jason41987

kind of off topic, but why the lust for 8:1 or so speed reels?.. is it to reel in lures faster while you turn the knob at the same speed?.. why not just turn the knob faster instead to reel in faster for lures that need a faster retrieve?.. i just dont get why people have a bunch of different retrieve speeds, i seem to have trained myself to reel in faster or slower depending on the lure.. now, going with a slower than normal retrieve ive had some issues getting the speeds down, so i really just focus on the amount of line it reels in per turn, so long as thats the same i can use any retrieve speed (30" per turn is what im used to which is around a 6:1 on my reel, 7:1 on low profiles i believe)

i used to use improved clinch, however as soon as i learned the palomar knot ive been using it ever since, nothing beats its brutal simplicity, and you also have two pieces of line supporting the eye of the hook, just seems better to me

ill look at the curado, i likely wont buy one, but ill check them out and see what it is they have i get the impression most people just dont like magnetic brakes?..i dont have too much experience with magnetic brakes, only centrifugal

it would be nice if we had a low profile baitcaster that was modular, had a way of easily being upgraded or modified to your liking or at least a design thats simple enough to tweak for your liking

i guess what i should just do is find a cheap $50 low profile baitcaster just for the general scale and size of it, then design something simpler, easier to work on, that maybe had parts compatibility with a common, long-running reel that has easy to find parts and im checking out some of those "pimp my reel" videos now

one of my favorite current reels is the abu garcia ambassadeur reels, i love its brutally simple, rugged design.. i was thinking of employing some of the manufacturing techniques of the ambassadeur into a low profile design, using essentially flat sides to the frame connected in the middle with metal bars to create a rigid metal frame for example what do you guys think about making a brutally simple workhouse type low profile baitcaster based on the ambassadeur round baitcaster construction? (im just looking for ideas to changing or designing a new low profile reel)

before i get into too much detail, im the type of person who likes to tinker, design, and build just about anything, heck i've even designed a couple rifles for myself, so i dont want to hear anyone tell me what kind of work it would take to do what i want to do, etc.. im well aware ok, so now my idea is to find a good, inexpensive baitcaster to use as a template, a design that is cheap, maybe around the $50 that has some potential for some redesign, modification, or fabrication.. im looking for a design thats relatively simple in construction, strong, and would be a good platform for a reel to do all this too say take a cheap graphite frames low profile baitcaster, fabricate an aluminum or carbon fiber frame to replace the graphite one, upgrade or redesign the drag system, work on the levelwind, and transform into something entirely different as a side engineering project, or at the very least a reel that will work as a good template to get some key dimensions and measurements from to use as a template to design my own low profile baitcaster from scratch so.. any ideas as to what would be an inexpensive design with some potential, or at least works as a good representation to the typical baitcaster i can base my own design off of?.. 145 yards of 12lb test seems to be a standard spool size for most for example, and a common feature for example its kind of hard to explain what im looking for but i hope someone gets the idea

ive thought about getting a good 14' aluminum hull boat to take the time to clean up, restore, and put a full deck on top with carpeting, including tackle and rod storage compartments, maybe even a livewell for fish i catch, but id need to find the right boat for a donor for that project.. maybe an aluminum jon boat

i like doing the work, i also like the ability to custom tailor something to my own needs, i also enjoy experimenting with new techniques and ideas, so it gives me some ideas for testing some composites and shapes what do you guys think would be better? something like the boat i posted above with a swivel chair you can sit on top of, or something more the side of a kayak, still made from floating tubes but would be much easier to propel with kayak oars vs needing a motor and would also keep the center of gravity lower

i think ill fabricate a pontoon myself.. i have this idea of taking some kind of plastic material, making a bag in the shape of the pontoon out of it, place it inside a piece of canvas sewn into the same shape, inflate the bag ,then brush resin onto the canvas to harden it into a shell.. then layer it with a could more layers of fabric to make a water proof resin shell for pontoons i could do the same thing to make my own inflatable boat that i could harden into a solid hollowed structure what if i make something like my own hollow inflatable kayak, do the same thing i mentioned above to make it rigid, give it a flat bottom combined with the hollow tubes would make it extra stable for fishing, could design a transom on the back of it to use with a small trolling motor or a really small outboard.. could even section off the areas where my body isnt occupying for tackle storage, maybe some rod holders on the side of the now rigid tube structures, maybe even something to hook a stringer on for any fish i want to keep however, if i make the pontoons which would be so much easier i could design them to have a flat top on them i can lay a solid platform across, mount a swivel chair on top of this with enough of a platform to stand up on, pontoons would make it stable enough to stand up, fight fish.. something like in the photo below which will be light enough to take out of a truck and place in the water, so i can gain access to the lake without even needing a boat ramp, and i could carry two in the back of a pickup truck.. a simple calculation of the volume of the pontoons will allow me to determine buoyancy and the maximum payload.. question is, how well could these handle being out in the middle of a big lake, like green lake, wisconsin or even winnebago?

my only concern with the pontoon things is how vicious the pike are here, ive seen them leap out of the water and bite someones hand hanging over the side of the boat and with those pontoon things theres nothing between those vicious pike and your "junk"

ive been looking for a good starting low-profile baitcaster and have considered the pro max myself as well since i tend to lean abu since i like my ambassadeurs so much, but personally im not sure its worth buying anything that uses a graphite frame and i believe the pro max does?

im in wisconsin, i usually fish with my dad, so i wouldnt mind going with a kayak or the small little pontoons you sit between for the ability to fish separate parts of the lake at the same time since we never target the same fish or do the same type of fishing

the rod will tell you the line and lure weights its designed for.. go beyond that and you will lose out on casting performance i looked up his rod on the shakespeare website, it says 6-15lb test line and 1/8-5/8oz lures.. for bass 10-12lb test should be good then with any of those lure weights

btw, i regularly cast texas rigged worms with my baitcaster, however, all i ever catch with them is bass which dont get too big here so i dont really cast them anymore

id say avoid the spinner, i hate spinning reels with a passion, get a spincast for the light stuff, then you can use all the same rods you have now with baitcasters with the ability to cast the light stuff.. not to rant, but i catch much, much fewer fish on a spinner, why?.. far more difficult to be accurate with the way you use your finger to release the line, and the inabiltiy to stop the line where you want it.. with spinners my lure would land anywhere in a 20 degree direction of where i intend, with a baitcaster i can drop lures right between small open patches in the lily pads my baitcaster can cast a total of about 2 feet on really light marabou jig, and thats if im lucky, so instead of getting all new rods to go with new reels just to cast light stuff, i just go with a decent spincast also, your rod and line make a huge difference.. lures of 3/16 oz id use on a light power right with a 6-8lb test line for my, my main setup is an abu garcia ambassadeur round baitcaster on a medium heavy rod, my limit is about 3/8oz, anything below that ill use a spincast on an extra light or light rod with a 4-6lb test

i have seen some small aluminum boats go for under $100 here.. i may pick one up if i find no other alternative, my preferred option would be something easier to carry without a trailer, that could either fit in the back of a truck or on top of an SUV, something that would be much easier to launch

im tired of all the good lakes near me, and all the good fishing spots being only accessible by boat.. i need some way of getting me out into the lake for fishing.. i do not have much money either so im looking for options.. i dont need a fancy bass boat, i dont even need anything with a motor, what are my options?.. are there any inexpensive ways to get myself out into the water?.. id prefer a 1 person craft small enough to load a couple up into a truck or trailor, or one inexpensive to design and build 14 foot boat i have the tools, and woodworking skills to work with wood and composites, so its not impossible for me to shape a mould to make a one off fiberglass hull, or make a canoe or kayak.. but im just looking for options for something thats inexpensive and simple to make to get me what i need because i really need a boat of some sort

prevents line twist caused by your lure too

i dont tie leaders to the braid, i tie a split ring to my main line, tie swivels to my leaders (i go this way because i can actually push the small split ring through the eyes for removing my reel without having to cut the line) then i make up multiple leaders with different lures tied onto them, then hook them to the split ring on my main line

thats why i only use about a 20lb fluro in 12" lengths for a leader, then i dont have to worry about line memory, its less visible underwater which allows me to use a high visibility braided line and itll always be the first to snap

i just make sure the pattern of whichever brakes are on is symmetrical

i came to this thread kind of late, but i started using baitcasters last year, went back to a spinning reel for a moment this year just to see if it would cast the light, weightless stuff better.. it did a little better, but not much.. but what i learned is this, after half an hour of casting and reeling on, my right hand started hurting because the way the spinning reels dangle below, it changes the balance of the rod/reel and makes it feel front heavy.. if i try to change the position of my hand my knuckles get smashed by the bail furthermore, it didnt really throw stuff much further, sure i could cast weightless crappie lures, but still couldnt cast these out that far at all, what i gained in not having to spin a spool i lost in the line flapping around and smacking the eyes of the rod.. so there wasnt much of a gain, it was much less comfortable to use.. and get this, due to line twist i actually had to deal with birds nests MORE than i did with the baitcaster so my opinion now is to not waste my time with spinning gear ever again, id rather use a cheap spincast gear for light stuff

ive tried lighter braid and its actually sliced itself off in a backlash causing me to lose a significant portion of my line, i tried 20lb monofilament but the line memory was way too much and it didnt perform well, i prefer braid for the no line memory and lack of strength, i choose the 50lb test for the diameter being the same as the 12lb monofilament my reel came with so it doesnt dig in or cut itself, and hardly ever backlashes. ill use monofilament leaders of a lighter breaking strength so if anything gives itll be that leader and not my main line which realistically should never break

i believe this reel has the original fishing line on it.. it would appear to be some kind of braided twine, nothing like todays super braids and surely isnt any sort of a monofilament.. its a jet black colored smooth feeling, thick diameter type of line.. any idea what this stuff is and what kind of line this reel was shipped with in 1977?.. im wondering what its diameter and breaking strength is and what the line capacity on a 6600 size reel was for this line? my guess is its dacron