Airman4754

I'm almost totally ambidextrous so I do things that feel more solid to me. I throw right, bat left, write right, eat left, etc. A left handed baitcaster just feels awful, it's like a broken lawn chair. On the other hand a right handed spinning reel is also awful.

Those Recons are really good for the price. I use the 764 for my mag plastic setup and I love it. On topic I switched up my Keitech rod from a 7'2" to an 8' and I'm really glad I did. Every rod I have now is 7'6" or longer and I would never go back. The added distance, hook set, and ability to keep fish pinned are great. You really do have a lot less control of the fish though. The days of water skiing a fish in with a 6' to 7' rod and a high ratio reel are over. It's all preference. I would say try the 8' rod idea and see how it fits you. I tried the 10'+ rod thing for salmon and steelhead and hated it, but love longer rods for bass. It takes all kinds.

Get a Bearing Blaster from a skateboard, hobby shop, or online. They are under $10 and make this process infinitely easier and faster. Hit them with three or four squirts of brake cleaner. Press them into a paper towel and rotate it a little. Do this to both sides. It will pass the spin test after this. I can service my bearings in about three minutes start to finish.

I have four of the MB's and they get used harder than any of my reels because they are all for moving/reaction baits. Flush the bearings right when you get it and you have a very nice reel. Lightweight, easy to palm, dual braking systems, etc. From my experience it's the best budget reel out there. To me anything below $150 is budget.

If you're price conscious the 8.3:1 ratio Lew's Tournament MB has almost identical specs, are made in the same factory with pretty much the same parts for a bit cheaper. It's 2" less per turn than the Rocket.

This is the same for me. Whenever I try to cast a little too far it reminds me it's not a good idea.

Once you have a fish hooked the size of the hook means very little, especially with something like a bass with their paper thin mouths. Fly fisherman catch 40lb salmon on size 6 hooks. The rod and the angler land fish.

I like the Robo EZ-Shads.

I do the same. 735 rod with 65lb braid and an 8 ratio reel.

I would recommend a glide bait as well. They get bit a little more than the slow rolling swimbaits. They both have their place though.

No.

I run one treble on the top, but I do it unlike most. Run a size 6 split ring and 2/0 ST-36 treble. I bore out and glue in a high strength magnet on the top of the Hudd. The hook lays perfect and it won't shift at all when you cast. When you apply direct pressure it takes almost nothing to get the hook to release. When you set the hook angles put one through the top and one through the bottom in the side of the mouth. They aren't coming off.

Well the MGX is a flagship model close to $400. The other is right around the entry level Revo and costs around $175. I have a couple MGX reels and use them down to weightless plastic up to 3/4oz jigs. Not a very fair comparison though. Do you want a Corvette or an Impala?

I've used the Enigma A-Mart 7'11" MH crank rod with an Orra Winch and a 13 Crankinstein with a Lew's Super Duty 5 ratio reel. As long as you can cast it a long ways and not get tired bringing it straight up at the end of the retrieve then it's fine.

I know a few guys that do really well on Ospreys for spots. A 6" Hudd would probably work. Don't complicate it though. The last six world records out of there came on a shaky head and jig.

It's an extremely deep reservoir in a land of very deep reservoirs. Every point is that perfect 45 degree slope and I've never seen a place with so many main lake points. Fish points and stump banks. Try the back of a few coves to see if any are back spawning. If they are shaky head those areas heavily. You need three things; shaky head, football jig, and a 6" glide bait. 90% of the fish over 5lbs come on one of those three.

I've seen it at least three times that I can remember and in water where there is nothing but bass, trout, and panfish. It's only been in super muddy water. The 7.4lb northern strain I caught last year did this in about 18" of water. I've seen it on TV before too. It might have been Hackney. There was a huge female with her whole tail and about three inches of her body out of the water with her dorsal. It's where I got the idea to throw all the way onto the bank with a spinnerbait which is what they did to not spook her. It was also in muddy water.

I took a tumble crappie fishing last summer under a bridge and my right elbow hurt for two months after. Here is a funny and slightly painful story. One of my best friends bought an 18' Skeeter and I had just gotten off of active duty and was home for the summer. We were fishing a boulder dam and he pulled out a pack of huge Power Bait grubs and they were bright yellow. He casts, and I here him softly say "Here we go." He reels down and sets like he is trying to hook an alligator gar on a Barbie pole. This 10" bullhead comes flying out of the water and smacks me dead center in the chest. It just about knocked me out of the boat.

I just turn my head back and do it. I used to have to back double jointed trailers a lot for work and mirrors were pretty much impossible. The way I was taught with mirrors is only use the drivers side. Put both of your hands on the bottom of the steering wheel with your thumbs pointing away from center. Whatever way you turn the wheel your thumb is pointing in the direction the trailer is moving. It's fool proof, just go slow.

This is kind of a common sense issue. Compare a real Senko with it's super soft plastic and salt core to a regular all plastic, much firmer stick bait. If you throw a 5/0 EWG on the stick bait it falls faster and gives it a similar flutter, where if you run a 1/0 or 2/0 like you would on a real Senko with it, it's just going to fall slowly with no action. The Rage is much harder/tougher than a Keitech. The Keitech is going to be much more active at slow speeds with lighter terminal gear. It doesn't make one better than the other, it just makes them different. Personally I have fell in love with the Yum Pulse minnow. I throw them about 90% of the time now.

Wayne I was going to do an electronics overhaul this year and wanted to go all MEGA, but I don't want to run dual transducers. Is the high speed issue with the MEGA units the same with the regular ones? I would be fine running the Gen1 versions. Ultra HD compared to HD isn't going to land me any extra fish.

If you can make one for the 10" Senkos you might be on to something. The one company that makes them charges $12 for five or six of them.

The new Mojo's with the SCIII blanks are extremely nice rods for the price. I would stick with them over an Abu rod at the same price point. I've handled the Ike rods and got the same 'Meh' feeling I've gotten from every Abu rod.

Just use braid. I don't close the bail with my hand though. Somehow I've managed to make it out alive.

In a world...... I can't do it.