Brian6428

Not sure why it helps but I just wipe off any visible grime or dirt, oil the bearings and lube the gears.

No tool came with the reel. I just use a 10mm hex head screwdriver. I find it weird too, but if I don't I get backlashes like crazy. My brother has the Revo Sx and it is virtually maintance free with better performance. I wish I had saved up and bought something better.

Hey guys, I have an abu garcia silver max. Due to the low quality of this reel, I have to do a thorough cleaning of it every 3 trips to keep it working good. However, every time I put the handle on the reel, I have a problem. Whenever I tighten down the nut that holds on the handle, I have to use my finger because if i get it too tight the handle gets crooked. It doesn't form a right angle with the bolt it attaches to. So how do I tighten down the nut so that it doesn't come loose when I fish, but doesn't make the handle seat crookedly on the reel? Thanks Brian

Booyah. Sharp hooks, good skirts and blades, and well priced. I will be ordering some jigs from siebert soon and will try their spinnerbaits out. Brian

I drop shot in murky to muddy watter and it works great. I like black worms, so the fish can see them but it wont spook the fish. Just be ready to make many casts to an area, cause you really have to hit them on the head with it for them to bite. Brian

Nope, I fish it shallow all the time. It is a great horizontal presentation. I have caught fish on it when the water was only 2 ft deep, and I was using a 8 inch leader! As long as the water is deep enough so that the worm is underwater, It can catch fish! Brian

Thanks for all the replies. You guys brought up some very good points about Hannons observations being geared to shallow flordia lakes, and can't be compared to many of the western lakes, or even northern lakes. Either way, thanks for chiming in, it was still cool to see some of the qualities of the lures you guys caught your pb on. I dont have the exact nubmers but I think natural colors beat out unnatural by about a 70/30 split, and roughly the same for silent vs rattles, with silent winning. Thanks again! Brian

That same question crossed my mind, too. He never mentioned depth relative to anything, however he did mention catching the fish that helped compile his data set in all sorts of bodies of water, from small ponds to huge lakes. I think that this would help level out the data, but I still think it would be different in california or other places with super deep bodies of water. Brian

Thanks for all the replies guys, I just finished totaling up the results so far, but feel free to keep replying, I will do a final total later. Here are the current results: Average depth caught in: 7.135 fow Rattles/hinges vs silent: 19 said no rattles, 7 said rattles were present Natural vs unnatural colors: 19 natural colors, 7 unnatural colors Moon phases: New moon: 6 First Quarter: 5 Full Moon: 7 Last Quarter: 2 So far Hannon has been spot on. I guess thats why they called him the bass professor! He said 8 fow was ideal for big bass, and the "good" depth for big bass ranged from 3 to 13 fow. He said big bass were more likely to hit a naturally colored silent lure, which matches up with the results so far. He said new and full moon were best for fishing, though the results here do not decisively show that. Hopefully more replies will help make the moon phases more conclusive. Thanks, and feel free to keep replying, like I said I will do a final tally this weekend. Brian

Booyah spinnerbait, tandem blades, one willow one colorado, one silver one gold. White skirt. My most productive lure to date.

Here is my reply: How deep was the fish caught? 4 ft Did the lure contain rattles or have hinges? Yes Was the lure a natural color (brown, green) or was it an unnatural color (chartreuse, orange)? Natural If possible, what moon phase was your PB caught during? N/A

Hey guys, I just finished reading Doug Hannon's book "Big Bass Magic". He says many things that go against conventional wisdom of bass fishing, mainly regarding big fish. I will reveal these after the survey is over. I would like to ask you guys a few questions about your PB Largemouth to help me compile data to prove or disprove Hannon's statements. Please copy and paste the questions with your answers. How deep was the fish caught? Did the lure contain rattles or have hinges? Was the lure a natural color (brown, green) or was it an unnatural color (chartreuse, orange)? If possible, what moon phase was your PB caught during? Thanks for your answers, Brian

What is the summer pattern? I have been having trouble on Prairie Lee lately. Thanks Brian

I havent used that color but have used the 7 inch power worms. I really like them. Nice action and the fish really do hold on for a long time!

Sounds like braid. The arbor knot should tighten down nicely to the spool. Before you do that, though, I would suggest wrapping your spool in black electricians tape. This should keep it from slipping.

Depends on what I'm using. Light line I will keep it set about 75% breaking strength of line. However, on my baitcaster I have 50lb braid and keep the drag around 10 lbs, just because I think keeping it too tight is asking for a bad knot to break, rod to snap, or the line to break at some undetected knick or fray. And either way, if i catch a 10+ lb fish that will be a few pounds away from the state record, so we all know that isn't happening. I'm not too worried about a fish pulling 10 lbs worth of drag, it is mainly so I don't go overboard on a snag and snap my rod (again haha). Brian

I know you hate to hear it, but everybody is right. Save your money and buy a combo in the $150-200 range. I bought a cheap combo (abu garcia silver max and berkley cherrywood) and I wish I had saved up and gotten something nicer. The rod broke and I had to replace it, and the reel has to be taken apart and lubed after each use just to keep from getting backlashes. My brother has a abu garcia revo stx and it is definetley worth the money to save up and buy something nicer. Brian

Those look great!

My two suggestions are pretty simple: braid and megastrike. Braid will let you feel your bait better and get strong hook sets and megastrike will make the fish hold on longer, which helps when they are just sucking the jig up. If you can't get braid soon, I would suggest thinning out your weed guards so you can get a good hook set. Brian

Can't wait to try out those flick sticks! Have a good trip!

Can you give a more clear explanation of how it was weighted? I love the bottom hopper on a dropshot so will definitely try any new methods.

Go tigers! The black and gold ones, that is.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/25442-any-pelican-bass-raider-owners-out-there/ Brian

One thing nobody has mentioned (surprisingly) is megastrike. Rub it through the skirt of your jig before you fish it. This will make the fish hold onto your jig longer and make it easier for you to detect strikes, and therefore get more fish. Brian

x2. That would be awesome if you could post it all in a thread for all to see!