Preytorien

I use the electrical tape solution. That said, I don't even tie a knot since I can't remember the last time I ever actually spooled a reel while fighting a fish. It keeps the line lay a bit flatter

^^^ THIS......these babies just WORK I love em'

Also check out one of the site sponsors, Siebert Outdoors. Mike makes absolutely gorgeous jigs and impeccably made. He can make virtually any color combination you'd like or select the wide variety he has on his site. I have about 25 of his jigs and in addition to being gorgeous, they are very very durable, I bang them along rip rap quite a bit and no chipping of the head yet. They're awesome. http://www.siebertoutdoors.com/

I'm new to jig fishing too, and not very good at it. If I could sum it up, albeit somewhat comically, it's these points..... 1. You can't fish it wrong 2. Really any color might work, in the right conditions 3. Fish it just about anywhere, it'll probably work 4. Use a trailer, or don't - it should work either way Knowing all those vague, yet inconclusive points, I still haven't had much luck with them, even in places that "should produce" with jigs. But hey, I keep trying because of the success stories I see from other guys who've figured it out

I don't have the reel any more. But I did juuuuuuust lightly oil the bearings with a specific bearing oil we use on hub bearings for bicycle hubs, called Boeshield T9. Very very thin oil. It was just to quiet them because yes, they drove me nuts until I did. I like a dead silent reel. They were Hawgtechs. The new Curado won't be getting ceramics

I haven't touched mine and I can tell you, out of the box this thing casts better than my old G did with ceramics in it. Someday if they start acting up I'll drop them in the ultrasonic cleaner, otherwise I'll just wait until something happens to open this thing up.

I have a Sea Eagle inflatable boat. I drive a car, so not really a practical vehicle for pulling around and launching a boat. So mine gets stored in a small utility shed next to my garage along with the accessories and motor for it. Easy-peasy

Wow, that is some impressive work. Like something in a magazine! Great job!

Here in Central IN its been warming up quite nicely, a lot of the smaller ponds and lakes I go to are thawed. The fishing isn't hot, but what I've caught has been on weightless soft plastics, about 10-15ft out off the bank. My favorites are Yum Dinger and Missle Baits Shockwave.....both rigged weightless. Seems to be what they like right now. The jerkbait bite is too inconsistent for me to deem it as "working"

I've always wondered about the warranties given by companies. While I understand that a lifetime unlimited warranty will have guys purposely breaking rods, you also have to factor in that the people you're selling these rods to are not typically your bobber and worm fishermen. They're seasoned veterans who, while they're very good at what they do, WILL break equipment. So that said, you'd think they'd try to be as helpful than not to accommodate these things. Maybe a price point of rods that carry a lifetime warranty then a lower price point that has a 5 year, then on down the line. Shimano went backwards in terms of the warranty terms by going with 1 year for everything, even a $500 Adrena, and I hope it doesn't bite some guys in the butt. I'm not talking about a defect or craftsmanship defect, that should be a standard warranty, but I'm talking about covering "normal wear and tear". Example.....I use a brand of cycling equipment that carries a lifetime wear and tear warranty on their top tier products because they know that guys will push the products to their limits, and therefore assume there will be non-material-defect problems. I guess to sum it up, like John said, its the cost of admission, but we're also paying big money for this stuff, you'd think they would stand behind it a little more and offer better warranties. I understand some guys will break rods just to get a new one, but if the price point was $300, who cares? They just paid good money for a good product, far more than most of your customers would pay. The warranties by some brands like Croix, and such who don't give you a rod free but have a fee, then you can get a new rod....that's a step in the right direction. Shimano seems to have went backwards. It just made me worried. It could be looked at as a material defect and replaced by them, or it could've been asserted as price of admission, since it was on a hookset, and them not warranty it. It's a debatable topic with valid points on both sides. I'm just glad in the end it sorted out alright. I'm done ranting

I've used it on spinning reels. It's a great flouro, but I only use it now as a leader. I just can't stray away from the manageability of braid. Use an alberto knot and you've got a great flouro leader.

Well, I pulled the trigger on one of the new Zodias rods, I'm going to be sure to take care to not ding it somewhere. I could see where that'd cause a structural failure somewhere, so I'll take a closer look at how I treat my equipment, even though I'd say I'm quite a bit more on the careful side than not. Thanks guys.

So I am getting this rod retipped I think. The risk of cutting the blank in half to ship to Shimano, and them use their discretion is too much risk for my conservative blood. A guy I know was looking for a short jig rod anyways, and since it's only 3 or so inches he thinks it'll work great. Of course he's not buying from me for anywhere near full price, but he and I agree that for a short jig rod it'll do the trick nicely. Thanks guys for the help and sending some luck my way!

I use weightless soft plastics, they seem to work well.

In it to win it!!!

i don't do it, but really only because i don't know of a great way to do it. I have pliers, but it seems to take a lot of work just to crush it down. But i've also never been stuck

Man, now I need a new rod! Jeez!

That's what was so strange. I used this rod all last year and never had an issue, many fish over 4lbs. This one was less than a pound, and it just popped. I could see it if I had really swung hard on the hookset, but I never catch big fish in this pond, and was using a wacky rig, so I knew I didn't need to swing for the fences or anything. Hopefully they'll understand.

It's a 6'8" MH/F Crucial.....CRC68MHA Just got it last April, so it's not even got a year under it's belt considering it sat in the rod rack here since November. It's one of the older models with the "Limited Lifetime Warranty", so I suppose I'll see how stringent the word "Limited" is applied. I've always had great luck with their support before, so I'm hoping this is no different. I've just read a few stories of guys sending the rod in with popped tips and the warranty not being valid since they said it looks like a car-door incident, then they can't do anything else with it because the rod was cut in half for shipping, which is what the customer service rep on the phone advised me to do. So that's a bit scary. I don't gamble, but I really feel like I'm playing the odds here. Postage calculators estimate about $50 if I send it in the 8ft tube it came in from TW, so I'd be gambling that I just paid $50 for them to tell me they won't warranty it. Maybe I'm being paranoid, I just loved that rod and don't have the bank to drop on another one!

Fishing tonight for the first time this year. First time with my new Curado. The first (and only) fish bit my senko, I swung, not very hard, and saw the tip of my rod, the last 3 inches, pop. Called Shimano support. Hopefully they don't deem it in-warrantied. Wish me luck on my replacement endeavors.

Sounds like a great example of paying it forward. Looks like you've got some excellent tackle there! Great job Jon, guys like you are the kind that make BR a wonderful place.

Man that'd look good underneath my new Curado! Pick me! Pick me!

I've got a few Duo Realis cranks since I last posted on this thread. That said, I've got a couple different kinds of lure knockers now. I'll also have a mask/swim trunks in my car and boat, I'll go in after em' I'll put that Search and Rescue SCUBA certification to good use I suppose! Haha

A couple for me..... 1. Check my knot after a couple of fish or getting un-hung 2. Make a good long bomb cast and fast retrieve to re-seat the line on my casting reel - saves a lot of headaches with line dig or backlashes 3. Adjust my brakes when I cast in different wind conditions 4. Bring enough life jackets for the people on my little boat that "forgot" theirs

I bought some indoor/outdoor carpet from the local Home Depot for mine. It was something like $.28/sqft which is a heckuva lot cheaper than "boat carpet", I'm not even sure the true difference.