Yodie

Ok so, I LOVE my Symetre...a lot...it works perfectly on my 7'4" Loomis bronzeback rod.. At least it did until this past weekend... heres my dilema... When I first bought it I put my ole standby Stren blu.floures. 8# line...used it all my life. And didnt have any problems with twist, strength..blah blah... But I decided to fix what wasnt broken and start trying different lines, I first tried Berkley Vanish trans. and found out how much I hate this stuff, then I went to XL, and then to Power Pro (both 6lb dia) And finally tried stren magnathin. I didnt like any of those, at all, compared to my good old Stren. So I went back to my Stren and now I am having all sorts of problems with line twist especially. I know it came off the filler spool right (ive done this a lot over the past 15 or so years) and I hope it wasnt a bad spool of line because I tried line from two different spool purchased at different times (like months apart) But no matter what I try, even trolling it out the back of the boat to relieve said twist, it only takes a few casts to get it back birdsnesting on me. Am I just the most unlucky person in the world with line or could something have happened to the reel to cause this? I know most problems are from the line, but I feel i have done enough to rule out line problems. Anybody have any ideas?

Sounds like a florida rig to me...

More bearings doesn't always mean smoother. If the extra number of bearings are in the handle it adds nothing but the essence of a smoother reel. After a certain number (5 or 6 maybe?) there becomes no physical space to put a bearing that will affect the reels performance.

6 inch straight tail in Baby Bass, Blue Crawler, Red Crawler, and Oxblood Crawler. Put one of those 4 colors on a shaky head and hang on. Doing this has been my number one producer all season, and its the only rig that I have had tied on for EVERY trip no matter the season...spring,summer,fall... I LOVE Roboworms stuff. Im headed down to KY Lake this weekend and am going to try out a new color for me: Greenie Weenie, will let you know how it produces.

St. Croix Avid AC70HM 7' Heavy power with a moderate action. Its what I use for almost all cranks...it really doesnt have the characteristics of a normal Heavy power..it seems more like a medium heavy due to its moderation action. It handles DD22's and Mann's 30+ cranks very well with fatigue taking its time to set in due to its actio n working the bait more than your arm.

Depending on your budget I would look at the different models of G Loomis spinnin rods. IMX PR844s 7' Medium power fast action with a Shimano Symetre or Stradic $345-$380 (depending on reel) GL3 SJR 842S 7' Medium power fast action with Shimano Symetre or Stradic $265-$300 (depending on reel) GL2 SJR 782S 6'6" Medium power fast action with Shimano Symetre or Stradic $200-$240 then there is my choice for a good spinnin rod: Loomis SMR882 7'4" Medium power/fast action with a Shimano Symetre. I LOVE THIS RIG. It is light weight, super sensitive, with a soft tip yet very powerful but section. Everything I have doen with this rod has been amazing: Cranks, Worms (even up to 8 and 9 inch worms) smaller spinner baits, buzz baits, grubs, draggin football jigs, senkos,ikas,split shot rig, drop shot even, but my personal favorite for this rod is its abilities with Shaky head rigs...it seems like this rod was made for doing this, except that it also does everything else better than average. This is as close to an all around rod (spining or casting) that I have ever used. or you could look at the St. Croix Avids and Legend Elites or Tournaments in the 6'6' or 7' medium rods. Both St. Croix and Loomis make great rods, and I realize there are other great rods but these are the ones I have personal experience with so its all will comment on. As far as reels so I guess its obvious I am a big Shimano fan. I personally choose the Symetre becuase it seems, to me at least, that you dont gain much in reel until you jump all the way to the Stella, so I stick with the Symetre... I dont know personally but I have heard great things about Daiwa's new higher end reels so I wouldnt be afraid to look there either.

This doesnt help much now, I realize...but... When you get proficient and feel comfortable with just catching any bass that will bite and start to get that oh-so-common urge to get a BIG one, I highly recomend buying Bill Murphy's book "In Pursuit of Giant Bass" All of his fishing is out west for the REALLY big ones, but the concepts are the same no matter where you go. What I learned from his book about catching big bass is slowly starting to equal what my dad has taught me about catching fish in general. (Although, I dont think it ever will equal as my dad has almost 30 years of tournament experience and is still teaching me something new everyday, but now its mainly locating them, I got the catching thing down....I love my daddy...)

Just curious, but why is it sad that a high school student doesnt know a system that was outdated years ago by the use of computers? Just becuase a kid doesnt know a system you used when you were younger doesnt mean that society has fallen...it just means that we are tuaght a system that is different. Not every kid is so ignorant as to not know about a library...we, as kids today as a whole) maybe avoid use the internet and computers more in lieu of a library book, but it doesnt mean that the world has gone to shambles or we are stupid. If a kid fails high school its becuase he doesnt care, not because we arent being taught wrong.

Seems to me that the blade would just spend time sitting on the bottom inactive and possibly messing with the way the jig sits.

Kinda what I was thinking but didnt know how to word it without offending anyone.... I have no stock in any scent, or attractant, or mask, or whatever you wish to call it...I dont use them...But I do know that my baits that say they are infused with the Anise oil I catch a lot of fish on days when similar baits w/o Anise wont catch jack.

Yeah, I would doubt they have brushed on finishes as it would take too long. It is probably a sprayed on clear coat sealer of some sort, but I have a couple of them and it seems like a very sturdy finish, although they have not been put to the test like my real Wally's so I can say anything from experience.

Im not sure if you will find any of Wally's originals on ebay becuase the people that have them wont let go of them... Also, Im not sure about the new process, but I have seen how Wally makes his (I have been fishin with him for a long time) and I know for a fact that his baits have an almost indestructable coating of Devcon 2-ton epoxy, two layers worth that are hand brushed on. Like I said, I am not sure of the finish of the new production models from Mr. Nesty, but I would hope that they are as good as what Wally uses to uphold the same quality and lasting effects of the originals. As to it being worth the price, I guess thats in your own eyes, but I can say that these baits catch fish when others wont, and catch them when others will too... If you are wanting to try one I would definately reccomend the Rat or any of the Wally family in whatever good looking shad pattern he offers, you wont be dissapointed. Dad and I literally have hundreds of Wally's we have accumulated over the years and VERY, I mean VERY (like 1 out of every hundred) few baits have been damaged beyond a surface scratch. And I am by no means "careful" when fishing cranks, I smack them against the rocks on the shore, chunk them into underwater rocks and logs and dock posts...whatever cover I can hit, I try to because especially when the Wally family of baits deflects off something the action goes crazy... Great baits at, to me, a great price for what you will get. Also, dont quote me on this, but I woul bet that if you would buy one of the new ones and had a problem with the finish or anything a simple phone call to the company would probably make it right.

Gary Nesty (FLW fisherman and owner of Solar bat sunglasses) bought Wally G. Baits from Wally Lawrence a few years ago and is now producing these baits in a more or less mass production run, although they are still better than most CB's today. They arent real hard to come by and are only a few bucks more than LC's. But of course, these are not as good as the original Wally G's that were handmade in his garage for many many years. It would be well worth whatever you have to spend to get a hold of an original, they are FANTASTIC.

Catt, I had the same question about anise oil... It has to do more than just mask my scents, or else it work just the same as any other "mask" Just curious... IK.

Scrubs is amazing! I think I have a problem when it come to this show...everytime a new episode is on the tv i make everyone in the house be quiet till its over... and I watch the re-run on comedy central every night...and on top of that I am in the process of getting all the seasons on dvd... right now I have 1,2, and 4.

Thing with the stretch of flouro is that yes it does not stretch as much after the initial stretching, two things come to mind about this when thinknig back to my work with the stress tester we had in all my engineering classes... 1)That initial stretch doesnt happen imediately... under normal fishing conditions the 30 yards of so that may be actually used during a trip or two will probably never reach its maximum stretch limit, unless you are using small diameter for heavy applications... (i.e. towing a skier, pulling stumps...) and... 2)If you were to use the line for a long enough time to reach its stretch limit, this limit is also very close to its breaking point, so once the line has been stretched it has now been weakend quite a fair bit. This is of course, just my take on a subject I have no acutal professional training in, but I did have four years of classes that we did study all this, albeit it was detailing mostly with metals so all this stuff I am typing may be honky if nylon, co-po's, and flouro stress detailings are different.

Why do you max out your drag when fishing jigs?

hookemdown... If you think high school is the best dyas of your life just wait for college ( if you choose to go...which I highly reccomend not only for the degree but for the overall experience) I am 5 weeks into my freshman year and these five weeks have been so much more than my 4 years in high school ever dreamed they could be...comprehensively, too... Dont get too cuaght up in the people youre around now (in your HS, i mean) becuase as you go through the next year or so you will realize that you arent as close as you think... and most generally there are lots of those "friends" you have now that you wont ever see again...and after about a week you will realize that you dont care... BUT...dont ever lose touch with everyone...there are some guys (and maybe a girl or too... :) that you will always stay in touch with,,,but friends in college are so much more substantial and a hell of a lot less dramatic...there were few things in high school that i look back on now and see as a much of a big of a deal as it seemed at the time... Anyway...all of you in high school...study hard...i know youve heard it a thousand times, but dont blow it off...the work you do now pays off later... i really wish i would have listened to that when I was there...they told me, but i didnt listen...and i am paying for it now struggling my a** off in some of my 100 level courses...and im just getting started... oh yeah, and a football game, the mall, a stupid date, and especially DANCES... are never important as a day on the lake with your buddies...fishin is waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy better than high school drama. tight lines and hard studies (Just another kid) D.

I may be wrong on this but... In math a parabola is the U shaped graph caused by a quadratic equation... So Im guessing that this would transfer into the rod world as being a rod that flexes throough more of the blank that a normal fast or x-fast taper...in feweer words I think it just means a moderate action, softer for treble hook baits...

Does anyone know of a company that makes a spinning rod blank that is 7'4"? or one that isnt like fishing a noodle or a broomhandle? The reason I like this rod so much it that it has so much versatility, all the while doing everythngi WELL. I have looked at St. Croix, Batson, American soomthing or other, and Loomis blanks. None of them offer a 7' or longer rod that has the same stats (lure weight or line weight ranges) that this rod has. The shikari Blanks website seems to not be working (or my computer is messed up) so I havent been able to see what they have? Any suggestions as to where to look for a similar blank from a different company that will match the stats of this rod?

Sounds like you guys should take a look at *** Hookerheadz jigs. They are a round ball jib with a good sized, quality hook and in place of the lead stud on the Spot Removers it has a smal Matzuo #1 (i think, this could be wrong buts its a darn small hook) turned point down to hook the top of the worm into. It holds much better (to me anyway as I have tried almost every other type of jig head like this I have found). And on top of everything else they are not as expensive as the Ikes heads or Spots. I just got mine in the mail yeasterday and took them out and put on of my go-to baby bass roboworms on and fished for a couple hours and caught 11 LM three being keepers and didnt ever have to adjust the way it was rigged.

flechero, I looked into this, but my problem was that Loomis doesnt sell this blank, and it is a unique blank, and length. Those are the two main reasons why I picked this over the plethora of 7' rods available today...it just "felt" different to me from the moment I picked it up and fell instantly in love with it. If I could find this blank I would easily have a custom one built on it, maybe two when I could afford it. I guess I havent really looked at it that hard though, all I did was look on Loomis' website, would they sell me the blank if I called and talked to them about it?

I have a Loomis 7'4" Bronzeback spinnin rod that I LOVE. It is the best equipment purchase I have ever made (well...it and the Symetre that sits on it) BUT...there are some thing I would like different on it...nothing major, more, I guess, of some asethetic things. Such as a split rear grip with my name and a cool design on the newly exposed blank, new guides because with the ones on it the center rings keep popping out and fortunately will snap back in and last for a fe months as long as I check them after each trip...but its still a pain, I have a new Jig and Worm rod with the Rcoil guides and really like them are they made for spining gear too? The other thing I would like to have done is that I think the guides are placed kind of off..I guess is how I owuld say it...so I would like those to be replaced in a different place I think. So how much do you guys think this would cost to have done to a factory rod (If it all can be done?) The list of things is: split rear grip with name and some design new guides (RECOIL if possible) readjusted guide placement to work with this specific blank thanks, Doug a.k.a IndianaKid

Thats as close to what I want as I have been bale to find. Kudos to you Grumpy, and many thanks.

Thanks for all the help!