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I was a bit skeptical of the new braking system, but after ordering an 8.1:1 for my flipping stick and moving the older Tournament Pro to my chatterbait rod, I really like the new system and almost wish my other six Tournament Pro reels had it. They are really nice reels and the braking system is effortless to set up.

I tend to tear all my reels down and do a full cleaning and lube them properly once I receive them. Fishing them hard to make sure there isn't any problems does make sense though.

I will use everything from creatures to swimbaits. But one of my favorites has become a pit boss rigged sideways.

Basically you are paying a master at his craft to carve by hand a piece of art that is not only beautiful, but swims and acts as close to a real fish as possible. It is simply more than just carving a piece of wood. Would I pay that much for a lure? No I wouldn't. But I can understand why people do. It might just be a collectible to some, but there are actually people that fish with them and have caught some very nice fish with them.

I really like the Okeechobee Fats bags. The large bag should easily handle what you are wanting to carry.

Scan the classifieds to get an idea of what people are listing their used rods and reels for. I don't think you can get the cardboard tubes from a shipping company, but most people will want you to ship them in PVC to prevent any damage and it will also save you from having to deal with the shipping company to get reimbursed if one does get damaged. You can figure the cost of shipping in a PVC tube into your asking price.

What size and brand hooks do you guys prefer to use on the Whopper Plopper 130 and Super Spook Jr? I recently picked up two of each to expand my topwater selection and a lot of people recommend swapping the hooks out on both. I was thinking about picking up some Owner ST-36 or VMC Spark Point in #4. I also recall reading about a lot of people removing the front hook completely and upsizing the rear on the plopper? Is there a noticeable difference in putting rings on the spook? I've read that it changes the action while others recommend rings. And last, do you prefer to tie directly to the eye or use a duo-lock snap; if snap, what size? I plan fishing both with braid.

Maybe the dealer felt like he was being insulted on the price you offered, but that still doesn't justify his attitude. I think that anyone that has been in sales for a period of time should pretty much expect customers to try and negotiate a better price than what they are asking. If this situation presented itself to me, I would have simply walked away. Being firm on a price is one thing, but being rude about it is usually the fastest way to lose a potential sale. Often times, dealers pay the low value for trades, but sometimes they end up paying closer to listing price if another sale warrants it. With that said, some of my best purchases have came when I simply walked away only to have them calling me back and they usually end up below what I originally offered. My latest purchase was a Scag mower listed at $7200. I emailed the dealership rather than stopping by in person and was quoted $6600 without even negotiating. Probably the easiest deal I have ever done and many people had told me that he was one of the hardest guys to deal with around here.

I have my DVR set to only record first run episodes. This allows me to watch them in order. The info on satellite usually shows the first run dates as well. Might be different with cable and other providers.

Slow rolling on the bottom has worked best for me.

Happened to me recently as well. Weighed one that was a little over five pounds and couldn't figure out why it was showing half of that on the scale. Felt like an idiot as I kept resetting and weighing until I noticed the kg at the top.

Green pumpkin and chartreuse has been my most productive color lately, but I carry a lot of the usual jig colors.

FG Knot. But takes some practice to get used to tying it correctly.

I don't have any 580s to do a direct comparison on the two lens. I do have some friends that wear Costas though. I will check with them and see if anyone is using the 580s and see if I can compare the two on the water. Will post back if I manage to get ahold of a pair.

Same here. I'm already ready for winter with these temperatures in the 80s. I don't even remember having a "winter" last year.

I just ordered two size 130 in bone and loon colors since I had a gift card from Christmas. They seem to be a great tool to have in your bag and a lot of people tend to have success with them.

Had a chance to get on the water with these today. Pretty impressed with the lens to be honest. The clarity was excellent and really made everything pop compared to my normal polarized black iridium lens. These lens definitely make your vision look like it is in high definition. First thing I noticed was that they do a good job of removing the glare from the water. With naked vision, the water surface looked like a mirror. However, with the Prizm lens, the water was really clear and natural. I was actually surprised because the water was heavily stained today with a bit of wind. Details was a lot more noticeable as well. I saw a lot of bait fish and baby turtles almost instantly. I most likely wouldn't have noticed these until awhile later without these lens. I was also able to see everything going on much clearer under water in the shallows. I probably had them on for a good 7 hours today and my eyes never once felt strained. I noticed some of the reviews complained about the lens fogging up in warm weather. It was in the 80s today and I never had to remove them to clean the lens. Overall, I was happy with the deep lens and decided to keep them for my personal use. The shallow lens might perform even better for freshwater, but I'm not a fan of any of the current frames with the shallow lens. Hope that helps with your decision.

Checked with buddy today and he was willing to order me a pair, but had a couple in stock that was mostly the deep water style. I tried them on again and the lens were much more vibrant than the normal polarized lens. I'm wanting to try them while fishing and will probably grab a pair this weekend to see how they perform. One thing that annoys me is they have very few frames that I like with the Prizm lens and the ones they do have are usually polished black instead of matte which looks so much better. Really liked the Fuel Cell frames that are similar to the Gascan. They only have a deep water lens, but I have read that the deep water lens is better for everyday use. The lens are a bit lighter than they show online.

I ordered the deep and shallow since I get them for cost. I never did get a chance to fish with them because I did not like the Flak Jacket frames. The lens were much brighter than their normal polarized lens and clear. I was going to order another shallow set after seeing them release a set with the Five Square frame, but buddy said he wasn't ordering anymore because their quality wasn't what it once was and everything now says "Made In China". All that on top of them giving him grief when trying to get replacement lens and he has decided to drop them once inventory gets cleared. I'm still trying to get him to order me the shallow Five Square frames before he drops them; hard to pass them up at cost. However, if I was paying retail, I would likely look elsewhere.

I recently debated this when looking to add another Tournament Pro to my arsenal. I ended up using the 7:1 I had on my flipping setup and ordering an 8:1 G for the flipping setup since I couldn't find any more deals on the older style.

The older Tournament Pro had dual centrifugal and magnetic brakes. The newer G uses the 27 position external centrifugal braking system. The dial outside the plate that is normally your magnetic brake adjustment is your adjustment. This is the same system the BB1 uses.

Agree with A-Jay. I bought the scale above and installed the fish gripper as well. Nice and accurate scale for the price and I don't have to worry about stressing or harming the fish with the gripper.

You are correct. Magnetic brakes should always be turned off before adjusting the spool tension.

Congratulations man. That is a sweet looking bass.

Check out the Okeechobee Fats bags. Nice bags for the price and have plenty of storage.