microotter

I have a team hm85 and it has been great the few times that I have gotten to use it.

The keitechs or the skinny dippers? Or both?

I am in a kayak fishing club and some of the people there said that their plastic is flimsy compared to jackson, old town, wilderness systems, and native kayaks. Others seem to really like them. I really like the wheel in the keel design that they use. I have never paddled one. I know guys that have trolling motors on native ultimates as well as old town predators. Not saying that it can't be done. The feel frees are made over seas also. This matters to some people and not so much to others. They seem to be a great deal.

Those look so awesome. I really need to try some shimano casting reels.

I make my own, and they have been my most consistent producer for river smallmouth this year. I like to use the gambler ez or slophop by trigger x as trailers. There are a ton of paddletails that i would still like to try. I still havnt tried any of the keitech or dippers.

I will need to buy some small poppers to try! I like the mann's 1 minus too. I bought a norman flat broke, but some reason I cant get it to swim right. The norman thin n does well on this set up though. I never heard of the baby x. I might have to give it a try too.

I ended up saving up and got a lews team lews lite for this rod. This is a really fun combo to catch bass on! It works great for kvd 1.5" squarebills. I like finesse crankbait fishing. I landed all the bites that I got on this rod. The hookup ratio is perfect so far!

Be careful with drag chains and anchors in moving water. I was at a kayak tournament this year where a kid sunk his kayak in about 8 feet of fast moving water and they couldnt retrieve the kayak. He had a kayak without scupper holes so it instantly sank. Luckily he wasnt injured.

You can find Lew's LFS speed spools for ~$80. They are pretty awesome and lightweight.

I have a daiwa lexa and a lews lfs ss. I got them both for under $100, and they are both great reels. If you have a shop by you I think it is extremely helpful to hold both before you purchase. Some reels feel better than others for different people. I personally prefer my Lews bc it is lighter and fits my hand a little better.

I have a Lew's ss lfs and a Daiwa Lexa. They are both really nice, but I think I prefer the Lew's. It is lighter and more comfortable in my hand.

I tied a bunch of bucktail and hair jigs this winter. I stored them in a regular plano tackle box. They all seem to slide to one end and all of the hair is really bent and curved. How do you guys store your hair jigs? Can i somehow fix the ones that got bent?

I bought a bunch of small, shallow diving crankbaits now I just need a reel. Im thinking about grabbing the Lew's tournament pro. I'm concerned that I will have troubles throwing a 1/4 ounce hardbait on a baitcaster. Will I have to buy a shallow spool or make other modifications? I'd like to stay under $200 on the reel.

How do the Lew's throw light lures? 1/8-1/4?

Is a lower ratio reel needed for shallow cranking and light crankbaits? Also, is there a way or a resource where I can determine how light of a lure a reel is capable on throwing? I know other factors go into determining that as well. I will be using yzh #8 and the mentioned rod.

Hrmm it may still be a good choice for me. I spend a lot of time chasing smallies on the river. I was hoping that I could throw finesse spinnerbaits and buzzbaits with it. What reel do you use on this rod smalljaw?

Thank you for the well thought out reply! I thought the rating seemed more on line to some of my medium spinning rods. I didnt know if maybe it was higher bc of the moderate action. I know people usually recommend moderate rods for treble hooked lures, but i was hoping that I could use this rod for other applications as well. I will check out the reels that you suggested!

I recently ordered this rod bc i got a killer deal, and I do not have a moderate action rod in my line up. What would this rod excel at besides lightweight crankbaits? What can I use this rod for? I am fairly new to bass fishing. The lure rating is 1/4-1/2 oz. 6-12 lb line. Will 8 lb yozuri hybrid be ok on a casting reel? Also what reel would pair well with this rod? My reel bedget is around $200.

I just recently bought the highspeed tournament pro. I only got to use it for one all day fishing trip, but i really enjoyed fishing with it. It casts nice, is light and has a smooth drag and retrieve. I would buy it again.

I guess I just assumed that that was the sized reel that I needed. I am still learning a lot about bass fishing. Last year was my first year fishing only with artificials. This year is my first year getting some nicer equipment. Thanks for the advice. I will definitely check out the smaller sized reels.

I don't really have a price range. However, I don't want to just get the most expensive reel that I can afford.

I am looking to buy a lightweight spinning reel in the 2000-3000 size range. I was wondering if there were other lightweight models other than the patriarch, supreme, stradic ci4+, and team lews gold. I was trying to research some of the jdm models, but it is taking me awhile to convert the measurements and thought somebody more familiar with these reels may know this info off the top of their head. I will be pairing this reel with a light or medium light rod that can hand 1/16 oz lures. Thanks

Haha that is the same rationale that I used for my decision, and I too ordered from eBay!

I don't know whether or not this is logical thinking bc I never handled a cranking rod, but... Do you feel like you can get away with spending less on a cranking rod since you don't necessarily need it to be super sensitive? It seems like crankbait fishing is a reaction bite. If i wanted to save some money on one of my rods would this be a logical rod to make that "sacrifice"?

I have ordered from them twice. They have really fast shipping, and I have found some great deals from them.