jbrew73

What Tom said. I would either completely tear down and clean the reel or apply a cleaner / lube and call it good. I used to ride around with a few bait casters in the bed of my truck. The normal day to day road grime and dust ruined my level wind pawls. I no longer ride them around and have no issues. Keep them clean. If not a clean and lube product would be a move in the positive direction.

I threw mine away too but not on accident.

I agree overall but I do like dobyns for moving baits and spinning rods slightly better than Falcon. They have a really smooth action. I don’t know if that’s is a quantifiable quality but I think so. With bottom contact Falcon is my favorite by far over a few other top brands that are in the $250 to $450 range.

How about ring terminals on the wires and use a junction block. If you ever need to add additional circuits you can do it easily.

I tried braid several years ago and I stayed hung up in wood way too much. if the bottom is clean I’d say it would work okay.

What do you find to be the pros and cons for elite vs siege?

I’m not saying that it’s the norm but I have seen heavier line cast light lures further. Same rod, same lure but 2 identical reels spooled with 10lb and 14lb. The heavier line would carry the lure by its own weight I guess. i doubt that works very often but for that setup it was obvious the heavy line casted better.

You catch some really nice fish!

What do you guys do with the video footage? I don’t even take a picture of a fish but maybe once or twice a year. I don’t use social media so I’m not posting pictures. Is bass resource social media? I still don’t really post pictures though.

7’ MH mod fast works great for those techniques. You could go a little longer or shorter but 7’ works best for me. Falcon or Dobyns are good choices available at several different price points.

I think some pros refer to the original stream bed in small creek arms as drains. is that what you’re referring to?

Falcon is my recommendation as they are light, sensitive and durable. They offer a rod for nearly any application at multiple price points. Dobyns is also a good option. They have endless price points and models to fit everything imaginable. Hammer is an other nice rod but offer fewer options although it seems they have enough to cover most bass fishing needs. They are very nice for the price.

I’m not really a spinning rod guy but I realize sometimes you need have one available. I spent well over $1500 in spinning rods over the last several years that were disappointing, including some $200-300 models. I have finally found Dobyns to be the spinning rod for me. They just have a perfect action. Give them a look and see if they have something to fit your needs or style.

Happy birthday Tom. I truly appreciate your wealth of knowledge and insight.

d**n, let’s not get so testy. We should all relax and hope the fires get put out by dozers or unicorns, whichever is the best for the job!