kickerfish1

I tried the Rage Tail swimmer and didn't care for it. It is the only Rage bait I have used that I didn't like. It just lacks action at least in the sizes I bought. Maybe in a larger size it would actually have some nice side to side kick but I wasn't impressed. To me there is no substitute for the action especially in the smaller sizes and when the bait is retrieved at slower speeds. Part of the reason for both of those is the plastic is pretty soft and to a degree thin. Might be the same logic as to why the Yamamoto senkos have great action and catch results compared to the knock offs but lack durability. For me I am not fortunate enough to fish many lakes where the fishing pressure is low and the catch results are high. If I fish for 4 hours and catch 10 fish on the heavily pressured city lakes here I consider it a pretty good day. I have fished other states mainly up North where the fishing was much "easier". You can put much less though and effort into things and still catch fish un plastics that are literally in fragments because most all the apendages and claws have been chomped off. Bottom line stick to the original Keitech. Buy them on sale, purchase a container of Mend-It and try to stretch some mileage out of your bait.

For the Horny Toad I always rig them on a 5/0 EWG hook and weightless. Had a friend show me a trick where he would add a red bead. For the life of me I am not sure what this was for other than possibly to help "catch" any weeds or what not there rather than on the bait. Another way to rig them is to put them on a swimjig as a trailer. Absolutely money at times!

Hmmm...Upgrading to me would literally mean moving from something cheap or entry level to something nicer. If owned an older GLX but sold it to buy a newer GLX is that considered upgrading? There is quite a cult following of the older models and some prefer them to the new. Same thing could be set about any rod or reel when the newest one comes out. If I add 3 new rods or reels to my arsenal but sell nothing I am technically adding to and not necessarily upgrading. So now for the question on how often do I upgrade? I am not sure as mainly I am buying something to fill a niche like this year I bought my first new BFS outfit. The last 5 years or so most of my gear is mid to higher end so there really isn't a need to upgrade any of it other than if I feel like a new model is better than something I have now. If something is broke or no longer functions properly it either gets sold super cheap, given away to someone that may have a need for it or tossed out and I may or may not replace it. If your gear works to your liking I see no reason to upgrade unless you feel the need to have the latest models.

Unless you are "losing" Megabass baits, lucky crafts or discontinued Pre Rapala Warts or Xcalibur baits to muskie I wouldn't worry to much about it. Some of my favorite fisheries in MN also have health populations of large muskie.

Strike King has their blue craw color or Okechobee. Depends upon how subtle you want the blue part. Send SiebertOutdoors a PM. I would bet he could custom make skirts using various tabs that would be precisely what you are looking for.

I do as well. The Alde 50mg came in a 5:8 and 7:1 ratio. Should you only be able to find a 5:8 you can purchase a Core 50mg7 gear set to convert it to a 7:1. The Brenious gears also drop right in and they are 7:7.1. They are nearly impossible to find now.

If you value something that is compact and light the Alde/Core will deliver there. Many parts among the 50 series of reels are interchangeable. Spools included plus the aftermarket options too. What kind of cranking? Not sure about you but when resistance of lures in the water gets factored in I prefer aluminum framed reels(cranks, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, etc.... The aluminum frame seems to help dampen the vibration. I love the magnesium frame reels for bottom contact or something that requires a lot of effort to work like a jerkbait or topwater (think fatigue for the latter apps while thinking how keeping a combo as light as possible will help with transmitting vibrations and aid in sensitivity. Not saying you couldn't or won't like it but if are looking at the Alde 50mg 5:8.1... unless I was throwing smaller cranks I would look elsewhere. Anything mid to deeper depth stuff will probably be pretty stressing on that reel and the internals. Just to offer another suggestion you could consider: 1. Adding a Chronarch 100D 5 (5:1) gears and aluminum frame. It is a cranking machine and one of the smoothest and best cranking reels out for anything but the super deep cranks. 2. Buy the Alde 50 / Core 50 to use for bottom contact and sell your Metanium to help fund it. Just a few thoughts... No right or wrong answer. Just a little personal preference from using said reels for a few years.

Gotcha. Sorry, I ain't all that bright sometimes. Alde - is a sweet little reel. At 5.5 ounces there really isn't much too them. Super well built and perfect for a wide array of apps despite the small size. I have the Core 50mg, Alde 50mg, Chronarch 50e, Chronarch 50e and a pair of Scorpion 1000xts. The differences are small but there are some. With the Alde you get the magnesium frame, non plastic drag star, better internal stock bearings, and maybe hair more smoothness over the Curado 50e for example. Now the metanium you currently have is going to be touch heavier. Something like 6.1 ounces vs 5.5 for the alde. The frame will be a bit bigger and the spooler slightly deeper and heavier. I love this era of reels. Easy to adjust, easy to maintain, good longevity, and comfortable and reliable to fish. Good luck either way. If not an Alde you could look for a Core 50. The Alde was a JDM reel while the Core was a US reel. Really the only difference is the paint. You can source a used Alde for less than a used Core. Not sure why but that seems to be the case.

Is this the reel you are referring to? http://www.tackletour.com/reviewshimanocore.html

Can you clarify what model you have? Maybe I missed it but there are basically two frames that shimano used during that time. One was the 100 and the other was the 50 that would have had the Alde name associated it with it. So if it was the 50 it would share the same exact frame as these US and JDM reels: Scorpion 1000xt Curado 50e Chronarch 50e Core 50 mg7 Alde 50 mg 5:8.1 and 7:1 It if was the 100 size it would be: Chronarch 100 D5 and D7 Core 100mg 6:2 and 100mg7 7:1 Exscence DC Alde 100 Mg 6:2 and 100mg7 7:1 Alde DC IMO they all palm great. The frame of the 50 is going to be smaller and it will palm as small as about any smaller/finesse oriented caster on the market today. The 100 will sit a bit higher but it is not bad at all.

Flopping is done physically and complaining is done verbally. On what planet are they the same thing? Nothing more to say. If we are talking basketball greatness and accolades MJ > LJ.

Big difference from complaining and flopping. A very large % of players in any sports complain or argue there side of things.

Oh yea? And just how successful have the Bulls been since Jordan left them. Yep, they have done nothing. Lebron needed players around him before he could win. Hell, Bird and Magic did as well. No ONE player wins with no one around him. Lebron had two former Olympic players on his team in Miami. Jordan only had one and that was Pippen. You can spin it all you want but the facts are there in the table I linked. I only noted the difference in # of years playing the NBA because Lebron will finish with more years in the league so things like total, points, rebounds, wins, etc. Jordan didn't have the opportunity to jump from the NBA out of HS. I am Lebron James fan. You probably don't think that but I have respect for the mans game. IMO he is the best athlete of the modern era and right up there with guys like Bo Jackson or Dion Sanders. Lebron as a NFL TE would be scary and I am guessing he would be flat out dominant. Jordan tried baseball and was never that good. If we are talking pure basketball greatness Jordan is better. If we are talking pure athlete Lebron would be. Jordan did much more with precision, finesse, hang time, and leabping ability with an array of moves. Lebron is a rare combination of size, power, explosiveness and superior passing vision.

Jordan didn't flop a lot. I bet the ratio of Lebron's flops to Jordan's was 5:1 Look at the link. Not to far down you will see the data compiled is based on 15 seasons. When Jordan entered the NBA he had to go through 4 years of college. Lebron went straight from HS. Therefore it would only seem logical Lebron got an earlier jump on his career by 4 years. Be little Jordan all you want but the stats don't lie. http://www.landofbasketball.com/player_comparison/lebron_james_vs_michael_jordan.htm

Jordan also was the better free throw shooter as well. Don't ever recall Jordan flopping like Lebron does. Look up Lebron James flop highlights on YouTube. James is a better passer and the better athlete of the two. That is all I will give him on Jordan.

WW2 and A-Jay nailed it! I really don't have much to add.

Sounds like your reel gets heavy use or perhaps it is one of your only baitcasters. If that is the case you will need to service it more than some of us that use our reels less. I would say you will probably want to do the bearings and gears at least once or twice a year depending on how the reel feels and casts to you. If you are somewhat mechanically inclined I would flush and relube the spool bearings. I would then add a little bit more grease to the gears to prevent premature wear on them. For a $50 reel I would learn to service it myself. Average costs of service plus shipping both ways will run you around $30 give or take. Most places will want $15-25 per reel and then shipping to and from. Just remember to keep a schematic for your reel handy and also try to lay the parts down when you start taking it apart in the order they go or take pictures. Be careful of bearing retainer clips that like to fly and other small parts along the way.

Very nice outfit FW! That is a great pairing for sure. Have you used the MB rod much yet?

Easy get in touch with the boys at The Tackle Trap and order a rep sample Loomis GLX MBR 844.

Pretty much all Shimano and Daiwa reels. Mid to higher end stuff. Tried others and they didn't last. Both of these brands have proven themselves over season of use. They are also highly customizable, have high resell value, are innovative and just flat out perform to my liking.

Both. I like balance. You could put a Steez on a Walmart special and it would feel awful. Likewise putting an NRX on a Shakespear baitcaster would be bad as well. Most of my combos retail from $400 - $1000. I like to keep the bottom contact setups a bit more spendy on the rod while the resistance bait setups a bit more spendy for the reel with durability in mind. I would guess that 9/10 of my setups probably have a more expensive rod than reel. Now if you count $ spent on aftermarket reel parts and internal upgrades some of the reels would top the rods.

Well I will share my thoughts. I am no expert but this is where I am at with shaving today. So for some reason or another about 3 years ago my face developed a lot of sensitivity to shaving. It looked it was breaking out bad all the time. Really started to eat at my self confidence. Went to several doctors and spoke with allergist and what not to get that sorted out. Long story short this is my routine for shaving and facial care. 1. Take a shower including washing your face. 2. Right when you get out of the shower shave. 3. I always splash warm water over the entire face to begin with 4. Then I will take a badge brush and shaving soap bar and lather up my face 5. Next I will use some edge Sensitive skin shaving gel over that. The reason for this is the brush helps lift the hairs while the gel makes the razor glide 6. For the razor I use a Mach 3 sensitive skin - It helps with redness 7. While shaving make sure you are shaving with the grain of the hairs as much as possible. You will get breakouts/ingrown hairs when you don't as a result of the razor "pulling" along the face 8. Try to only go over the area of skin once and with the grain, taking the shave closer and going back over again against the grain will get it smoother but the risk of irritation and breakouts is higher if you have sensitive skin. 9. Turn the faucet to cold and rinse your face with cold water. 10. I have to apply some facial products for my skin that my dermatologist recommended. It is basically to help dry it out some and kill off bacteria that would cause breakouts. Since following this plan my skin has looked much better. Sure I get the occasional breakout but it is not like it was before. Also I only wash my face just the one time a day unless it is a gym day and I shower when I get home. At least give the sensitive skin stuff a try and try your best to shave with the grain or in the direction the hairs lay. Also don't forget the cold water splash at the end to help close the pores.

Different colors for sure. There is no way that part is true. One is highly sought after among collectors, fisherman, and lure flippers and one is not. I can post pictures of each companies gold color tomorrow if anyone wants to see the difference.

They do it so the bait flippers can keep their hobby of hunting for these discontinued baits from garage sales, small tackle shops, and people that don't know. Then they sell them to people on forums and Ebay for a profit. Xcalibur, original warts, original run vixens, etc. Yea you know these dbs when you see them.

I love the photo idea with the 'fan' look! Why not show some more skin? This is a PG-13ish forum, we can handle seeing the reels without their 'clothes' on Nice wood! I mean check out that shiny new outfit!