PGA Dropout

I aim to please! Apparently she's the new vocalist for Arch Enemy now as well.

Melodic Deathcore

Lucky Craft Gunfish 115 in Shell White

I think you'd be well served by the 3 power if Senkos are in the mix.

I have been looking at Mattlures U2 Bluegills for the same reason.

Sounds like fun! Good tip on the summer craw baby Rage. I've got a trip to Elk Rapids/Charlevoix coming up.

I like it for poppers and propbaits.

The only way to do better under $200 is to buy used.

I'd say 8-12 fow is moderate depth cranking. I would definitely throw those cranks on a MH rod and I might take it down to 12 lb. fluorocarbon, maybe even 10 lb. I would try the rod power change before the reel gear ratio change.

Being led away from a $130 baitcasting combo is anything BUT the wrong direction. The PQ/Carbonlite combo has been a tested and proven starter setup for years. Many members of the forum, myself included, learned on a Pro Q reel. It's an excellent place to begin your casting education.

If 10's working, I'd continue to use it. No sense in creating a problem where there isn't one.

Do you happen to have a source for that? My experience has been very different.

I am a big fan of the Plano 3701 boxes.

I am curious about this. I have some 1/4 oz. Siebert jigs. I have trimmed the skirt to a finger-width below the hook bend for a compact jig with nice skirt flare. However the untrimmed weedguard is now significantly longer than the hook and skirt. I wonder if in my case trimming would be a good idea. I suppose I could always take out some strands if the guard ends up being too stiff.

Owner Twistlock Light 5/0 for Texas Gamakatsu Finesse Wide Gap 1/0 for Wacky

One of the reasons I switched to straight braid is the ability to lift the fish up a bank or around obstacles. My home pond is a mess on the shore. Don't worry, we all do less than smart things. There's a big pike swimming around with a discontinued Rapala in its face for pretty much the same reason.

If I had to respool my spinning reel, I'd do 15 lb. Power Pro. The 10 lb. is very sharp, for lack of a better word. I cut my fingers tightening knots and it seems to cut through thicker fluorocarbon leaders. If you want to go with a 10 lb. braid, I would get Sufix 832. I have many spools of regular Power Pro and the 10 lb. has been the only disappointment.

I think I like choice number 3. I feel like 4 will just result in people keeping spawning fish.

These are fun! For summer, I'd take: -a walking topwater, like a LC Gunfish. -a 5"-ish soft plastic swimbait on a weighted hook; Missile Baits Shockwave in Candygill works for me. -a 5" Senko-style bait, probably a Yum Dinger. -a Texas-rig with a craw or beaver; 1/4 oz. tungsten weight is a good starting point. Rage Craw, Paca Craw, Paca Punch, RI Sweet Beaver, Rage Bug; anything sort of compact and/or flappy. This way I've got something on top, something in the middle that swims and is relatively weedless, a bait that falls slowly, and a bait that falls quickly and has a profile that will penetrate cover. Honorable mention goes to the hollow-body frog.

Plastics. Small spinnerbaits. Shallow cranks. 1/4 oz lipless. Poppers. Small walkers or prop baits. Finesse jigs. I'd probably throw a 4-5" soft plastic swimbait on a lightly weighted screwlock if it were me. Do you require more options?

If you're going to spend Elite or Xtreme money, you should consider getting a custom build on a St. Croix blank.

It was a decent review, not one of their best. I don't know why the Crazy Cranker was ever mentioned and the comment about there being better $100 reels seemed tacked on at the end and certainly unsupported. However I don't go to TT for the reviews. I go to TT to look at pictures that make my wallet empty.

I've taken things back to BPS on three occasions. Once it was delightful but the other two times were like hostage negotiations. Good luck!

Yikes. Do you feel comfortable disassembling reels? If you need it by the morning, best I can say is watch and do some routine maintenance to see if you can work a miracle.

Shimano asks no questions. Watch your tungsten in the future eh?