Just_Old_Fisherman

I have 3 of the binders and fish from a boat. I found a 3 foot velcro strap at Academy that I just loop through the binder handles and use the velcro as a shoulder strap. Plus it makes them easy to access.

Been using them on occasion for over a year. A 2/0 Gammakatsu offset fits very well and is plenty strong. My lake is primarily salt cedar and mesquite and I have managed fish up to 8# on this bait. Best way to fish wacky style in heavy cover. Like the Green Pumpkin with both ends dipped in Chart Spike-it.

While I agree Fluoro is somewahat more sensitive than mono, it is no where near as sensitive as braid. I may have missed it above, but to me the primary reason I use Fluoro is because it sinks so it helps gets cranks a little deeper than you would get with mono, also helps speed the sink rate of unweighted soft plastics. Had good luck with BPS XPS Fluoro but recently changed to Vicious and have had no problems. Plus Vicious has a lower price than most Fluoro's 4-5x lower than some.

String several on a thin wire to hold them. Get a can of Epoxy spray paint in your favorite color and spray away. Can use the wire to hang them by while they dry. Being stacked on the wire, the holes don't get all clogged.

Nothing wrong with the Garmin eTrex, plenty good if you only want to mark your spots and follow a trail back. And less than $100. If you want some mapping capability, I like my H2O. I like the Lowrance for that since you can download their Free Enhanced Lake maps. Not sure where you fish, but they have lots of lakes in their free maps: http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Mapping/Enhanced-Lake-Maps/

Burley - Thanks. I had checked their website looked under the low profile reels---didn't see it as Service/Maint.

Just wondering what the difference, if any, is between the Red and black brake collars that come with reels like the Shimano Citica? And yes I know one set is red and one set is black.

Been using Vicious about a month and no problems. Use a Uni-knot and haven't needed the glue and no problems with knot breakage. Be sure and really wet the knot before cinching it down----critical with Fluoro lines.

Try the CX Premium much softer and use KVD Line & Lure on it. You get a a better and longer lasting line treatment with the KVD versus something like reel magic. As far as 20# being over kill, it just depends on the cover in the lake you fish and size fish in the lake. My lake is wal to wall salt cedars with some mesquite and willows scattered in. Plus pretty much hydrilla among all that in the summer. For me, light line is 14#/15# I use use topwater, cranks and spinnerbaits. I use 20# CX Premium for t-rigs and 50# Power Pro for flipping & jigs. Here is a picture of my grandson. The background shows a pretty typical area of the cover. This goes from the bank down to about 20'. You could go with 10# in this lake, but you better bring lots of baits, cause you will lose lots of baits and fish.

Small kids school scissors at Wal-mart best I have found. Cheap and you can swap them out if/when they get dull. Plus the scissors work for all lines Mono, Fluoro and Braid.

I have been using Vicious Fluoro 15# for about a montgh with no problems. It is also very reasonably priced.

Have a older Quantum reel with left hand retrieve and flipping switch on my flipping rod. I like it since I get instant engage on the reel the minute I release the thumb bar. I do lots of flipping and have times I get many bites the instant it hits the water---left hand and flipping switch both help in this case. But it is one of those things you have to get used to.

Have been using Vicious 15# Fluoro for about a month with good results. I also like the price, esp compared to Berkley 100% fluoro. While the Berkley may be good line, it is hard for me to justify paying 5x for it what I pay for Vicious especially when I have no problems with Vicious.

Been using the Vicious 15# for about 3 months and really like it. No problems so far, had used BPS XPS before, the Vicious seems to have less memory. PLUS, BPS XPS is about 50% higher in $/yd and the Trilene 100% is 5X higher in price. Haven't tried the Trilene, due to price, but can't imagine it is 5X better than the Vicious!

Didn't vote since my favorite is the one I have in my hand at that moment. Have 4 Citica's. 1 Curado and 4 Cruxis---all good reels and never any problems.

I think winter is starting to get to you. Just think "SPRING IS ON THE WAY".

The Cast may be good line, but I made the mistake of getting some of the Cajun Lightning line. I have seen bailing wire that had less memory and was more manageable. Ended up using that spool for backing for real line.

I generally use 3/0 hooks for soft plastics unless they are very small or very bulky. I also like the Gamakatsu 3/0 Skip Gap hook, holds the bait well without tearing it up as bad as some offset hooks. As far as weights, I will use 1/4 oz down to about 10' and 3/8 oz deeper than that. Unless I am fishing heavy grass and I may up it to 1/2 to 1 oz weight. On occasion I will fish senko's weightless or with above weights depending on depth of fish and what they are wanting. I wacky rig at times using 1/4 or 3/8 oz weights and 3/0 Gamakatsu Finesse Wide Gap hook. I also tie my own weedguard on these since I fish heavy salt cedar and the factory weedguard is worthless in the heavy brush. I wacky Zoom Finesse & Trick worms and use o-rings I get a Lowes or Home Depot in the plumbing dept. O-rings make the worms last longer.

For 6" Bass Magic swimbaits I use a 10/0 weighted hook from Lake Fork Tackle. They are monsters but you need the big gap to handle such large baits. They don't have them on their website yet, but you can call and place an order over the phone---got mine Thur. Call 800 408-2028 ext. 13 to place an order. They have a 5/0, 7/0 and 10/0 size weighted hooks all with very wide gap which I think you need for these large swim baits.

I like braid for casting jigs and flipping. My lake is fairly clear and I seldom use a leader, loose too much of the benefit of braid. The sensitivity of braid is a big plus over mono or fluoro. It is great in the cold weather when they take a jig pretty light. Be sure if you set the hook very hard to back off the drag so it will give on the hookset, otherwise you will hank it out of their mouth or yank the mouth off the fish.

Thanks that was a good day for Pops too. Just don't get enough of them with me in Texas and them in Florida. Expression on the youngest face was priceless.

Youngest grandson's first bass summer 2006. Liked the catching not the holding. Oldest grandson's first bass same day. Figured out how to avoid the holding.

Gamakatsu EWG or Triple Grips

If looking for pure distance, you might want to consider the bearings in the reel, not the number but the type. I had an old Citica that had 1 spool bearing and 1 spool bushing. I changed those to ABEC-5 bearings and can cast it easier/farther than my newer Citica's that came with the 2 stainless spool bearings. If really looking for distance I would consider upgrading to some ABEC-7's. Here is a study that shows difference in casting distance with Ceramic Bearings: http://heartlandtackleservice.com/ceramictest.stm

It is my opinion, not my experience, that you should not stand behind an elephant if he raises his tail. Even though I have no experience in this area I do feel there is great value in my opinion on this. If you do not value my opinion, please find an elephant and stand back there when he raises his tail.