zachvu

The load is not hot enough. Replacing the recoil spring would stiffen the action of the slide, and cause it to happen even more. I would look around for a reduced power recoil spring.

It has happened to two different reels. I'm wondering if it's the nasty sand that always seems to be blowing at our local lakes? I took some 1200 to it wet to smooth it out, and so far so good.

I have a couple Lews Tournament MG reels and really like them with one exception...the sleeve around the worm gear shaft. It is a plastic guide/guard/sleeve that the line guide rides along. I have had a problem with the plastic gouging or becoming rough, and affecting feel of the reel. From what I understand, the levelwind uses a similar system. So my question is....what reels have a metal guide/sleeve, or is there a design that does away with this altogether?

Here's your graph as requested! (Not a student, but slow enough at work today that I could make it happen!) I started out with topwater as a category, then got a lot more towards the end! If I would have known how high the count would be, I would have broken them down further. I also put flukes and skinny dippers together as a similar bait. For some reason you can't zoom in...here's the photobucket link! http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o192/zachvu/fish.jpg~original

Found the problem (in case anyone else has it and runs across this thread). Pawl cap was tight, but pawl was not seating all the way. The back side of the pawl was dry, so the small washer was slipping off to the side just enough to catch the edge of the threaded portion, and prevent a proper seat. After putting a drop of oil to hold the washer in place, I reassembled, and everything worked as expected.

Sounds good, thank you! If I can't get it, I'll send it off your way. I've heard nothing but good things!

I don't mind doing the maintenance on them, and have cleaned them many times in the past, this one is just giving me issues for some reason! I do plan on sending some off to DVT at some point to get "the treatment" at the end of the season.

Thanks guys. It's a relatively new reel, and I tried not to use it as much as possible the rest of the day, so I doubt it's a wear issue. I will pull it apart and verify everything is in place again. How tight do you guys put the pawl cap? I've heard hand tight, but also seen people use screwdrivers.

My reel (Lews Tournament MG) hit the sand last week, and was in desperate need of a details cleaning. I stripped it down, cleaned, lubed, and reassembled. Once assembled, the worm gear seems to be locking up on the left side. I can reel a few times and it moves back and forth as normal, then for some reason it will hit the left end of the gear and come to a complete stop. Any ideas what could be causing this?? I searched the forum, and couldn't find anything similar. Thanks, Zach

Check out KSL.com. You can probably pick up a pontoon for under $150, or a float tube for d**n near free, and just junk it when you move!

Have you ever licked a molasses block/lick/liquid?? Stump licker liquid and the horse/cattle/deer mineral molasses licks all taste and smell very similar to Copenhagen! I'm convinced it brings them in even more

But then it doesn't work...it's so delicious I can't stop licking my lips and they get dried out again. I can understand why it works!! haha

Not the one I was thinking of, but I'm now half way done with them! Really well done!!

I think I saw it on WFN earlier this week...I'll see if I can find out what it was!

Walmart and any auto store has them as well. I usually fill until the nozzle stops, see how much it was, then add the amount based on the measuring bottle. The nozzle stops with plenty of room left for the oil.

Add another to the Danner club.

Thanks guys. I think I'll probably run some spiderwire that I have laying around on a spin rod with either Invisx or Sniper 6lbs leader, and let that be my drop shot setup. That rod is much softer, and hopefully will play nicer with my line!

I've been thinking about switching, and have heard a lot of praise for Sunline Sniper FC. Is it worth the price, or are there other lines that are a better bang for the buck?

Didn't think about that!!

I see that most of the replies are regarding knot type or tying technique, however, I am going to respectfully disagree that this is the issue. I say this because I have yet to lose any other type of setup (Carolina, Texas, weighted jig head, spinner, crank, etc) on a cast, or even on a fish, and only rarely on a real bad snag! If the knot type, tying technique, or line was to blame, wouldn't this happen on all of the other rigs, and not just on my drop shots? I tested that theory and ran a drop shot all weekend without running back through the eye of the hook. I didn't have a single break, and didn't retie after catching any of the fish. This confuses me even further, as others haven't had the same problem when using this method. The hooks I'm using don't have barbs, and are what many others are using for drops. Any further insight or speculation as to what could be causing this? I'm thinking it has something to do with where the wire touches back to the shank to make the eyelet. Maybe it's sharp, maybe the angle is just right for my line diameter, maybe it's..........

I think I figured out the problem.... I lost another one last night and inspected it closely. It snapped where the line is going back through the eye of the hook, and 1/8 of an inch down the tag line/weight side. I think the tag/weight end is being pinched where the wire closes to form the eye of the hook on hookset. I believe this would explain why it is breaking in the same spot, and only after landing a fish. Thoughts? I'm also curious as to why this is happening to me, and not to most. Would it be the hook selection and line combo??

Stren Fluorocast, 1/0 Gamakatsu worm hook on the one that broke above the hook, same thing on the one that broke below the hook, and a #1 finesse wide gap Gamakatsu on the other that broke below the line. Drag is set pretty light, on a set it is pulling out line. 6'6" M Abu Garcia rod and a Lew's SS Tournament.

I'll make a short video tonight of how I have been tying the Palomar, and I guess we can go from there!

Something else I don't think I mentioned is that two out of the three times it broke off just below the hook. I still had my hook and bait on, so I don't think it would have been the hook set, as it wasn't breaking at the knot. I wonder if maybe I'm pulling the knot too fast, as I am used to puling the tag end, which would end up just below the hook on a drop shot. Another thought...yesterday is the fist time this has happened, but it's also the first time I've tried send the tag back through the hook eye to keep the direction correct. Is this something you guys do? Is it something that could be contributing to the problem??

Structure yesterday was minimal to non-existent! Our local lake was a sand dune that was flooded to make a lake, so not much for underwater structure. The spot I fished has two humps that drop to 14', with a slight channel running though the middle. I guess I just need to keep a closer eye on the line after a catch!