a backlash and not thumbing the spool. 1970's era Promax reels go on Ebay for $55-75. They retailed for $169 back in the day and came with a lifetime warranty. Parts are still available from Abu and Southwestern. I fish modern Shimano and Abu reels but when distance is paramount, these the the ones. The only reason these aren't more sought-after is their silver paint was not especially durable and was easily chipped and scratched. That's pure cosmetics, which don't effect their performance. If Abu had used the very durable black finish used on the contemporary Black Max reels, the Promax would be much more prized. It's a real sleeper performance-wise.

Different strokes for different folks. I'm not saying that various "non-presentation-specific" ML rods won't do for dropshotting - but it's nice to have one specifically designed for the task. And you can use it for other finesse presentations too. When dropshot first came on the scene years ago, several western bass pros recommended the Shimano Crucial dropshot rods because of their hinged action. Seemed rational so I bought one and have really enjoyed using it for that purpose and for other finesse presentations like splitshotting and shaky heads. I don't know whether rod designers from other companies decided to use hinged actions on their dropshot rods, I just know the M power Crucial Dropshot works great and is built with high quality components. IM-10 blanks and Fuji Alconite guides. I prefer power presentations with baitcast gear whenever possible, but dropshotting is winning me over. Enough that I bought a second Crucial dropshot rod in ML power just in case I need it for fishing smaller fish species.

A twist is not a nick and if that's what it is, I don't think there would be any problem with line strength. If they are actual nicks, I would be concerned that maybe my rod or reel was causing the problem.

Most guys paint lures with colors that wash right off if wet - acrylic latex. They depend on the topcoat to keep the paint on the lure. If the topcoat gets damaged, the underlying paint dissolves. That why topcoats are critical and why epoxy is a favorite. Also, epoxy will go over just about any paint you choose because it depends on its own chemical reaction to bond and harden, not on a chemical reaction with whatever underlying paint it covers. When you try covering random solvent based paint with a random solvent based topcoat, the paint will wrinkle and bubble if the coatings are not compatible. With the plastic fusion paints, you aren't applying it to plastic - you're applying it to existing topcoat, whatever that is. So I don't think it will be better than regular rattle can paint. Choose solvent based colors from the same company so they will be chemically compatible. Lightly sand the existing finish to give it some "tooth" Shoot a white or gray color base coat to hide underlying colors Shoot your colors. Using paint templates is a great idea! Let it DRY to out-gas any solvent - give it a few days! Brush on a slow cure epoxy - measure it accurately and mix the heck out of it! Mix in a few drops of denatured alcohol to thin it slightly if needed. Rotate for 1 - 1 1/2 hr to prevent sagging Fish after 24 hrs

I like the M/XF Shimano Crucial dropshot rod. It has a "hinged" action with a soft 18" XF tip section mated to a medium power blank. 1/8 oz dropshots are no problem and it's strong enough that 5 lb bass won't give you any problems.

Painting a crankbait is easy. Doing it so the paint stays on the lure while fishing is hard. Without going into lots of detail, most crankbait guys paint with acrylic latex airbrush paint. After drying, the paint has to be protected with a good topcoat like a 30 minute epoxy (Flexcoat UV or Devcon Two Ton) and the bait is rotated on a fixture for an hour or two until the epoxy has begun to harden and will not sag or drip. Alternative topcoats are moisture cured urethane, UV cured polyester resin, or two part automotive clearcoats. Can it be done with less equipment? Yes. You can use rattle cans of paint (any kind/brand you like). But any paint needs to be topcoated to survive fishing abuse. Unless I was willing to spend the money to get the right stuff, then practice until I could use it well, I wouldn't bother. It would be much cheaper and less hassle to buy new KVD's. But on the other hand, painting your own cranks can be a fun and productive hobby itself. The guys at tackleunderground.com are the authorities on building and finishing crankbaits.

Good equipment is good equipment and it catches fish. If you have a push button spinning reel that has always given you problems, then no, that's not good equipment and it will just frustrate you to use it for bass fishing. That's not to say that all spincast reels are junk. I have a friend who uses an old Abu underspin reel for dropshotting and light plastics. It's one of the old Ambassadeur models that releases line when you bump a ring in front of the spool with your forefinger. Not lots of cranking power and the drag is not the best either but man, if you want a fast action reel, that thing can't be beat. He makes 5 casts to anyone else's 3 casts with a regular spinning reel. And has no trouble catching 5 lb smallies with it. If you like spincast reels, I suggest checking BassPro online and reading the customer reviews for various spincast models. You'll see quite a few negative reviews and a few models that guys seem to like.

There's no reason to get rid of all the line on a reel because most of it will never see the light of day. On the other hand, I wouldn't reverse mono or take old line off of a reel to use on another reel because it will have lots and lots of spool memory. The best thing to do is take off about half the line off the reel, tie new line to the remainder and spool it full again.

Virtually all unpainted lures you can order on the internet are made in China. There are lots of sources - Bustin Bass Baits, Predator, Janns Netcraft, Lureparts Online, etc etc. The trick is finding some that work well. Just because it looks cool, or looks like a $25 Japanese lure, that doesn't mean it is.