smalljaw67

Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm only trying to help. Based on what you told me, you should have someone who knows reels clean your reels for you. The problem you have is trying to figure out what exactly you are talking about. The "silver part with the gear ratio" is something I have no idea but I'm assuming this is a spinning reel and the part you are talking about is the main shaft. The main shaft has to move up and down or oscillate in order for the line to be put on the spool evenly. If it is wobbling it is probably due to the rotor being loose which is the part that spins and has the bail attached. There are a lot of anglers that know what parts are what on reels and that is fine, but if you don't know, don't take it apart because when there is a problem it is hard for anyone to help because we don't know what you are talking about.

They work with just about any plastic on them, I like the original Biffle Bug but I also like a Sweet Beaver on them as well. As for weight it depends on how deep you are fishing and how you are fishing them. I use them exactly as they were designed to be used, and that is like a crankbait, reeling it and keeping contact with the bottom, and if you want to use them like that the weight is going to depend on how deep you are fishing it. I like a 7/16oz head for water 5' to 7' and deeper than that I use 11/16oz.

I want to point out 1 thing with your advise to the OP, remember, he is learning so you have to understand that not all reels are the same so knowing what he is using is key to helping. His reel has magnetic brakes only, so your way of casting isn't going to help him, he needs to start slow and stay that way until he can do it on a low brake setting consistently before trying for longer distance. The reason for this is because the centrifugal brakes help at start up, he doesn't have that help like you had, he needs to learn to use his thumb first, not later. You aren't wrong and you offer good tips but having that much line out without knowing how to feather the spool is going to make it tough, he has a good reel but if is a mag brake set up which is usually better for more experienced casters but he will be better for learning on it.

I just want to know where you heard a split grip called a poodle tail? Seriously, that is the first time I ever heard it called that.

The drag is set really loose for one reason and nobody spotted it. Take a look at the rod he is using, it is an EXP PT rod, they are all extra fast actions. So what you see is how he is compensating for the stiffness of the rod but it makes me wonder why he was using that rod for a square bill, oh well, no use trying to figure out what they do because I use what works for me.

I don't know anything about the Maxim, but if you have a ET Smallmouth rod you will not like the Saavy, the difference in sensitivity and feel is like night and day. The Saavy is a good line for moving baits but you don't want it for feel type presentations, if you want to go Dobyns for that go at least Champion level and leave the Saavy to moving baits.

Solid tube like the Keitech salty core in the video are completely different from regular tubes, they fish different and have a different action, more like a fat Ika or Damiki Hydra. Hollow tubes are the norm, if you rig them with an insider jig head they fall in a spiral motion, and if you leave a small gap between the top of the tube and the jig head it will fall in a wider spiral. They are used like that for smallmouth but are often Texas rigged for largemouth in cover, go to you tube and check out tube rigging and fishing videos, lot of good information available.

A 5/8oz lure should be easy to cast with that set up and I'll see if I can help. The first thing is the spool tension knob, tie your bait on and hold the rod at the 10 o'clock position and loosen the knob until the lure begins to drop slow. The next thing is the brakes, that reel only has magnetic brakes which help more once the cast is away, if you have no experience with a casting reel this will make it hard for you to learn. The reason being is you need to feather the line at the beginning of the cast until the magnetic brakes can do their job, not knowing how to feather the line with you thumb is going to make the learning curve much steeper, this is actually a good reel but harder to learn as it has no centrifugal braking. So, the way we are going to fix this is by practice and not on the water, outside in your yard or if you don't have a large enough yard you can drive to a field somewhere. Start by setting the spool tension knob like I mentioned earlier and then set the external brakes to 10 and then make short easy cast, remember to keep your thumb over the spool. Once you have the 10 to 20 foot cast down, set the brake dial to 7 or 8 and make the exact same cast and repeat until you feel you have it down and then decrease the brake by 2 each time until you get to 2. Once you get to two you will then set you brake at 8 and try to make a longer cast, if you can make a smooth cast without backlashing at this point, you should be able to lower the brake to 5 and get enough distance to fish, the important thing to remember is you need to practice, you aren't going to learn to use that on the water, it just isn't going to work well trying to lean to cast and catch fish at the same time, it just leads to more frustration. You got a decent reel, the problem is a reel with centrifugal brakes would be easier to learn on as they help you at the beginning of a cast and that is where most backlashes occur, magnetic brakes work at the middle to end part of the cast. If you practice with it for a couple of hours each day, you should be able to fish pretty good within a week but I've watched guys get it quick and within an hour they were good to go and I've help others that took a few weeks to get it down, it depends on how bad you want to learn, if you really want to use a casting set up you will get it, if you really don't care, you will most likely end up frustrated if it takes a little time and just end up spinning. Give it an honest go, take your time and don't force it and once you have it down it is like riding a bike, you'll be able to pick any reel up and get it to work but you will have to learn about centrifugal braking which isn't hard once you learn with your reel.

Well there is a super rooster tail spinner near the spoons, then you have a wavy blade Abu Reflex spinner that is white with black dots. There is a spinner with all beads, that appears to be a C.P. Swing, and the other spinners that look like rooster tails look a lot like the old Shyster in-line spinners. The only spoons I know are the fish shaped Phobe and the red and white Dardevle spoons.

The DT-6 isn't a really hard vibrating bait but the Arashi is and I'm assuming it is an Arashi square bill so if you can feel it look at the rod tip. I'm guessing you are using a Premier cranking rod, that short length in a MH rod will make it feel a little stout but you should feel something. Now here is another question, if it is an Arashi square bill, how fast are you reeling it? If you are trying to finesse it then that will explain a lot, those types of cranks are designed to be reeled fast so if you aren't doing that then that would explain it. So watch the rod tip, if it isn't vibrating then something is wrong.

Why not? Out of all the brands of reels I've used in 40 years of bass fishing, the only reels I had that ever failed was Shimano, both were Symetre spinning reels and their customer service told me I should have purchased a better reel. Now, that said, Shimano is one brand I'll never buy again but I do know they make quality stuff. As for Daiwa, I use to love them and still do, my TD Advantage HSTA is awesome as was my TD-X but they priced me out as I like to go with reels in the $130 to $250 range. The problem with Daiwa for a lot of people is they can't seem to make a good reel that doesn't weigh much under 8oz for less than $300 and when you look at the Lexa and Tatula price point, there are a ton of reels that compare quite well and a lot are much better. I really wanted to like the Tatula, price was right and it was too wide at the top and it was heavy, even the Type R, which was priced at $199, for that I can get a Lews Tournament Pro, awesome reel that is under 7oz(I have one), and for $150 I can get a Pflueger Supreme XT which weighs less than any comparable Daiwa in its price range and is a solid work horse. I'm not bashing but other brands are just as good as Daiwa and Shimano, the only place Daiwa and Shimano separate themselves is when it comes to the high end reels, priced at $300 and above, for that money I agree with you but under $300 I feel Daiwa is behind everyone else and Shimano is solid in that area but not worlds apart, they are right there and separate themselves with high end just like Daiwa. So, if I was in the market for a good reel under $200 I'd look to all brands but Daiwa, and while Shimano is a great reel and deserves consideration, the other brands like Lews and even Okuma have competing reels that are actually quite good so what you say really has little merit. The Okuma Serrano actually won a best Value award from Tackle Tour, so that reel will serve you well, especially on that C3-40X rod.

I have a tough time finding my size, it isn't the length but the width, I take a size 14 4E and for fishing it is Payless sandals, yep, Payless!!! Teva, Simms, Keen, and Sperry all have a size 14 but in medium width, to get them I have to pay a lot and order from a specialty store.

I have some specialized equipment for tubes and I use different tubes depending on how and where I'm using them. Most of the time I'm fishing tubes in the river for smallmouth, when I do that I'm using a jig inside the tube from 1/16oz up to 1/4oz and the presentation is either dead stick, slow drag, or hopping. For those types of presentation I'm using a River Rock Baits pro series tube, a little pricy but you'll find no better, the fish eat these so you get a good hook set every time. For flipping or pitching tubes I will Texas rig a 4" tube that is hard, it is a Cabela's flat tire tube with Megastrike scent on it and it is basically a pitch, hop it twice, and reel it in for the next pitch type of presentation. The reason for that tube it is isn't subtle at all, it is a reaction type bite and I use it when the water is too clear for a big jig but stained enough that I want something that can still move water and have a somewhat natural look.

Anything topwater with a single hook is handled with a spinnerbait rod, at least for me it is. I'm have rods for smaller topwater and rods for larger ones but if you want a rod that is what I can sider an all around player that can handle the treble and single hooks, an Abu Garcia Vendetta 6'6" M-F. That is the least expensive rod I ever purchased and it fits the bill for what you need, it is a little stiffer than most medium powers and that lets you fish a bait like a super spook that is 7/8oz but it isn't as powerful as a true MH so it has enough forgiveness for treble hooks but can still drive a single hook hard enough to penetrate. I have a Cabelas XML 6'2" M-F I use for 3/8oz up to 3/4 poppers and walking baits, for smaller poppers in the 1/4oz range I use a Fenwick Aetos 6'6" ML-M, it is too soft for larger topwaters but it really is nice for the smaller stuff as the moderate action helps with fish hooked on those little trebles. That is the reason I have different topwater rods, smaller baits have small trebles and a stiff rod is going to cost fish but if it is too soft you can work the bait, my XML has served me well for a long time but I got the Aetos because I was tired of losing fish on small shallow cranks and topwaters and so far having multiple rods has worked but if you stay away from the smaller baits, most any 6' to 6'10" M-F will work fine.

I wouldn't throw that one, the newer spence scouts didn't have the keel on them.

If you fish any lake with a lot of submerged weed beds then a silver minnow or three should be in your bag. I don't use a trailer, I simply let it flutter down to the tops of the weeds and begin reeling and pumping the rod every so often to make the bait surge forward. In open water, especially where smallmouth are, a Luhr-Jensen Krocodile spoon or an Acme Kastmaster, they all have brought fish to the boat for me and the best part is the fish today rarely see them.

Once your mold is hot and your jigs come out complete you should not have to reheat the mold. I put my mold on top of the pot when I plug it in and by the time the lead melts the mold is hot enough to pour, if you have to get your mold so hot that even the wood handles are warm then you have a problem. Normally it is scrap lead, most guys use old wheel weights or other scrap that has a high amount of antimony and lead like that needs to be hot as it "freezes" faster than pure soft lead. I get my lead from Roto Metals, I get both pure soft lead and 5% Antimony lead, I break the ingots down in a ladle pour furnace or pot and then I use my ingot mold to cast smaller ingots, the pure soft lead is cast into 1lb ingots and the 5% antimony lead is cast into 1/2lb ingots, this allows me to keep them separate without getting them mixed up and it allows me to make my own alloys. I use a 70% soft lead and 30% antimony lead for spinnerbaits, swim jigs and bladed swim jigs, and bottom contact jigs 1/4oz and under, and then I use a 60% soft lead with 40% antimony lead for all my heavier 3/8oz and up jigs. Making separate alloys isn't something you have to do but when I go with the 40% antimony, my pours have less problems when I heat the mold longer than I do for the lower concentration of hard lead.

Do not use JJs or Spike-it on them as they will disintegrate, I'm not sure there is a dye made that won't effect these baits.

I make my own heads for these and 3/32oz is by far my favorite weight, a little heavier than 1/16oz but not quite 1/8oz. I use it in all but muddy conditions but it is most effective for me in clearer water but that is only because lower visibility means power tactics for the waters I fish.

Your issue isn't rod, reel, or line related, it is the fish and the bait. In my opinion, what it sounds like is happening based on your description is that the bass are just swiping at the crank, you will know when this happens as the fish you land will either have 1 point of the rear treble barely holding on to the lip or it will be hooked somewhere on the outside of the mouth. Sometimes a change in color will make them eat it better or a change in size, or change both size and color. You have the right bait, it has the fish interested but they aren't fully committing to it.

I love spinnerbaits and jerkbaits but what I throw first depends on conditions but if I can I'll try a spinnerbait or square bill first.

Wacky worm is usually done with a Senko or other stick worm but can be done with any worm, you simply hook the worm through the middle so when you pull it both ends of the worm flutter. Shaky head is work rigged on a jig head, we now have heads made for shaky head which have a screw lock or barb on the head designed to hold the worm so it can be hooked weedless and still stay straight. As for the rod, why go with a 6'6" M-F for 1 and a 7' M-F for the other? If I was looking to fish those techniques I'd get the 7' M-F Aetos or the 7' ML-F HMG, both will give you good casting distance and while the Aetos is a much more sensitive rod, the HMG is decent and remember, I own both and if you want maximum sensitivity go Aetos, if you want a really good rod with good sensitivity go HMG, both are fine and even though I own the Aetos, if I needed another spinning outfit I'd have no problem buying a HMG.

Follow WIGuide's advise, that would be the best bang for buck you will get.

Spiderwire Ultra Cast Ultimate Mono, it is being touted right now as the mono with the least amount of stretch. I'm using it in 6lb and 8lb for spinning and 14lb for casting and so far it really is low stretch, my buddy is using Seaguar Red Label and with my rod he said his line feels like it has more stretch than the Ultimate Mono I'm using. It isn't close to braid but it is the lowest stretch line I ever used and yes, I have used fluorocarbon line before. The one problem with the super low stretch is memory, on the casting rod it isn't bad and it says on the label that it is optimized for casting reels, however with a couple of spritzes of KVD Line and lure it becomes very manageable, it does act like fluorocarbon but not as extreme as the memory is more than I like but it isn't that bad that it becomes a problem.

Not all sharp hooks help when it comes to spinnerbaits!!! I've been making spinnerbaits for just about 17 yeas now and there use to be 2 brands of hook I wouldn't use but now there are 3, Gamakatsu, Owner, and Trokar, and this is even with a trailer hook. I only use Mustad and VMC spinnerbait hooks, and that is because I was trying out some Gamakatsu hooks on my spinnerbaits about 10-12 years ago, I was catching smallmouth and I would lose about 1 out of 4 and I could not understand why until I landed a fish and as soon as I lipped it and took the pressure off the line, the spinnerbait fell out and it was then when I learned a good lesson. Gamakatsu, Owner, and Trokar are hooks that use a cutting point, that means they have multiple edges that cut like a knife, Mustad, VMC, and Eagle Claw have needle points (Owner makes an Aberdeen hook with a needle point now), needle points have a single sharp point and it pierces throught the fish's mouth rather than cuts through it. So, when you throw a spinnerbait and the fish hits it from the side, if it gets the hook in the membrane part of the mouth and jumps and head shakes, the cutting points will actually tear a larger hole allowing the fish to turn an throw the bait. A softer rod helps but does not eliminate the problem but when I use needle point, round bend hooks my landing percentage is much higher. BTW, trailer hooks are good for short strikers, I once had a fish throw the main hook only to end up with the trailer hook sticking him in the gill and the fish was just about dead, after that I will no longer use a trailer hook, just my preference, but it doesn't keep them from throwing the bait.