BobP

They both have their place. I like baitcasting for anything heavier than 1/4 oz or line larger than 8lb. I like spinning for lighter stuff like dropshot or shaky heads, or when I want to skip lures under docks or overhanging trees. For me, a baitcaster works when I want pin point casts to cover. It's faster and I don't have to worry about line twist. On the other hand, I think spinning combos are inherently a little more sensitive and are easier to cast into the wind - and they don't backlash. Bottom line, you need both.

There's a stainless steel sleeve that fits over the main shaft and sits in that one-way bearing when the reel is closed. The bearing allows the sleeve and everything on the main shaft to rotate in only one direction. The small rods insde the bearing spin one way but when reversed, they grip the sleeve to prevent any movement. I clean mine by running a cloth clockwise around insde the bearing, then putting a tiny drop of oil on each rod.

Sure, why not? The only reels I won't go near saltwater with are ones with a magnesium frame, like a Chronarch 50MG.

If you get a great reel it can last indefinitely - with proper maintenance. Without it, they will still last forever but will need repairs IF you can get the parts. Curado 200's are 14 yrs old and many of them work better than new. I see some reels today (even own a few) that I like to fish better than my old green Curado 200's but doubt will last 10 yrs because of design limitations or doubts about whether there will be parts available in a few years. To me, the sweet spot for reel quality versus price is $140-200 right now - but that's JMHO based on MY experience.

I like to match line with water color, so simply saying "green" isn't enough. I like a light green and even use the light green Trilene fluorocarbon b/c it matches my water.

First cranks I've done in a couple of months - feels good to get back to it!

Yellow Rocket Fuel, Superlube Grease, Shimano Ace-2 Drag grease, Reel Butter oil (non spool bearings). There are lots of good spool bearing oils nowadays. Which is best depends on to what extent that last 5% of casting performance is important to you, how often you want to relube high speed spool bearings and the temperatures you fish in. Lower viscosity oils perform better but it's a trade-off because they get thrown out of bearings faster than higher viscosity oils. Temperature is important because the viscosity of most bearing oils tends to increase substantially below 50F. Yellow Rocket Fuel does this but I seldom fish in cold temps, so it's not an issue for me. It's a good "middle of the road" high speed bearing oil. Superlube is a white grease fortified with PTFE and works excellently well in reels. An 8 oz can of the stuff is reasonably priced at many NAPA stores and will last almost a lifetime. Don't lube a drag with anything other than a drag grease like Cal's or Shimano. They are based on thick/sticky cosmoline grease and that's what drags need to keep working properly.

Yep, the cast control knob is the little knob right beside the handle. Max magnets is fully clockwise (highest numbers). I'd suggest 12 or 14 lb monofilament line. No sense putting expensive fluorocarbon or braid on there until you get beyond the learning stage. You will find it easier to learn casting if you use 1/2 to 3/4 oz lures when starting out. When guys used to using spinning rods first start with baitcasters, I see lots of backlashes caused by trying to throw too hard. Like 21farms says, baitcasting depends on a consistent fluid casting stroke that loads up the rod tip. With a good set-up on the reel, it doesn't require much rod tip speed or a gigantic casting arc to get good casts from a baitcaster. I use an SX and set the cast control knob so that the lure will drop when I dip the tip of the rod, which is slightly tighter than "normal" in which you are told to set it so the lure begins slowly dropping to the ground when you hit the spool release. I also set the magnetic cast control about half way. That's enough control for consistent casts without having to worry about thumbing the reel or backlashing, if your casting strokes are good. I think the SX is actually one of the easiest and most consistent baitcasters to learn on. I think you'll like it.

I use a green Curado 200B5 with 5.0:1 gears for deep cranking and never had a problem catching up to a fish running toward the boat. Not saying you can't use a 6.2 ratio reel for deep cranking but it sure makes things easier with a lower ratio reel. Personally, I won't go below 5.0 ratio. As far as brand/model, that's player's choice and I would only say that it's important that the reel be able to make long casts that will let you get a deep diver into the strike zone for as long as possible.

Inshore "popping rods" are pretty popular for crankbait fishing. I use a 7'6" St Croix 76MM SCII and like it for small crankbaits in open water situations.

In clear water I have the best luck on natural color crankbaits with a fast retrieve. Generally, in clear water, you don't want the fish to get too good a look at your bait, that's why the fast retrieve. A Rapala Shadrap RS #5 or #7 in shad pattern burned over deep weed beds works well.

I think the use of a plastic versus metal part in a reel is an engineering design decision by Shimano Japan, not anything to do with the factory in Malaysia - and by the way, I've never had a plastic part in any Shimano reel I own go bad, ever. I bought a Japanese domestic market Shimano Biomaster spinning reel 6 years ago and it was made in Malaysia. The reel has worked perfectly and is still smooth as butter. I think the Abu Revos are also made in Malaysia and you don't hear much grousing about quality in that line either. Bottom line, you have to take every reel on its on merits regardless of who made it or where it was assembled. Can Shimano screw up? Of course! I'm not suggesting anyone take any reel on faith. But in my mind, they are still the gold standard in bass reel quality.

I much prefer baitcasters but I use a spinning rod anytime I might need to skip baits under overhanging vegetation or docks, or when I want a bait to drop vertically instead of penduluming back towards the boat. I know there are guys who can skip baits with a baitcaster, but I'm not one of them. I also know you can strip line off a baitcaster to get a vertical drop, but a spinning rod just makes it easier, especially if you're fishing a dropshot in deep water. I also think a spinning rod is naturally a bit more sensitive than a baitcaster in detecting bites. The downside is line handling and casting accuracy.

Javelin, you'll hear all kinds of opinions about scents. All you can do is try a few and judge for yourself how well they work. Personally, I didn't notice any increase in catch rates with Megastrike or Smelly Jelly but I feel Kickn' Bass did help. I haven't tried the others so can't comment on them. To me, it doesn't make a difference which Kickn Bass scent I use on a particular bait. I use anise-shad or garlic on jigs and craws and it works fine, so I don't think you need to match the scent to the prey species your bait represents. Bass are primarily sight feeders. First, it looks like prey so they engulf it. If the taste is acceptable, they keep it. If it's not, they can spit it out faster than any human can set a hook. So I believe the main function of a scent (including the salt in most soft plastics) is to extend the time you have between a bass picking up your bait and spitting it back out. It doesn't necessarily help all the time but it can mean a few extra fish in the boat.

A few years ago, I bought a Rogue blank from Jann's Netcraft and made a rod from it. Took it to Florida the next week and broke the tip section off in a screen door. I called up Jann's, told them what happened and they checked with Rogue to see about replacement. The Rogue factory replaced the blank at their manufacturing cost as a " customer consideration", saying they almost never hear of guys owning up to breakage being their fault. I thought that was a pretty sad statement about the honesty of the average guy. Of all the rods I've owned, exactly one had a verifiable factory defect in the blank. I'm usually pretty good with gear and rarely break a rod. It's one reason I never sprang for a GLX when Loomis had their 'no questions asked' replacement policy. I just can't see the logic in paying a premium price that includes the cost of insurance for all the hammerheads that treat their gear like crap.

Opinions differ about whether scents attract bass, get the bass to hold on longer, or maybe just mask odors that can be repulsive to bass. All you can do is try some and decide for yourself. I've tried several brands and the one I like best is Kickn' Bass, a fish oil based product that comes in Garlic, Anise-Shad, and Crawfish scents. It's strong stuff - especially the garlic, which will clear your sinuses and lasts for hours. I don't use scent all the time but I always use it on Senkos. It does a great job of lubricating the bait so that it just slides over the hook and up the line on the hookset instead of balling up on the hook and getting torn up. Aside from its attractant qualities, which I personally believe in, saving a few bucks a day on expensive plastics is enough reason for the $6 investment.

I've not seen any that worked better than Zoom's. I use a 3/0 EWG Gamakatsu hook, no weight. An oil based attractant (I like Kickin' Bass) will stop most of the tear-ups - the fluke will usually just slip right up onto the line without damage. As far as how to fish it, I catch more largemouth by dead sticking than any other retrieve.

If you're talking about higher prices for custom built wood lures - yes. Hand building crankbaits is labor-intensive and many builders have decided their labor is worth something.

Well, you'll eventually get a replacement reel or have to clean another. The best general purpose reel grease I know is Superlube. It's used in some factory repair shops and is sold at NAPA in 9 oz cans, which is enough to last a lifetime if all you're doing is lubing reels with it. It's a translucent white wheel bearing grease with PTFE (aka Teflon). Excellent stuff. Regular grease like Superlube should not be used on drag washers, however. For that, you want a thick cosmoline-based grease like Cal's or Shimano ACE-2 drag grease, which is sold by a few online reel repair shops. Drags become jerky and unreliable pretty quickly when lubed with regular grease.

Basically, photo finish baits are made by printing a pic of a real fish with an ink jet printer on tissue paper and gluing it to the sides of a crankbait. The tissue paper soaks up the glue and becomes semi-transparent so the fish pattern is what mostly shows. You have to find the pic on the internet, then correctly size it for your bait with photo software. A lot of guys apply the pic to a bait they have previously foiled. There have been several discussions about the technique on tackleunderground.com if you want more specific information.

Glass rods have a slower, more parabolic action which may help you get fish hooked on crankbaits into the boat. But there's no free lunch. They are also heavier and are less sensitive than graphite rods. Some like them, some don't. Rods can be made from a variety of materials and there are also crankbait rods made from a composite of fiberglass and graphite. I'd recommend trying a fiberglass or composite rod before you buy one.

I have 12 lb fluoro on my 50E. It's thin enough to cast well and strong enough to handle larger fish. Here in NC, I don't see a need for lighter line unless you are fishing ultra-clear water.

I think it would do virtually nothing to the action or the power. But the best solution may not be as simple as you want. To get a new reel seat and new cork over the butt of a tapered rod, you have to oversize their diameter and use what I consider excessive amounts of filler and epoxy when you glue them in their new, smaller diameter position on the blank. To avoid that, I have always removed rod guides until the new handle components will slide over the tip of the blank and down into position with a proper fit. Basically, it's like building a completely new rod - only you have to also strip the blank of many of its existing components without damaging the blank. Bottom line, it's not something I'd recommend trying unless your are into rod building anyway, or don't mind trashing the rod if you screw it up.

I use 6 lb Trilene fluoro and like it. If you close the bail manually and slightly underfil the spool, that does away with most fluoro handling problems. I've never had a bass break 6 lb line on a dropshot. You don't have to set the hook hard with a small sharp hook, just lift the rod and you're in business. If you're spooky about breaking 6 lb test, go larger. But the smaller the line, the more bites you'll get - especially if you fish clear water in N.Y. Since you mostly dropshot in open water where fighting fish through cover is not an issue, 6 lb holds up just fine.

I still use Devcon 2 Ton but it will yellow over a few years to some degree so I prefer using something else on white baits. Hey, let's face it - most clear finishes yellow as they age. The 5 minute Devcon doesn't just yellow - it turns brown pretty quickly. I won't use it anywhere on bait where it will show externally. If you are putting adhesive 3D eyes into sockets on a lead head that will be clearcoated with anything, I don't think you'd have a problem with the eyes coming out.