BobP

There's variation among brands but generally spinning reels are basically classified 10-20-30-40 size. Higher number = bigger reel. A number like a Shimano 2500 is their idea of a size between the 20 and 30 size reel. For the fisherman, it's a balancing act. Larger spools have less line twist. Smaller reels balance better and are handier. My favorite is the 2500 size Shimano reels. BTW, not many guys buy Japanese Domestic Market Shimano reels but if you do, their sizes tend to run about one size smaller than their US Market alternatives.

Of course, it all depends on use. When I buy a used reel, I expect it never to have been cleaned or lubed by the previous owner- and I'm not often wrong. So I do a complete tear-down and re-lube. Then I KNOW it will perform at its best. With a freshly cleaned or a new reel and typical weekend use, I do a 100% clean/lube every 2 years and I oil the spool bearings several times during a season of fishing. Some guys clean and lube the spool bearings on new reels before fishing them because reel companies tend to over-lube their reels since they know most users will NEVER have their reels serviced until they either break or become so gummed up that they will not work. But if you have a new reel, using it "as is" out of the box is fine if you like the way it casts and retrieves. Every 12-15 hrs of actual use, put a drop of oil in each of the 2 spool end bearings, and plan to get the whole reel cleaned and re-lubed after 2 years of weekend use.

The Curado E's debuted at about the $200 price level, the traditional price for a Chronarch. And the Curado had features very similar to a Chronarch. Eventually, the retail price was adjusted down to around $180. When the G models came out, retailers were allowed by Shimano to discount their remaining stock of E models down to the $150 range. That's when the Curado E became a sweet deal because it was basically a "Chronarch", new in box, at a traditional Curado price. About a $50 discount on a reel from a company that rarely if ever discounts anything and polices distributors' prices like Nazi storm troopers. If you want a current G model reel that has the features of a Chronarch, you have to buy a Chronarch G, in the $200 range. So you could reason that a new Curado E is a good buy at anything less than $200. Considering that the Curado G's were being sold at around $150 a few months ago, I'm among those who say "NO SALE!". But E-bay sellers hope all the confusion gives them a window to reap profits. And apparently, there are enough Ebay buyers who are confused enough to buy it.

Even if perfectly lubed, I wouldn't expect two different reel models to perform the same. It's just the nature of the beast: engineering design, components, and build tolerances make a big difference. And there is no guarantee that 2 different BassPro models are made by the same company. If you want reels to perform just like your Carbonlites, you'll probably need to buy more Carbonlites.

Obviously, there are some good BPS reels. Who makes them? Hard to say unless they are obviously a re-branded model from a major company. Lots of guys here on BR use and like some of the BPS baitcasters. I say "beauty is as beauty does". If the PQ is a re-branded Pfleuger and you like and trust Pfleuger reels, no problemo. But honestly, I have to say I'd rather buy a reel directly from a major manufacturer so I'm getting it from the guys who made it, and who are willing to put their name and reputation behind it. Reel parts companies and reel service companies generally will not carry parts for or service BassPro reels. I actually fish a few Abu reels that are 40+ years old. I can call up Abu or Southwestern Parts and get parts for those reels. I bet that would be impossible with BassPro for any reel more than 2-3 years old. Not saying that having parts on hand for your lifetime is really necessary, but it's nice to know such things exist and it instills confidence in a manufacturer.

I've used Kick'n Bass for years in both the anise and garlic scent. It has a pure fish oil base, a powerful scent, and is made by a perfume chemist. Besides making the fish hold on much longer, the fish oil base really lubricates the bait which has 2 advantages. First, the bait will usually slide up the hook onto the line without damage when you set the hook. Saves those expensive Senkos! Also, the bait will slide through grass and other obstacles like greased lightning. The only thing I won't use it on is a jig with a real rubber skirt because it will melt rubber (but not plastic baits or silicone skirts). I've used Gulp with good success - the 3" minnows work great on dropshots. And it does put scent into the water - leave a piece of Gulp resting on the bottom too long, and suddenly you'll learn that you're catfishing instead of bass fishing. Gulp is good stuff and fish like to eat it. Unfortunately, it is not as flexible and doesn't have the action of plastic baits.

To me, the only sure way to tell the originals is to get one in the original box - and you have to know what an original box looks like (I don't but plenty of collectors do). Check them out on Ebay and you'll see the differences in packaging. To me, the originals look much less crisply molded than later versions. I have a few and fish them pretty often. Some of them have great action, some of them are impossible to tune and are therefore worthless for fishing. That variability is both the boon and the curse of old Warts.

I used spray cans of auto urethane and clearcoat to paint a reel once. It takes a lot of prep, sanding, masking. And the paint did not last very long before chipping. I think for most guys, most of the time, you'll try it once and say "No more!". JMHO

Using unpainted lures is a crap shoot. Some work great, some not at all, so you have to sift through them to find the winners. Most are knockoffs of popular commercial crankbaits, made in the Far East. None of them are exactly like the commercial lure they imitate so don't expect to paint a $4 Megabass Ito Vision 110 knockoff and end up with a lure like the $25 original. That said, some of them are very good crankbaits in their own right. If you want lures that perform just like the originals, the only way to get that is to repaint original lures. There are various degrees of refinishing you can apply. Full blown might be using a media blast cabinet to remove the old paint, then painting and using a commercial grade UV or moisture cured urethane topcoat. Most hobby repainters lightly sand the original finish, spray on a white color basecoat, paint the lure, then topcoat it with one of several products like Devcon Two Ton epoxy or Solarez UV cured polyester resin. The topcoat you use over the water based paint determines how well the paint job will last. For much more detailed info on the process, you should visit tackleunderground.com, where you will find more stuff than you can read in a year about the process.

When I change out gear sets on some reels they are not initially as smooth as I want. What helps immediately is to lube the gears with a drag grease like Shimano ACE-2. It's a thick sticky cosmoline based grease and it really smooths them out. How the pinion and main gear mesh together is a big factor in how smooth the reel feels when it cranks. You can use drag grease on gears all the time but after a season of use, I change out the Shimano grease for lighter Superlube grease with PTFE. Another thing I've noticed is that reels with lower gear ratios are generally smoother cranking than ones with high gear ratios. I guess the higher the ratio, the more force is applied to the gearing and the more any minor imperfection is felt.

This should be a winner for guys who like to fish jerkbaits - and for Smithwick. I love Rogues but the Smithwick factory finishes offered have been behind the times for years and years. Now maybe I can get Rogues that I don't have to strip and repaint!

I cut down on the colors I buy, but not to get cheap. I found myself sitting in the boat, going over the 10 colors I had of every bait, trying to decide just what would be the perfect color for that day, that water clarity, the mood of the fish, etc etc etc. Guess what? You don't catch fish sitting in the boat, pawing through your options, re-baiting plastics every five minutes. I took the pledge, reduced my colors to 3 basics and never looked back. Green pumpkin black flake, Watermelon black flake, Junebug. Now I keep my line wet longer and am catching more fish. If I could catch more fish by carrying 20 colors of every plastic bait - believe me, I would! But I can't.

Advertising terms like 'revolutionary' just sail in one ear and out the other these days. Every bait company out there engages in hype, hoping to generate a little excitement and a few more sales. It's just the nature of the beast, whether you're SK, Rapala, Bomber, BassPro, Lucky Strike, you name it. I say ignore the noise. No reason to get wound up about it unless you plan to stop buying commercial stuff and fish only with lures and equipment you build yourself. I ordered a few Scatter Shads because 1/ I saw the Youtube video and liked the action. 2/ I like Rapala lures. and 3/ the cost is good compared to many other balsa crankbaits. Maybe it'll be crap. Maybe it will be - Ta da! REVOLUTIONARY! Ha Ha Really no sense in worrying about it until we get them wet, is there?

There's a whole lot more to reel performance than the bearing count. Quality of the bearings, overall design of the reel, manufacturing tolerances, weight and quality control on the spool, the braking system, etc etc. I like to see 6 bearings inside a reel: 2 spool bearings, 2 levelwind bearings, a bearing in the frame under the main shaft, and one in the frame around the pinion gear. Anything more tends to be there to get the bearing count up and I begin to mark the reel down. I don't much like bearings on reel handles. They are exposed to abuse, water, dirt, etc and go bad faster than other bearings.

It's funny when guys poo-poo a crankbait designed to hunt, like the scatter shads. Why are old Wiggle Warts and some old Bagley crankbaits highly desirable? Because some of them have hunting action! Seen the KVD commercial extolling the hunting action on the SK baits lately? What about the Wobble Bat from Japan? Hunt hunt hunt. That's why Rapala is building the Scatter Shad. If they can build a quality bait that reliably hunts, that's an outstanding achievement and I'm gonna get me some. Yes, the alternative to a hunting crankbait is to crash your bait into every obstacle you can find. But that's not possible in all types of cover, so a hunting crankbait is a desirable option. Guys can let their biases run rampant right now, never having seen a Scatter Shad "in the flesh" and never having fished one. Every bait is "Put Up or Shut Up" when the time comes to fish it - including the Scatter Shads. But in my experience, Rapala delivers on its performance promises more often than any of the other big names in fishing lures. JMHO

I like any brand with a horse-foot shape and a good hook, like Gamakatsu. I use 3/16 oz almost exclusively. I prefer the wire screw-lock keepers but it's a pain to use them with the floating super-stretch plastics because you have to heat the wire to get it to penetrate the bait. In the summertime, I'm using a dropshot more often than a shakey head and your new rig will work for that too.

Any 5" finesse worm, but I prefer hand-poured for action. Zoom Ultravibe Speed Craws. I'm checking out the Z-man craws this year because they float and so sit in a claws-up attitude.

The fitting on the Iwatas is a non-standard size. Bite the bullet and get an Iwata hose.

McCoy Mean Green is good line. It has moderate stretch and less spool memory than most other copolymers so you can often keep it on the reel longer than many brands. I wouldn't hesitate to use it for any moving bait like spinnerbaits or crankbaits. I also like the light green color. I think there are better choices for 'touchy-feely' presentations like worms, with less stretch and more sensitivity, but it's a great all-around choice for a monofilament line. I think you'll like it.

Marty's right but If you have a hose for another brand airbrush, you can get an adapter from airbrush suppliers like Dixie Art. The downside is it's another connection, another opportunity to have an air leak. I use an Iwata-to-Paasche hose adapter and it has worked fine. But an OEM Iwata hose would be better.

I just got spools of 10 lb SS8 and 832 to try them side by side. The SS8 seems very slick and I think it will certainly be quieter through the guides than regular PP. It says it is slightly smaller diameter than the 832 - but maybe because of its darker green color, the 832 LOOKS thinner. The SS8 is a light green color that has a shine to it, which I'm not in love with. I've used 20 lb 832 and liked it better than regular PP. Fishing them waits warmer weather!

Don't know of anybody that sells parts for all brands of reels, but http://www.southwesternparts.com/ sell for several brands (but not Quantum). I would call Quantum for your pawl cap. They are pretty nice to deal with in my experience.

Batteries need a charging profile that includes voltage to de-sulfate the battery plates, if you want your battery to last. No solar powered charger will do that, so you're in a "no free lunch" position. A solar charger will save on your power bill but will cost you more in replacement batteries (and aggravation). Bottom line, I'd buy a good quality charger, plug it in every time you park the boat and stop worrying about it. On-board chargers are nice but cost more due to their water and vibration proofing. Something like a Schumacher 1500A charger from Walmart will work fine as long as it doesn't get rained on.

Excruciating verbose detail? Ha ha. I resemble that remark! Making good crankbaits is an exacting job and takes time to learn, but it can be addicting. Balsa wood, Polycarbonate (aka Lexan) lips, Devcon Two Ton epoxy, Createx acrylic latex paints and a few pieces of equipment (especially an airbrush/compressor) and you're on your way. Read up on it. The Tackle Underground site has a number of member-submitted tutorials on the build process that can get you started.

If you want a technique specific dropshot rod, I really like the Shimano Crucial 6'8" CRS-DX68M. It's a M power rod with a light power, extra fast action 18" tip section that's specifically designed for dropshotting. JMHO, there is a difference between a ML power spinning rod and a dropshot rod, and the best dropshot rods have a "hinged action", combining a fast light tip and a stronger shaft. My CRS-DX68M is several years old and has cork grips. The newer versions have changed to black synthetic grips. At around $150 with a lifetime over-the-counter warranty, the Shimano is hard to beat. It will handle big bass and the tip section makes casting 3/16 oz dropshots and detecting bites easy.