OnthePotomac

Delaware Tackle on here is an excellent place to start.

I think the answers you will get is that the best is whatever each angler has chosen as his favorite.

It is a great reel. The tight outside dial got a lot of attention from the few who had the problem, but just moving the dial repeatedly solved it and this what Shimano recommended. Mine was OK and I fished the reel for eight weeks last season.

I have been on Carbonlites now for five years and really like them. I just picked up a 2.0, but no fishing for a while. My grand son broke one of his Carbonlites in his truck door and our store just gave him a new one with no fuss. That may the store, but who knows. I really like how light they are and at sale prices (which I wait for), they are hard to beat. I have never had a problem with mine and they really take a beating on the massive grass mats on the Tidal Potomac.

I only have one eye now and have settled on the uni as the best one for me.

I have given up on braid except on my frog rod and it has 50lb Sufix 832. I sure do not whip it out on the cast, but rather like a fancy lob and do not have problems.

Mine are thrown on a Carbonlite MH fast tip on 14 lb mono and it works for other top waters also.

My polishing on my reels is limited to the pinion gear internal shaft and spool shafts. I use a Dremel with red rouge on a thick pipe cleaner for the pinion gear and a Dremel cotton buffing pad for the spool shaft. Does it do any good? I don't know, but I feel good doing it and my reels work exceptionally well. What else do old retired guys do but tinker with their fishing gear LOL.

All I have read on other sites it seems the vote is for Tatsu, if you have the money. Being a retired cheap skate, I have settled on Invizx the last two years and it has never failed on the Potomac where every thing takes a beating. I use 15lb, which is only .013" in diameter and that compares to some companies 12lb at .013".. I buy 1000yd spools on Amazon for $89, and just recently read on another site where Walmart is even cheaper then that. I just use 8lb mono on my spinning reels, but have tried braid and flouro over time, and have settled on 8lb mono. Never lost a fish with it.

I don't have a chart, but did invest $20 for a great once/gram digital scale. I then write the weight of the bait on the package with a Sharpie and put a piece of scotch tape over it to protect the figure. You can convert the gram weight to ounces by simply multiplying the amount by .0353. Love that digital scale. Senkos are a pretty steady 3/8 oz. Amazing how you will find that many hard baits of all kinds do not weigh what the package says. Some significantly different.

Try CFC Electronic Cleaner. Removes grease really, really fast, evaporates fast and leaves no residue. I put my bearings in a tiny food wire strainer, step outside and blow out the bearing with the red tube inserted. A short rinse in lighter fluid, blow them out and they are ready to go. This stuff will blow grease out of a frame bearing in seconds. Buy mine at Walmart. It is also nice to use on boat electronic connections.

Go to an Orvis and buy their fly glue application bottle. A very small plastic bottle with a needle applicator, which is the smallest I have ever found. I mean it is a really tiny needle opening. Much smaller than a gun needle oiler.

you can order it from http://www.tsi301.com/main.htm

TSI 301 (fast evaporating solvent with 321 in it) and TSI 321 were developed for NASA for a lubricant in space because it adheres to a metal surface and oil cannot be used in a space environment. The solvent in 301 also acts as a cleaning agent and evaporates very quickly. 301 is popular with police departments and private gun owners. Wipe it on an unblued gun and it will never rust. Go here to learn all about it and order it. These folks make it. http://www.tsi301.com/main.htm

I have never needed on of my reels repaired, but there have been instances where I need extra simple items like screws and they sent them at no charge.

Detail cleaning/lubing program underway now and as I finish a reel I will do my annual strip the line. Sometime in late February I will start respooling. In the event there is a freak of nature wherein temps allow getting on the river, I will just respool what I am going to take out. That said, the last time that happened was five years ago when we had 65 degrees on January 5. In the normal course of our weather it will be at least the first week of March before happy fishing begins for me and the lines will not be like coils of boing.

I have to decline surveys like this in view of the requirement to buy everything to judge their performance. Maybe if I win the lottery.

Not on mine and don't miss it.

KVD Line and Lure and here is why: Line & Lure is a special polymer blend that becomes part of the fishing line it is applied to. Other line treatments you find on the market are primarily silicone oil and solvents. Silicone oil only temporarily coats the line and solvents can damage line. Silicone oil rapidly comes off the line (on your hands and in the water), requiring re-treatment of the line after just a few casts. The special polymers in Line & Lure are hydrophobic (water repelling) and very slippery. It doesn't allow water to draw back on to the reel spool, which eliminates the line drag that a "wet" spool has. It also protects the line from wearing out as quickly as un-treated line because it resists the abrasion that wears line out. It contains no oils or solvents as in Reel Magic that can build up and collect dirt like silicone/oil treatments will.

One of the pacs I bought is the bloody pumpkin thinking the murkey Potomac would be a good place for it. Go away ice!!!

Ironic, I was just getting ready to post an item on the rod. I bought the 7' MH baitcaster. They redesigned the Carbonlite a ton. Love everything about it except the hook keeper below the handle. The grip is great and they went to the diminishing line guides concept. Is it Lew's, or Boyd Ducket that does the same thing?Immediately put it on the digital scale and it came in at 4.5oz. My Carbonlites vary in weight from 4.3 to 4.5oz for the same rod length. I put my gift card Curado 200K XG on it spooled with 15lb InvizX flouro and a Molix creature Texas rigged with a Gammie 3/0 EWG. Now all I need is water and not ice to give it a try LOL. At the BPS Spring Classic sale the old Extreme will go in for cash on another 7'. I am not a rod expert, but for me this thing is a real winner for $120.

Any body out there fished the Molix creature bait? Just received two pacs from TW and these puppies weigh 7/16oz, so they should cast great. I Texas rigged mine with a 3/0, one of two choices the site shows. The site shows them using a 4/0, but it just too big for me since the belly is split. The other choice is with a jig. Now, if the ice would melt on the river..... http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Molix_Creature_5pk/descpage-MLXCR.html

Ardent reels had one, but don't know about now. I think it was the Denny Brauer model.

Try rigging them vertical for a nice change as a trailer. I screwed up and was thinking of the Devils Spear. Sorry.

Shimano says the 100B has a drag of 8lbs. I have three and never figured why they did not include the data on their box brochure. Not a big deal though because I never fish for whales.