Banor

I have this matched with a chronarch 50mg... it's a dream. I'm spoiled to death and the wife hates the baitmonkey, but she still loves me so I win either way! B Tell me about it. The baitmonkey is hitting me hard! The wife keeps asking me...."Now this is it right?...No more?" I keep saying yes no more. But than I keep asking her if its okay to order this type because I need it for this situation. She says its better than me going out to the bar. I agree. Fishing is a great way to relax and unwind. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission! My wife says the same thing, she knows I'm out on the lake, not out running around. B

Been doing that for the past two and a half decades. It makes perfect sense to me. : Just like having your vehicle with the wheel on the left side and your boat with the wheel on the right side. Truer words were never spoken! I'll add... for me the way the rod is held and the motion used to set the hook just seems more powerful with the left hand. Just because your right hand is dominant does not mean it is stronger. It just means your brain is programmed to handle more intricate tasks with that hand. There has to be more specific physics involved with this. I need to read that 6 page post that I apparantly missed. B

I went on an impromptu fishing trip while deployed last month and bought a Citica because I didnt need another reel but wont buy anything but shimano. I wanted to get a decent reel for a bit cheaper than what I would normally buy. For numerous reasons I just dont like the Citicas. It's very possible that I'm just spoiled but you know how you can feel the unexplained? You just know it doesnt feel right but cant put your finger on it? Just alot of little things? That's how I felt using the Citica. One thing I could pinpoint for sure was the reel just would not keep the line tight when securing the lure to the rod for travel. You'd tighten it and it would backreel enough to slack the line up. My short answer is, I wont buy another Citica or any reel at that price point for that matter. I'll give this one to my brother for an early birthday present. As for the other advice. I keep meaning to send all my reels to 'the Mech' for service but I just cant part with them for more than a week since the beginning of March. I've had a full season. From everything I've read on here I just dont see how you could not send them to Reel Mech regularly. I promise my reels will be in your hands by winter, Reel Mech!! Just dont lash me for neglecting them so long. You'll have your work cut out for you! B

More stories like that please!! B

I have this matched with a chronarch 50mg... it's a dream. I'm spoiled to death and the wife hates the baitmonkey, but she still loves me so I win either way! B

You can't argue with RW's advice... I am with Marty and the Capt though... I just set the drag to what feels right, generaly just enough to where I have to put a tad bit of pressure on it to pull drag (not much). With practice you can tell when you are riding the fine line between pulling drag too easy and the other extreme of stretching the line while pulling drag. For me I want to be right smack in the middle riding that fence. I loosten all my drags to zero after each tourney/trip and just dont have the time to measure them exact before each trip. In addition you are going to set your drag differently for different applications and I dare say for each fish if the situation calls for it. For instance, braid situations like frogging or heavy flipping in pads where you just cant afford to let the fish run with your lure, you are going to want to set the drag pretty tight. I know Reel_Mech will cringe at that because it's really hard on the reel and he's right, but for me I have to do what I have to do to get it done. B

RW is right, that senko rod is a dream and it is not limited to throwing senkos either. I use it for just that but I'm confident I could use it for other soft plastics if I needed to. You should check it out. I have to agree with RW on the bronzebacks too. B

I'm a huge fan of both. I caught a 40 lb snapper on invizX and managed to get him to the boat and lifted him out of the water by hand, all the while the bait in his mouth. I had time to take a picture and had to get scissors and cut the line. I caught 4 fish in the pads also on carbon pro before I realized I should check my line. The line felt like sandpaper across my finger tips all the way up to a foot above the knot. That line is just tough. Good stuff and I'll stake my money on it. B

I'm with the "posse"... I have 6 chronarch mg50's if that tells you anything. I will give one caveat to that... these are more for lighter applications, say 8 and 10 lb test stuff 1/8 to 3/8 for the most part. That's not set in stone but it's what I think they are best at. If you are looking for something a bit heavier then RW is right on. Curado's at the 150 to 200 pricing point are great. I use those for the 7:0.1 high speed reels (frogging and spinnerbaits). B

Funny you bring this up. I was praying at the pairing meeting last Friday that my co-angler had spots because due to boat repairs I was unable to practice. Sometimes it can be a godsend. Fortunately he was very experienced on the lake. Unfortunately, we didnt get the bites. But, if I already have a plan I'll politely thank him and execute my plan. I'm not too proud to turn around if things arent going well and ask them if they have a plan. B

No way! B

Moto knows how to respect the boater and the boat. Pay attention to his advice. He's fished out of the back of my boat a couple of times. Class act. I took him out on a practice day once and he tried to pay me for gas before we even got to the ramp. I tried to refuse the money but he wouldnt even put his gear in the boat until I accepted his money. Now that I recall it, he helped me change the tire on my trailer too! Not because I couldnt but because he was that quick to help. I still havent put that spare back on the carrier, Moto. That was crazy!! Who thought that up?? That's a model co-angler right there. B

I respool right before every tourney. I will practice with the previous tourney's line still on. I dont know that I respool for any other reason than I have to. In a good week of practice I will retie so much with changing presentations and nicked up line that my spools are low. The most important thing is to keep an eye on the condition of your line, no matter how long it's been on the spool. If you need to retie, retie. If it just doesnt feel right, respool it. Simple as that. As far as braid goes, I still have the same reel spooled with the same braid from the beginning of the season. B

Get on FLW Outdoors * and go to the "Reel Chat" session with Steve Clapper. He gives some very candid tips on fishing Lake Erie and hands down he is the king of Lake Erie. B

And that makes life worth living!! ;D B

I'm sure you've made alot of friends as a Co with that attitude. You would not be in my boat very long. And, no, you dont have equal rights. You have the back half, nothing more. If you dont make an a** of yourself and are easy to get along with I generally will do my best to get you into good water and get a limit. However, if you come out with that kind of attitude and you actually did start casting over my head you would end up having a very long day - ending with a counselling session with the tournament director. I can't imagine you've really fished the Stren and the Series and be serious about that last comment. I just hope no future co-anglers get influenced by that post. B

Generally good advice, however the areas I fish a toad in I would be scared to drop a senko on spinning gear into. I'd never get the fish out of there. Also, the senko would probably not even get into the water to flutter down. I prefer to use a texas rigged tube with a 3/4 oz. or heavier bullet. This penetrates the cover nicely. To answer the original question, braid and a heavy rod will help tremendously. I would go no smaller than a 5/0 hook with a hitch hiker. I like 6/0 personally. You must have a heavy wire hook as well. My hook up % is in the 90's these days. B

Arched rods back at ya Roger. I need more rods to fully complete the arch though! I gotta go, wife is reading this thread over my shoulder... call my pager... B

Now we are getting some useful information. 1)I'd say you've got some old Power Pro that's been through the weather for a while. Any line can get old and easy to break. Replacing it was your best decision. So I'd say Power Pro in this instance was not the culprit, old used line was the culprit. 2)As for 12 lb I would venture a guess that they meant no more than 12 lb diameter, which makes sense. 50 lb power pro is 12 lb mono diameter "I think". 65 lb might be 12 lb mono diamter. I'd have to look at the package. 3)It's not new, it's new line to you. Again, I'd say it's old and needed replaced. 4)To each their own. If it works it works for you, who am I to judge. I think you'll be happier with the 30 lb Power Pro. B

Several questions here....no sarcasm here, I am truly curious. 1) Why are you using braid with topwater? 2) Why use 10 lb braid? 3) Was your line frayed as if it had been knicked up alot? 4) Why are you using a quick tie system? The reason I ask is that for me 1) I never use a no stretch line with topwater. Stretch is a MUST for topwater. EDIT: Frogging being the only exception. 2) 10 lb braid is not going to give you less visibility than say 8 LB fluoro or a clear mono line. So I see no advantage to it. You'll tear up rod guides with very thin braid also. I cant imagine how bad the digging is in the spool with that thin of braid. If your line is dug into the spool it doesnt matter what your drag is set at. 3) You absolutely have to retie any knicked line, including braid, otherwise you pay the price. 4) There's no substitute for the real thing. Take the time to tie a good knot yourself, no matter what knot you use. But you really should use a palomar IMO. Power Pro is not junk. It is the only braid I will use and the percentage of anglers who will agree with you is VERY slim. B

I just picked up some GLoomis rods and wow. I dont know if I'll ever look back. I did pick up a St. Croix Legend Tournament rod and it is sweet too, but man the GLoomis! SBR813 DSR822 BCR893 BCFR892 There is a problem though. I need about 8 more GLoomis. The wife will not be happy. B

Not sure how much more damage you can do than sticking a fish with a barbed hook and horsing him to your boat. I just use the thinnest stringer clips I can find and pierce the lower skin below the mouth. Seems to work fine and havent lost a fish yet. B

Toads in the pads and subsurface thick weeds. My own hand poured senkos tipped with spike it chartruese. B

I wish he hadn't I wanted to run to Erie during the BFL but there were FLW Tour boats all over. B

I have zero knowledge of tidal water so I dont know how smallies behave in that type of water. Maybe stop in at a local tackle shop on the water and ask them? At what temp or time of year do the smallies spawn in that cool of water? You may want to find that out. Knowing when they spawn or have spawned can help you determine what stage they are in and where they may be. Wish I could give you more advice but again, I know nothing about tidal water for green heads, let alone smallies. B