flechero

I wouldn't tie a gallon jug of water to the end of my line and swing it around with a swimbait rod... and that is only 8 lbs. The most recommended drag settings are to go 1/4-1/3 of line rating with mono and if you use braid go with 1/4-1/3 of the rods mid range of line rating. Edited to add: if you use 75% of line strength or whatever was mentioned above, you'll be lucky if you only break off a fish or pull hooks out at the side of the boat... it could get real expensive if you aren't very lucky... I guess it works fine on smaller fish but i would hate to see you post about a PB that broke off due to a drag setting. That would be a real shame.

To you guys who don't understand how this works, let me try a simple analogy: Take a long stick (or even a rod/reel) of some sort and hold in in the middle (or in front of the reel) where it will sit level [balance] in your hand without you having to apply pressure... it feels like whatever the weight is. Now with the same stick/rod hold the end or rear part of the grip and it will feel much heavier to hold it level. That illustrates the difference in the balanced version. With the "lighter" feel, in most cases, you have the ability to detect a lighter tick, pull or movement of the line and that's why people say it's more "sensitive". If you were to buy a lighter reel and then balance the combo, you'd still have the same weight rod and also have the balance. But as pointed out, it all comes back to preference of feel. Some love it and some hate it, but very few are indifferent on it. ...lol

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/recreational/fishreport.phtml They are usually updated on Thursdays.

Or just get another spool for the MG (curado 100B is a direct swap) I have 5 MG's and 4 of them have curado spools in them. A deeper spool is a must when you use heavy lines like #17 or #20 XT. I like the MG so much better that I think it's worth the cost, plus the extra $30 for another spool. (I use the MG spools as spares with lighter mono or braid)

I know we have a bunch of guys watching The Unit... Who else was surprised to see Hector get killed? I kept thinking it would end up being a hallucination of Gray while he was near death. I wonder if they have a new character to add or if they will send them out in smaller groups for a while as they sometimes do.

I think they are the most overlooked tool in fishing. You just can't use them in timber, but anyplace else they are great. There have been a few threads on them... search for "Drift Sock" and any date, and you will find several threads with specific reviews. I've fished many days that I would have had to stay home if I didn't carry one. And had a few banner days because of the drift sock.

D S V D Series Saltwater Version You'll notice there is no drilled spool on the DSV, this is because the saltwater will enter the drilled spool, and into the bearing packs and crank assembly if used. I thought it stood for Deep Spool Version, since it has the deep spool with more line capacity than the "regular" one. Learn something new everyday...

Yes, we'll have a couple isolated 2-5 day periods of cold and that's about it. Most of our fish go deep for the summer, not the winter.

Sinking brush and bricks into your pool to show a buddy the difference in feel, between a fish and the brush/rocks. (my wife was not impressed, but it made his learning curve about 3 casts)

Chris, My favorite part of the pic is that you are lipping the lure, not the fish!! Absolutely priceless!!! Great shot.

There are a lot of factors that go into this but if I was starting over, I would start with a 7 wt. It's by far my most used rod. I use it for fresh and saltwater, large and small mouth bass. I can fish big flies if I want to or I can punch into the wind on the coast. Wind is the biggest consideration for me. (and my home lakes and the TX coast are notoriously windy) Now to be honest, I don't panfish and I rarely trout fish... but I love my little 2 wt rod!

I used to live in Toronto.... as bad as things seem here, I'll gladly stay here,with my overpriced insurance and prescription plans...

people often mention a loop wrapping around the tip top when using braid... when spiraled, the tip is on the bottom, it will happen less often, if at all.

and sometimes it's all with the same angler. ...lol

most people prefer moderate or mod-fast action for cranking. I much prefer graphite.

I think the "bang to hype" ratio is out of proportion on the 2's & 3's. Are you open to other suggestions? I don't think I'm alone in that my interest in Loomis begins with IMX. I think GL2 and GL3 are good rods, don't get me wrong, but I think there are better options for those price ranges. For example, if I were on a GL2 budget, I would be looking some of the All Star & Shimano rods, maybe even others. For GL3 money, or a few bucks more, you can get IMX on ebay or "like new" in the flea market. I think it's worth the extra time and effort to save for IMX. (assuming you plan to use this as a worm/jig/ or other feel type rod) If you are set on a 2 or 3, I'd go 2, because I think it's a better value for the dollars. Sorry if I came off as the Grinch. ...lol

Try a search on insurance in this section, it gets talked about a couple times per year. I remember there were a couple past threads with a lot of good info. I am with State Farm now, I was with Farmers- but for a time they quit writing boats so I switched. Back when I shopped it around, they (State Farm) were very competitive. I can't comment on the claims service these days.

add GPS graphs and custom rods. edited to add 4x4 trucks and glass boats (but I have a company gas card that works on weekends too!!)

Sounds like a run of bad luck.... Hopefully it gets corrected soon. I never had the exact same problems you did but due to similar circumstances, I buy reels in person (locally) almost exclusively. (and rods when I was buying factory built) In fact, I buy everything I can in person, I hate dealing with mail order returns. My experience with BPS has always been pretty good but I haven't ordered from them lately. As mentioned, there are a bunch of options for your fishing dollars...

always the lightest possible weight I can get away with. I also use free sliding (tungsten) and peg it. I like the idea behind the screw in but never liked in in use.

But $3k of that was in equipment - so if you save about $170/month, you could do the trip part in 12 months!! ...lol ;D

That would be me. You were the first one who came to mind when I wrote that!

;D ;D Classic!! It is funny to me that I'm only in my mid 30's and feel old around here at times. You younger guys weren't around when ALL the tournaments were no nets. So we never used them. Now a days, I can't have a net in the boat without tangling everything up in it. Besides, I'm extremely proficient at getting hooks out of other people's hands. There is nothing like minor surgery and a cold miller lite as the sun comes up!! Bass thumb is just proof to the wife that I actually went to the lake. ...lol Just kidding... but she usually looks at my hand as she asks how the fishing was.

I used to buy ALL my reels refurbed from Southwestern Parts and Service, the ABU service center for my part of the country. I bought over 15 of them in the 90's- and aside from a scratch or two... half price reels that were warranted as new was a perfect solution to my problems of not enough $ in the pocket!

This is like most stuff, preference has a lot to do with it. I like graphite. Glass is only better (in my mind) when using BIG DEEP divers that produce a lot of resistance. And ONLY then because glass is so much heavier that it helps reduce angler fatigue since the weight of the glass helps to counter the resistance of those real deep divers. If I was going to crank DD-22's or Mann's 30+ baits all day, I might use glass. Short of that, I'm only using graphite. But there are a number of guys here that really like glass rods.