Shoalamfishin

Excellent review!!! I have a Tournament Pro along with a standard Speed Spool alongside a Laser MG I just got for my other half. I have heard discussions on and read about upgrading reels with bearings, washers, etc. I have not learned much about upgrading Lews reels. This may seem novel or ignorant but how much of a improvement do you feel the tune up/upgrade you did actually made in the performance of the reel? I know that as above you give testimony that the upgrade make a significant improvement; I am just up in the air, weighing the cost as to whether it is worth it. I am seeking to upgrade my reels (starting with the Tournament Pro) at some point; I just don't know exactly how to go about upgrading a reel "of this caliber". I have considered using a high performance lube like Xtreme reel plus for my bearings. In short I would greatly appreciate some tips or pointers in this regard. I'm not new to breaking down reels and cleaning them, but I am a little intimidated at the aspect of breaking down a Tournament Pro. Many thanks

Definitely shop around you can find good deals on them if you search. I have a Lews Speed Spool and a Tournament Pro, and for the money they are the best reels you can get. http://www.lews.com/reels.htm this link is to Lew's website to all Lews reels In short as you get into the upper level reels the weight of the reels gets lighter, the drag gets stronger, features such as magnetic and centrifugal brakes (in tournament pro), bearing are added, and fancy features like clicking drag star and clicking brakes are added all of this depends on the level of reel you are looking for. Most of the features can be found on the Lews Tournament, and if you look especially online it should be fairly reasonable my Lews Tournament Pro was $165 (new in box) if I remember correctly from an online retailer.

I have have good success with this rig. In my experience it will tend to roll if the arms are not spaced equidistantly from each other and/or if the baits on it are not rigged properly (for example not uniformly hooking baits). Honestly I don't know of the tripod turning on retrieve when properly weighted and rigged. I would suggest giving it a couple tries, throwing it several times before you rule it a defect for dumb bass.

I have no suggestions other that what been said. The rule seems to be like a commandment to bass fishers. I myself have the... addiction... I find that I literally cannot go into town with any cash on hand if I am am going to be near sporting goods store. If I do not have a set agenda or a mission for a shopping outing it can turn into a bait buying extravaganza. When I lose something to a break off (forbid, oh help me) anything with significant value I have to replace it. Shouldn't they have help groups for things like this? The bigger issue is I don't want help! Embrace it right? I have had to find cheaper baits myself just to satisfy to "bait monkey", am haven't made it into the no-buy-zone yet but I have managed to cut down SOME of my ridiculous impulse spending.

I'm getting here a little late to discuss things, but this really reminded me of a fishing trip I had with cousin in the days before Christmas. To start with its a completely different part of the country than most in this discussion are referring to. The pond was a small, shallow natural pond (like a beaver swamp) absolutely full of timber that was really low we push polled through most of it with 6-7' sticks; all that out there we ruled out crankbaits pretty fast. The day started slow with one 2lb fish it was fairly discouraging as we only had a few hours of a Saturday afternoon. As the afternoon went on we found a hole that held a mess of fish in the 3-4 pound range all were caught on either a havoc bait or a swim jig. In short I believe in soft baits in cold weather but I feel like, as in all things, there is a time and place for them. For those who think that as the afternoon continued it warmed up, not so we were still in heavy coats and it was cool.

Sounds like typical striper stuff but I could be wrong. In any case you have to consider first off what you can get out there, baits that are lighter or have a increases wind resistance (big awkward bodies like buzz-baits) will be much harder to cast to or past your target. I would use whatever you have in the form of a lipless crankbait, walk-the-dog type topwater lure, jerkbait, any baitfish or wounded baitfish type bait.

I have seen fish school up in front of shoals waiting for baitfish to wash down but in my experience the bigger fish tend not to school as often and when they do they are much more wary. I have seen bigger fish caught out of the same hole but more often then not once one nice fish is caught from a hole, if there are others there they become shy or don't bite and its time to move. Smaller fish are different and easier to catch in this respect.

I don't know where you are thinking of in Georgia but with the warming weather we've had pre-spawn may be sooner than expected the end of this month may be it but its hard to tell. If we get a good cold snap it could easily throw things off.

Good rods. When I was growing up that's all my dad used was classic lightning rods on a Abu Garcia Ambassador. I have and older one myself and a lightning rod shock both are good rods for the money.

I'm not trying to ruffle feathers, Shimano make great reels but I don't follow the crowd in that respect or, as has been said jump on the bandwagon. I have have great success with Lews reels from the Speed Spool to the Tournament Pro and just feel that the general value is better as far as general bang for your buck. All things said I would recommend a Lews Speed Spool or Tournament MG both of which you can new and in your price range. They carry Shimano fan base or have the popularized duragear system, but they have a very solid "instant" anti-reverse, are extremely smooth, and strong. I'm by no means a Lews rep. or anything like that; both manufacturers produce top quality reels. Ultimately I would suggest (if possible) choosing what is most comfortable and feels best to you.

Thanks for the information. I'll be sure to give it a try.

Has anyone ever tied off the tag ends (at the base of the knot) for extra insuranse with say a simple overhand knot or is this really not necessary? It is my understanding that some people tie the knoe this way and that some do not. Just asking because I've considered using it but have shy'd away due to the "loose" appearance of tagends and general awkwardness of the knot. I do not doubt the strength of the knot at all (I have seen it in action) I am simply not accustom to it and am therefore seeking some advice. I usually use the blood knot and it has held up well I have had few failures with it.

I have done something similar in the past. Ive used 1/8th ounce round jig-heads with round bend hook and shoved the weighted head down into the body of the craw. When it gets down to the very bottom of the craw (tail) I push the line tie out of the back. This works good because the hook fits well into the body of the bait and you can texas style hook the head. I use it for slower presentations it will occasionally roll and spin if you try to burn it in though, I stick to speed style craws for fast retrieve craw presentation.

Its a Shoal bass, no doubt they look similar but there's differences..

This is similar to the experience I've had. Ive caught a good bit and taken alot of people fishing and it seems like 1 to 2 fish at a time in a spot is typical, more than that is good, once a fish gets hauled out the others get spooky and hide or take off.

It will serve you well I have had several different models of Lews reels and they are all fantastic. They are excellent quality, great durability, and good customer service to back it up. I'm glad to hear your enjoying it and got a good deal on it, congratulations.