WDE86

Thanks for the quick and detailed response. It is very appreciated.

I've got two casting rods that I'd like to possibly pair up with baitcast reels to best suit their specs. The rods are: Berkley Lightning Stick 6' Medium Action and Berkley Bionix 6' MH Action Not too terribly exciting options, but they're lightly used and I got them for free. What I am aiming for is to get some nicer reels for these and as I am able, upgrade the rods to better suit the reels. I'm open to current and older models. I'm not opposed to other brands, but from what I've been able to tell handling other equipment, I am partial to Quantum and Abu Garcia. Thanks in advance. Look forward to hearing what some of you think.

Thanks a lot. I'll try that out. Thanks for your time!

I left two out on purpose because even with the MAG braking system backed all the way off I could still tell a difference in it compared to other C4 reels I have. Do you think it's as simple as that? I didn't think it would have this much negative affect if at all, but like I said, I'm far from an expert. Putting them back would be no problem. I did use my schematic, but that doesn't mean I did everything perfect although the reel functions perfectly otherwise.

Yea, I know 8# is pushing it, but this is entirely different. I'll check. The magnetic "brake" inside the reel had 4 removable small round magnets. I did remove two of them but that doesn't explain the sudden backlashing in my opinion. Although I could be wrong.

So recently, I got "back" into fishing. The first thing I did was service my reel. It's a ABU 5600C4 Mag. I took it apart, cleaned it, lubed it, put it back together, and ever since I have not been able to keep my line on it from backlashing like crazy. I have to crank the magnetic brakes all the way up to stop it. That is very unusual to me because I never used the magnets at all before. I did fish with it a few times before cleaning it so I am wondering if I either made a mistake in re-assembly or if my line choice was the culprit. I replaced the 10lb line originally on it with 8lb Suffix flouro. Could that be my problem? I've never had trouble with baitcasters and I have several other ABU's similar to this without any adjustable braking that I do just fine with. Or maybe there's something amiss with the spool? This is a nifty little reel. It's what I let people use when they want to learn how to throw a baitcaster. Just crank the brakes up and let it fly. I hope I haven't ruined it. EDIT: Sorry! For posting in the wrong forum. Was not paying attention!

Gotcha. I assumed they were, but didn't know if they had something specifically for the soft plastics. Thanks for the help.

Quick question: Does plano make boxes a little more accommodating for soft plastics?

I'm loving a couple I picked up made by Mann's (I apologize for not knowing the specific model). They have a good tight action and are great for fishing over grass beds in shallow water.

I seem to notice people who take care of their stuff in a top-notch manner than those who simply have all of the nicest stuff purely from it being the newest. It goes both ways. I've seen guys with the oldest stuff look the most capable and guys who look like they just won a $20,000 shopping spree to Bass Pro Shops look like they couldn't catch a cold. It's all in how you carry yourself and what kind of person you are.

Nice! I'll have to track some of those down. I appreciate all of the advice here. You guys are very helpful.

That should be a lot more true than it is. I am certain I have too much considering my knowledge base of general bass fishing. I am pretty new, trying to learn my way around. Simplifying might help me a lot more than just with organization. I may be confusing myself with too many options. But, that is another discussion entirely.

Yea, I should probably try to cull what I don't plan on using on particular days. Thanks for your input.

Thanks for the tip. I do have all of mine in their original packaging. I am like you, I want to know what brand/style/color I am working with. I've got those smaller bags in big gallon ziplocs. I've probably got 60+ different bags of soft baits in rotation at the moment. Its a little overwhelming sometimes.

I've got a lot of soft plastics. I was wondering what were some of the things you guys do to organize them by color, type, size, etc. to quickly sort through them and access them while fishing? Right now, I've got them separated into large ziploc bags divided up mostly by color. I've got about 8 of these bags and its just too much hassle. There must be a better way for me to do this.