jason41987

well, reducing the rolling resistance of the spool should in theory allow lighter lures to be thrown, so a bearing upgrade should improve this.. so a good bearing suggestion could help... also, i havent had a need for a drag or a handle upgrade yet.. i never overpower a fish with the handle, but use the rod to pull them close, and then reel in the slack anyway.. i noticed another issue with this reel, i actually set it down on the shore to unhook a fish, and i actually got sand inside the reel somewhere, so i can feel the grit when casting or reeling.. last time this happened and i got sand on it, i dunked it in the water to wash it off and afterwards the spool tension didnt seem to work adequately anymore until it dried out.. is there any upgrades or tweaks that could offer better reliability to the spool tensioning, especially when wet?

i have an abu garcia 5600c4 ambassadeur, and im interested in upgrading it.. it has a wiffle spool so holds only about 135 yards of 12lb test.. thats plenty, but what id be interested in upgrading is whatever i can to gain better reliability when throwing lighter lures.. im much, much more likely to backlast on 1/4, 3/16 oz lures, etc and below that i cant even cast because it takes too much force to get the spool rolling than these light lures are capable of (at the lake where i fish though, on 3/8 and 1/2 oz lures i cast considerably further than those around me with spinning gear) another problem i have is the brass gears look a bit worn... im not too fond of the idea of brass gears in something i want to keep long term.. any idea where i could get steel gears? so what sort of upgrades could i make in reguards to spool tension, rolling resistance (bearing upgrades), gear upgrades, etc? also, if i lose a piece of line due to a backlash, snag, etc.. the levelwind is then out of sync with the line.. itll try pulling a line off the left side of the spool while the levelwind is all the way to the right.. best way to correct this besides pulling my line out and reeling it back in?

as i said before, i think i found a niche for a spincast reel, an area where it will do so, so much better than my baitcaster... my baitcaster as it seems cant go below a 1/4oz lure, a spincast can.. should i buy an entirely new rod, get used to a different type of reel and casting, or use a spincast for the lighter stuff?.. i dont know what else is going to be more reliable when throwing 1/16 and 1/8 oz lures?

just my .02, but ive recently had to replace my fishing gear.. my old stuff was really old, and a cheap walmart special combo even when new.. so i spent a little extra, got an abu garcia 5600 C4 reel and a vengeance casting rod to go with it... got a bad backlash, got angry, tried to go back to spinning and i just couldnt get used to the balance of the spinning setup anymore, i found baitcasters to be so much more comfortable and better balanced but.. when i decided i wanted to try to catch some panfish as i was in the mood for some crappie, i tried to cast some small crappie jigs, spool tension all the way off, and i got a whole two feet with it.. this rod is definitely not suitable for light stuff like that, i like to stay around a 3/8-1/2oz lure as im catching tons of bass, pike, and bowfin so that being said i ask myself.. what can i do to cast these lighter lures, go back to spinning of which i no longer feel comfortable using (besides me being tired of the bail bashing my knuckles as i like to hold it high on the grip when fighting a big fish), but then id need new rods too.. then i thought hmm, spincast? my dad has an old spincast reel, and hard to believe but this thing is actually heavy and made out of metal, is quite a few years old and still runs very smooth.. heck, even has steel gears, bait clicker, and reversible crank (though ive actually gotten used to "palming" a reel now for the added control and balance).. i had the opinion spincast reels were for ultra cheap youth setups but i actually found a niche where one could be quite useful, and unfortunately for today no one puts this much attention into a spincast reel, so im going to find an older one, like my dad uses and rebuild it.. you know, newer, better bearing, a thorough disassembly and cleaning, new grease.. make it work like new so i can cast that lighter stuff and not have to buy all new rods as for is it good for bass fishing?.. he gets about five of them a day on a texas rigged worm.. and when we were fishing on the river we were pulling out close to to 30" carps which will put up a bigger fight than any bass ever could, so yeah, if you get the right reel itll definitely handle bass.. in fact, his gears dont even look the least bit worn after years of use on fish that size... recently ive caught a number of close to 30 inch pike and bowfins and a couple teeth in my gears are already starting to look rough.. and this is a round baitcaster designed for much bigger fish

i actually used braided 20lb once.. actually hit something on a cast, backlashed, but my lure still flew out there, then the line tightened down onto itself and actually cut my line off as my lure just kept on going out into the lake.. because it was so thin i was also having problems of pieces of the line working itself under other parts of the line or between the spool and frame at times... so i tore it all off... thought to myself.. why am i even using braid? i could set up to 12lb and still get well over 100 yards on this thing, and at $2 for 500 yards of mono, it doesnt matter how much of it i break or tangle so now, i just get a bulk 12lb monofilament spool which is of a diameter both my reel and my rod was designed for... my other alternative was 50lb braided at that same diameter, but then what fun is fishing if theres no fight?

i dont have an ultralight setup yet

well to answer a question above, i had a 5600c4, and no, i didnt have like 1000 yards on it, just put a 150 yard spool on a 20lb monofilament backing... and ill never use 20lb braided again... one time i casted so hard, there was a backlash, the line bit down onto itself, cutting the line as my lure kept going halfway into the lake.. the diameter is just too small, and given the extra capacity of these reels, whats the point to braided anyway? 20lb mono seems to work fine despite the memory it has heres another thing i learned too.. tried to use a medium power casting rod.. i couldnt stand it, im so used to medium-heavy that it seems like an entirely different rod, way too sensitive for me... ill even notice when a small bass or even a little 12 inch pike bites on that, so, i think a light or ultralight for the small stuff, but for everything else this medium-heavy is exactly how i like a rod... that being said i only see myself needing two setups to cover everything id ever need to fish for

i had a HUGE backlash today on my baitcasting reel.. i lost my entire line trying to fix it... all the braided, even the backing.. make me VERY angry.. but i learned a couple things because of this.. in doing so, i put this rod/reel combo in the truck, the people i were fishing with had a spare spinning setup i used for about 10 minutes now, trying to go back to spinning is difficult, i got used to reeling with the right hand, holding the rod with the left, but when i try switching the baitcasting reel to a right hand retrieve it still didnt feel right, the balance felt way off.. it just felt wrong.. tried the left hand retrieve and it still felt wrong.. that being said, this thing STILL backlashed and getting the slack reeled in under tension by holding the line is a pain in the rear compared to my baitcaster... so backlashes still occur with these. but the feel and balance just doesnt feel as good to me anymore as my baitcaster does the other lesson i learned was when i put this rod/reel combo back, got mine out which no longer had ANY line on it, and pulled out a spool of 20lb i had in my tackle box and re-spooled it with mono (i had 20lb braided on it before)... and what i noticed is 20lb braided and 20lb mono, sure i could hold more braided... but were talking about a round baitcaster, specifically an abu garcia ambassadeur 5600C4, line capacity is never an issue, and backlashes werent an issue once tuned.. but also as interesting is the casting distance wasnt much different... that all being said i can get a 500 yard spool of mono for a few dollars vs only 150 yards of braided for about $20 so i think im going to keep the baitcaster and look at other alternatives for lighter tackle... there are reel mods i can apply to this reel that might allow me to work with lighter lures.. i wonder if one of those small mr crappie baitcasters can cast a small marabou jig?.. also, im using a medium-heavy rod so perhaps that could be another reason it didnt cast well.... another option i have i guess id a spincast reel for lighter tackle

well.. im probably going to buy a telescoping ultralight rod and a small 100/4 or so spinning reel and use this for trout and panfish with 10-15lb braided line... this way, i can handle bigger fish should i catch one, but still have the sensitivity necessary for panfish and trout im willing to consider other options for small fish like this.. travel fly fishing setup? centerpin? im open to suggestions.. i have a 4 or 5 piece medium heavy spinning rod ive had for 10 years.. the reel could use an upgrade though, but im really considering going back to using this for the time being.. kind of getting tired of tuning baitcasters as well, setting spool tension for different weight lures, backlashes, brakes... i like the mechanically simple

dont get me wrong... i love being able to target a certain spot, maybe a patch of clear water between a group of weeds.. and im able to do that with a baitcaster... its when i decided i wanted to try some crappie fishing with a small marabou jig, took all the spool tension off and managed to cast about 2 feet.. embarrassing really and im not sure what im going to do about it to be honest.. i have options reason i was considering going back to a spinning reel is because then id only need one good reel.. i notice more modern spinning reels have the option of quickly popping off a spool to change line weights.. interesting concept as i can put on a 4lb line for crappie, 10lb for bass, or put on my 20-30lb braided for walleye, pike, muskie, bowfin, etc all using the same reel.. and spinning rods seem to be more common for me to do this on baitcasting setups.. im obviously still going to need multiple rods for throwing different weight lures, but what option do i have for really light tackle like marabou jigs, flies, etc?.. perhaps one of those light mr crappie baitcasters on a small telescoping reel would be a nice way to go but, either way im going to have to have a collection of good fishing rods of different actions, i feel like id be better off collecting said reels in a spinning setup, simply because i can get by on just one good reel.. and have the option of fly fishing and centerpin gear too if i want to try something different

let me start by saying i like my baitcasting reel.. but, as ive been using it for a while now, im beginning to notice its limitations.. one such limitation being light tackle.. by this i mean i can take the spool drag all the way off and still not be able to cast some of the lighter lures a good spinning reel doesnt need a spool drag... the line comes off freely (of course, we all know this) but this means a single spinning reel, depending on the rod and line i use, would be well capable of handling a very large variety of lures without adjustments... so if i was going to have a few different rods, ultralight for panfish, medium for general purpose, heavier rods if im targeting things like pike, muskie, bowfin.. and most new spinning reels have quick change spools which make it more versatile... but one other thing that gets me interested, is the ability to use fly fishing rods as well so... should i really go back to spinning for general purpose fishing.. and perhaps reserve my baitcasting setup for only larger game, or perhaps for float fishing or trolling?

now apparently people have been doing something in this area that makes me incredibly angry... catching fish they personally believe are "garbage" and then leaving them on shore in the grass.. its quite cruel to be honest, i cant stand people killing things for the sake of doing it.. for food, fine.. plus it stinks up the area and attracts a lot of unnecessary wildlife, scavengers, and insects.. the fish they seemed to have been doing this to are bowfins... in fact, the people here are so uneducated about the species they dont even know "bowfin" is the proper name for it for that matter, i dont even see why it matters.. theyre not keeping anything they catch, and bowfins put up a bigger fight than anything else in that lake so it seems stupid to let them die to what? increase the numbers of gamefish they dont even keep anyway?.. besides, bowfins are not invasive and as such have every right to populate a lake as any other fish when i was fishing.. apparently the dickheads that were there just before me left one in the grass.. it jumped out behind me, barely alive... but i was able to get it into the water, get it some oxygen, and i was able to revive it so it could swim away

i agree with bigbill totally... life vs a SMALL amount of money.. i mean realistically how much money are you losing when you damage a lure?.. $10 or less?, and how frequently do you need to do this? not frequently at all, especially in my case where this is the first time i had to do it, and it was only a weedless jig head and grub anyway, so more like $1 lost..... and maybe where you guys come from pike arent worth much, but here they get big.. very big and i regularly catch pike over 30".. in fact, bass here are so small since im up north, but the walleye and pike are so much bigger that i fish for them, not bass, and if i carelessly killed the little ones they wouldnt grow up to be big ones

well, i only kill what i eat, and will always do my best to save something im not going to eat... so about 99% of my fishing is catch and release

about what time at night?.. sun going down, just before it comes up, or right in the middle?.. and do walleyes typically prefer lighter colors like silver, white, etc?

i was fishing today with my new favorite lure.. its a swim jig that is black with a green skirt and a grub with a bright green tail.. a small pike, a little over 12 inches engulfed it.. it went so deep in his mouth i couldnt get it out in one piece... i had to use pliers to peal off the skirt and grub to get a good grip on the hook.. once released i was luckily able to pass it through the gill flap and safely out of the fish.. i was fairly certain i was going to have to kill the fish to get it back which would have been unfortunate... but, i saved it by tearing up the lure luckily.. i tie my lures to 12" long leaders with a loop tied on the end so i can quickly hook it onto a swivel, but once i finally got the hook free i was able to open the swivel clasp to pass it through the gill flap.... so, anyone else destroy their favorite lures to save a fish, or would you have preferred to rip it out even considering the fish was definitely too small to be worth keeping?

i was wondering what would be the best lure for catching walleye, and not just the lure, but the color pattern they like most.. preferably for a heavily weeded lake?... and id also like to know the time of day when they are biting the most?

this really is so much more fun than throwing a line out and waiting... in fact, this bridge i sometimes fish under, theres some guy who sets up 7 different polls with lines in every direction.. just one individual taking up about a quarter of the entire fishing area and catching nothing... kind of makes me angry because its selfish and inconsiderate to completely hog the best fishing spot on bait that doesnt even work in this lake

im still pretty suprised that on this simple swim jig i got a fish so big it was pulling line out against all 15lbs of the drag on my ambassadeur reel.. much more productivity than with texas rigs and spoons

ive been using weedless swim jigs from shore,, like this one http://images.cabelas.com/is/image/cabelas/s7_121012_001_01?hei=220&wid=380 and i add a grub to that.. notice the thick bristles on the head that extend upwards in front of the point of the hook.. these push weeds aside so the hook wont spear them.. and ive seen people add inline spoons and rattles to these too... i caught a very large bowfin today.. fish was huge and put up a hell of a fight, actually tearing line off the spool with all 15lbs of drag on

since i fish from shore.. i do not do vertical jigging.. ill either swim them through the water or drag them on the bottom and ive found a nice color combination that actually offers me a variety of fish biting them... last night i caught 5 fish in 30 minutes, even one on the cast immediately after landing another fish.. i got 3 bass, all about 15 inches long, one northern pike of decent size, and a bowfin

you know what has me most excited about jigs?.. the prospect of DIY lure making... sure, i can make crankbaits like topwater minnows, diving minnows, things like the zara spook.. but the jigs has me excited towards casting my own jig heads.. painting them, adding skirts, feathering, the absolutely huge variety of soft baits like worms, grubs, lizards that i can add to it, spoons, rattles, props.. im excited to get the things i need to start making my own and who says it CANT be topwater?.. i could probably drill a hole through a piece of balsa dowel, then cut it in half and glue it back together with the hook inside it and make floating jig heads for some topwater action i almost got into fly fishing just so i could tie my own flies.. this is close enough if not better

as stated in previous posts.. im relatively new to lure fishing.. i used live baits almost exclusively before but ive been having such phenominal success and tons more fun with lures the last few weeks, and im really enjoying this more active, hands-on way of fishing.. so.. ive been trying different lures.. texas rigged worms, hollow body frogs, spoons (phenominal success catching pike with a five of diamonds spoon).. but the lure im REALLY beginning to love are jigs i just started using jigs, purchased some weedless jig heads, assortments of grubs and other soft bodies.. and i love it.. different color jig heads, skirts, i can add rattles, blades, different size, type, and color of grub.. i can catch just about any kind of fish with these depending on the configuration, and im simply beginning to love these... and im actually quite excited now because im the DIY type.. so im probably going to pick up a jig mould and start casting my own jig heads, painting them, and assembling jigs from scratch anyone else love the variety and versatility of jigs as much as im beginning to?

because i have tons of mono already.. ill probably switch to fluoro in the future.. right now im worried about fish with teeth biting the lines what if i buy a bunch of split rings, and i tie a split ring to my main line, swivels to the now mono, but fluoro later leaders? the split ring would give me a very durable connection point to the swivels, and also be small enough to pass through the eyes of the reel to remove the reel or spool should i choose to do so.. what sort of knots do you prefer for attaching terminal tackle?.. i find myself using palomar knots mostly

i think maybe i should get a bigger lure.. stop these pike from completely engulfing it.. i have about a medium size spoon i use.. this ones all scratched up anyway from them biting it.. the three i got today were all over 26"