stk44

Hi All, Going back for my MBA put fishing on the back burner for a couple of years now, so it was nice to get out this morning. I am extremely fortunate that I have been able to hit the pond before work since I have been working remotely, which has been nice. I went to a local spot this morning and there wasn’t much activity all day, except this 5.75 lb fish (ok, she was just shy of 5.75 on my spring loaded scale). It seems the switch from a zoom finesse worm to a 4” curly tail worm did the trick. This spot has been getting a lot more pressure than normal because of COVID, so any worm > 5” hasn’t seemed to work. Spinning gear, light line, and small baits seems to be the theme of this year so far. -Steve

I second Lake Breeze motel. It’s convenient and plenty of space for a boat( parking in grass) and their is electric to charge your batteries.

I tried to downsize this year, and use tubes, senkos, ned rigs, worms, and crankbaits as my staples. I’ve only been out twice, but it did make things a lot simpler like they used to be. Once I get outta grad school and have more time on my hands, I will try to keep it simple with the staples first, then depending on season or situation, change it up. But realistically, if a bass doesn’t eat a worm, jig, or tube... you should probably just move on anyways.

Great. Thank you for that. Looks like the 35 size is right for me.

Hi All, I will be pulling the trigger on a patriarch soon and was curious between the 2500 and 3000 series spools. Are they the same size like the stradics? I'm assuming not based on the limited pieces of information I've been able to find. I'm thinking the 3000 series will be good for 8-10 lb flouro for smaller soft plastics, shakey heads, etc. Which size would you recommend and are the spools the same size? Steve

I've been able to locate some of the smaller fish on Lake Erie if you need any tips

It never hurts to learn to swim. I qualified class 1 and Q in the Marine Corps. That’s about 10 guys left in the pool out of a company of Marines. We were trained on various strokes for efficiency which definitely does not include freestyle or the butterfly swim. I would suggest you learn the same (breaststroke, sidestroke, backstroke, and how to tread water and float on your back.) you should hold each glide at the end of the stroke as long as possible. Learn the basics first then train on your own. The most important thing is wearing your pfd- the best swimmer cannnot swim while he is unconscious.

DVT, it’s hard to explain. It doesn’t sound like metal on metal grinding (clicking may be a better term.) It seems like it’s something slipping because the noise can be heard briefly at the end of every crank of the reel handle ( as long as you aren’t slow cranking.) I put a request in to Shimano, so I’ll see what they can do since the reel is only 6 months old. It’s weird that I’ve cleaned my Revos and curado I’s the same way and haven’t had issues.

Hi all, I cleaned all of my BC's and Spinning reels over the past few weeks and saved the Curado 70 for last since it is my newest reel. It disassembled fine, but after doing a deep clean and reassembling, it makes a slipping noise, but definitely not a grinding like gears or anything like that. The first thing that threw me off was that the anti-reverse bearing has no recess, or lip that the ARB slides into like my Curado I or any of my abu Garcia LP's. I realized this after popping the ARB out and didn't take a picture beforehand because I thought it would be like all the others. I soaked the ARB in simple green and then, after drying, added 2 drops of oil and went over the ARB with a q-tip. I definitely know that I put the ARB facing the right direction, but I experimented with different seating depths of the ARB and had no luck in solving the problem. One other variable is that I cleaned the spool tension bearings with acetone and once rinsed and fully dried, I added 1 drop of oil to each, which I also have done with my Curado I and Abu's without any issues. After reassembling and disassembling dozens of times, I took to youtube and watched a video about the Curado 70 reassembly, and the guy mentioned that you should never put any oil in either of the (2) spool tension bearings unless absolutely necessary. Is this true?? I believe the issue is with the ARB, but it could be a number of things: -too much/too little oil on the ARB -improper seating of the ARB (although I think I checked just about every seating depth of the dang thing) -too much oil/ the presence of oil on the spool tension bearings Can anyone help me figure this one out?

That’s good to hear; I like the abu baitcasters but the issues I had with the gen3 spinning reels was ridiculous, so for that reason, I will never buy another abu spinning reel again.

The SX has dual brakes now? Edit: just verified, I didn’t know the gen4 sx had centrifugal brakes- definitely makes the SX more competitive. I love the curado 70. I also have the curado I and it’s pretty good but I think the curado k solves the issues that the Curado I has. I like centrifugal brakes better than magnetic and the curados seem to cast smoother and further than say the STX’s.

6 drop shot/ finesee 8 drop shot/ finesse 10 jerkbaits/ shakeyheads/ crankin 12 crankin, light trigs 15- senkos / laydowns/docks 20- laydowns/ docks Its all personal preference

Spring is all about the spawn, so once the bass are spawned out, some may stay and most will go (but not all with go far). On clear lakes, I've had success drop shotting on main lake points and humps in the 15-17 ft range but you may be fishing much deeper depending on the body of water. Only you will know when it's time to move on to the next spot, but I would say no more than 30 minutes per spot without a fish. I fish mostly from a kayak, so I typically don't have the energy to hit the same spots multiple times on bigger lakes, but you have that luxury in a boat. Once you get on fish, if the action dies, try a different bait, presentation, etc. If you don't have any luck, let them recharge and hit another spot before heading back to try again. The drop shot isn't always the best choice. I'm newer at the deeper water thing because most of the lakes I fish have active fish in less than 10fow in all seasons but winter. Don't let the depths freak you out, think of the depth you are fishing based on the size of your boat (e.g. even if you are in 40fow, that may only be 2x the size of your boat.) Good luck.

Noooo.... don't say that, the 68MXF was out of stock during the St Croix cyber Monday sale, so I ordered the 71MF instead...... I figured it would be more moderately tapered than the 6-8?

Better how? The Revo rocket picks up 37ipt and the 8:1 stx picks up around 33. As far as the internals and performance, I think they are identical. I have the 8:1 stx and it’s a very good reel. I’ve recently made the switch to Shimano and I don’t believe I’ll be going back anytime soon.

They could be phasing them out since they didn't receive an upgrade like the new SX, STX, PREMIER, MGX, etc. They could also be making the next Gen models too... I'm pretty sure the rocket is just an STX that's geared 9:1. If you could find it for say.... $120-130, that's a pretty good deal.

I was going to buy the TBS68MXF but as soon as I added to the cart, they were out of stock. So...I ordered the TBS71MF. I went on the St. Croix site later today and they had the TBS68MXF in stock again... oh well. I can do everything I wanted to use the 6-8 for, but jerkbaits and skipping won’t be ideal, but I think I have more of an all around spinning rod now... I hope it’s nice! I’d say you pick the baits and have Santa get you the stuff that can’t be messed up like the rod and reels. Give me an example of the rods sticker price and discounted price. I’m curious how much better of a deal you got.

Dang, just sold my camper to make room for a boat too... lol

Wow, how much did that thing weigh? I'm not an expert at dropshotting by any means. My setup was going to be 10 lb braid with 8lb leader, 2/0 VMC spinshot hooks, and I have hand poured DS weights from 1/16 - 1/2 oz. Any additional recommendations? Am I still doing a reelset to hook the fish at 20+ feet? DISCLAIMER: I am a co-angler, so I really hope that we go out on the main lake instead of PIB LOL. You never know with the weather though. This will be my first time fishing main lake erie, so I'm pretty pumped. I should've went last year but the trip fell through.

I'll shoot you a PM. Thank you for the kind gesture! I've never fished lake erie from a boat, so I'm not sure how deep I'll be fishing, or depending on the wind if I'll even be fishing on the main lake. I would guestimate 20-30 feet from what i've heard, and I'm not sure if early September is when the SM start to come back into the bays.

I have a medium fast action spinning rod, but I wanted two spinning rods for Erie. And I really wanted my MLXF avid x for dropshotting Erie. My last option would be to get a new rod over the TW Labor Day sale and opt for 2-day shipping.

Dang. My other predicament is : 1.) Should I upgrade to a LTB drop shot rod if there is quicker turn around 2. Should I buy a MXF 6'10 LTB and use it for drop shotting in Erie (I had planned on buying this anyways, but wanted to wait until the current LTB's were discontinued for a better price.

I snapped my avid x spinning rod yesterday. This is my first time working with St croix on a replacement. I am shipping back the broken rod using their discounted FedEx shipping, and included my note for Gold Star Service and a $85 check. The issue is that I need this rod by September 6th for a tournament on Lake Erie. What are the odds that I'll have my rod back in time?? If slim to none, could I do the upgrade program and have a better rod shipped out with a shorter lead time? I've already asked this to St Croix, but in case they don't get back to me today or tomorrow, I'm trying to get as many opinions as possible just to be proactive. Thanks!

I was told the fiberglass would not flex as much as aluminum. Is that incorrect?

Have you ever tried fiberglass paddles? The one in the link below has a fiberglass shaft and "fiberglass reinforced polypropelyne blades" :https://www.amazon.com/Carlisle-Predator-Fiberglass-Kayak-Paddle/dp/B017AM92ZY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503662222&sr=8-1&keywords=250%2Bcm%2Bpaddle&th=1&psc=1 I'm coming from a 40 dollar aluminum paddle at the moment. I will keep my eyes peeled for CF shaft deals. I have a backup paddle that my wife uses that I can get by on in the meantime.