OnthePotomac

I have fished the Stick O on occasion in the past and found them to be pretty durable. They are not as soft as the Senko, but for the most part, did a good job catching fish. I like to worm fish on a bait caster with weightless worms (I know that is not correct) and therefore find the Dinger a little light. The Stick O zings out there like a Senko weightless on a bait caster.

Hit the mighty (and very hot) Potomac yesterday for five hours and gave my new 8.2:1 SLX reel a work out in thick grass and all I can say is WOW! It is mounted on a 6'6" MH Carbonlite and spooled with 10lb Invizx flouro with a Gammie 3/0 EWG and a Senko. It has two brakes on and the bearings had been cleaned out of the box and lubed with a tiny drop of Yellow Rocket Fuel. I was cautious at first with a few lob casts and picked it up from there to letting fly robust over head casts and the little guy never missed a beat. Simple thumb control was all that was needed. For those who like to go for distance...no problem. It can put a Senko way out there with no problem. With various Curados and Chronarchs laying on the deck waiting, I could not put the SLX down, just wondering when something would go wrong, but it just kept performing like my Chronarch MGL. Can you tell I am really impressed with a $99 reel? The drive shaft bearing arrives from Shimano tomorrow and I will pop that in. No, I did not get paid for this commercial.?

Sounds like you have problem. I fished mine for 5 hours on the Potomac yesterday and it was flawless.

I have 10lb Invizx Flouro on my SLX 8.2:1 and it will get a workout tomorrow on the Potomac with a 3/0 hook and a Senko. Your 12lb should be good. I couldn't resist replacing the drive shaft bushing, so I have an anti rust bearing coming from Shimano this week. The bushing will serve you well though and as I said on here before, I fished my Citicas for years with a bushing on the drive shaft before I put a bearing there. I just like to tinker. That spool has the same line capacity as the Curado 70 series, which is a lot less than the other Curados and Chronarchs. BTW, is you should decide to install a drive shaft bearing, it is part # BNT 4194 (5x9x3) for $5.91 at Shimano and I am sure DVT stocks them also and will put it in for you if you are not comfortable doing so. Curados and Chronarchs use the same bearing on their drive shafts.

Call Yamaha and they will be happy to answer your question. I did so when I wanted a SS on my 2 stroke 60hp and they were exact on the pitch I should go to (to my surprise one down from the factory aluminum). They were spot on and the boat runs really well with their pitch recommendation. I was fortunate to find a used SS in a local prop shop and they even put a cup on the blades before I picked it up.

d**n A-Jay, that is one nice rig and being a native Michigander I can tell you came prepared to deal with Great Lakes fickle weather.

Interesting subject. The great bass pro worm fishing expert Woo Daves always said he wanted his slip sinkers to match his worm.

I second the dab of grease to position that clip and I use the bent needle nose hobby pliers to gently squeeze it on. I also found it easier to clean the worm gear by removing the pawl and with everything out of the frame, I tip the reel to expose the worm gear, pour Dawn into it, scrub with a tooth brush while rotating the gear, then rinse it thoroughly under the laundry tub hot water faucet. I blow it dry with a keyboard blower I have mounted in a wooden cradle I built for it. The key board provides enough air to dry everything well and fast. Install the pawl, oil the gear and good to go. At the same time I clean the reel frame with Dawn and a very soft makeup brush my wife gave me. The blower also does a great job of drying the nooks and crannies of the frame.

The "guts" are a brass drive gear and a brass pinion gear. The rest of the inside looks just like any Shimano.

The Citica 200 series is the little brother of the Curado 200 series and many parts are interchangeable. I sold my last Citica 200 for $80 last year with the like new box and the reel instructions. In all fairness, I had installed a crank shaft bearing, ABEC 7 spool bearings and carbon tec drags. The reel was in like new condition without a mark on it. Being in excellent condition I would guess $60 minimum is a fair price. The Citica 200's are really nice reels.

I use the double hooks for those baits since they are just like the hooks on the hollow belly frogs. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/mustad-double-frog-hook

It is about the same size as a Curado 70 and the spool is the same line amount as the Curado 70. So if you have a Curado 70 and like it the SLX will suit you. Not having been on the water to test for distance I cannot comment except to say that in the yard with a 3/8oz weight it took off like a rocket and that is with the spool bearings cleaned and lightly oiled. I am not concerned with distance anyway since I river fish in the grass. I have several Shimanos up to the Chronarch MGL and from what I can see looking inside , it is a pretty solidly built little reel.

OOPs, SLX

As I said in my original post, I just picked one up and went inside to look around. Very solid internals. I left it lubed as it was, except for the spool bearings, which as usual, were over oiled by Shimano. Cleaned out the factory oil and gave each one a touch of Yellow Fuel and took it out in the yard spooled with 10lb Invizx , two brakes on and a 3/8th weight and threw it around for a bit and I am really impressed with the little guy, compared to my other Shimanos. No strange noises and smooth as can be. A day on the water will be a better test, but so far I am loving it. I put it on a MH 6'6" MH Carbonlite and will worm fish with it to start.

To each his own on this subject, but I got nine years, yes nine years out of my Interstate 850CCA starting battery and it cranks a 60hp Yamaha. That said, the battery came home with me at the end of the season each year and went on a battery tender and desulfinator device and was stored in the basement. It died this spring and the Interstate store manager said that nine years was really weird and not common at all.. There are those who do not like Interstate, but I stayed with the same battery.

Just picked mine up and as usual, I had to get inside to look around. No different than any other of my Shimano reels except a bushing on the drive shaft instead of a bearing, but I fished with a Citica for years with a drive shaft bushing and no big deal and easy to swap for a bearing if so desired. Putting 10 lb Invizx on it and cannot wait to give it a go.

All of my spinning rods have 8lb mono and standard Gammie EWG hooks...Always have.

It has been BPS Excel green 8lb mono on my spinning reels for 18 years. I am not very original, but it works well.

AJay is right, you save big bucks picking up 1000yd spools on Amazon and keep watch since the price can vary but they are all a really good deal.

My gear on the tidal Potomac is regular bass gear. My go to rods are Carbonlite 2.0 7' medium and MH and I had a ProQualifier on one of the older Carbonlites for three years for frog fishing with braid. Snakeheads are like freight trains and I have never had a problem with my Shimano reels and a 15lb cat or two. My daughter fishes with me with a Carbonlite 2.0 7' medium spinning rod and a Sahara 3000 spinning reel with 8lb mono and her best was a 5lb largemouth last year... no problem.

I just read this same question on another site and they made reference to a UTube video showing how to remove the boat, but not how to access the video.

I am a G3 aluminum owner and my boat has been stored in the local state park yard for 18 years. I have a nice cover for it and over the cover I have a big tarp, which covers the boat from over the motor (with its own cover) to over the bow and hanging down over the side 4ft on each side. The tires are covered with RV padded vinyl wheel covers and the tongue is covered with a heavy outdoor leaf bag tied on with rope ties. I fill the tank to the brim for winter storage to prevent condensation in the gas and no additives of any kind in the gas. I pull the prop and all the batteries in winter and they stay in my basement. The batteries go on a tender/desulfinater. Long ago I saved large big blogs of foam from the boxes of items we have purchased and place then on the corners of the deck under the cover for water and ice run off. I also made a "tent brace" of PVC pipe extending from the back deck to the front deck. I do check it periodically during the winter for mice and keep mice food blocks on the deck during winter. I have found a couple of dead bodies on occasion. It is always bone dry in spring and starts right up on first try. The cover and tarp arrangement stays on year round. If it snows, I go to the boat immediately after and remove the snow/ice. OK, I am paranoid about outdoor storage.

Unfortunately, the snakeheads in the Potomac love them, and with those teeth do a job on one in short order.

If you are going to use straight shank hook, buy the extra round bend I think they are called.

Try going on IBoats.com