ChrisD46

+1 River 2 Sea or Berkley - buy on sale or discount.

+1 ... These two colors would take you a long way in clear water - if your water has some stain to it OR on an overcast day , a 3rd color in Pearl would be a very good addition .

+1 with A-Jay , that can't be factory line from Seaguar as it looks like it was wound on from a small powered line winder ... *From the sister company "See-Gar" in China , this line only used once in the Yellow River for Perch fishing . All kidding aside , Amazon has been known to be bitten by semi - shady suppliers . As large as Amazon is and as fast as they are growing - It's difficult for them to vet all suppliers 100% .

It looks like I could use my SA734c for frogging in open water - but for lily pads and over grass or frogging on tops of mats , the 735c would be best . *It appears there are fans of the 766c over the 735c for frogging in or over cover - yet I am worried about versatility of the 766c vs. the 735c - your thoughts and experiences between the two ? ... My preferred frogs are the : Booyah Poppin' Pad Crasher and the Booyah Pad Crasher full size frogs.

Power Pro Braid comes in #8lb, #5lb. and even #3 lb. ratings which I have considered off and on to try - what is it about them that you dislike ? Thanks ...

Reading A-Jay's year end lure list caused me to hyperventilate ! ... *Door bell just rang - my son answered and yelled out : "There's a monkey on the front door step to see you" ...

*Perhaps a better way to phrase the question : What difference would I see in action , taper , speed , etc. in the blanks between a Fury 735c and a Sierra 735c ?

For those that have the Dobyns Sierra 735C , would you find it better at Froging than Fliping or Pitching - or fairly equal at all three ? I have the Sierra 734C and love the variety of applications it handles and was hopeful the Sierra 735C would have somewhat similar variety of applications (frog , flip , punch) to make this rod more than just a frog rod - maybe solid body top water toads , buzzbaits , heavier swim jigs near cover , etc. as well . Thanks in advance for sharing what types of bass applications / conditions you use your Dobyns Sierra 735C for ?

*I see the advantage of an 8:1 gear ratio being most advantageous for two things mainly : To quickly take slack out of line in applications primarily where the bass can swim towards you after crashing a lure and you need to catch up to it quickly ! The next would be say pitching to a target and after a foot or so the lure is completely out of the strike zone and you want to get the lure back quickly for another cast . *The thrid possible application is in say frog'n or flipping where you want to get a bass out of the spinach fast before he can borrow down and break you off . *Do you feel a 8:1 gear ratio reel can "winch" out a bass in the spinach equally in power to a 7:3:1 gear ratio reel ?

*And so is the reel - the horror of it all !

I now figure a 8:1 gear ratio reel wouldn't hurt for a dedicated flipping / pitching or Frog'n outfit ... *If I absolutely saw no benefit in the 8:1 gear ration - I could sell it or exchange it ... Nothing ventured - nothing gained !

I ended up buying a modest pack pack from LA Police Gear which I modified for my own purposes - expect to pay more for a dedicated fishing back pack that may or may not meet your needs ...

*Good comments - but to play devil's advocate : If you are NOT a pro or tournament fishermen is an 8:1 gear ratio more of a "nice to have" or no matter what you would still prefer the 8:1 gear ratio over the 7:3:1 gear ratio any way for the applications you described ?

In looking at baitcast reels , I notice more 7:3:1 gear ratio reels on sale than the 8:1 gear ratio reel in the same series . *In your experience - what applications do you see where spending $10 ~ $15 more on a 8:1 gear ratio reel is a difference maker to you versus a 7:3:1 gear ratio in the same reel series ? ... Thanks in advance !

Thanks for the replies : *Currently on Amazon the 7:3:1 Fuego CT is $73 while the 8:1 is $74 . *I have heard complaints that lower end Lew's bait cast reels long term quality is not so good . *The Fuego CT has only 5+1 ball bearings vs. the 10+1 ball bearings of the Kast King (hope the Fuego CT has enough) . *Found the Academy H2O Mettle on sale for $39 , however I need faster than a 6:3:1 gear ratio . I have Daiwa spinning reels and love them - never and issue and built well . I have not tried a Daiwa bait cast reel before (of course hear great things about the Tatula) . If posters here agree that the Fuego CT is a great value reel - then the search is on for one lower than the Amazon $73 ~ $74 dollar range . If not , then the price is certainly better than the $99 showing currently at TW .

While I have toyed with the idea of trying a Kast King bait cast reel - I can't get past the idea of them not having an aluminum frame (to minimize reel body flex and ensure long term gear alignment ) . That said , what are your favorite lower end bait cast reels with all aluminum one piece frames ?

Great topic as flat sided , billed crank baits are a category unto themselves for sure ...

The SK Red Eye shad lipless crank in 1/4th oz. and your colors of choice - especially using a yo-yo retrieve letting it fall to the bottom .

Good replies as to what / why you use the gear ratios you do for top water . Not counting frogging - I can now see the need for at least a couple of top water gear ratio bait cast outfits for top water .

I know it's not exactly the right time of the year for top water fishing but wanted to ask any way - what gear ratio (6:3:1 or 7:5:1 ) do you use with bait casting gear for walk - the - dog , chuggers and poppers ? - it's possible you may use both gear ratios (depending on the technique) ... Thanks in advance .

*I had my parole hearing yesterday at Restful Meadows Rehabilitation Center - GA. where I have spent the last 3 months under going therapy for : "Bait Monkey Issues" . The question & answer process was going well and towards the end - I actually thought I was going to get out ... Then one of the board members displayed a recently found : "Spend $50 and get a free TW Fish Sticker Decal" tucked under my mattress ... When questioned about it I mumbled : "I don't know , the TW fish decal might have been mine relating to a purchase - I can't recall as past purchases can seem to run together - it all gets kinda fuzzy as you can all understand ... You do understand - right " ? ... Parole denied !! - Next patient come in and please be seated ... (to be continued) .

*From the spinner bait guru (Jimmy Houston) he states that a soft plastic trailer on a spinner bait provides a little more substance for a bass to clamp down on than just a plain silicon skirt . I have caught bass both ways on a spinner bait but lately I am liking the zoom split - tail trailers in white or chartreuse and either matching the skirt color with the split - tail trailer OR contrasting the split - tail trailer with the skirt .

*Now that jig box is sweet !

*Right you are sir - cork handles on the $9.00 6'6" M/M bait cast rod. *I concur - #30 lb. braid is in my stable of bait cast reels for moving / top water baits but I found rather than playing with a looser drag for crank baits with braid - I just switched to a non - braid line for the added stretch and all is fine for crank baits now with THIS rod . Like a major league baseball team GM , I'm always on the lookout for upgrades for position players (i.e. rods & reels) but for a $9.00 Berkley composite rod - I feel like I got a deal on a decent utility infielder (lol!)

Goofing around at my local WM rod rack when I picked up a Berkley Lightning Shock casting rod (6'6" M/Mod) - the blank was perfectly straight as were the line guides and no blemishes any where on the rod . There was no price on it so a scan of the bar code came back as $9.00 (on clearance) so off to the checkout line I went ... . I had a spare H2O Xpress Mettle 6:3:1 (Academy) at home filled with #10lb. Yo-Zuri Hybrid line and it balances well . How does it work ? Great - I'm not even using braid either ... 1.0's , 1.5's squarebills , 1/4 oz. ~ 3/8th oz. lipless cranks work just fine - reel set and moderate sweep hook set keeps them buttoned up well . Let's face it , I got lucky on the rod for $9.00 (again , not a blemish to be found) however if or until the rod breaks I'm good for smaller cranks now ... I'm still on the hunt for a 7' MH cranking rod for 1/2 oz - 3/4th oz. . lipless cranks and larger 2.5's square bills but expect I'll be paying a little more for that rod (lol !)