Angry John

I use the 6.3 on many of my reels. 7.1 on my zillion works just fine and I also have a 7.2 alphas which is great. The trend is ever faster. 6.3 works well on moving presentations. The only time I feel the need for the 7.1 is frogging.

My anunt had just about what you did and was really worried, looked years younger afterward, a free face lift. With all of the melanoma in my family i have see tons of treatments and watched my dad go to dermo for years until i left home. I carry a can in my truck and one in my tackle bag of clear 30 or above spray. My wife gives me all kinds of grief about my hats that "make me look like a grandpa" but i am ok with that if i prevents what you had to go threw. Hope you heal fast and dont have any additional breakouts.

Skin cancer is nasty stuff. How did you like your time in the waiting room with the open wound while they tested to make sure they got it all??? The worst is the liquid nitrogen IMO but they have other treatments that are not as painful but gross. fudex is a cream that gets all over the place and works well. It makes your skin nasty but it works.

I prefer to clean my bearings before changing oil because i never know what was being used before or by the factory. Some types dont mix well, and a clean bearing is the best. I like one shield off or both but others re-install or don't take them off. I would say you never really get them clean without taking them off.

I have never used the arbor but the idea is sound. Having a larger shallow spool should give you less problems while using flouro and line popping off the spool. If your main line is braid then your would realize no benefit. I have been hoping that the larger manufactures would move to make this style. Daiwa uses larger reels with shallow spools like the 2506. If you get it let us know how you like it!

Looks a little like a copper shad. Great paint, i would fish the heck out of that!!!

Well the bait monkey got me good as i ordered my new helix 7 for my yak and they cam back and said it was going to take 2 months to ship. Well the heck with that take more of my money and send me the next unit up right. I ended up with the gps/di/chirp/network model. Six hundred dollars later i should have the most expensive sonar on any yak in the county. Had to throw in a cavitron and a spro little deep diver and an add on tshirt. My wife shall never find out or i may not live.

Topwaters i run braid to 14lb xl or strait xl. IMO topwater is not the lines strength at all and it must sink just enough to really hinder the action on sammys and duo pencil baits. I also find it to have very little stretch. The YBH soft has a lot but the standard not so much.

Oil thickness will control speed a lot also. The oil that boca sells is good and what i use. Hedgehogstudios sells oil that a lot of people also like. The boca applicator that the oil comes in is also very helpful.

color is one of the last things i worry about for cb 1.depth 2.size 3. action flat side or wide wobble 4.sound rattle or not 5.color A. start with a clear type natural pattern bait that is silent b.go with a solid color natatural pattern. Shad, white minnow. c. chrome or gold if its sunny d. Chartreuse or loud color for dark/mudy stained water.

Cheap and effective 1. yum dinger in 5" green pumpkin or 6" lizzard you dont need both. 2. SK 1.5 square bill X2 chartruse black back and blue gill 3. rattle trap "pick a brand, bill lewis or red eye" crome black or blue and a shad. 4. Pack of 2/0 or 3/0 ewg hooks i like gamy for the price and availability. 5. 1/8 ball dropshot sinker 6. 1/0 dropshot hook 7. KVD dreamshot in a color that is working for those around you maybe kvd magic Then when it starts to warm up a cavitron buz bait or spook or duo pencil bait. Look on tacklewarehouse.com under top sellers and see what is working for everyone.

I think you should be just fine using 7lb sniper, i use a lot of 6. The only other flouro i use that i consider quality for a decent price is p-line 100% there are others that cost more that i have not tried that may be better like tahtsu but why keep trying when you find something that works. On a high end rod like that i usually recommend a high end reel that will go the distance and be quality. This is just a reference http://www.ebay.com/itm/152425967111?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2661&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

you have to remove the outer shield to put the oil on the ball parts. There is a race that holds the balls in place. If you do not remove the shield the oil will not get to the balls where it is needed.

I would if I knew I had a back seat on a boat!

I love the stuff and use 10 for jerkbaits, crankbaits, and weightless plastics. I use 6 on 2500 spinning reels and 4 on 2000 size. I don't have any handling issues with it at all and recommend it for everything except top water. I run 20 on my swimbait setup.

depending on when you fished a rage you most likely fished an scII blank. SCV blanks are not from the same planet. If your looking for an unpainted blank then you may want the NFC hm blanks.

I leave off one side but you can leave them both off if you want

The ball and chain aka the Carolina rig. I have tried but it sucks and has never worked so i pass on it.

If your looking for specifics i use lower action trailers during the cold period. My favorite is a paca craw during the winter. I use a lot of beaver baits like the reaction inovations sweet beaver during the summer and rage craws. Spring i mostly down size to double tail grubs or the paca's, Fall i dont fish a jig often as i like other baits during the fall feast!!! I try to keep it very simple with color. Green pumpkin, black blue and brown is all i normally have. My favorite angler Gman said black or brown but who knows.

If kept clean i would say the life of the reel. If you clean and oil them regularly then you should have no issue. Depending on how often you fish, how much time that reel gets each trip and how clean the water is will determine how often you have to clean and lube. I have over 10 reels so i clean them during the winter and consider them good for the season unless they get dunked in water or dropped in the dirt. My rough guide for service is inspecting the worm drive. If its still clean and working nice then i keep going. I take off one shield so they are easy to oil and still protected a little and give them a drop before i start a session every three to five uses. More is not better when applying oil.

Took the dive today and am upgrading the yak with a helix 7. Been fishing by sight forever and now i will have to run around and map these places. Hope i end up learning to use this thing... Now the wait as they are on back order at TW.

Well there are a lot of blanks that people consider the best and i will stay very general based on no information provided. http://www.mudhole.com/custom-rod-building-blanks/rod-building-blanks-brands/phenix-rod-building-blanks/phenix-k2-freshwater-series http://www.mudhole.com/custom-rod-building-blanks/st-croix-fishing-rod-blanks/SCV-Casting-Rod-Blanks And the north fork composites HM blanks are or were considered some of the best. Might be able to find one on closeout as they are going out of buisness i last heard.

The company puts bearings where you can tell the most difference ie what is cost effective. I put bearings in my reels that will take them and i can tell the difference but most people dont care or want to do the extra maintenance. I will speak to daiwa reels because those are what i fish most. I add two or four bearings to the handle depending on what it has already. I also add one to the level wind. I like the improvement and feel its worth it to me. The original posters are correct that the original build quality is more important, and if the time and effort made by the company to keep every thing strait and aligned then i have no issue upgrading latter.

Well the vast majority will say they like fishing strait braid. So reading between the lines means they dont think that it matters at all. We all have days that the leader goes on because conditions are tough or the water is very clear. I use flouroleaders all the time to get the abrasion resistance and the clarity. Mono leaders have their place also, and if i have it handy sometimes i use it.

crankbaits dobyns 764rm or 805rm depending on how big a bait your throw. Paired with a zillion hlc with 12lb sniper. rod two mb xxperfect pitch or daiwa steez xbd for frogs jigs punching and small swim baits up to 2oz. I would run a zillion 7.9 j dream and have a slower reel for swimbaits. third option would be a dobyns 806 or 807 swimbait rod for over 2 oz. Do you throw soft single jig hook baits or a lot of trebbles. I love my luna 253 but you may want a Calcutta te gt.