BobP

If you get down to the nitty gritty, any little thing you do to a crankbait will change its action for better or worse. loop knot vs round split ring vs oval split ring vs crosslock snap vs snap swivel, etc. I have one crank that catches lots of fish with an oval split ring. Another works best when I attach a Normal Speed Clip to its round factory split ring. As long as they keep catching, I ain't gonna change a thing! Some custom shops caution users to only tie direct to the round split ring they install on their baits. You will not know what works best until you try it and closely observe the result. But all things considered, it's best to start out tying direct to the factory installed split ring because that is how the bait was developed and tested by the factory. Most users will not notice the differences in action imparted by various attachments. But the bass often will.

A Zoom 6" lizard in green pumpkin or watermelon is hard to beat anytime. But yes, a centipede is great when the bass want something smaller and less squirmy.

I'd try wiping them down with denatured alcohol. If that doesn't work, try naphtha. Both are mild solvents and won't harm the reel seat.

5 or 6 years ago, I bought a Shimano JDM spinning reel and found it was manufactured in Malaysia. Just like everything else, reel manufacture has been internationalized. Get over it! There are good reels, great reels, and so-so reels. The quality has no relation to where the parts are made or assembled. As long as the branding company designs the reel and oversees the manufacturing process to insure quality, they seem to be making their customers happy.

I think it's worth noting that most pro tournament fishermen use a fluoro or mono leader with braid for worm and jig presentations. They believe the leader is less observable to the fish and therefore it may get them an extra bite during the course of a day's fishing - which is life or death for a tournament angler. True or false? You have to decide for yourself. If you're satisfied with straight braid, that's fine. If you fish clear water and/or are prone to believe guys who fish 200+ day per year, you might want to try a leader and judge for yourself whether it helps or hinders.

I've been painting cranks for 12 years and to me, an airbrush with a .3 or .35 mm tip size is the sweet spot if you want one brush that will "do it all". There are various brands and models with this size tip but like many, I use Iwatas because of their quality and durability. I think the HP-CS has a .35mm tip. Crankbaits are small, and I'd consider a pistol grip or anything else attached directly to the airbrush to be a hindrance. I want to hold an airbrush like a pencil. I have a couple of Iwatas and use a Revolution BR with .3mm tip the most often. JMHO, within the Iwata line, you can take solid quality as a given whatever the price point of the particular model you choose. Is an Eclipse twice the quality of a Revolution, as retail price would suggest? Nope, they're both highest quality airbrushes. You pay extra in airbrushes for smaller tip sizes because it takes finer tolerances and factory hand tuning to build small tipped airbrushes. And extra features like MAC air control on the airbrush or a cut out on the barrel to facilitate needle positioning go for a big premium. Air pressure: I use anything from 15 to 35 psi, depending. Lower pressure = finer detail. Max pressure for most Iwatas is 45 psi. When considering PSI, you want a compressor that will supply CONTINUOUS pressure at the level you need. The small airbrush compressors from China often list 35 psi. But that's just after you pull the trigger, after which the pressure falls off by 10-20 lb psi to whatever its continuous pressure is. Not saying you can't paint a lure with only 20 psi and below, but it's not ideal.

I use a single edged razor blade. Run the blade over the guide foot to cut the threads there, pull out the guide. You can usually use a thumb nail to peel the finish and threads off around the blank. Heating it up with a hair dryer helps soften the epoxy. Then use the razor blade to carefully shave off the remaining thread and epoxy.

Things aren't always so straightforward. If the lure is plastic, just lightly sand it with 320 or 400 grit before repainting. If it has lots of chips or flaking paint, I peel it off with a sharp thin bladed knife (a small Swiss Army knife works well). Notice I said peel, not cut or scrape. If it's a wood bait, things get interesting. You never want to remove the finish down to raw wood on one area of a wood bait, especially balsa, if you can avoid it. If you do, the wood will sand easier than the surrounding hard finish and you will usually deform the bait that way. And the raw area will have to be waterproofed before painting. On balsa, it's everything or nothing. Everything means a chemical stripper, re-waterproofing the wood, repainting, and re-topcoating. Nothing means just lightly sanding the present finish, painting, and topcoating. Keep in mind that chemical strippers or any strong solvent will cloud the diving lip on a crankbait. I try to avoid them. If you are concerned about the weight added by leaving the original finish on, a new paint job and topcoating with epoxy adds about .03 oz to a typical bass bait. Professional refinishing shops often use a blast cabinet and walnut shells to remove existing finish before repainting.

Rust4r, I'm surprised you got even one lure done with 5 minute Devcon. Problems: it cures too fast to level out on the lure. It cures too fast to comfortably brush on a lure. It will turn an ugly brown color with a few months of use. Lastly, it's not really waterproof like the Devcon Two Ton. Get some of the Two Ton, you'll get much better results.

I don't care what guys do. But just be sure the braid is anchored on the spool with tape or some monofilament backing. Just received a reel yesterday in the mail from a guy complaining that the drag was not working. Opened the box, saw he had braid spooled on the reel, and said to myself: Hmmm.... do you suppose? Yep, braid was not anchored on the spool and was spinning on the spool under load. Fortunately, it's an easy fix. But I'm sure the guy who sent the reel feels like a dummy for the rookie mistake.

Francho, I think the lack of IAR is compliments of David Fritz who helped design the reel. He feels IAR takes away from the feel of the reel. I read this several years ago but have forgotten exactly what his reasoning was. My take is he used the old BB1's so long that he can't adapt to anything else. What the heck, he probably has a hundred of the old reels stockpiled, so he doesn't need to.

I've never had ABEC7's hot rod a reel's performance so much that I'd throw stock bearings away to use them. Increased casting distance? Maybe a few feet, about the same as switching to a 6" longer rod or from a soft to a hard surface line. If your reel performs to your satisfaction and it's dialed in to your casting ability, I say don't bother. I understand the allure of super fast bearings. If a reel needs bearings anyway, they're an excellent choice. But to marginally increase casting distance? Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, now use it as an oil rag. Increased backlash risk? That depends on the particular reel and your casting habits. Everybody backlashes occasionally but yeah, theoretically, if your spool turns marginally faster, you are marginally more likely to backlash.

I use the Tie Fast tool too. I've screw up other knots and have lost leader and lure when they failed but using the Tie Fast is idiot proof and I've never had a knot tied with it fail - ever. That said, it does make a knot that is not as small as an Alberto knot so you have to decide for yourself how small/large is acceptable to you.

I don't think there's any "Perfect 10" with fluoros. You have to choose which qualities you want to accentuate with any line and fluoro is no different. Sensitivity, abrasion resistance, stretch, knot strength, ease of handling are the qualities most often mentioned. But to get "best in class" on one quality, you have to give up ranking in another. Sensitivity depends on line density. More sensitive fluoros are also more abrasion resistant and have less stretch but are heavier and stiffer, which affects handling. Sensitivity is paramount for me and I'm willing to give up ease of handling to get it. BPS fluoro has a mix that works OK for me. But if you are a stickler about handling, you'd probably like one of the better handling, softer, and less sensitive fluoros.

I've used it quite often and think it's very good stuff. Never had a break-off with it. And it on sale right now at BPS. I wouldn't use it on spinning gear but it's great on a baitcaster.

Looking at it as an outsider to the lure industry, it seems pretty daunting. The inventors of the Chatterbait and the Alabama Rig had about a 6 month period to make and sell as many lures as possible before their market was cannibalized by other companies. The strategy was to get enthusiasm among pro anglers, apply for patent protection, and build as many products as they could to fill demand while threatening copiers with legal action. Copiers know that a patent is only worth as much as you are willing and able to spend to sue to make it stick. If 20 copiers are putting out your lure in 6 months, how much of the money you earned selling it are you willing to burn, given the fact that you will never be able to sue them all? And if a competitor puts out a product that can be legally considered as an improved or alternate design, you lose anyway. I would contact the folks who started Chatterbait and Alabama Rig and ask their advice. They've been through it and can give you a realistic idea of what to expect, what to look out for, etc.

Very few U.S. crankbait manufacturers put highest quality trebles on their baits. I fish them while they're still sharp but trade them out for Gamakatsu round bends pretty quickly. Gamy's are tempered harder than the run of the mill so they stay sharp much longer and will not bend out as easily as "stock" hooks. There are other excellent brands from Japan, like Owner, but the Gamy's are easy to find in most areas. I think Mustads are getting better in their higher end trebles like the KVD Short Shank but Gamakatsu is hard to beat for quality across the whole line of hooks.

Trailer hooks are specific hooks with eyes large enough to fit over the barb of a spinnerbait hook. Put on the trailer hook then add a piece of tubing so the hook won't pop back off the hook when a fish is on there. You want the trailer hook to swing freely. Some trailer hooks come with pieces of tubing in the package. If not, you can use round cut-outs from a plastic milk jug. I usually use #1 or #2 size trailer hooks.

Deadsticking an unweighted fluke around shallow cover, C-rigging a fluke are the ways I fish them most often.

One popular change is to go one size larger than stock and use a short shank treble hook like the Mustad KVD or the VMC short shank trebles. The shorter hook shanks allow you to move one size up without the hooks tangling. For instance, most 1/2 oz lipless cranks use size 4 trebles. You can upsize to # 2 short shanks. The Mustad KVD's have the hook points bent inward like papajoe mentioned, which helps to keep fish buttoned. Most bass crankbaits come with either #6, #4, or #2 treble hooks. I keep a variety of trebles on hand because I like to upsize hooks on some crankbaits and want to put better quality hooks on other models. My favorite 'standard' hook is the Gamakatsu Round Bend.

The top guide is called the Tip Top. If you heat it with a flame while gently pulling on it with some needle nose pliers, the glue holding it on will release. Then all you have to do is get another with the same size insert (most are size 6) and the same size barrel (the part that fits the rod tip) and glue it on with heat melt rod glue or with 5 minute epoxy. It will take about 5 minutes for a rod repair guy to fix it, or you can do it yourself.

I'd stop at one of the local tackle shops for advice on "what's biting now" and how to rig for it. I look for irregularities off the beach that create structure, like sand bars, sloughs, points, etc. And I look for any signs of baitfish in the water. It's almost the same as freshwater fishing - find the structure, find the bait, find the fish. Also remember that you often find some species of fish inside where the waves are breaking, so long casts are not always the ticket. If any of the fishing piers are still standing and open, they are often a great place to go for action.

I think the rod is fine for those presentations. I'd get a reel with a metal frame, not graphite which is used in many of the lowest priced reels from various manufacturers. A metal frame flexes less and provides better alignment of parts, helping casting, retrieving, and longevity. I use mostly Shimanos, a few Abus but any of the major reel companies produce good reels. A Shimano Citica or Abu Revo S will get the job done nicely.

I have a buddy who dotes on the old Abu underspins. The ones that you bump a ring in front of the spool and it releases the line to your finger. There's no reel that will make more underhand casts faster and my buddy can clean your clock in getting baits to shallow fish faster than you can with regular spinning or baitcasting gear.

You can use rattle can paint and it will last awhile but not as along as a bait painted and then clearcoated with a durable (non-spray can) product. If you want to go that route, I suggest some of the spray paint formulated to adhere to plastics, like Fusion, sold at home centers. I'm assuming your lure is plastic. If it's raw wood, anything other than a full-up pro paint job will mean your lure will last about one day of fishing.