craww

Out of maybe a dozen brands I've yet to try ANY of the 4 carrier and 8 carrier PE braids that was really all that different when to comes to how they effect actual bait presentation or retrieval of fish....Even the kast-kingy/piscifun/weirdly worded chinesish amazon variants...Original PP may sound a little louder through the guides, but it doesnt cast any worse than say 832 or 8 strand J-Braid. Some feel the different carriers "saw" through cover better or are quieter dragging across a log...By that logic 8 strands are "better" in wood and 4 is "better" in hydrilla... If you see either of those as a benifit more power to you, but I wouldnt over think it. I will say as an FYI - Some reading between the lines should be considered whenever some one mentions how "limp" a braid is. Almost always the diameter for what they call a certain lb test is smaller...Everyone raved about Daiwa Samurai years ago being so supple but few pointed out that Samurai was much thinner than most american market braids in bass sizes...."30lb" Daiwa is the equivalent of 6lb test mono at .25. Original PP is like 8lb mono at .28...No wonder it handles a little different lol. Personally, I know how PP behaves at all its lb test/diameters and use that as a baseline for what to use from other brands. All that said, the best braid TO ME is whats on sale in the right diameter (from a reputable company/source). Ive yet to have any issues that could be blamed on the line in 15 years of using braid. Daiwa, Power pro, P Line, Suffix, Toray, Seagaur, Trilene, etc have all been good to me. Line and lure helps with bleeding a great deal, but every one Ive used does it. A handful of sharpie colors help as needed.

Diameter vs Diameter, mono lines generally cast a bit better....Braid has a more friction on its surface, as a rod's guides audibly tell you. But the amount of surface is reduced by smaller diameters when comparing lb tests ... 6lb Mono- depending on what the manufacturer calls "6lb", is getting close to 15lb braid diameter so no suprise. I like to shad fish in the spring, throwing 1/64 darts. Distance is important. 2lb mono outcasts 6lb braid in my measured tests. But man is it a liabilty in trashy rivers (where stripers often bite) vs braid. Thicker monofilaments, or stiffer, less managable lines- that are more prone to coiling- increase friction and reduce distance compared to braid.

The pfluegers dont seem to have the rust issues with the one way clutch/anti reverses that the abus have. Also the pfluegers seem slightly smoother in my hand- though the most current gen of abus may be better.

I have done well on both and as a matter of fact theyre pretty much my go to drop shot plastics along with netbait paca chunks for skittish spawning fish (may sound goofy but trust me) The roboworms (which ARE longer) have caught bigger fish for me. But the dreamshot get a lot of bites, and yes, bluegill love em.

Falcon crankster, they have several rods at different price points with the same ratings. I like mine for the 1/4 rebel crawfish, bandit 100’s, RC .05/1.0’s, exposed hook tubes and swimbaits. Weight wise the rockcrawler and wigglewart would be in its sweet spot, but Ive never used a spinning reel for that type of cranking. Its called a moderate fast, which I think is accurate. Extremely lightweight and comfortable.

Double the line over itself and Tie a Polomar knot. It will not fail like an arbor not which relies on basic over hand knots. I usually pop the spool off real quick as it’s less awkward. Hooked a striper on an ultralight once shad fishing, the polomar held.

Prefer centrifugal for reasons mentioned above. Have a few dual brake reels and have owned/used a bunch. While I enjoy their forgiving nature- (backhand casts especially) and some cast very well, I wish theyd come out with a dual brake reel that could actually operate at peak performance using only one system independently. Everyone Ive seen has been the marriage of 2 inferior designs on their own; yet theyre fine together.

I love white baits...Theyre kindve unique in that they stand out, drawing fish from a distance while still being pretty natural. A solid white power worm, tube, grub, and a white hair jig tipped with a white speed craw have all been really good to me. I could have Lures in only white or solid black and be perfectly content 99% of the time

My comment regarding braid vs. Mono is referring to buzzbaits not getting bent/off kilter as easily with mono vs braid. The arm of the buzzbait is the only thing that can give between the hook and where the line is tied when using braid. With a nylon line there is Cushion. Similar to snatching someone out of the mud that's really stuck w/a proper strap vs a chain. If you go to snatchh somebody from a roll with a chain it's likely something at either end of that chain is going to break. Having been a buzzbait fanatic for years Ive been blessed with a great deal of really big fish on them. For me, there is a noticeable difference in how quickly they get out of tune and don't plane correctly throwing a line with no stretch. We have a striper run on the river here and it really shows up when they get to pulling on them.

Good luck...I’ve tried all the tweaks over the years with minimal success. I will say going forward if you’re throwing them on braid they tend to fare worse. The cushion of mono really shines here.

I have yet to find a lure that tops a Yozuri Rattlin Vibe in 5/8 in some version of a baitfish looking color. One of the few Baits i’ve used that consistently catches them on a typical horizontal retrieve and vertical.

I’ll start by saying that I think the fishing industry has made a lot of money regarding technique specific rods that folks don’t always need. However......I have two rods that are designated as “drop shot” rod’s By the manufacturer. Well they both would seem to meet What I’d want it a spinning rod for shaky heads- Seven footish, medium power With fast/extra fast actions... problem is they’re kind of awful shaky head rods.....They have the power. But the tips are weird, Too light and too fast I guess. It just doesn’t feel right on the Hookset with a plastic with a burried hookpoint. They also don’t cast That great. However they are GREAT at manipulating a little 4” exposed hooked plastic on a dropshot; but little else honestly. I have the ”shakey head” stick from the exact same line mentioned previously and it’s It’s a much more versatile rod. More of a normal tip for a medium powered, “all round” spinning rod. I have drop shot with it and it’s not bad. But I wouldn’t throw a shaky head or an unweighted senko with the “drop shot rod”. You can certainly get by With one rod to do both. But if you’re really serious about drop shotting, a dedicated drop shot rod is a beautiful thing.

The pulling on the tag end thing is important. You can see how it damages mono and flouro When you pull the mainline. Even with a ton of spit, not over tightening the overhand knot portion, and pulled slowly I still get the curly cue looking mainline when I pull that way. Id gotten in the habit of pulling the mainline braid to save line at some point after 25 years of tieing polomars and had noticed my knots- while perfectly fishable w/no failures- broke just a little too easy for a given lb test when snagged. Pulling the 4" or so of tag costs a little more line but gives a stronger knot. This may not be your problem but in my experience this is the “right” way to tie a palomer.

Its basically the same thing as a swim senko, which is an insanely productive lure. Swim it through shoreline cover on an EWG Hook.

Agreed it’s almost always on there. Sometimes you have to kind of be intuitive and recognize a “38” in part number means that jig is three eighths, but not often. Now if I could just get used to the metric system when I venture into that JDM section & things are listed by grams and millimeters lol

I totally disagree with the “it’s harmless for a pond” statements and it’s absolutely something you have to be careful with. One time? Yeah, you’re probably fine but by no means make a habit of it. I have absolutely seen store-bought minnows dumped into a couple smaller very private ponds and take it over to the point were they choked the bass and bluegill population out of a small pond. The actual species of what you’re discussing matters along with size a body of water of course. If it’s a true golden shiner that’s one thing. But if its the run of the mill 2”-5” minnow every bait store around here sells it’s not a golden shiner...though A lot of people call them “shiners“. When released into a pond they can get larger, around a foot long- to the point they out compete all of the young fish...Maybe a legacy large bass or two likes to snack on em. Smaller ponds can only support so many lbs of fish per acre. Now again if this is an actual golden shiner, which we don’t even have available around here perhaps that’s different. The ponds I’m referencing If you cast a bobber with a nightcrawler into them they would attack it like piranha in a bad horror movie. You need a tiny hook to Actually stick one...Otherwise they clean the hook in no time. It’s absolutely a thing. People call those “roaches” around here. Not to be confused with the actual species of Fish called a roach

I have that model in the falcon original series...That rod fishes light even for a medium power. If You haven’t handled it, I would. It has a very light tip. It may work but It’s better for lighter baits with thinner wire hooks. The half ounce Max rating is pushing it.

If you submerge a spinning reel, especially “a few times” and never have it serviced its not the reels fault. ALL reels will get water in them when submerged. Pretty much all grease loses tackiness when exposed to water. Some reels are sealed better, some drain,dry, evaporate a little better-(baitcasters often have designed drain holes) or sometimes for whatever reason water doesnt permeate down into everything. Not all bodies of water are as bad. One guys water may have a lot less silt, sand, alkaline, whatever than the other guys. We’ve all dropped a reel and kept on fishing, but its a roll of the dice not cleaning and relubing. I dont think you’ll have any better luck until you change some habits. Heck if anything- The revo spinning reels are actually known for the anti reverse clutches rusting...I know this for a fact, as Ive replaced two after they were dunked. The pins on the clutch assembly are much smaller than a daiwa for example and the clutch sits flush on top of a bearing which keeps water out of the gearbox and things in alignment. Problem is, the water has nowhere to go. Its a water trap.

To echo whats been said that’s the time to use it in my opinion. There are only a few top waters that I like in Calm water. The plopper isnt one of them

Absolutely not. The whopper plopper is sort of the rattle trap of topwater for me. I fish it more to semi blindly cover water. But have found a cool niche for using them in current to present it in a way that stays in the strike zone. They catch fish and are growing on me. That said I would drop them in an instant if Could only have the WP or a buzz bait. -Buzz baits land much more subtly. WP’s will spook fish in shallow, calmer water. -I’ve got a ton of big fish on buzz baits in open water, Yet can also cast them in just about any cover. Added bonus for whatever reason I seem to be more accurate with a buzz bait than most Lures. - despite being heavy Lures that feel like they should cast to the moon the 110’s and 90’s don’t cast THAT much farther for me then my heavier 5/8 oz buzz baits. The WPs arent terrible casters; but I can get an E7 Curado down to the backing with a sammy 100/115. The 110 WP is dramatically shorter due to the way it slightly grabs air and a seeming lack of weight transfer system. - after two years of using the WP (90/110) I just seem to catch more big fish on buzz baits. -The WP will occasionally hook fish in a manner that may injure them. When I hook a fish on a top water plug I fight them pretty hard. Rod tip down, in or near the water with constant pressure so they can’t shake their head and throw the bait. The plopper has hooked about half a dozen bass on the outside of The gill plate for me and I’ve seen others say the same thing. It’s a fairly large diameter hook- so if you were using braid or horsing the fish in it could be problematic.

I agree completely with your thoughts. In addition, the fact that nylon based lines will retain back most of their strength after being stretched; where as a flouro is compromised is another Factor in Monos favor. If I'm on the water and my Square bill gets hung in a dead branch. Say it's not a very strong Limb, (no danger of breaking my line) but I do have to lean into it a little bit to snap it off and get the bait back. Or maybe it's a fairly heavy clump of vegetation that we've all pulled in....I'm not always going to retie a leader right there on the water. If flouro was to lose 30% of its strength being stretched like that; is it worth it? Also haven't noticed a huge difference in abrasion resistance between the two. I just go by line diameter for the given situation....But I will say actual leader material mono is much more abrasion resistant then main Line Mono, if that's a concern.

Hows the finish holding up so far? Thats really been my only gripe about previous gens. They performed good, not one mechanical issue...but they scratched if you looked at them funny. On the black sx’s it really stood out more.

The AR clutch/bearing can get and hold moisture in them and the little pins will rust. IF you want to remove it and inspect it be really, really careful and work on a big table top. The pins will fall out if you barely tilt in any direction-and its EXTREMELY awkward wrapping your fingers around the tube getting it back in with out one falling out. So if its good, you dont want to have to buy another assembly because one tiny pin got lost. You can buy the hole assembly with the sleeve from pure fishing if need be. Call with the schematic in hand, don't email. Theyre very helpful. Another thing to consider is there are likely actual bearings on the shaft above the ar clutch/bearing and below it where the shaft enters the body or gearbox. Corrosion or lubrication issues there will cause a roughness also- especially the bearing below the AR clutch entering the body.

You can make your own in any hook you like in no time. I take a pair of nail pullers & nip however much lead needed off a random sinker. Lay it down and give it 3 or 4 wacks with the top of the pullers till flat. Press down with in the middle w/a chisel to create a channel for the hook to lay in and squeeze it around the hook w/pliers. Super glue gel (make sure its gel) seals it up so it dont spin. It sounds like a bit of a hassle but it takes less than a minute. I sometimes dab some white nail polish on to match the plastic.

I like to tinker, and will swap parts around, add a bearing to a handle knob or install a longer handle on occasion. I enjoy making performance improvements but it's always been tough to justify the cost of what some of these aftermarket parts go for. I can appreciate it but I always can find other things I'd rather spend my play money on LOL. My experience with actually tuning and polishing is that many current reels offer little to no tangible evidence and a whole lot of it is hookum/placebo effect. At one point there could be a dramatic difference. But things like brass discs under the cast control cap/sideplate, Spool shafts that don't disengage from the pinion, rough gears that need to be "broken in", less generous implementation of bearings etc, were areas that could be tangibly tweaked in the past. These days not so much. I've even noticed that the Korean BPS reels and such seem to have better bearings in them, MUCH improved drags than they did 10 years ago. Even Daiwas, which were the first reels to get drags upgraded have improved greatly in that aspect. I mainly just keep my spool bearings flushed and lubed with a lightweight oil. All my reels get torn down initially and I remove all of the excess Grease, as I like a reel that offers a little less resistance then what the factory offers. Once a season, (unless a real gets dunked) I tear the whole thing down and clean and relube. Try to keep an eye on things like the level wind along the way.