RandySBreth

I like thinner for spinning gear - 4/15 braid or 4/10 Fireline or 832. The I use different leader strengths depending on what I'm throwing. Lately I've been using 4/14 Stren Superbraid (I bought a bunch of it on the discontinued rack at the Bass Pro outlet store) in Hi-Vis yellow with a 10-pound fluoro leader. Works awesome for wacky rigging - easy to watch that bright yellow braid for bites!

1/2 hidden weight, compact is my favorite.

Sorry RW - everyone knows it's either Kimberling City Missouri or Mountain Home Arkansas. Seriously - good luck - you guys do have it good over there.

I just hate that giant 32886 hook for that mold - to heavy for most people's uses. You might try the 91768 - some people really like that one for lighter weight line setups.

You got the answers before I got here - here's my two cents: Save money doing a little? No way. Satisfaction of having something exactly like you want it? Yes.

Don't buy that thing. It looks like a good, cheap option, but like was stated already it's a lead spill ready to happen, and unless you are like a Nazi about fluxing and skimming you'll pour slag off into your molds instead of good lead. Get the Lee Pot. You'll be much happier.

I still have my old one I bought for casting bullets years ago. I have replaced the element a couple of times, but otherwise it's been great. If you pour big jigs or sinkers (or bullets) there are bigger pots out there, but for average use it's just a good pot. I think we are telling you to just buy it. ;D

Well, according to some "Top Pro's" who actually have won using jerkbaits just recently, the answer is yes. The key part of the story is: "While the Vision 110 (Pro Blue) was his primary lure, Thrift also weighed in a few keepers this week on a bluegill-colored Damiki DC-200 crankbait. Both were tied to 10-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon." I actually like superline with a fluoro leader, but I'm not a "top pro" so I guess that doesn't count for much.

Both Spectra and Dyneema are gel-spun polyethylene. Spectra is made by Honeywell here in the U.S. - Dyneema is made by one of the subsidiary's of Dutch DSM, I think.

I do love the cold weather fishing. Not only can it be great for fishing, most guys park their boat to watch football or hunt or whatever, and don't get it back out until March or April. Nothing like driving down to launch the boat and no one else is at the ramp, and you see only a few other boats all day. Oh - no PWC's (Jet-Ski's) either. ;D

I have absolutely murdered Bass that were chasing shad during summer on both Beaver Lake and Table Rock with that lure in Purpledescent and Black/Silver. Awesome lure.

Take some apart under a magnifying glass and then tell me it isn't braided. steve Since I don't have a handy microscope - I'll go ahead and believe you - or believe you believe you. At any rate - let's say it is braided after all. What should I do different tomorrow morning? Throw it all away? Stop using it? Burn it while chanting something from ancient runes? Go tell it on the mountain? Braid it (< get it ) into a swimsuit and launch a guerrilla marketing campaign for the next year to get one of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models to wear it? Actually, that last one sounds like a good idea, have you seen Brooklyn Decker? Yowza. ;D ;D ;D

I have used them some - I do like the design, but the point is easier to get bent than say a Mustad Ultrapoint. But they are wicked sharp - there is a single-strand weedguard ballhead jig that has them that I use for changing presentations quickly - just perfect for that.

Read as: one man's opinion. Light test fused lines behave better on my spinning equipment than lightly coated limp braid (read as: another man's opinion). steve Original Fireline needs a little breaking in, but then in smaller diameters (3/8 and 4/10) cast's farther than anything else I've used. But of course it isn't braided - so a little of topic.

I use the high-vis braid/leader thing most of the time. I would never want to go back to any other set-up for suspending jerkbaits.

Most guys that use spinners a lot (Trout guys) already figured out a way to deal with line twist from spinners - either braid or fused superline, then a ball bearing swivel, then a leader tied to the spinner. Your line still gets twisted, but it really doesn't do the horrible same things mono does. I'd still like to hear the results of your testing though.

Wow the people who think this lure is too thin must never tried a Smallie Beaver - my main compliant is that they're (the Smallie Beaver) "one fish" lure due to how thin they are. The Beast is much thicker, and like was stated makes an excellent jig trailer. I like them on a finesse jig for skipping docks - the flat, wide profile gives the jig a spiraling fall like a tube. Flat out deadly. Back to the topic at hand - the Main Bass Pro still has these on the shelf - or they did last week, so I don't know if they are being discontinued or not. Hope not.

Yeah, it may be that the diameter is just to small - the reel was probably designed with 10 or maybe 8-pound test diameter to be used on it as the smallest. I try to stick to 10-pound test (mono) diameter lines on my casting reels - this usually comes out to be 40 or 50-pound test with braids. I'd like to use that Diawa on one of my spinners but haven't got around to it.

I fish "clearer than air" waters (Ozarks) and I use a leader maybe just a touch longer than the rod it's on. So a 7' rod will get about a 7' to 8' leader. Long enough where you don't have to worry about it getting too short after tying and re-tying lures on it during a trip. Oh- one more thing -about the fishing when the air temp is below freezing - fused supelines (like FireLine or Sufix Fuse) pick up less water than braided lines do. Better for cold weather, especially with a little Loon Ice-Off or even just plain chapstick on the guides.

I think the casting versus spinning decision also depends on what kind of weather you're fishing in. I fish a lot during Winter here in the Ozarks using suspending jerks, and it's just easier to for me use spinning gear with gloves on. I like longer casts with smaller baits, too. For close range and warmer weather casting is just fine for me.

I have a couple of mid 90's Quantum spinning reels I still use for panfish or small creek Smallmouth - or lone out to people to do the same. Some Pro Qualifier spinning reals that are 8-10 years old, and an older Bantam Curado, too. I guess a couple of my cheaper Quantum casting reels are about 7-8 years old too. Now I do have a couple of fly rods and reels that are 20 years old or so that I still really use.

That is one nice thing about buying something from a big company - it's easy to return/get a refund.

The doubled Uni (I'm not calling it "the Fishin' Fool - he didn't invent it) is much easier to tie than the Berkley braid. I use the doubled Uni for all of my direct tie on superlines. Great knot, and will probably help with the sliding around. Another thought - a dab of superglue. I use it to prevent my line tie from slipping around on R-bend spinnerbaits, and it works with the hook eye-gap issue, too.

I saw a guy catch three nice bass on a buzzbait when the water temp was 54- so it never hurts to try. Now that's unusual, but I'd say the spinnerbait bite does slow down considerably when the water temps are under the mid 50's. I do try slow rolling when fish are hitting other lures really aggressively in colder water - sometimes it pans out, sometimes not.

That's a great deal- if I wasn't insolvent at the moment I'd buy 3. On another note - who doesn't reel with their right hand? ;D