.ghoti.

I've tried a lot of them, and the only one I continue to subscribe to is In- Fisherman. I'm a recent subscriber to BAM. I've only received two copies so far, but I AM IMPRESSED. This from an old fart who is not easily impressed.

Hey Jack, how ya doin'? Long time, no see. How's Rick? Send your reels to Mike at DVT. He gets a lot of positive reviews here. I've never seen anything negative posted about his work. And, he has a BR member's discount. Cheers, GK

curried asparagus anyone?

The last 7 or 8 vehicles I've had were bought new and traded in at 150K+ miles. Takes me about 4 years to get one to that point. Never had an engine failure using regular oil changes at 3000 mile intervals.

They aren't necessarily cheaper; there are just fewer "high end" spinning reels on the market. Look at the Steez spinning reel compared to the Steez baitcaster for an example.

Is there a bearing, or two, supporting the pinion gear on this reel? That would be the next place I would look.

Take a good look at the spool shims. Sounds like maybe one of them, probably the one in the tension knob, is dented, off-center, or tilted.

I had two JM reels, and they were both solid performers. Very smooth, good casters, good brakes, but heavy and larger. I've had Roadwarrior's Pinnacle combo in my hands, and between those two reels, I would have try the Pinnacle.

Wow. Sounds like something is out of alignment if you're going through gear sets that quickly. Shouldn't be happening. I've never had a Smoke apart, so I can offer no advice except to take it apart and see if you have all the parts, and that they're in the correct position / orientation. Back when I had several Quantum reels, I had very good response from their online service division. It's something like tackleservice *. Look them up and give them a shout. Very good help in my experience.

Looks like he was getting those 93 - 99 meter casts with the new Antares, not the Calcutta. Impressive as all get out, whatever reel he was using. The Antares could make me switch from Daiwa. Maybe. ????

I'm pretty user I've never fished a white bream pooper. Check out the bass fly selection at flyshack. good variety, excellent prices and fast free shipping.

I started thinking seriously about this a couple of years ago. There is a lot of misinformation being peddled as fact by the marketing folks. I'm old enough to remember the "before graphite" days. Back then nobody talked about the sensitivity of a fishing rod. The term sensitivity made it into the vernacular when graphite hit the market. It was one of ways graphite rods were marketed to unbelieving anglers. A lot of fishermen wanted nothing to do with graphite in the early days. We mostly wanted our tried and true, nearly indestructible glass rods. To be clear about, the earliest graphite rods were very brittle, and not at all durable. A lot of people, myself included, broke the first graphite rod we bought, and did so rather easily, and soon. But things got better very quickly. The bugs got worked out of materials and processes almost as fast as the complaints flew. In very short order everybody had a graphite rod on the market. At the time choices for graphite materials were limited. Everybody's rods were basically made from the same stuff. From the same manufacturer. Tackle companies tried to differentiate their products from others buy touting their "superior sensitivity". The Sensitivity War had begun. And has never ended. The term has been beaten so far into our consciousness that we can't help ourselves. We simply will not even consider purchasing a rod that does not scream sensitivity in every conceivable marketing venue. What I do not want to get into here is discussion of IM6 vs IM7 vs IM????. The terms are meaningless as a basis for comparison. Ditto the "new" version; 30ton, 40ton, megaton, whatever. Who know what the flame any of that means? I hate to even mention modulus, or the be properly technical, "the modulus of elasticity; maybe the most abused term in the history of hyperbole. What I want to discuss is how we perceive this. I began by wondering which of my fingers was the most sensitive to the vibrations transmitted by the rod blank. The thought came about because I hold the rod/reel combo differently depending upon the application. When fishing bottom contact baits; jigs and plastics, I hold my baitcaster with the trigger behind my little finger. When fishing moving baits; cranks and spinnerbaits, I hold it with the trigger between my middle finger and forefinger, or between ring and middle finger. So, in the first case, either my little finger or ring finger, or both, was in contact with the blank. In the second case, middle or forefinger. Wanting to know, and in the best tradition of the scientific method, I formulated a hypothesis, designed an experiment to test said hypothesis and started making observations with the eventual outcome being a rational theory. The basis of the hypothesis was; my little finger, being the weakest and least used of the lot, would be the most sensitive, and the middle finger, being the strongest, would be the least sensitive. So the experiment began at the beginning of the 2010 fishing season. Note: this is the kind of thing that can and will occur to a techno-geek over a long hard winter. I started trying to take note of what I felt upon every tick, tap, pull, tug, yank, drop, stop, plop, plop, fizz, fizz, etc. At first this was quite difficult to do. Over time I acquired the proper mental focus to begin making useful observations. I found this was only possible when fishing by myself. So I continued for all of 2010 and 2011. And since I fish alone more often than not, I was able make and record quite few observations. At the beginning I was quite sure my hypothesis would be proved correct. I thought I was on the right track. So much for thoughtin". I could not have been more wrong in my assumptions. What I discovered was simple. None of my brazillion megaton, hyper-modulus, nano-fractal resinous wonders of modern technology fish sticks sent any vibrations down the blank that were detectable by my fingers, no matter where I placed said fingers. Depending on how I held the rod, and at what angle my wrist was relative to my fore-arm, I felt the strikes either in my hand, or in my wrist. Not in my fingers. For all that my fingers told me about what was happening at the end of my line, I may as well have had them jammed up my nose. I proved my hypothesis thank you very much. Proved it to be dead wrong. I know this flies directly in the face of what you've been told over and over and over, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. It contradicts what I believed to be the truth of the matter. But I can scarcely discredit my own observations. My final thought on the matter is this. Almost all R&D being done regarding rods seems to be focused on materials and processes. I think we may need to start looking at ergonomics. Ergonomics as it applies to perception and not comfort or stress. I'm hoping some young researcher, looking to make a name for himself, will take up the idea, and design a reel seat/grip form that increases sensitivity by putting the hand, wrist and fingers in the most receptive position. OK folks. Let me have it.

I found this site while looking for something else; don't remember what. I joined and said to myself, Self, let's poke around on here for a couple of weeks and see what this is all about. Maybe I'll learn something. I had to go look it up. I've been hangin around here since 2005. The last thing I expected was to be an active part of this for this long. This IS a wonderful place to hang out. I have learned a lot by doing so. I hope that some of what I've posted has been of some benefit to others. I fished all my childhood; with parents, grandparents, etc. Then I went out on the road; stopped fishing and took up golf. That lasted about a 12 years. Started fishing again at about age 30. At that time, it seemed that the public perception of fishing was that the sport was somehow rather low class. Fishermen were folks who went out, sat on the bank drowning worms and drinking beer. And I didn't see many young folks at all. I remember thinking at the time what a shame that was. I started fishing, after the foolish hiatus, looking for some peace and quiet. I found it. I haven't lost it since. Fishing, for me, is an art of relaxation and meditation. It's really a Zen activity. My favorite moments are getting on the water as the sun is coming up; when there's a thick mist on the water and no wind. It feels like I'm floating on a cloud. All is quiet. A serene peace descends on my spirit, and all is right with the world. It's like music; at the edge of silence. I cherish these rare times, and have been known to float as longs as it lasts, unwilling to break the spell by picking up a rod. I believe that there are many folks, who don't fish, who could benefit from the peace of fishing. What is truly encouraging today is the numbers of young folks who are fishing, and fishing a lot. A lot of Bass Resource members are young folks. But then a whole bunch of people look like young folks to an old fart like me. I think it is very positive sign that so many youngsters fish. Many, it's true are obsessed wiht the competitive side of the game. Nothing wrong with that per se. But that ain't the whole story. I hope that most, if not all, who focus on fishing as competition, come eventually to realize the harmonious aspects of the sport, and let a little peace into their souls. That's my latest piece of advice to you young guys. Relax sometimes. Enjoy where you are. Soak up some peace. Such moments are rare, and to my mind, are becoming harder to find, and thus more precious. And that's about all the warm and fuzzy you're gonna get from me at one time. Back to being the wise-arsed old fart. Cheers, GK

You betcha. A shitake; if you leave off a few letters. LOL

Just noticed on the right side of the page. There's a bigger list of sponsors. How cool is that? I know, I'm a bit slow on the uptake sometimes. But I'm a fun guy.

I have, and use, Pointers and X-Raps. As they become lost or damaged, I will be replacing the X-Raps. I will not replace the Pointers. I see no advantage to paying twice the price for a jerkbait. Others will no doubt disagree with this position. My judgment is based on my experiences.

Imagine you've tied on a 1/8oz jig on that rod, and tried to cast it. The rod would not load (flex) with a lure weight that low. It would be like casting with a broomstick. Now, tie on a 3oz swimbait. The rod would load very deeply into the blank. It would flex during the cast much farther than would be efficient. Do this, and put too much effort into the cast and your rod could snap.

I won't sharpen a hook. Jst tie on a new one if it gets too dull. I do sharpen jig and spinnerbait hooks occasionally. It kind of rare for me to have a jig long enough for it to get dull; I tend to leave a lot of jigs stuck in rocks, wood, etc. I will shaerpen when though if I manage to keep it long enough. Ditto for spinnerbaits. They break, that's just the way it is, but I sharpen spinnerbait hooks more than jig hooks. I use Gerber sharpener that looks like a pen; even has a pocket clip like a pen, and is about the same size. Twist the top ring and a diamond rod will extend. It's round with one flattened side, with a fine diamond grit. This thing has worked very nicely for better than a decade. It may last another decade of I don't drop it in a lake.

I really can't think of color I've seen for sale that I wouldn't try. Having said that, there are many colors I simply don't buy. I've been trying to get my plastics selections under control for several years. I'm following two concepts in this effort. Limit the number of selections within a particular type. For example, I buy Zoom Salty Super Flukes and Yum Houdini Shads. I no longer buy any other fluke-type baits. I try to follow that concept with other types, such as craws, straight worms, curl-tails worms, creatures, tubes, etc. The other concept is to buy only a few key colors of each individual bait. Tjose are my guiding principles fro soft plastic bait selection. What colors depends on what's availble within each baits line-up. To keep it simple i want something dark blue, or black/blue; something like red shad; watermelon/red flake, pumpkin/dark flake, and that's about it. Even more simply put; blue, red, green and orange or brown. I started this quest about four years ago. At this point, I have more plastics than I had when I started, so the effort can only be called a miserable failure.When I started I had four BPS double sided binder bags. Now I have seven. Oh, well; the quest continues.

Interesting question. I can't think of a soft plastic color, that I've tried, that hasn't produced at least one time or another.

Thanks DVT, thanks a lot. I have coffee dribbling out of my nose and it's all down the front of my shirt and all over my keyboard. I owe you one. And I always pay up.

I have a 6'9" ML Veritas spinning rod. Don't use spinning gear that much. I bought this rod for my twice a year trips to the White River, trout fishing. Didn't want to spend a lot on a rod that would see such limited use, so I decided to try this one, and I have never regretted it. It is light and more sensitive that I expected. I like it well enough that I actually use for more than just the trout trips. If I were in the market for another casting rod, and didn't want to spend a lot, I'd get Veritas. But, I would do what a few others have suggested, and buy the model one power lighter than what you think you need. Mine feels to me more like a medium power rod than a ML. And yes, I'd buy another even though they are flat fugly. I really don't like that white finish.

I remember a seminar where Rick Clunn explained his "system". Not only does he use the same rod; a 7'H-F, but used the same reel, with the same gear ratio, and the same line. So, at that time, every one of his combos was identical. 7" H-F rod, 6.3:1 reel and 25lb flouro line. He claimed that when he wanted to make a bait change, everything felt and performed exactly the same, so he was more efficient. I didn't buy the idea then and don't buy it now. It doesn't make sense. How can that setup, with a 1/4oz crankbait tied on, feel and perform exactly same as it would with a 1oz jig tied on? If it doesn't make sense with identical components, how can it make sense with different ones? Even if they are from the same manufacturer? I have rods from a wide variety of companies. They all feel different in some way, and they would if they were all from the same manufacturer. Different lengths, power, action, handle length, grip materials, reel seats and balance points. Putting the same reel on all of them would not change those differences, so it makes no sense to have all identical reels.

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger if you booger up that screw. You will not be the first guy to do so. I totally stripped the first one i encountered. I managed to find a screw extractor small enough to fit, and promptly broke it trying to remove that dad-blasted little &^$*&%$*&^%. I finally got out the trusty dremel with a very thin cutting disc. These discs come in a small plastic tube; must be 15 or 20 of them in the tube. I don't know how many exactly, but I went through the entire tube getting a groove, deep enough to take a straight screwdriver, cut into the head of that screw. I now keep a couple of replacement screws on hand. The good news is, once you get it out the first time, subsequent removals are much easier.

I do like RW's original post. It sums up his attitude very well. I've fished with him several times. and can tell you he is a great guy to share a boat with. He truly wants to help others advance their knowledge of this game. My post about stats came off a bit snotty. Some of my posts just seem to do that. I'm not really a snotty bastage, but I will admit to being a wise-*** from time to time. My approach to statistics varies from a healthy skepticism down to outright disdain. That was what my first post in this thread was intended to convey. Then I got into wise-*** mode and made the 97% statement. A little BS with a large grain of truth in it. I've caught two bass a little over 8, three 7 pounders, six 6 pounders and maybe ten 5 pounders. Those are fish that made it onto a scale, not eyeballed. About twenty trophy sized fish for the areas I frequent. And that's over a thirty+ year period. Way less than one trophy per year. I couldn't tell you how many days fishing that is, much less how many hours. So, put me in the 5% group through sheer perseverance.