Josh Smith

Pistol grip rods are awesome! Can't be beat for short-range accuracy, or long-range accuracy if you tone your forearm to it. I have three on active duty now (up from two last year) alongside more modern-style rods. All have their places for particular techniques. Pistol grips give more freedom of movement, for example, than long handles that come alongside your body. Josh

Thanks, guys. As I fish in a lot of tough stuff, I went ahead and bought some XT as it's a known quantity with me. I'll be picking up some XL to try at some other time. I respool mono often, and so I'll probably be trying XL in this application soon for that reason. Thanks again! Josh

Dude, it's like, don't start nothin', won't be nothin', you know? It's about fishing. Getting along helps the fishing. You come aboard my boat, I assume I can learn from you as well as you maybe learn from me. That's my attitude, anyway. I don't fish tournament yet, will only fish local tournaments if at all. My boat's a slow deep v. I'm out for fun and to relax. The only two things that would ever get on my nerves are telling me how to fish, or bringing equipment you have no idea how to use and ruining my fun. (If I know how to use stuff you bring and you don't, I'll be more than happy to teach.) It's about fun.

Most of my reels hold 200+ yards of line, so I use backing. That means tying the backing to the spool and using a uni to uni knot or an Albright knot. Josh

I went back and looked at the XL stuff. I'd prefer the XL for less memory. There's now some XL stuff that is "armored". That's the $10 stuff. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Thanks! Josh

How about Sufix Elite? I've become a convert to Sufix 832 braid, and I'm liking the Elite reviews. I'll probably run a fluoro leader on it. I'm a braid user now, and am only going back to mono on this one rod because it has relatively soft guides and may groove with braid or straight fluoro. Thanks! Josh

Hi Folks, I'm looking for opinions on XL mono lines. I'd like to spool up with it for cranking on this glass rod I have, using the old 5500 (non-c) reel. I was perusing some last night at a local store. They only had Berkely Trilene, but I was happy to see they had it in 12 and 14lb, which I don't recall them having years back. Stuff's 10 bucks and while not expensive compared to braid, it is more expensive than I'm used to seeing mono priced at. I almost picked it up on the name alone, but figured I'd get input here first. Thank you! Josh

In Indiana, still water requires 14" to keep 'em. Rivers have a slot limit of 12" to 15", so I"m guessing the 10" and 11" from the rivers would be the better-tasting fish? Thanks, Josh

I really like the Cherrywood HD for cranking and a lot of other things. It's whippy enough to have a good tip action. For $20 you might as well give it a shot! I've just hauled Dad's old Lew's Speed Stick out, and will be trying it for cranking this year. Josh

Bass are OK. I generally don't eat them, but tend to agree with A-Jay with regard to good eatin' fish with the addition of catfish. Josh

Who's the feller in the vid? Josh

No, I mean from just that cast. There are times I fish in stuff so thick that I sharpen the hooks after each retrieve. Big ol' bass in the thick stuff usually. Josh

Mike at DVT is about the only person I'd trust to do my reels were I no longer willing or able to do them myself. I work in an industry that requires extensive knowledge and exacting tolerances, procedures, and hand-fitting, and through my talks with the man, I have confidence that he has the knowledge to think around any problem which might arise with any reel on the market. I also trust him to outsource any work that he cannot/will not do to the proper people. A mechanic is not a body repair man, and a gunsmith is not necessarily a gun refinisher. However, good mechanics know good body men and gunsmiths generally have excellent firearms refinishers on call. Likewise, I'd send a reel off to Mike with an itemized order form of what I want done, and I'd feel confident that it would come back to me in the exact way I wanted. Regards, Josh

It depends how I set the hook. Generally, though, I'm fishing in deep cover and I assume I'm driving a dulled hook (from beating up against stuff) through a bass's beak. Moving topwater and crankbaits I usually don't set the hook; maybe give it a little extra tug, but that's it. Josh

Question: Do these things charge on the cast, or use batteries? Josh

Hello, Grabbed 'em. The bearing measures, looks like 16.10mm flat-to-flat on the outside. It may be 16mm; with the housing busted it looks like elongated by just a bit. ID measures 10mm. Thickness is 8mm to 8.10mm (again, it's a bit off due to the busted housing.) Looks like it should be 16mm OD x 10mm ID x 8mm thick. It's hexagonal and measures about 17mm point-to-point. Points are rounded as most I've seen. Thanks! Josh

Thanks! I'm planning on grabbing it and my digital calipers from the shop today. (The dial calipers get to stay there.) Regards, Josh

Hi Folks, My mother's father was a fisherman on the weekends and had fisherman buddies. By the time I got to know Grandpa, he was downhill enough from mini-strokes (senility) that I only got to go fishing with him once. I recall him letting me sit on his lap and drive the car while he worked the gas and brakes, and I remember him taking me on a merry-go-round at some state fair or other. I do also remember he and the other grownups smoking cigars out by the end of the driveway during family get-togethers, and I recall he had a small bar in his basement. (I had some expensive whiskey from that!) One of Grandpa's fishing buddies was named Gill. When Gill passed, Grandpa inherited his tackle box and rod holder. When grandpa died, I got those things among a few other fishing goodies. I have Gill's tackle box put up as it's far better arranged and more stocked than anything I've ever seen. It's all for live bait, too. I'll never want for hooks again! Gill's rod holder sat, unused, until I got bored. I pulled out a few of my favorite rods and set it up in my bedroom. It drives the wife crazy. It's all tucked out of the way so that the first thing I see in the morning are my rods (on the left) and my wife (on the right). Excuse the poor pics. I was trying to get the indirect lighting to show, and kept the same ISO setting: Gill's Rod Holder. He was a woodworker and I enjoy this and other examples I've seen. Indirect lighting. Nightlight! Irritates the wife even though I turn it off before she goes to bed! Not enough room for attachments to get the pic of the barometer in there, too. I'll have to host these on Photobucket or something. This isn't an excellent job and will probably go through a bunch more improvements before I'm done. Still, as it is, it keeps me hopeful for warmer weather. Josh

Amazing, ain't it? Know what else? Spell check accepts "ain't" as a word. Take that, teachers!

I chuck an old spool in the drill and let it rip. Josh

Hello, I'll toss in: Rat-L-Chunk, chunk only: 110 grains, or about 1/4 oz Mann's 6" Jelly Worm: 70 grains, or about 3/16 oz Yum Dinger, 4": 110 grains, or about 1/4 oz Yum worm, 6" action tail: 100 grains, or a little less than 1/4 oz Yum 3.25" Crawbug: 145 grains, or about 1/3 oz (I consider it 3/8 oz, 0.33143 oz is the decimal) Yum 6" Sallemander: 164 grains, or about 3/8 oz Josh

Yeah, I got it like this. I was in parts in a bag, looked unused, so I bought it for a song and put it back together. It's missing the tension cap and outboard bearing on that side. I should have a parts reel laying around I can use for those things, but it still uses a dog and ratchet. Josh

J Francho, Yes, it's the instant anti-reverse. I didn't use proper terminology there, I guess. It's the metal part of the cage outside the plastic. (I tend to think of that cage as a race and the sleeve as an inner race, though I know they are not called that. Figured ya'll'd know what I mean.) Regards, Josh

Thanks guys. I thought maybe they just used one size. I don't have it with me and was doing some ordering. Will measure when I get back to it! Regards, Josh

Hi Guys, I wound up with a Quantum reel that has a busted IAR bearing (cracked race). It's an easy fix and the reel is in decent condition. Actually looks to have never been used and I'd like to do something with it. Anyone have a part number? Thanks! Josh