Tim Kelly

I've always been a pretty much full time Daiwa guy, because the auto bail trip mechanism on the shimanos drives me mad. In recent times I've discovered how to remove the trip ramp from Shimanos to stop the auto trip annoyance, so have started buying a few shimanos. All that is just background, but the question is on about longevity. All my daiwas become a bit rough and geary after a while. I do use them a lot, so it's probably just standard, but not having serious time on a shimano, do they get the same geary feeling after a couple of years? I have a stradic that's less smooth than it was, but not enough hours on it to know yet. I have three of the previous blue Certates that are rougher than they were, and that's been a slight disappointment.

I bought one of those fancy screw boxes with all the different sized screws in their own compartments once. Great at first glance, until you knock it over.

That's good idea

Van Staal is the obvious answer.

Something to think about, for the guys talking about auto inflate lifejackets. If you go in, you are going to find it harder to get back in the kayak with an inflated lifejacket, If you do get back on the yak do you then deflate it? then you don't have any lifejacket and if the reason you went in is because of the conditions, you could be falling in again. I don't think auto inflates are a good idea for situations, like a kayak, where there is a reasonable chance you could be falling in. Maybe OK for a boat where the chances are lower, but they are a one and done deal, so once it's been deployed and deflated you don't have much protection. Whitewater kayakers wear foam because the chance of going in is high, and repeated dunkings are likely. Fishing kayaks are pretty good, but the chances of a dunking is higher than in a boat.

I'm impressed! Couldn't imagine you'd hook any of them with circle hooks, normal singles yes, but not circles. I think I'd debarb my trebles before switching to singles though.

Thank you

Have you tried a spybait? I found them to be excellent smallmouth medicine if you need to get deep.

I've fished there a few times. Can be a bit moody, but can be tremendous if you get it right. Could do worse than have a morning with Billy Kohles, who's an excellent guide on there, to gain some pointers about what's going on at the time.

I'm lucky enough to be invited over to fish with a friend at his cottage on the Rideau chain most summers. Always the highlight of my year. We often take a day on the St Lawrence with a guide (Dean Meakes), but thought this year about trying a day on Simcoe. Anyone got any good recommendations for a smallmouth guide for early August on there, or other suggestions?

I had my scale in one hand and a bass in the other, went to throw the fish back but threw the scale in instead. 🫢 A friend of mine (honest) had his iPhone fall out of his shirt pocket never to be seen again. Bought a new phone and went fishing the following weekend and did the same thing again. 🫣 Expensive fortnight. A Baptist presumably?

Just a guess, but is it asking you to tell it what the max RPM for the motor is, so it can warn you if you exceed them?

Oh dear, there aren't enough letters on my keyboard to list them all. I have the added joy of having to import the crackpot ideas, then try to apply them to fish that aren't bass. You'd think I'd learn, but I'm the one who is born every minute, apparently.

I promise you, it happens with every shimano I've ever touched

Last generation vanfords and stradics, earlier models too. It's part of their bail design, but if you use them as others have described they work fine, just me being awkward with the way I use the reel. I have a very efficient way of putting my finger on the spool as I open the bail to make the cast, rather than looping the line under my index finger, which is more common. I open the bail at whatever part of the rotation it is in, and at one point in the rotation shimanos will click open, but snap shut when cast, Daiwas just won't let you fully open the bail at the same point, so it's not an issue.