fishballer06

Explain "small swimbaits" please. Some might consider a 3" Keitech a small swimbait, while others consider a 6" Huddleston a small swimbait. If you are in the Huddleston group, I don't recommend either of these reels.

I'm curious as to what was wrong with the reel? Especially to push it to the point of needing all new gears... I would recommend talking to Mike at @Delaware Valley Tackle to see if it is repairable.

Having owned both, I found the Curado to be more comfortable to palm. I also liked the way the Curado casted better. Both reels performed great and didn't have any issues. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either. I suggest holding both and seeing which one you prefer.

Curado 301D and Calcutta 301D are what I use.

I never use braid/leader for jigs. It's either straight braid, or straight fluoro. I use two different knots. The Seguar knot and the Alberto knot. Both have worked well for me. I usually only tie a leader about 15-24" long, but I know some guys will tie on a 10 foot leader. Because of the way I tie shorter leaders, I do not reel the knot up into the guides because it can weaken/damage both the knot and the guides. And if you use micro-guides, getting a knot to pass through is definitely a struggle. You can use 10lb. for cranks, sure. You'll certainly get better depth from the lure. However, the thinner the line, the more abrasion can effect the strength of that line. I'm one who normally grinds his crankbaits on the bottom, so I like have the comfort of a slightly thicker/stronger line.

You're talking a totally different animal whenever you're talking crankbaits. A DD22 is fine to throw on 12lb. fluoro, as it only weighs 5/8oz. However, that SKT MAG120 weighs in a 3.25oz. That's one big hunk of weight to be thrown on any line or rod. I would go no less than 20lb. fluoro if using a SKT Mag120. If you are going to throw that lure, you're going to need a specialized setup specifically for throwing that big of a bait. Whenever I suggested 12lb. fluoro for "deep diving" crankbaits, I was talking more along the lines of DT's, XD's, Wiggle Warts, DD22's, Shad Raps, etc. As for throwing heavy cranks on braid with a fluoro leader, I do not suggest this. I learned this the hard way trying to throw DT16's one day. It worked fine for a few casts, eventually the shock and stretch from the casting motion broke off the heavy lure and sent it sailing off into never-ever land. This method may work fine for baits under 1/2oz. but I have had bad luck throwing 3/4oz+ lures with 12 and 14lb. fluoro leaders. It may work better if I were to go up to heavier line, but at that point I'm going to kill my depth and action of the bait. As for your jerkbait setup, you're really killing the action of your jerkbait using a 20lb. fluoro leader. Anything higher than 12lb. test for jerkbaits will hinder the action and depth. I personally use 10lb. for my jerkbait needs 90% of the time.

I tried some 30lb. Smackdown about 2-3 years ago. It felt really nice in the hands. However, I had all sorts of issues while using it. Lots of wind knots for no explainable reason. Maybe I got a dud spool, because I've heard lots of good things about it. I now stick to 4 different braids for my braid needs, depending upon availability and application: Suffix 832, PLine TCB-8, PP Maxcuatro, Sunline FX2

Update on this. I have purchased a third one of these. I now have the 151XG model coming. Completing the entire lineup for me. After spending 3 full days on the water with these, I've been really impressed thus far. Pitching and casting is effortless with baits of all sizes. The reel is very smooth, even under load of fish and big billed crankbaits.

Deep diving cranks - 12 lb. Sunline Sniper FC Jigs medium size - 16-20 lb. Sunline Sniper FC (cover dependent) Spinner/chatterbaits - 14lb. Sunline Sniper FC

The Navionics web app can be a very useful tool as well.

To also add to the mix... How many times has the world record spotted bass been broken in the past two years?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but anyone can fish "pro" in the FLW. In order to fish pro in BASS, one must qualify through past BASS events and point accumulations. To add to that, sponsorships and payouts are better in BASS elite. If you pay attention, a lot of these top FLW guys that have jumped (or are looking to jump) have been fishing BASS Open events in order to build up their points. Lefebre did it, Wheeler did it, Daniels did it, Scott Martin is currently doing it.

Metanium 13 & Metanium MGL

I wouldn't care if it said pool noodle on the rods action. Every company has a totally different meaning whenever they say "moderate/fast/ex. fast" or "M/MH/H". Every Dobyns glass rod says fast action and the graphite one's are either moderate or moderate fast. The fact of the matter is that once you see/feel these rods in person, you will understand that these rods are perfect for these applications. The half a dozen or so members here that all recommended the 736cb wouldn't try to steer you wrong if they weren't confident in this rod.

I too picked up one of those mislabeled 736cb glass rods. What an impressive rod. It was certainly not what I was expecting in a glass rod. On the scale, with the plastic wrap on the handle and the tags on the guide, it came in at 5.9oz. Which I thought was pretty light for such a long, heavy powered glass rod. To compare, my 735C Sierra in ready to fish condition is 5.4oz. Prior to picking up this 736cb, my old chatterbait rod was an Abu Veracity 7'MH-F. I still love this rod for chatterbaits and swimjigs and I'm sure it will still get used for those applications.

You fella's may want to check the reviews for this website. Lots of claims of bad service and glasses being knock-offs.

Sorry, brain fart. Yes, P-Line Tactical. The diameter's are thicker whenever compared to Sniper FC.

In all seriousness, I've been out the last two weekends and fished two different bodies of water around Somerset and Pittsburgh (and know you and I fish some of the same waters). The water two weeks ago was 41*. I've caught three fish so far and they came on a LC flat CB DR, Mann's baby 1-, and a Rage Tail Swimbait 3.75" on a 1/4oz jig head. Certainly not the baits I would have expected to catch me a fish in February in PA. Aside from that, I normally catch my first ice out fish on either craws or other finesse techniques. Last year my first fish was on a texas rigged Missle D-Bomb being slowly hopped along the bottom.

The entire south end below that bridge is very populated and is full of docks. Those could be a be factor too.

I'm glad to see you got this off the ground. However, to say there are no bass clubs in NE Ohio is far from the truth. I may not live in Ohio, but I already know of the following clubs/series in NE Ohio. You (and potentially others) may want to look into them. Rats Nest Bass Club X Series DoBass Great Lakes Largemouth Series

Good review. I was wondering why the "odd" pound test on this line. Now I know, so thank you. I picked up a spool of the new Tactical Seaguar in 15lb test that I'm curious to see how it performs.

Colors disappear underwater in the same fashion as the rainbow (ROY G BIV). Yellow and red are actually the first colors to go. Black, blue, purple are you best colors for dirty/dark water.

I use everything from 3/8 up to 1oz. All around, I'd probably go 1/2oz.

I haven't used the MGL enough yet to make a fair assessment, and the conditions I have used the reel in were certainly far from ideal. I will certainly say that the MGL feels much smoother and more refined than the ci4 did. I would call the ci4 a lightweight, glorified Curado with the Chronarch name and frame, and I would say the MGL is more of a slightly watered down Metanium MGL in the Chronarch body. The micro module gearing is just so smooth to crank the handle with. If you have used a Shimano with the micro-module gearing, you know what I'm talking about.