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FishinFool thanks for this tip. I've been looking for a source of small vinyl tubing to use as hook point covers. My wife's passion is jewelry making and she sees hundreds of ideas from those photos you posted. It's so cool when my wife can shop in the same stores I do......

Not really in hvy cover just the brazilian pepper that lines the shore. How you liking that spring break traffic in Ft. Myers!!

Yeah I've found some 5/0 Beasts but wanted a longer hook and I'd rather have a thinner wire since I stick with mono. I think I'll order up some of the 5139-71's. Thanks everybody for your advise.

I just got a Zebco Cardinal 6 this weekend. Big thing it is but not too heavy.

What's better about nylon chrome painted plastic and pig metal. Designed today obsolete tomorrow. At least the Mitchell after 50 years still has parts available. Can't say that about many 40 buck doyo clone plastic wonders.

I'm having a hard time finding the right hook locally. What are you guys using? 5/0 or the ever so hard to find 6/0?

Don Iovino has supertuned versions for sale on his site. A 1500 for just $200, a great price but with original very tiny pearl knobs.... The Aussies put up a lot of 2500 and 1500 s on ebay in colors that make me drool but for premium $ plus shipping across the world yikes!

Same goes with reels. puny graphite shimanos and pig metal daiwas were the bottom of the barrel, now they reign supreme...

OMG... all those wasted trips to Orlando Ive taken and never discovered that place!!!!

I want to like Revo's. Ive tried 6 of them but never kept them. Just cant dial the brakes in, too inconsistant. Even the S with just centrifugal brakes was not consistant. This weekend a shop has a factory tent sale with the head of Penn and some Pure Fishing top dogs to talk to. I am hoping to get some insight on proper set up of the Revo's and maybe try the new Inshore.

Im planning to do the same thing to a few old Ambassadeur handles soon. There are a couple videos on youtube that show how. Just key in replacing riveted knob with custom knob under the search. You have to break off the old knob and drill out its rivet or connection to the handle. japantackle and a few other asian aftermarket bling houses offer fancy knobs. The trick is to find one with a new post which you will have to screw on to the old handle.

The tilapia beds will be massive like a bomb crater. Bass will take advantage of overhanging or submergent cover, the tilapia will bed in the wide open and often in groups closer than bass will bed allow other bass near theirs.

They just got off the beds here in Englewood. We were thinking of hitting the Cocoplum on Friday. Lots of big bass in North Port.

Yes I have but with a Abu Revo Inshore 30. In the middle of retrieving it back in, braid had sort of half hitched around the roller end of the bail and it sort of popped, more like a feeling than a noise. Geary from then on. Checked the rotor everything was tight. I totally disassembled it and put it together when at home. Back to New but now often goes back.into it's geary feeling. I think it's the pinion being moved out of its proper space just slightly that causes it.

Here they are very prone to cold weather. Shallow ultra clear ponds without a dark bottom, they dont warm up well and we get fish kills sometimes. Worse FWC never patrols these areas and folks have felt free to poach without risk.

Joel, have you started building up some of the smaller Ambassadeur's? I see the new lightweight 4500 frames have come up for sale. I can't decide what to do with my 2500s....

What about western Tennessee? We have been planning Paris or Lexington for a few years. Everyone here in s.w.Fl. is moving to eastern Tennessee. The very people I'm trying to move away from. We used to stay in the Copperhill/Ducktown area but as I grow older I see no sense in moving to a place with so much elevation. Not easy on a flatlanders knees. Speaking to an instructor from Knoxville, he told my wife Tennessee is waking up to the crowd that's moving in and prices and taxes are increasing quickly.

Private waters and fish management areas funded by Mosaic Mining in effort to sway public opinion to support their business most likely. Like Beinville once was.

I think the original poster is right for more of the country than not. First catch and release has "educated" bass to an extent. There are many articles in older magazines by fisheries biologists explaining it. Current press won't bring that point up, maybe even refute it. It doesn't promote the "sport" and doesn't sell advertising. Plenty of other reasons too. Here unbridled development has ruined what is left of natural waters. The current state administration is only concerned with giving $ to industry to come here and even gone to the extent of disbanding state agencies that enforced pollution laws. The state game commission is ordered to spend their majority of time and resources towards homeland security rather than wildlife law enforcement. Rampant growth brought more and more pasture pool clubs there runoff of fertilizers and weed killers goes directly into the watershed via drainage systems that dump directly into local freshwaters. Just as destructive has been the invasion of tilapia. I see hundreds of them during a 5 hour trip. Just running to fishing grounds it's common to strike several with the boat at plane as they lay at the surface slurping for air. Their excrement has changed the oxygen/nitrogen levels. They spawn year round multiple times. They aggressively possess the basses spawning areas and their bomb crater beds ruin the grounds for future bass usage. They eat bass fry and grow big, fast, not providing much of a forage bass for bass. The landlocked tarpon and snook cannot even keep them in check. Bass fishing has little future in my area.

The foot stamp offers no clue to the reels gear ratio, only date of manufacture. The 2500C IAR gear ratio is 5.3:1. I find the schematics on Abu's site better but hard to navigate to find. Mikereelrepair.com has excellent schematic archives but slower than slow to deliver parts. PM me if you want to talk about old Abu's .....

Ditto on the Berkeley Lightning Rod Shock. Light and great action for the money.

I agree with you Drew I prefer a shorter rod too and while $$ rods are great and I have a few, they aren't so great bouncing around the bottom of my Jon boat or while high sticking a fish next to my kayak. Too risky it takes a lot of joy out of it for me worrying about it. I've found the answer in St.Croixs Premier 6ft. standard grip. Also FTO signature series though they discontinued the six footer you can still find them around. Also FFO TACKLE website has about 40% off some short Fenwick Eagle GT and Smallmouth series rods right now.

You can make your own out of the little tubes from spray cans like wd-40 or oil. Cut to your needs big or small. They work just as well.

Really, the same factory the same employees and supervisors but not the same assembly line! Key parts are the same and interchangable. You're right they eventually fork off on to a different line to get a different decal on them......

The Lexa 100 is the only non round baitcaster I have liked since the Curado D. Its strong feeling and I preferred it in every way over the Tatula . Ive never seen a Lew's, they're no where near my part of the world but since they are just Revo's that came out a different back door of the same building I can only imagine they are identical. Revo's sadly cannot hold up to much heavy use.