Josh Smith

I grew up on pistol grips. Only fairly recently have I been introduced (sorta' forced due to availability) to longer handles. I still start with a one-handed hold. My support hand comes up to the butt and pulls at the moment the rod tip is at its rearmost position. It's still almost a single-handed cast, but with my strong hand being a pivot point and doing less work. It's just more accurate this way. Imagine casting a pistol-grip rod with the addition of a tail, and you'll get a rough idea of what I do. This, still, is generally for long range, ~30 - 50 yards. Shorter range flipping sees one hand regardless of rod length or type. Regards, Josh

Hello, Back "in the day" I would have used the stiffest 5'6" MH rod I could find. Now, I use a 6'6" M/F IM6 rod. This is due in equal parts to new technology and a change in personal technique and philosophy regarding treble hooks. Regards, Josh

Hello, I'm looking for a book that covers the topic of this thread's title. I can't find much on the web. I'd like a comprehensive guide to baitcaster development from, say, the introduction of the Ambassadeur in the '60s to the modern designs. Something to read and study until the river goes down and the ice melts off the lake. Has anyone written such a book? Regards, Josh

Hi Guys, I'm wondering the point of the four-washer drag stack on bass baitcasting reels. The two obvious things appear to be smooth operation and heat dissipation. With the advent of carbon drag washers, I can get the same level of smoothness from an old two-washer drag stack as on any of my four-stack models. Heat dissipation just doesn't seem to be an issue with bass. I can't see that being a valid reason unless you hook into a long-running fish. Still, it would have to peel an awful lot of drag to build up much heat. Thoughts? Regards, Josh

Yup, only one washer, two drags. I have carbon fiber replacements on the way, and I've never had problems with the two drag washers on Ambassadeurs when using carbon drags. Regards, Josh

Thanks DVT. I read on some other forums that folks had stripped the gears because these were "light duty" reels. After seeing the guts, I doubt that's true. This particular one doesn't seem to have been heavily used. Except for old grease mucking up the internals, it appears fairly new inside. I replaced the crankshaft bushing with a bearing, cleaned everything and greased with that Penn blue stuff (my new favorite!) and it's as smooth as any modern reel. I can't find any actual wear from usage. Regards, Josh

Hello, I'm thinking this Shimano Bantam 10 would do nicely for a dedicated rod/reel combo I've been thinking about putting together. That combo would be specifically for lipless crankbaits and shallow squarebills, mostly used in rivers. The lack of the instant anti-reverse would not be an issue; I use older tuned out Ambassadeurs for medium to deep divers. Would the gears hold up in this old thing? I'm not sure how heavily they were built compared to the pre-UC Ambassadeurs. Thank you, Josh

Yes, they did. Lew Childre designed 'em, and then stopped using Shimano when Shimano decided to get into the reel building game using their own name. The designs are extremely similar. Regards, Josh

I should revise that description: It looks like a modern, low-profile reel that was built largely from pre-UC Ambassadeur parts. It's really sorta' cool like that. Support may have stopped through Shimano, but there are plenty of parts out there. I've begun bushing replacement. It looks a lot like some Lew's concept reels I've seen. I mean, Childre did design these things!

Hello, I'm inside the Shimano Bantam 10 I bought. It's in nice condition; just dirty. The weird thing is that the reel looks a lot like a pre-UC Ambassadeur inside. In fact, it appears that 80% to 90% of the parts will interchange with one. Thought some of you might find this interesting. Regards, Josh

Hello, I'm Abu Garcia Made in Sweden only. I do have an old Shimano Bantam 10 on the way, but it may just go to my wife. I generally fix and upgrade old Quantum reels for family to use. The 1310 is hard to beat in old Quantums. The only reason I'm asking about the KastKing is curiosity. From the little I can find online, the red reels, for example, look a LOT like the pre-UC Ambassadeurs. I'm certain they're copying old (and maybe new) designs, and I'd like to know how well they're doing it. Curiosity is all it is. Regards, Josh

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone has performed a dissection on a KastKing of any sort? If so, what's it look like in there? If not, I'm half temped to buy one just to see what they did. Regards, Josh

@Fishing Rhino, we cross-posted. Yours is excellent advice. Thank you. Regards, Josh

Hello, OK, here's what I see. 1. She sees the house as a part of her toilet. This is because of the lingering scents from past pottying tells her to. You need to clean these spots thoroughly. Use a mixture of dish soap, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda. The exact mix can be found online. There are also commercial cleaners which get the scent completely out. 2. Rubbing her nose in it does nothing. You need to correct the action while she's in the act. Get a pop can, fill it with pennies, and tape the top. Shake it. She won't like this sound and when she squats in the house, start shaking it immediately. Grab her by the scruff of the neck and lead her outside. 3. Praise her when she potties outside. Act like it's the greatest thing you've ever seen. Give food and pettin'. 4. Crate her when she's alone. She will come to love her crate. It's her space and her space only. Do not allow others inside the crate, including playing kids. If she potties in the crate, then there's something wrong with her and you'll need to talk to the vet about it. 5. Dogs who tear things up are anxious. Your dog chewing like she did and pooping in front of your door is simply her telling you that she is insecure and it's your fault. Are you the clear leader? Do you control the food, or can she just eat whenever? That said: 6. Control the food. He who controls the food is boss. Do not let her eat before you eat. Do not let her eat without permission. Keep the food bowl covered with your hand and progress to teaching her to eat on command. Some dogs need this and from what you describe, she's one of them. 7. Pet appropriately. Scratch her ears. Play with the top of her muzzle. Rub her belly. Play with her rump and tail. Hug her. At no time kiss her on the muzzle or anywhere else. Allow her to lick your chin, though. 8. Do not rant, rave, or yell. Be firm and commanding. When you give a command, act like you're giving an order to a subordinate in the military. Do not yell if she doesn't snap to, though. Use a firm, "No," and that rattle can you made. 9. Keep commands to two syllables or less. Accompany with hand commands. Dogs do not understand speech well. They do understand gestures and body language much better. 10. Pick up a book on dog language. Even if you think you know dog language, pick one up anyway. You'll learn something. I've done this all my life and still learn a new meaning now-and-again. Dog language is a pretty intricate thing. Good luck. Keep us posted. Regards, Josh

I do not let my 2-year-old girl or my 8-year-old boy watch anything like that. They will emulate. Heck, Belle would rather watch fishing shows than cartoons because that's what she's used to watching. She'll also grab any reel she sees laying around, and whether or not it's on a rod, she'll try pretend to cast with it. That's not a bad thing. It only shows to what extent kids emulate. It's not anyone's place to tell you how to raise your boy, but if you don't want him doing what he's doing, Clayton, don't encourage the behavior by letting him watch the adult stuff. Josh

Thanks Raul. Reckon you have 10 or 15 years on me. I'm 38 and some of this stuff I remember quite dimly. Josh

When using braid, no leader: Single hooks: 3/4 to full drag. I'm usually fishing salad with this, and go to full lockdown. I've known some folks who take pliers to their drags. I'm not one of those. Treble hooks: Generally not used without a leader, but would go to 1/4 to 1/2 drag as long as the drag's not slipping on the retrieve. I'm thinking deep crankbaits here. When using braid with leader, or mono: Single hooks: Generally not used, but on the rare occasion they are (like with round head jigs) I set the drag to 1/3 to 1/2 the weakest link, with the weakest link generally being tied at the lure. Treble hooks: 1/4 to 1/2 the weakest link breaking point. I'm usually fishing open water and I do this to prevent fish loss more than anything. Josh

Dang, some folks are getting offended. Maybe I should have not used the word "gimmick" but rather "things that didn't last"? The fightin' drag looks like a gimmick to me. I have no trouble spinning a drag knob while fighting a fish. I never heard of that TN handle. It looks like the simplest solution to a real problem, though not one I've encountered. The TWS makes sense, sorta, but there are just too many moving parts to make me happy. "What was the helicopter lure of fishing reels" may have been the best way to phrase it. I seem to recall Boron fishing rods. Sensitive but broke easily, right? They were phasing out in favor of graphite, I think, by the time my memories of gear beyond my Zebco 33 started. Regards, Josh

If it's patented or copyrighted, you need permission. Sometimes they will ask money for this permission. If it is not patented, then it's known as public domain. It could be public domain because someone decided not to patent. An example would be the Ruger copy of the Keltec design in firearms. It could also be that a patent has expired. I'm sure the levelwind had a patent at one point; it expired and now everyone uses it. Regards, Josh

You know, the TWS makes sense to me, but I also see it as one other thing to break. I figure you can have a fragile(???) TWS, or have friction at when the line comes off the outside of the spool while casting, or you can transfer that friction to a non-disengaging levelwind (my preference as I feel there's more to be done there than the disengaging levelwind). Josh

That's a good question. It was made by Zippo and looks like a lighter. I've always carried it in my pocket. I don't recall where I got it, though I probably swiped it from my dad, who was a GM engineer while I was growing up. I acquired a lot of promotional stuff from GM's business partners through Dad back then. Josh

Hey Guys, We had a similar thread about gimmick lures, so I figured maybe we could do one on rods and reels. I'm wondering what gimmicks you guys remember on rods/reels/etc. I remember back before I got out of fishing for a while, it seemed every new spinning reel to come out had a danged trigger on it! I tried one and couldn't like it. What about you? Josh

I really appreciate it! My calipers that I always keep around the desk have gone missing. Using a tape measure, I'm getting 9mm OD x 4mm ID x about 1mm thick. It's plastic or hard fiber. It almost feels like pre-carbon drag material, but it's definitely not felt. The spool spins on it while the drag's going out -- it's part of the drag system, it looks like. Is that how it is in the Shimano reels? Regards, Josh

Huh. I always thought a conventional didn't have a level wind. This is based in nothing I've ever read; just sorta' assumed. Dangit. Josh

So guys, this is what I'm looking at: There are no washers except for the drag washer. Do I need a thinner drag spacer washer, then? Thank you, Josh