.ghoti.

One thing I forgot to mention. You already have the rod. Measure the inside diameter of the first guide up from the reel seat. The outside diameter of the spool should be no more than twice the inside diameter of the guide. This insures the best casting performance. I used to subsribe to the bigger spool is better theory. I only have two spinning rods and I used to use a pair of Quantum Energy PT reels; a size 30 and a size 40. I get a lot better casting with smaller reels. I currenty use a Supreme and a Supreme XT. One is a 30 and the other is a 25. Not sure off the top of my head which is which.

I bought TSI 321, the same lubricant with a solvent that is not harmful to plastics. It's an excellent lube. I do not like it for bearings. As baluga reported, your spool bearings will need attention less often when lubed with TSI. They WILL spin more freely. They will also be noisier. I don't like that. I think my reels should be seen and not heard. Where this stuff excels is on the levelwind. Once dry, it will pick up very little, if any, dirt or grit; but remains lubed for a long time. I use this lube for the most exposed components; levelwind worm gear and pawl, levelwind bearings, handle bearings, and the inner pinion gear bearings. I have one reel I'm doing an experiment on. Everything in the reel is lubed with TSI 321 except the drag washers. It's been that way since March. It performs very well, except for the noisier spool bearings. I left the spool bearings lubed with TSI anyway because I want to see if they will last all season. When I tear it down this winter I'll be looking it over with a loupe to see if I can spot any wear.

For bass fishing, using #12 line, you wont need any more than 3 or 4 ponds of drag. And, anything more than 50 yards of line is just filler. Save yourself some money and fill your new reel half way up with some el cheapo line of the same diameter as the Nanofil line you select. That way the 200 yard spool (or whatever it is) will do you for several re-spoolings.

Welcome aboard!! Good deal, I just signed up. Cheers, GK

I told my wife this one time. She gave me THE LOOK. You know what look. She said, I know what you paid for that stuff. And, she does.

I just received three of these. http://www.***.com/Ardent_Stainless_Steel_Casting_Reel_Handle/descpage-ARDSCR.html Four ball bearings handles that fit nicely on three of my Fuegos. The only additional part needed is the washer from the stock handle. On the Fuego schematic it is #91, part #F57-6601, friction washer. You'll find this washer stuck to the stock handle when you remove it. These handles are very smooth, a bit heavier than the stock handles, and just a bit longer. I did not measure them but they look to be 5mm longer than stock. Well worth the $30 price tag The knobs feel good, but I haven't had them out for a full day of cranking, so I'll reserve judgment on them. TW also has a carbon fiber version for 50 bucks. I've just ordered three of those for my Alphas. I'll let you know how they work out. Cheers, GK

I have a Fuego mounted on a Cumara. Itsa nice.

Too true, man, too true. It happens to all of us. I can't say how many times I've been distracted and missed one. Too may to count, I know. Might have been a deer coming down to the water. May have been a dear in a bikini. One thing I take away from the experience is the thought that now I know where a big one spends at least some of her time. You can bet I'll be back there during similar conditions.

An old, oft repeated piece of advice is to let the fish tell you what they want. Sounds to me like the fish are telling you something you don't want to hear. Just exactly like I used to be. If I wasn't tossin a crankbait, jerkbait, spinnerbait, buzzbait, topwater, I wasn't fishing. I am now almost totally in the other camp. I have hundreds of hard baits that almost never see the water. My advice; relax, slow down and enjoy what you have. Fall is right around the corner, and the moving baits will soon come into their own.

Here's the chart Berkley has published. NanoFil Diameter (in.) Mono Equiv (in.) 6lb .005 .009 8lb .006 .010 10lb .007 .011 12lb .008 .013 This suggests that their 6lb test line is indeed 6lb test, with a much smaller diameter than mono 6lb test.

It was four years ago you numbskull.

Billy died.... His will provided $30,000 for this elaborate funeral. As the last guests departed the affair, his wife, Joyce, turned to her oldest and dearest friend, Jonelle. "Well, I'm sure Billy would be pleased," she said. "I'm sure you're right," replied Jonelle, who lowered her voice and leaned in close. "How much did this really cost?" "All of it," said Joyce. "Thirty thousand dollars." "No!" Jonelle exclaimed. "I mean, it was very nice, but $30,000?" Joyce answered, "The funeral was $6,500. I donated $500 to the church. The whiskey, wine, food and snacks were another $500.. The rest went for the Memorial Stone." Jonelle quickly computed the total of $7,500 and said "$22,500 for a Memorial Stone? My God, how big is it?" Joyce answered, "Two and a half carats!”

One lazy Sunday morning the wife and I were quiet and thoughtful, sitting around the breakfast table when I said to her unexpectedly, "When I die, I want you to sell all my stuff, immediately." "Now why would you want me to do something like that?" she asked. "I figure a woman as fine as yourself would eventually remarry and I don't want some other a-hole using my stuff." She looked at me intently and said: "What makes you think I'd marry another a-hole?"

Top level college football is a great sport. But, sooner or later, it is going to have to be recognized for what it is. It's a business. It's a BIG business. Everybody involved makes a great deal of money. Except the players. There's a reason the football coach makes ten times the salary of the best professor on campus. Football brings in a tremendous amount of money. I think it's about time some of that money gets into the hands of the people who really make it happen; the players. It's not like they aren't already being paid to be there. Let's not be hypocritical about it. What the heck do you think a football scholarship is? The NFL is not interested in trying to establish a "farm" system. It already has an excellent no cost farm system. It's called the SEC, or Big 12, or Big 10, or........

I tried one for fishing and found it worthless. Even the slightest breeze will do it in. May be OK in the woods, but not out in the open. Don't even think about one of these things for a far north fishing trip. The skeeters, black flies and no-see-ums will eat you alive without 100% DEET.

At the RoadTrip this year, Mike was kind enough to give me several of his jigs. Two of them have been very productive for me this year. So much so that I haven't really used any other jigs at all so far. The larger of the two gets fished with a Lobster as a trailer and the smaller one gets a Baby Rage Craw. Deadly combos. When the fishing season is over I will be sending those both back to him so he came match 'em. I'll be stocking up on those, you can bet your hind-end. He makes a danged good jig, and is a heck of a nice guy to boot.

I have almost that setup. A St Croix LT 6'9" ML-XF rod and an Alphas 103F spooled with #8 XL. I normally use this combo for wacky jigs and drop shotting. Last year, fishing for trout on the White River, I was throwing a 1/16oz hair jig. Had no problems hitting the bank from 40 feet out. I have another 103F on a GLX BCR852. Throwing a 1/16oz hair jig on that combo is not at all effective. It's more about the rod than the reel.

1. Boulevard 2. Kendal-Jackson 3. Blue Collar Comedy Radio 4. Montecristo 5. Vignoble Grateaud 6. Starbucks 7. Victoria's Secret Wouldn't you like to see the wrap on that boat?

My favorite local fishin hole has died. I was there this past Sunday and all was fine. I went out Monday evening, and found quite a few dead bluegill, and a few small bass belly up. Went back Tuesday evening, and it appears that every fish in the lake is dead. It is a horrible sight. The surface is littered with dead and rotting fish. Bluegill, red-ear, crappie, bass and channel cat. Hundreds and hundreds of dead fish, with some very nice trophy specimens. There are at least 75 bass floating that were in the 4 - 6 pound range. Didn't see any that looked bigger than 6. Saw a lot of red-ear hybrids in the 1 - 1.5 pound range, and too many 16+ inch crappie to count. This is a small 10 acre impoundment; my go to place for a quick outing. I've been fishing here for the last 20+ years. Here in Illinois, a 4 pounder is a big fish. A five pounder is a really big fish, and a 6 is a giant. I've caught two bass in my life that were over 8. One of them came from this lake. I've caught three over 7. Two of those came from this little lake. In the past 20 years I've caught maybe a hundred 5 pounders and a dozen 6 pounders, and at least 80% of them came from here. That's 5 or 6 really nice fish per year. I know I have a lot of choices in my area for places to fish. But none of them have the potential that this place had until this week. I am truly going to miss it. I have a very good idea what led to this mess. It's a long story, and I won't go into here. I hope the people who manage this place are able to learn from their mistakes. If they can, this former gem can be restored in my lifetime. I'm normally a fairly optimistic guy, but I've seen what they've done here, and I'd guesstimate the chances of a seeing a proper restoration program implemented at about one in four.

I have one of these. http://www.orsracksdirect.com/inno-zr355-zr356-fishing-rod-racks.html Fits nicely in a Jeep Commander. I got the 8 rod version, and almost immediately wished that I had bought the 14 rod version.

I always peg, with these; http://www.***.com/Danielson_Rubber_Bobber_Stops_10pk/descpage-DANBOBR.html

skunked, that sounds like my line-up. 6 Fuegos, 4 Alphas, 3 Zillions and a Viento. I've been hoping an American version of the Z would show up, and it has. But at $650, I will not be trying one. The T3 is also one I've been looking forward to. I might just have to pony up for one of those when they get here in the fall.

If you get WFN, they will be reporting from the event.

it's a wrasse. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=wrasse+fish&qpvt=wrasse+fish&FORM=IGRE

I fyou're not throwing your cranks into heavy cover, your setup is fine. No matter what you're using, you simply will not land evry fish you hook on a crankbait. Just the way it is. Going to mono will not be much of change. When throwing squrebills, you not fishing deep enough to see the flouro advantage, wich is getting your cranks a little bit deeper. And, no matter what the propoganda says, flouro stretches as much as mono. The difference is, flouro does not recover from being stretched as well as mono does. If flouro is working for you, there's no need to change. Two simple suggestions: make sure your hooks are sticky sharp. Change them out if they're not. And, you might go up to #10 line. You'll lose a litle distance, but you'll get a better hookset.