Goose52

X2. I only have one experience - with a G. Loomis rod, but have the same type of story. I broke 11" off the tip of my trusty Loomis GLX BSR852 spinning rod (previous generation w/brown blank) - a combination of being snagged (with braided line), having a drifting boat, then a SNAP. Totally my fault and NO fault of the rod. The rod at the time it broke had brought in 2,226 fish so obviously no latent defect in the rod. Explained that it was my fault to the Loomis customer service guy on the phone and also in the letter that I enclosed with the returned rod. End result - I was $35 out-of-pocket and had a NEW, current generation, GLX 852S JWR at my door - and pretty fast too. Happy camper here - at least on that one experience. The story of the outcome was here: RIP GLX BSR852

Rod ordered... Thanks!

X6. My LMB 9.5 PB was caught on an Academy H2O "Rattlin'T" lipless crank.

It's not a kayak, but I have stored my canoe for the last six years on it's side, on a wheeled dolly. Roll it against the garage wall and I can still fit a car in that garage bay.

To use for what? The answer would be different depending on the intended application. Many folks are of the opinion that for bottom contact, it's all about the rod; and for moving baits, it's all about the reel. Other folks tend to match the rod and reel equally. It all depends...

Best reel for cheap. How cheap is cheap? Freshwater or saltwater? A Pflueger President 40-size will hold about 120 yards of 20lb mono for $60. Can't say if there would be any line management issues on that size spool however. There's a bunch of fairly inexpensive spinning reels intended for saltwater inshore fishing that will hold plenty of 20lb - some as low as $40. Check out the saltwater spinning reel section on the BPS web site to get some ideas...

I took a photo of this Norman Deep Little N for another thread a while back. Soon after taking the photo, it was lost in action, snagged on the bottom in 10 fow. Tried a plug knocker on it for a LONG time but no go. It was well over the century mark on bass caught at the time it was lost. RIP DLN...

X2. I have used eReplacementParts.com several times for both Pflueger reels and other gear. No worries.

Two extra bearings in the Scorpion (7 vs 5 in the Curado I) - probably in the knobs. I have the Scorpion but the schematic is in the box...which is in the attic and not handy right now. For specs, here's some links: Shimano USA Shimano Japan (use Google translate)

Board member "Frog Turds" is a "toon" kinda guy and has made quite a few mods to his boat. If he doesn't show up on this thread in a day or so you might send him a PM.

OUTSTANDING ! New gear AND a fish in the photo AND it's a nice peacock... I'm a native Floridian and grew up in Dade County - but NO peacocks back when I was there - dang!

A suction cup mount came with my first sonar unit. I never used it. While it might (or might not) stay attached during normal operation in open water, I occasionally have to get through some pretty heavy slop and figured it probably wouldn't stay attached going through the heavy stuff. I opted for the SlideTrax Transducer Deployment Arm. If you have a place to mount it on your canoe, after you launch you fold it down into the water. Going through slop or when you get ready to land, rotate the arm up and the transducer is out of the water. I spent quite a bit of time just this morning with both the TM and transducer out of the water, paddling through incredibly thick curly-leafed pondweed. Another thought - if you now have, or plan to get, side-imaging sonar, the transducer has to be below the bottom of the hull so a suction cup mount would not work very well for that application.

Now you need to add line and fish slime...

I now have so many round reels, including several with 26"-28" IPTs, that it's an effort to get them quality time on the water. So, I might skip the HG for now... ...but it's so easy to click the mouse a couple times and all of a sudden one could be inbound... I'm glad JLS is out of stock for now!!

Numbers bait? Easy - 5" single tail grub. Can be rigged many ways and occasionally can catch size as well as numbers. I've caught 2907 fish on 5" grubs in the last 5 1/2 seasons. Honorable mention goes to 3" and 4" stick worms - 1503 fish on them in the same period. 5" grub fish...

I do exactly what iabass8 described. If your Walmart doesn't have an auto service entrance (or an auto service department), you might want to ask an employee in the automotive parts area how they handle the core returns.

The 6940 is a huge (for bass fishing at any rate) spinning reel with a stated capacity of 230 yards of 10lb line. Big reel normally means big rod. I would expect to see a reel like that on a 7'6" MH rod (or longer and/or heavier action) and used in saltwater or in freshwater for species larger than bass. You might get some more informative answers if you can specify the species you intent to target, or the weight of the baits that you intend to toss, or both; and whether you intend on fishing freshwater only, or saltwater as well. Welcome to BR. You ask a question and you get three questions back...

I've caught a number of grass carp but only once did one take an artificial - it hit a lipless crank on the fall - perhaps thinking it was plant matter. Otherwise, all the grass carp that I've landed have been snagged/foul hooked while fishing treble hook baits for bass. I don't specifically target them since, like in your case, they are placed in the lake for aquatic weed control. If you search in the "Other Fish Species" forum, there have been a number of threads about how to target them - including chumming with corn as mentioned by CeeJay. If the grass carp in your lake are "only" 15-20 pounds - then they're not even at 1/2 size yet. If they get enough to eat, they will get MUCH heavier...

Yo-Zuri Hybrid Ultrasoft... ...I have a lot of it...

5.9 ounces - this is the close-out of the 1st gen model. Some issues with this reel when it was first released but most folks since then have given them favorable reviews: http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Johnny-Morris-CarbonLite-A-Baitcast-Reel/product/1110020501438/ There's lots of 6 to 7oz class reels nowadays - from most manufacturers - just depends on your price range...

The PQ palms about the same as many LP reels - especially it's OEM cousins from Abu and Lew's. 8.6 ounces heavy? Maybe by today's standards but fortunately I'm only 62 years old and not bothered by an 8.6 ounce reel. Perhaps when I'm in my 80s it might be an issue...

Glad you scored while you could ! I'll get on the HG bandwagon eventually...but I'm not in a big hurry...

You can look at the specifications on the Daiwa web site. For shopping, there are deals to be had on Tatula stuff - especially on eBay.

If you're considering Daiwa - look at the Tatula rods and reels. Both are available within your price point and both rod and reel offer performance way above that price point...

Shimano Metanium DC Reel - Initial Review / Impressions