OkobojiEagle

too often they don't have what's on my list... oe

Hootie, That wise man surely was 50 years my senior... was that you??? oe

Considering the board's over-whelming opinion that we should be choosing braided line tests by monofilament diameter equivalents... I guess you'll be fishing with 90lb test. oe

A wise man once told me "it's the Indian, not the arrow". oe

... float & fly rods oe

Wore out line guide pawls on a couple Abu C models... line guides that don't disengage with the cast apparently doubles the wear. Wearing a pinion yoke out would surprise me. oe

enjoyed the responses... thanks oe

I'm a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to reel maintenance and so far I've not lost any parts during the process. As my reels and hands age, I want to have on hand a few of the most commonly needed maintenance parts for the Curado and Chronarch reels. Please add to my list (besides bearings): level wind pawl, e-clips, side plate screws, ???. Thanks oe

You might try sanding the grip a little to smooth it out then wrap it with some grip tape. oe

... do you catch more fish when fishing alone or when fishing with a buddy? oe

I'm an aging loner who has begun to think that fishing with a buddy may be safer than going it alone all of the time, especially at night. I'm wondering if there may be an additional benefit to fishing with another... Do you (individually) catch more bass when fishing with a friend or when fishing alone? oe

Hootie... save two 16 - 24oz plastic soda bottles with caps. Drill a hole through the cap and install an eye bolt in each cap. Fill each bottle with equal amounts of water (how ever much you want). Tie a 10' - 12' length of string to each eye bolt and run the string through the guides and wrap it around the reel of each rod/reel. Suspend the bottles from the rod while you hold them side by side. You'll easily see how much difference there is between any two rods. oe

3/32, 1/8, 3/16 & 1/4oz oe

My finesse tackle needs to be light & balanced. I need to feel my finesse baits so I strive for the most sensitive equipment to fish with... light & balanced. oe

Spinning reel, 8 - 10lb fused Fireline/ 6- 8lb mono leader... I prefer the 1/4oz heads and dress them myself. oe

I had read an article claiming smallmouth would occasionally "hang out" below a thermocline and could be caught there. My mind had trouble believing that, thus the question... oe

Pretty much as I expected... I haven't either. oe

Have you caught smallies below a well established thermocline? How deep below? Over what structure? oe

Because Shimano wants it so... oe

hook sharpener... oe

Yes, I occasionally throw a jerkbait with a dressed treble, but the feathers will increase the profile size. oe

Fireline (fused) is great spinning line, is loosely braided (then stretched and fused), and flame green is black light visible... oe

flame green oe

Thanks all for the pics. I'm disappointed as I'm getting older and appreciate the simpler things in life... I suppose this braking system has worked OK as the reel has been around for several years. I'm looking for an easy casting left-hand retrieve reel with a 20" - 21" retrieve rate. Anybody have any complaints with it sing out. Thanks oe

There have been many changes to centrifugal braking systems the last couple of years... boot shaped brake blocks, spring loaded pins, pitching brakes. I'm hoping these are the simple straight tube blocks that "click" on to slide freely or "click" off to keep them from sliding freely. Yes, I know the PQ is a dual centrifugal/magnetic braking system. oe