Bushwacker

I am on the opposite side of the spectrum from most of you. I have been using braid almost exclusively for about 10 years now and in the past year I have been going to fluorocarbon and co-polymers. I still use braid quite a bit for certain techniques, but I really think braid was actually costing me fish. One of the biggest pros of braid is the no-stretch, but it is also one of its biggest cons too. With cranks and other treble hooked lures, the no stretch was costing me fish. With fluoro the line gives a little as well as the rod so it is not as easy for the fish to shake off. I personally put fluoro in front of braid for sensativity too. If you are totally tight lining a fish braid is very sensative, but then a fish can also feel you easier. If you have any slack in the line fluoro seems to give me a lot more transmitted feeling. I still love braid, I prefer PowerPro for baitcasting setups and Fireline for spinning reels, but I definitely think braid has its place. Some techniques are hurt by using braid.

I have used Reel Mechanic's lubes for about a year now and I really have had good results. As good as any that I have needed.

So would you guys suggest 7'6" model instead of the 7' if I go with the glass?

I am trying to decide on a crankbait rod for this year. I have been using a St. Croix Legend Elite EC70MF graphite rod, but it seems like more and more people are going to glass so I am considering getting a Lamiglass SR 705R rod. What do you guys think who have fished both. What do you prefer and why? The deepest I will probably go is 16ft or so, so no real deep divers, at least that is what I plan on as of now. Thanks for any advise.

I like to pitch with 50lb PowerPro or bigger. The big thing that I go for with braid is to match the line diameter to the mono I would be using when I use it on a baitcaster. On spinning reel I go withsmaller diameter, but with baitcasters too thin of line can lead to problems.

I am an insurance agent. Not the most exciting job in the world, but provides a lot of flexibility and get to own my own business.

Classic bass is the best that I have found out there for MN tournaments. All of the ones I fish are on there and a ton more. Great resourse.

I think low pros gained most of their popularity because they are easier and more comfortable for most people to palm, but their are smaller round reels available now. Reels like the Luna 103 are not really that much bigger or even heavier than a lot of low pros. I like having both. I use round for all of my heavier gear like musky fishing and swimbaits, and now I have even picked up a couple 103 size rounds for pitching and flipping stuff.

A few that are my favorite casters are my Daiwa Pixy, Sol, and TD-Z. I think the key to any reel is the right oil and keeping them clean from debris. I would really look at the Sol for the $170 range reel. They are out there if you look hard enough.

Its funny because my main tournament partner loves the Zoom Horny Toads because of their action and I love the Yum version because of theirs. We both use them a lot, but both fish them really different ways. I bought a couple different brands too and they are best used a little differently. I look at the legs first when buying different brands, some swim/jerk better and some buzz/sputter better. They all seem to catch fish though.

Being a guy with more of a muskie background than bass I will even say that for everything but trolling, you only need 100 yards max for even the biggest and baddest 'skies. With the quality of drag and the quality of line today, those big, high capacity spools are unnessasary. Even the hardcore muskie guides here in MN are going with the 250 size reels instead of the big and heavy 300 and 400 sizes. So 100 yds of 10lb test should be more than enough for bass. I am a superline freak and fish it on 75% of my reel(a lot of toothy fish around my area) and I always use mono backing and about 75 yds of braid. I have never had the mono touch the water in doing this technique. I never thought of the weight of line being an issue, but that makes a lot of sense. That is really something to consider in matching a reel to a technique. This might be my favorite thread ever. Put me into the "Majors" in my baitcasters and teaching things about spool capacity and line weight!!

I had a Okuma id-250 for a couple years of pretty heavy musky fishing. It held up great. And that is with chucking 10" bucktails and 12" crankbaits for 10,000 of casts. No reel failures at all. It actually sold me on Okuma. Every spinning reel that I have bought for the last three years has been an Okuma and I like them every bit as much as any Shimano Stradic or Quantum Energy PTi that I have. They make a good product that I have been very lucky with. A couple people have told me that they used to have problems with their reels, but so far so good in my experience. Great value reels!

Looks like there all sold out now. I have two 105's on the way. I am a little excited!

I ordered one too. I am a little excited to say the least, the most expensive reel I have ever bought before this is a Pflueger President, so I am thinking I will be a little impressed by the TD-Z

I have Shimano Symtre's, Spirex's, and Stradic's and I have the Okuma Inspira, Metaloid, and the Epixor. Dollar for dollar I really like the Okumas a lot better. The only problem that I have had is with the bail closing on an Okuma during the cast a couple times, but I tighted it up and its good to go. I actually order 3 new Okumas this spring and no Shimanos. I would not be afraid to recommend Okuma to anyone.