War Eagle 44

I use a Powell Max 735C with 50# PPS8S.

Nice, hahaha. I'm really digging the D Bomb right now. In fact I picked up a bulk 25 pack in Candy Grass color this afternoon.

I had 100% the exact experience with straight shanks and snell knots. I switched to Owner TwistLOCK flipping hooks and haven't had a problem since. I also agree with you that there has to be something to it because lots of guys make it work perfectly for them but I'm in the same boat as you, it wasn't for me.

As Bass Menace already pointed out there are plenty of good braids being sold now. My current favorite is Power Pro Super 8 Slick. Although I've not tried Sufix 832 I'm sure it's a good braid as well. I have fished Sufix Performance Braid and I know it to be a quality line. Regular Power Pro is good as well as P-Line braid.

I don't care what anyone here says, it isn't possible to "turn off" a magnet. If a reel has magnetic braking then there is always some breaking effect, no matter how little it's still there. Yes I've owned many Daiwa's; Steez, Pixy, TDZ, Fuego, Zillion HS, & Alphas. I only have the Alphas left, sold the rest to purchase more Shimano's. Not saying Shimano's are "better" reels than Daiwa's, I just simply prefer Shimano. Daiwa makes great gear.

Centrifugal. You can turn these completely off for no braking effect at all. Magnets on the other hand can't be turned off, even if you have the reel set at zero there is still some brake force applied. If you're trying to achieve maximum free spool centrifugal is where its at.

I use a Curado 301E for all my A-rig & big swimbait fishing and love the thing. It's a tank, plenty of drag and cranking power for these techniques. I use 25# P-Line CXX on mine and it holds more than enough. Can't recommend this reel enough.

I have a friend who ONLY uses NetBait Kickin B's as his swim jig trailers. He does really well with this technique to, one afternoon last Feb on Lay Lake he caught two over 6 pounds in less than a hour. He only buys three colors; white, green pumpkin, and black & blue. He was using a Blackend Blue 3/8oz Dirty Jigs no jack flipping jig and black & blue Kickin B the day he caught the two 6's. He's always a threat to walk away with your money in any tournament where there's a swim jig bite. I've picked up a couple packs of the Kickin B's to try on his recommendation and I've fished them a couple of times now and like them very much. I was using the mini Kickin B's or the Kickin B chunks with pretty good luck but he will only use the "big" Kickin B's as he is wanting the BIG bite. I've had good luck with Skinny Dippers, Grass Pigs, Paca Chunks, baby Paca Craws, Rage Craws, & Zoom swimming chunks to name a few. There are lots of options out there.

You'll love the Power Pro Micro Braid. I have my UL reel (Stradic FI 1000) spooled with 5# white PP Micro Braid and couldn't be happier with the stuff. To be fair though it is the first brand of braid that I've tried in this low a pound test so take it for what it's worth. MB is only a 3 carrier braid but it is super manageable and casts really light lures a long way. Good stuff IMHO.

I use a Citica E which maxed out makes 11 pounds of drag. I lock it down and with 65# braid I've never had it slip. I'm using a Powell Max 7105 flip/punch rod and pulling really hard on these fish to get them out of the grass and I never have a problem. So this is just my findings but I'd say your good to go with most quality baitcasters.

My number one producing craw bait is a Zoom Speed Craw in green pumpkin. If I were forced to pick just one craw bait this would be it. That said I really like Baby Paca Craws and Rage Craws as well.

Pretty much sums up my thinking as well. I've switched from regular Power Pro to their new Super 8 Slick line though and couldn't be happier. 20# S8S flies off a spinning reel resulting in great casting distance.

50 is what I use 90% of the time with those baits myself. Have used 40 with no problems as well.

In all my years of reading fishing forums this is the first time I've ever heard of this problem on a Shimano. I'm not sure the exact cause but I'm pretty sure you're going to need a new brake hub. Shimano should be able to take care of this issue for you no problem if you send it in. The only thing I know to tell you that you could try on your own would be to take all the pink brakes completely off and replace them with the green ones that come with the reel. See if they have the same problem, if so it has to be the hub, if not then you might just need a new set of pink brakes. Hope you get it figured out soon.

I use my Citica 201E, which is a 6 ratio, all the time for deep cranks. I don't have any problems as far as fatigue goes after a day of deep cranking with the Citica, it's gearing is efficient enough IMHO that it makes for a fine deep crank ratio. My biggest problem is remembering to slow down, I find myself reeling way to fast because of how easily it pulls the crank through the water. I find I catch more fish deep cranking with my Calcutta TE DC 201 because of it's 5.0:1 ratio. I'm still able to turn the handle at the rate I'm used to but with such a slow ratio it's "working" the bait at a better speed for the fish. In the end though if you can remember to slow down then there's absolutely nothing wrong with using a 6 ratio for deep cranks.

No

I've found them to be very effective fishing ponds. I didn't do anything but "cast and crank" last summer from the bank and caught some nice ones. Also I've had good luck using them on an A-Rig. They make good swim jig trailers. I always throw mine on straight braid. When out on my boat I fish them in and around grass with the same type of technique, mostly cast and wind. I try to make them bang into the grass stalks and any wood that may be in the water. Bottom line for me I guess is simply that these baits catch fish pretty well given the right conditions. They're easy to fish to boot.

You said it!! I'll be loading up on the E series Chronarch's if the price is right. I LOVE my E series Citica's & Curado's and was already planning to add a Chronarch E in the 5 ratio for deep cranks so this new model might just come at the exact right time for me. I'm not all that caught up in the "latest & greatest" anymore so I won't mind fishing with "outdated" reels. I'm sure the new Chronarch will be fantastic (and I might just have to pick one up depending on their price) but as I already stated I love the E series reels so my feelings won't be hurt at all to grab 5 or 6 at half price .

Power Pro Super 8 Slick is my favorite braid by far right now. Before I started to use it though regular Power Pro was my line of choice. I just love how easy S8S comes off the spool (casting or spinning) after it gets "broken in".

Yes, the spool is now going to spin faster than before so you'll have to adjust your casting effort. Less is more when dealing with faster spinning spools. You should now be able to get the same distance using 2 brakes and less effort as you were getting with 3 and lots of force. This was the biggest thing I had to learn myself with less braking force & free spinning bearings, not nearly as much force was needed to get the bait out there. It took me a while to learn to let the reel and rod do most of the casting work, all that's needed is a nice fluid easy swing.

I too really like P-Line braid but I didn't bring it up because to me it and Power Pro original are very similar lines. Also P-Line braid has become all but impossible to find locally for me, I'm not sure why all the shops stopped stocking it but they have. Again I'm just so happy with S8S right now, the line I've had on my frog rod since the beginning of this year is so "broken in" now that it isn't even really brown anymore, it's a light tan color now. It is so limp and casts so easy that I'm able to use very little effort to cast my lures and I'm really really liking this attribute. Other braids break in well to but none to this degree for me.

I'm a huge Shimano guy but I will tell you that they have a habit of greasing their spool bearings from the factory and this really cuts into the distance the reels are capable of. A simple flush with lighter fluid takes care of this but I know there are lots of people who think you shouldn't have to "work" on a brand new reel in order for it to fish up to its capabilities. Other than this the E series reels from Shimano are fantastic.

Glad to hear your getting better performance now. I still think you should clean the bearings with lighter fluid though, in my experience alcohol doesn't clean them nearly as well. I'm with J Francho on liking my brake race clean and dry. I don't think you gain any performance by lightly oiling it, just MHO though. Also I like to make sure my spool shaft is completely clean of grease, sometimes there is a little that gets on it where it goes through the pinion gear. I also take the cotton off a Q-Tip, add lighter fluid, and place it on a small wooden dowel and run it all the way through the pinion gear a couple of times to get any left over grease out. This also helps to increase free spool. Like I said earlier just keep practicing until you can get down to one brake block. It took me a while to get there but it's really worth the effort once you master it. My Citica E casts a Bronzeye Jr very well with the rod & line I mentioned earlier using only one block. On a side note I've fished many many ponds and put my reels down all kinds of ways in the grass and never once found any inside the reel when servicing it. That is very interesting to me how some got into yours. Anyway good luck this season with that frog!

Owner Beast if I'm fishing them by themselves or I use them as swim jig trailers. I agree with you that they are very good baits @ their $3.99 price tag.

It's nice to see that some of the "older" gear is still going strong. I really like this rod, the only thing I'd change about it would be the guides. I'd prefer some that were closer to the blank. They are pretty good sensitivity wise, I never have trouble detecting bites with it. I'm not sure why I don't fish mine more??