aavery2

I am not familiar with Quantum reels,so I can't be of help with your other questions but I can tell you this. If you decide to do a gear swap, you need to make sure to swap both gears, pinion, and main gear as a set.

I use the 30 size Pfluegers.

Both great baits, and as you said not apples to apples, but I will go with the Senko for the sake of this discussion only, it is a more versatile bait.

You won't regret it, in fact I would say that there is a good chance you would end up buying more.

I agree, but you have to admit, there is something special about the LC RC 1.5

There are three sets of Zillion type R knobs for sell on another popular website $35. Probably wont last long.

Teal, I think you post is wonderful, I read it this morning, and come back to read it again. After serving a little over 20 years in the Military it is great to know that there are people that feel like like yourself, kind of makes it all worth it. Thanks for making me smile.

Are they very good or great, there is a difference.

It's just my opinion but great crankbaits don't require tuning out of the package. I have a bunch of the KVD series baits and they do catch fish, but the LC RC 1.5 is still top dog in my opinion.

What are you looking for, plastics, crankbaits, spinnerbaits. Lots of custom makers out there but need a little more info as to what you are looking for.

Nice jigs, those look great!

Clean them real good and seal them up with U-40 cork sealer, it makes for a nice handle.

Bull Frog SPF 50 quick gel, made by a fisherman for fisherman.

You can't be concerned with the possibility of losing a bait, you have to cast and present your bait where the fish are. Losing lures is just part of it. May I suggest a square bill crankbait that runs in the same depth you mentioned. They tend to come through wood a little better.

This is kind of one of those deals where you have to know your audience. If I see a guy struggling, and pass by within talking distance, I will ask him how he is doing, if he is not doing well I might suggest a bait, or even throw a plastic to him and let him know that I have been doing well using it. If I pass a guy in a 70K boat decked out and ask how he is doing and he says not well, I will usually just say that I have been having luck with t-rigged plastics or whatever the case may be. If he asks for more information I give it, if not I let it be. What you want to accomplish is being helpful not come off like a know it all and it can be a fine line.

I like a large profile plastic, something like a pitboss or a dbomb.

Tell your partner that you have a sore knee, and ask if he can help out.....

It will go a deep as you as you want. This is a sinking bait that has a very unique action when you let it fall on controlled slack line. One of my favorite ways to fish it is to let it sink as mentioned and rip it up off the bottom and then let it fall to the bottom again. Imo the strength of the Red Eye Shad is in that when it falls it does not flip on its side, it stays upright and quivers similar to that of a falling Senko style bait. Anyway, you will have no problem fishing 8Ft water with a RES.

So on the same subject, I have the older Extreme with the cork and recoil guides. Do you find that the newer or older for that matter blank has better sensitivity than this black. Honestly, it is a good rod, but I have not been blown away.

X2, with the dual braking and smaller profile than the Tatula, this becomes a real decision, the MG is a good reel, I just don't think it competes favorably with the Tatula with only the mag braking.

I use treble hooks for a particular type of fishing where they are required to be barbless, we typically use pliers and squeeze them down.

I am going to try and sum this up. You are going to get several answers to your post. The first is going to be buy a Shimano Stradic FJ, because it is the best and made by Shimano. There will those, myself included that will tell you to look at the Pflueger line of spinning reels great performance and good price. The last will be post that tell you there is no need to spend that much money on a bass reel, because no freshwater fish will ever compare to the stress and wear that salt water fish and environment present. In the end your budget is good and you will be able to find a nice reel that works for you.

Unless you are setting the hook on a lot of stumps and rocks, things that are somewhat anchored, I can't see the problem. Setting the drag correctly would also eliminate a lot of this.

I use a Gen2 STX on my frog rod, it performs very well in that role.

Can you please point me to a great setup for a "hundo" as you say.