Josh Smith

Hello, It's a baitcasting with magnetic control and a thumb bar. Anti-reverse is not instant; it has a dog setup. There is a button on the side that you push to release that side to rotate off. Gear ratio is 5 or 5.2 to 1. I just looked around with a flashlight and it looks like there was once a marking that said "QL50A" or similar. It's absolutely invisible unless it has direct white light on it. Thank you, Josh

Hello, I won one of these on eBay for not much. I was curious about it. What is "lite" about it? Light line? Light reel weight? It is a Korean model. Thank you, Josh

Hello, You stripped the braid? How full is your spool now? Reducing line on the spool will decrease backlashes but will also decrease distance. Just an idea as to what may have happened... Josh

About all I use are old 5000 reels (three of them) converted to 23 IPT. I do also own and use a 5600Mag, which I enjoy. Ditto my Plueger ultralight. In the next week or so I will be grabbing a 5500c3 as it seems to be suited to me. I guess I just never thought of any of my stuff as outdated. Old, yes, but very able to keep up with and often best the newer stuff. Josh

Moss green for the reasons stated by Tyler. It just looks like weeds, especially if using a fluorocarbon leader. Josh

I have to disagree. I am in the gun business and am seeing first-hand the number of new shooters. It's unprecedented. In fact, I hate to give numbers because they'll not be accurate tomorrow. Rimfire and milsurp (especially Mosins) is what is selling right now. Mosins have doubled (at least!) in price. It was impossible to find surplus ammo in many locales. Even a lot of democrats and/or former anti-gun people are now shooting. Winchester predicted, about a year ago, that supply would not meet demand for about two years. That's late 2015 sometime! I am looking for my preferred fodder, CCI Subsonic, for hunting. I might have to switch to supersonic and limit myself to 50 yards if I don't find some soon. I will be doing a custom 5.7x28 or maybe a .22 Epperson Cricket build so this doesn't happen to me again. Josh

Hi Folks, I'm wondering if anyone makes a direct-drive with drag these days, along the lines of a 5000D. The way the 5000D worked was that as the drag let out, the reel handle would go backwards. There was an anti-reverse dog and disengaging spool. The 5000D was constructed so that the drag could be overridden with the reel handle. Actually, a 5500D (23 IPT) or similar would be more along the lines of what I'm looking for. Something faster than the old 3.8 gears. I have a very specific niche that this type of reel would fill nicely. I just don't know that any are made these days. Thank you, Josh

Hello, As some of you know, I'm fishing an overfished lake this year, concentrating solely on it. I'm seeing most bass between half a pound and two pounds. There is a lot of cover and they are therefore ambush feeders. From what I've seen, they don't seem to school much. I've caught pretty big (for Indiana) largemouth in the past. I don't recall the weight; I doubt I weighted them. It's not about that for me. It's about the size of the fight. I have found that the larger bass rarely school around here. They seem to be solitary and protect their territory. If there's a shelf, they'll be a bit deeper (usually) than the smaller bass. If there's one piece of structure, it will likely hold one large bass. In the current lake, there are smaller (12" to 14" or so) holding and ambush hunting nearer to shore. Throwing large baits gets the baits attacked, but nothing hooks up. My current theory is that once I get the boat back out on the water, the large ones will be in a couple coves inaccessible from shore, and also near structure on the bottom of the middle of the lake that I know is there but haven't been able to reach without a boat. So for me at least, it's not about locating the bass. I know where the bass are and rarely go away without catching a couple 12"-14" bass, even in the worst fishing conditions. What it is about, is finding the larger ones and giving them presentations that work. For most of this fishing, I prefer lures in the 1/2oz to 1oz range, though some of the larger lures do weigh more and I tend to overload the rods. I'll be investing in a heavy rod or two if my experiments work. Josh

Hello, The brief history of why the handle is traditionally on the right hand side of a baitcaster is thus: Back in the day when reels were beginning to evolve, the idea was that it was logical to put a reel under the rod so that it was properly balanced. An under-rod reel was difficult to cast unless you consider fly fishing, and then you don't really cast with the reel, right? Well, you were supposed to cast the proto-baitcaster by thumbing the spool as we do now. However, when you were ready to start reeling, you were supposed to turn the rod so the reel was on the bottom before you began cranking. Come to find out that it was just easier to border shift the rod and reel that way instead. The design persisted until the Europeans came up with the spinning reel. Folks here started buying them, and as they were designed to have the reel in the same position reeling as when casting, the handle was on the left side for the right-handers. Baitcaster manufacturers figured this out and started putting the handles on the wrong sides of the baitcasters. Being a lefty, I prefer to work the rod and lure action with my left hand, so the traditional right-side reel handle has always fitted me well. Josh

Groan... And I forgot the pliers. I took three poles and left the tackle box. Almost needed them, too! Josh

I wasn't exactly serious, though I guess that didn't come through well. My preference is to keep the barb. I've hooked myself before, but not seriously. I accept that there can/will be more serious consequences if I hook myself and the barb is not bent, but I've fished barbs before that I crushed down and the results were not great. My biggest concern is hooking the eye, but that's also why I wear sunglasses. Everything is a risk and everything is a trade-off. In this instance I believe that the risk does not warrant the action. Your mileage may vary and I'm in no way trying to "dis" your methods. Regards, Josh

Um... no it's not. Just shove the hook the rest of the way through and clip it. Then again, I've been known to give myself stitches too. Some think I'm not quite right... Just make sure you're up on your tetanus shot. You should be anyway! Josh

I've been puzzling this over for days. How can you have no shoreline? There's water, then there's not water. That's the shore... isn't it??? You kids confuse me. Josh

Reading through these I get an idea that the cup is half empty for some and half full for others. For example, someone is unhappy because there's always more to learn. On the other hand, I'm content knowing that I will learn more. I think a lot of folks are saying the same thing, but feel quite differently about it. For many, it's the journey, not the destination. Just some thoughts. Josh

I'll check them out, thank you! I've also gotten a new scale. These deliars are older than I am, I think. Could be the springs are a bit weak. I'm more concerned about the fight in the fish than the size of it unless I'm eatin' or competin'. I did thing the numbers were a little high myself. Josh

Hi Folks, I want to add some more pistol grip M and MH fast action rods to my collection. I prefer them for general use, and only have a couple at this point. One is graphite and one is an old tournament-grade glass rod. I was looking at BPS and found these: http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Tourney-Special-Trigger-Rods/product/12041105005514/ , model TRS56MHC http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Power-Plus-Graphite-Casting-Rods/product/98362/ , model PPG56MC http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Classic-200-Casting-Rods/product/12082905321615/ , model BPCL-202 (This one is $10. It's also fiberglass. I have no idea what quality 'glass rods go for these days. I thought surely more than $10..?) http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Bionic-Blade-XPS-Trigger-Rods/product/1207130446087/ , med. and med. heavy both have grips I wouldn't mind. The first eyelet closest to the reel would also preferably be slightly larger then normal due to my round reel preferences, but this is not mandatory. I'm also thinking about going the custom route, or learning to build or rebuild one myself (which is what I usually end up doing with guns and reels). Time is a factor, though, as I work a lot. I welcome your thoughts. Thank you, Josh

Hello, New clutches as was mentioned, and you'll also need new spring washers. It's not compression that kills spring power (though new springs will take a set and say there) but rather it's use which weakens springs. If you regularly adjust the drag the springs will lose some of their holding power, although, if you lock the drag down, it should stay locked. Springs allow a wider adjustment range, and the more spring washers, the wider that range is. Flat washers would allow an on/off only drag. Josh

I just ordered some carbon drag washers for my favorite 5000. The fiber drag clutches are very smooth, but they're old. I'm curious about these carbon drag clutches. That 5000, incidentally, uses bushings. It's the only one I've not converted to use axle bearings and honestly, when using light motor oil as lube, it casts a bit better (though this is subjective) due to the axle riding on a layer of oil instead of a solid rolling surface, although I'm playing with the idea of using the insides of the bearings as bushings so there's sort of a dual action going on. One thing that is critical is the levelwind. I prefer reels in which the levelwind moves during the cast as it reduces line friction through the guide. However, the worm gear spinning produces drag as well, and because many reels use bushings there instead of bearings, it creates drag. The worm gear does not spin fast enough to build up a boundary layer of oil, so bearings are critical there. I just ordered a kit for the 5000 I found, and if it works as anticipated, I'll be upgrading all my 5000 reels with them. As DVT says, 99% of improvements will come from cleaning. I hate cleaning. Though I prefer to do my own work, DVT might just get a couple reels for more thorough cleanings than I give them. There are always small bits of old grease in no-essential places because I tend to spray the insides down with degreaser, rinse, then call it good. Looking at the BPS Pro Qualifier, I do believe there are several things that it would benefit from. Josh

Wait, where are you at? Just invite all of us for a fishing tournament with a fish fry afterward! Better yet, if you want to pay me, I'll set up a tent on your lake and remove them one at a time throughout the year... Josh

Bill Dance uses a Quantum Smoke 100. That man could fish with whatever he wanted, sponsored or not. Josh

There's this rod I bought in the '90s. It's just a Daiwa "by Bill Dance" MH 5'6" baitcasting rod with pistol grip. I have more expensive rods now. When I want to catch fish, I always go back to that Daiwa. There's something about it that allows me to handle the rig and feel details that I simply don't get with the other rods, but it's not something I can readily identify. I have been thinking about an expensive, custom rod. It will be another 5'6" pistol-grip for personal preference. It will have to be made because there don't seem to be high-quality pistol-grip rods in MH or H out there any longer. Will it be better than the Daiwa? I'd hope so because of the price I'll be paying. Still, it's an unknown quantity. I've handled much better rods than the Daiwa trying them out, and have even fished a few. They beat out everything I've experienced except for that old Daiwa. Why? No idea. Maybe that Daiwa was a fluke or maybe they made them better back then. Your guess is as good as mine. Josh

Hello, I developed a trick for this. As some of you know, I've been playing solely with a heavily pressured lake this year. It took some playing but I'm catching them successfully. PM sent. Regards, Josh

The Humane Society and the Humane Society of the United States are two different groups. The latter is anti-hunting, anti-fishing, etc as was mentioned. The Human Society are the ones who run shelters and such. A lot of people confuse the two and end up donating to the latter when they really want to support their local animal shelters. Did the HSUS intend it to be this way? I don't know. If the average person doesn't realize the difference, I can't blame Muck for making the same mistake (if it was a mistake). The FB page is no longer up, so I figure that it may indeed have been a case of mistaken identity. Josh

Hello, I do my own, but if I were to send them off to someone, it would be DVT. From their comments we have similar thought processes. They are much more up on the equipment than I am, too. I own a non-fishing business. I make parts and mail directly to customers as well as commercial retailers. When I mail to retailers, I use Priority Flat Rate. I ensure the parts for actual cost of replacement plus cost of labor. The last commercial contract I completed I sent last week. Insurance coverage and shipping only cost $44 and the value of the shipment was well over the cost of 5 excellent reels. Insured mail is handled a bit differently, too, being sorted and scanned by hand (I'm given to understand) as opposed to machine scanning. Use a medium flat-rate box, ensure it for $500 or so, wrap well, seal with duct tape, and send. Record your tracking number and you can watch it online. Josh

I just tried that estimator thing using the bass in my avatar. That bass was one of the less-chunky ones. As it lay there recovering before release, it measured right at 12". This is with the tail and mouth in the positions you see. I'm getting 3" per side, and estimating the girth at 7" to 8". The calculator comes back with right around a pound. The fish weighed 2lbs using two different deliars. If I estimate 13" for a closed mouth and tail, and girth of 7", I get about 1.2lbs. I don't really care what they weigh as they're just really fun. I'm not after a PB or anything. I'm just really curious now. Josh