powerduster

Maybe it's just my imagination, but the jackall crosstail shad smells pretty good. Kind of lreminds me of those gummy fruit snacks.

I'm never buying a penn spinner again. Too many problems with them. I looked at the abu garcia spinner not sure the model) that was priced around $130 and it looked pretty nice. But it felt like a toy in my hands and the drag stack in the spool was loose so there was a lot of movement. It just looked haphazardly put together.

it's pretty easy once you do it a few times and understand how everything works. I think the hardest part is getting the screws mixed up if I'm not careful.

Never thought of doing it, and I probably never will. Not sure if this is ssmewhat related, but I don't really like too much color on or foam on reels. It looks like a kid's toy.

That's a beautiful sized cat. Definitely bigger than any I've caught. Never caught one on a lure, but there was one time when bass fishing, a very large catfish chased after my lucky craft sammy. It kept on missing and missing, lol, I was moving it pretty slow too. It was huge. It was eel like with how it was rolling and twisting.. It had to have been a double digit. that sounds pretty gross.

Sometimes I hide my purchases, because I get embarrassed by how much money I spend. I'm mostly a loner when it comes to fishing related stuff within my circle of friends and family. No one really understands my obssesion, so like an addict, I tried to hide it.

There are far more interesting fishing channels on youtube than there are on TV. The only thing on TV that I enjoy fishing wise is river monsters. It's more about the enviroment, physical demands, desperation, struggle, etc. than the actual fishing part that appeals to me.

I use a crimper for cutting heavy mono and wire line. Recently bought a kvd split ring plier that works well for lighter line.

I like yellow and hi vis lines in general. It's mostly aesthetics though.

Game warden: "the only thing living in this pond are pike. all the other fish were eaten." Me: "wow, did not know that. i wonder how that happened."

i put a generous amount of grease on the gear teeth where contact is made. Like the contact between the main gear and pinion gear. i also do this on non contact areas, but it's just a thinner protective coating. i also do the walls and frames with a thin layer as well. I mainly do this, because i fish saltwater as well, so it's not really necessary. i do all this with a toothbrush and a tube of superlube grease. oil the bearings that are outside the gear box, so it doesn't get in contact with grease. this is generally the line roller bearing, handle bearing, and pinion bearing. if the bearings are inside where the gears are then they get a light coat of grease. it doesn't hurt to open up the bail arm and grease the trip lever and springs as well. I could list a few more things, but it's more preference than necessity.

that's absolutely true about being too attentive towards your reels. like you, i learned it,s better not to mess with it too much until you actually need to. fretting too much and acting on it can make things more complicated than it should.

I feel really bad when I hook something other then a fish. Once, I hooked a turtle in the eye, which really sucked. I eventually got it off, and don't want to experience that again. Another time, I set the hook hard on a comorant, because I thought it was a fish that grabbed my popper. I was horrified, but the popper just slipped off within seconds and the bird was perfectly fine.

you're talking about the FI when the FJ is the latest model, which has two bearing on the pinion gear. and then you post links to two different stradics.

I lay everything on the ground and shower it with a hose. I agree with DVT's suggestion for saltwater reels.

I prefer the look of round reels.

yes, and i can't tell the difference in overall smoothness. the knob itself feels nicer but that's about it for me. i don't think it's stupid to have one, because i like te 4 bearing handle on my ambassadeur. my original point was to say that like a drag clicker, it is negligible.

how does having bearings in the handle knob improve reeling or would it even be that noticeable?

i use straight braid before and never had problems with fish seeing it and turning away. In fact, i think thin diameter braid would be less noticeable than thicker mono or fluoro when it moves through the water, especially in calm conditions. Of course, i still prefer a leader and swivel nowadays.

yeah i find it hard to believe as well, but one thing i still remember from taking a course in marketing is that you should never base your decisions on how you think and feel. There's probably a much larger target market for bicycles outside the US, but it does seem like cycling is becoming increasingly more popular within the last couple years.

most of my conventional and round reels have no clicking star or tension knob and i prefer it that way. it's kind of like having a ball bearing installed in the handle knob, which is kind of pointless. I'm not against it at all, but it's also two less parts to worry about when disassembling for maintenance.

I have the stradic fj 4000 for saltwater use and love it. The only thing I don't like is the useless anti reverse switch and pointless grease port on the side plate. I felt the saros at a shop and liked it, but I'm more willing to get it new and used than pay full price. The pricier it is the more I want it brand new.

stripers and bluefish for saltwater, and catfish, carp, and larger pickerel for freshwater. I do like fishing for panfish like croakers and kingfish from the surf. It's relaxing drinking some ice cold beer in the heat of summer waiting for the bite.

doh, somehow that part slipped my mind. however, he did ask about spooling with mono to which i suggested was too heavy for the kind of reels he was asking about. 12 lb and 14 monofilament would be a more appropriate size in my opinion. if it were me casting up to 4oz, i would use 20lb suffix 832, which if i remember correctly, breaks at over 40lb. i could go a lot heavier for abrasion resistance, but i like the extra distance it affords me. i never had the thin diameter break from shock either.

I've also been having a difficult time deciding on a round reel as well. Only I been looking at the calcutta d and higher end daiwa millionaires like the supertuned cv-z, such as the bay casting special or sw. As for your line choice, I would go with 12lb at the most and maybe even 14lb would be okay, but kind of big. 25lb is a little too much even for the 300 I would think. Good luck with your decision.