.ghoti.

I'm 61, and while I'm not as good as I once was, I'm as good once as I ever was.

I have that blue TD-Z and I'm almost afraid to fish it. I've only had it out twice. I'm not at all into mating rods with reels based on what they look like together, but that Z looks SHWEEEET on an LTB.

If that were mine, I would polish the sharp edges off that nick. Get out the dremel, felt wheel and polishing compound. No need to try to get it all, just knock the edges off.

Got this nice load of loot from Norcalbassin. Thank you Chad. I'll post some pics as soon as I figure out how to do that with my iPad.

PSN81, why don't you do the experiment, since you already have the lube. Then let us all know how it performed. I'm all for experimentation. I've tried a lot of different lubes over the years, looking for the "best". I've come to the conclusion there is no "best" lube. And there are no magic lubes. This is a great way to start an argument. There are some folks who believe their way is the best and only way, and if you're doing something different, then your wife is ugly and your kids are stupid. In that spirit, here is my way. Drag washers and gears get either Shimano drag grease or Cal's drag grease. I have both and can't tell the difference, in use. I use the same grease for both drags and gears because if there is going to be any cross contamination, this is the place for it to occur. Spool bearing get TSI321 I've tried everything I could find for this application, and TSI321 gives me what I'm looking for in a spool bearing lube. If you're one of those folks who service your reel once per year no matter what, this might be the lube for you. If you use any of the very light, low viscosity bearings lubes; such as rocket fuel, once per year is not often enough. Yopu need something heavier, or need to apply a lot more often. TSI solves that problem; giving me the high speed performance of a very light oil, but will last all summer. Other bearings get 90wt gear oil. I used to grease all frame bearings, but getting them clean while servicing either takes a long, long time, and an ultrasonic cleaning unit. Gear oil gives almost the same smooth feel and cleans up a lot quicker and easier. The levelwind is the most problematic part of a baitcast reel. It's a worm gear, exposed to the elements. If you grease it, grit will stick to the grease, and work it's way into the gear, causing wear. Ditto if you use gear oil. If you use light oil it will wash out fairly quickly; again, causing wear. I've been using TSI321 on all levelwind components for the last three years, with excellent results. Any sliding parts, like the clutch mechanism, get TSI321. So to answer the original question; Cal's and Shimano grease are both made for reels. TSI and 90wt gear oil are not. Lube is lube, and there's nothing that says gease or oil nor specifically labelled for fishing reels won't work just fine. An example that comes to mind is what's known as spindle oil. If you have a machine shop nearby, see if they will give you a small sample. It's only sold in bulk quantities. I used this stuff for years as spool bearing lube. It was a nice compromise. Thin enough to give good casting performance, and longer lasting. Granted, there will be application specific issues. You would not want to pack your spool bearings with grease, and you wouldn't want to use light weight bearing oil on your gears, but a little common sense can guide you.

Welcome back, young man. Are we all here? Is that an existential question?

fuhgetaboudit

Fish deep offshore structure in the middle of the day, and slow down. Then slow down some more.

For me, a jerkbait rod has to have a short handle. I use a tip down retrieve so 6'6" is about the max length. I'm about 6'1" and a 7' rod is way too long for me. My current jerkbait setup is a Setyr 6'6" M-XF rod, Daiwa Viento reel, 10lb mono. This is the cheapest combo in my rsenal, and the least used.

The one zi ordered just came in. Wow, what a smooth reel. I have a trout trip starting Sunday. I've spooled the new reel up with #4 Abrazx, and mounted it on a Steez 7' ML rod. I'll post a review when we get back.

I bought about 100 bucks worth last week. Got a BIG box of goodies I won't be able to use for quite a while.

Gammy EWG and Owner Rig-N hooks are about all I buy. You can keep your straight shank hooks. They don't work for me at all.

People who call me "Hey" get shot. People who call me "You" get shot again. Speeedbead is right on the money. Everybody calls me Gotti; like the gangster. At least it's not Goatey.

Placed my order Saturday. Somebody should be looking for a package from Siebert Outdoors.

Well, hello Roger. Where've you been lately. At least I'm an honest thief. I owned up to the crime. LOL

I've always heard that George Bernard Shaw coined the term. I stole it.

Old Wiley may not have gotten dinner, but look at how much fun he had.

Cheyenne pepper?

Thanks for the reminder of my advanced age and impending decrepitude, Lee. It's good to be able to rely on our buddies. LOL

almost forgot the deadline.. just got my order in and sent to the unlucky recipient who got stuck with me. hoe he finds it was worth the wait.

to be called bourbon, the whisjy has to be greater than 50% corn, and must be aged in a charred oak barrel. doesn't have to come from Kentucky, but some pretty good stuff doers.

You're most welcome, Mark. If you haven't tried it yet, I recommend Black Label Bushmills. Irish, not scotch, and somewhat difficult to find, but well worth the effort. You used to have to go to Ireland to get a bottle of this stuff. They now export it, but not in great quantities. Bushmills has been making whisky since 1609, and they've worked all the bugs put of the process I've also been enjoying Berheim Wheat Whisky. It's bourbon made entirely from wheat, so they can't call it bourbon. Very smooth and tasty. Again, not the easiest stuff to find, but well worth it. One last rec; Vignoble Grateaud cognac. I've only seen this for sale at one location, and I get a bottle every year when their single shipment comes in. This stuff comes from a small farm in France. They produce nothing but cognac. They've been doing that for about a dozen generations, and I think they've got it pretty well figured out.

Ah crap, I forgot all about that. I emptied out the back of the Jeep, and stashed that spool of line you gave in the garage. I'll dig it out and give it a shot. I just ordered a few spools of super natural from TW. Had to pick up a few ods and ends for an upcoming trout trip, and added some line to get the order up over the free shipping threshhold. Probably ordered one spool I didn't need. What an awesome memory I have. LOL

This is what works for me. I use all Daiwa reels with MagForce braking, so take this with that in mind. Spool tension set just barely tight enough to keep the spool from moving back and forth. Brakes almost all the way on enough line out so the bait is about at the reel when the rod tip is straight up Here's a tip I got from a bud several years ago when I was having problems with this. Start by learning to cast back-handed. When you have that down, simply rotate your wrist 90 degrees, and use the same motion.

Welcome back, Sonny. It's about time we a chat, ain't it?