Choporoz

All my experiences with AG C/S have been very satisfactory.

One more video that might help:

Doesn't matter what I want

Not sure what you've read, watched, or tried thus far, but this post has a couple of good videos:

I can't fathom why it might even be considered. But, then, my ideal of the Olympics comes from a long time ago.... (*fog alert) To me, the Olympics are (or should be) about amateur competition between athletes actually from the nations they are representing in athletic endeavors, participating on an even playing field. I have never had any interest in Olympic contests involving professionals. (I know that just just about any athlete can be paid or sponsored and that the lines were blurred destroyed many years ago...doesn't mean there can't be some semblance of a common sense definition....I don't view the sponsorship that a competitive archer receives on the same plane as Le Bron James when it comes to pay for play.) In that spirit, I'd disqualify anyone who makes more than $xxxx from fishing events and sponsorships from participating. That would leave an interesting field to enthusiasts, perhaps, but hardly anything that anyone else might watch. I just can't conceive of a fishing competition in which enough variables could be removed so as to adequately award a gold medal to the 'best fisherman'.

Stopped at the pier on the way home last night and decided to put on a Culprit, because of this thread. No bass on any lures, but I did catch a 12 lb blue catfish on a 7.5" original Culprit (motor oil.)

I really need some quality time with SI, but I'm really afraid that my mind will never grasp it. I'm generally good with spatial recognition and relative movement, but, man....I still have trouble bending my brain around the display. I've done the folded paper visualization and spent time with images side by side with DS or photos or 3D renderings...and still, I struggle with SI display

Aside from being $2 more, how does it differ from a 78SP?

6'10" Fenwick Elite Tech MF Baitcast with 20lb braid; hi-viz yellow with no leader

Orig and Fat Max fan here. Hard to fish them wrong. Hopping works well because the tails have good action even on a slow fall. Straight swimming along or just off the bottom works well quite often. I like Motor Oil and darker colors; wife prefers Okeechobee most any time.

Poor yak. I assume you had a pretty big barbecue, though.

Braid is to avocado as fluro stretch is to watercress

Man....I didn't even mention the grand finale....guess I didn't actually make it back 'OK'....no room to beach on the rocks, so we pulled the boat up on the rubber mats. I had my water shoes on and didn't even exercise any care....both feet went out from under me while unloading and my back and neck are pretty hosed up. Not enough for a Dr. visit, but still quite uncomfortable....just one of those days. Somewhat depressingly comforting that nobody at the launch claimed much success that day either. Senkos and jigs were only reported lures working for anyone else, and not great with those, either. I'll blame the cold front that followed the Matthew rain. This weekend will be awesome....GL!

Can't explain it, but I caught more catfish than bass on DT6,

That wasn't very helpful...sorry, I was busy....and frustrated. Was one of those days when Murphy was in charge. Left ramp with two batteries and two trolling motors before noon in pretty strong winds. Got up lake about half way to Ryan's Dam when one motor died and the other started lagging bad. I'd been having issues with both batteries, but they'd been taking a charge, so I didn't replace them yet. Drift/trolled/limped back in to Fountainhead - barely. Wife was praying, actually - if the wind hadn't died for about 20 minutes when we got straight out from the ramp, we'd have never made it in -- no oars in our boat, either. Once in, I started packing up, but the wife talked me into renting a battery and going back out. Part II was better boating experience, but fishing still not productive. I stayed with spinnerbait probably two long, but was mixing it up with jigs, flipping plastics, chatterbaits, trig worms and cranks. Lost spinnerbaits, chatterbait, plastics, tungsten....I never got hung up so much as I did yesterday. Probably around 5PM, started to see surface activity, got a few hits and finally boated a 3# on a chatterbait with a GYCB Swim Senko trailer. Only fish all day. Still, I'm glad we went out, but I have no clue what I might have done different to boat fish. I can't say that even marked anything I thought was bass on the fish finder more than 2-3 times.

I'd never really thought about vibration, regarding line and how a bass might sense or react. Certainly, greater vibration is a desired factor in some bait choices....and different lines might transmit vibrations back to me differently...but with all things that I don't know about what a bass sees, hears, feels, thinks.....if I need to start wondering if a bass will react to the vibrations of different lines differently, I'm probably going to just fish for crappies from now on.

I don't know jack about rod building or the challenges of obtaining/installing different keepers. But from a user standpoint......I have baitcasting rods from seven different manufacturers, and the keepers that prefer far and away over all others are the ones on Daiwa rods (almost identical to the one on my Veritas, as well.) Open, looped metal on bottom of rod, in front of reel seat.

Pretty slow today. One fish between two of us after 5 hours

I'm of two minds regarding my anchor in swift rivers. One, it's vital. The holes and other good spots go by too fast when I don't anchor. Two, it is dangerous. The only time I flipped was trying to anchor...I thought I was in an eddie but didn't take enough time to make good assessment of the current AND didn't get the trolley far enough forward...the anchor grabbed immediately and pulled me right over...kinda scary, but I've learned to be a lot more careful and not ever take the river for granted. But I wouldn't hit the river without the anchor along. I also do a lot of what @flyfisher does; beach it and wade in to work an area thoroughly

I thought I'd read you saying at one point that even if you worked it that you weren't all that confident the fix would last. That, combined with my frustration with it....I figured that the time I factor in shipping to/from you against cost of new reel....trash seemed like the one option that would make me feel better :-)

wondered same.....'today i learned'? 'tough d**n ignorant luck'?

They do look cool....I also like the look of the backwards version....looks like your dog's cone of shame...for a jerry-rigged scrounger

Clearly, you cannot compare them until you have the Shimano serviced and are comprably competent at dialing each in. BTW, not what you asked.....but this weekend, I threw into the trash the last Shimano spinning reel that I will likely own. My Symetre which gave me binding trouble a couple years ago had been relatively smooth this year. Until I got caught in a rain storm on Saturday and it was the only spinning reel I had with me in the yak....and of course, the bass were finicky-finessey....anyway, that d**n reel bound up tighter than a drum....to the point that it was totally useless. I don't throw much away, but I won't risk that frustration again.

My idea of swim jig had always been 1/2oz jigs with 4+ inch paddle tails thrown 30+ yards in mostly open water. Still great bait much of the time. But after watching a show where Jason Christie was pitching 1/4oz swim jigs with small chunks into shallow, muddy weed edges, my world of swimming jigs expanded exponentially. That was trig or conventional jig territory for me before...but now pulling smaller jigs through light grass without ever hitting the bottom has been a great new tool for me.

I could be wrong....and I usually am when it comes to trying to guess what women want....but, I'd like to think that getting a shorter handle without focusing too much on rod length will get her where she wants to be. Casting from a kayak, while wearing a PFD, can be challenging with longer rod butts. Fortunately, TW lists handle lengths. And some mfr sites specify specific handles with their models (e.g. St Croix and Abu Garcia.) And btw, who targets small bass? BPS used to have some pretty decent house brand UL's, but I haven't been there in years.