The Bassman

Hemingway would have been proud.

Looking up at the back of a house and talking with a lady about her friendly St. Bernard as I walked into the pond.

Shimano baitcasting drive shafts (Tranx being an exception) are all 7mm. In that regard all handles would fit. Swept handles in recent years do pose a problem for older straight drag stars. Sometimes a spacer (available from some aftermarket manufacturers) will allow clearance. I have a Basszone handle on my Curado 100B that's made to clear the drag star. Wasn't too expensive either.

I'm a Shimano FB but what confuses me about Lews is how aggressive they have been in the baitcast dept. But IMHO have lagged behind in spinning. They're flagship reel is 130.00 and over 9 oz. They could jump right in to the mid/higher level and sell a lot of reels. I know this strays from the op's question but has just always left me wondering.

My wife thinks I'm nuts, especially now because I'm fishing with "the crud".

Great post! I still don't know how you keep from icing up. 31* and I can't cast or retrieve without warming up my tip every other cast.

Start printing a lot of money.

Seems like real good info for fluoro guys. I fish straight braid (very thin this time of year) with light wire VMC crankbait snaps. Yesterday I foul hooked a fairly large (8-9 lbs.) carp on a #5 Rippin Rap and handled it on 6 lb. braid with no problems. Gotta think that the characteristics of braid might be more compatible (I hope) with these snaps.

Speaking from experience, braid is the hands down winner with spinning tackle. I use casting gear less but it seems to be a toss up there. Leaders help in the abrasion dept. and for some it's a confidence thing with visibility. Also, it saves money in that you don't keep shortening the braid when retying; just redo the leader much less often. All that said, I fish straight braid since most of my fishing is in water lacking hard cover. I also use a small snap for most of my lures so it reduces line waste.

That's really impressive. Does seem to reinforce the cost vs. value argument. I fish braid straight/no leader so over time it gets shortened. Wouldn't be such a good deal for me.

That's because it is. At .162mm it's pretty much everybody's USDM 10 lb. I'm sure it's real smooth but at better than 35.00 for 120m, I'll pass.

Just keep in mind that line strength is directly in proportion to diameter. JDM 10 lb. is just that. USDM 10 might in fact be greater than 20 lb. because it's thicker. Gliss is so thin because it's way under its stated ABS. I'll look forward to your findings. I know that 4 carriers aren't as popular, but Fins Windtamer has a 4 lb. that I use that has an ABS in the teens and casts great. It's been my go to for winter presentations.

I've started using a 00 VMC crankbait snap on my jig heads. I know it goes against common thinking but I haven't noticed any drop in productivity. I don't use fluoro but it would make sense that whatever knot you use wouldn't be as subject to fatigue as a direct tie.

That would be a perfect eater. My last few times ice fishing I started releasing my fish. Then it occurred to me how silly it must look putting fish back in the hole. So I quit ice fishing. (Really because of the cold). I open water fish in the 30's but standing still in single digit weather lost its luster with age.

I bank fish but when it's windy enough to bow my line and hop my lure across the surface, well that's too windy. Actually, like @Bluebasser86 mentioned some of my best bites are when it's real windy. I just have to try to orient myself as best I can. Some of the best action is on the windward side, though.

I don't think you could make a better choice. I have a last gen Ald 50 on an older 2 power IMX and it's absolutely perfect. It's definitely smaller than the Curado.

I use the Owner inlines on some of my lures and agree that the #6 is still too big for a #3 or 5 Rapala. What I do is just go up a size with the trebles and cut off the two hooks that would face wrong.

Beautiful fish. I've heard that they fight even harder than smallmouth.

OP mentioned that his was the BB version which, like @Bass_Fishing_Socal pointed out was the same frame as the Casitas and much cheaper.

I just carry a five buck e-bay sharpener in my pocket for touch ups in the field. Works fine. I've learned to constantly check my hook point on my fingernail while fishing.

This is why when I fish neighborhood lakes that I have to just "tune out" the trash I see laying around. Of course I love a pristine setting but I love catching fish more. Good thought @schplurg.

I would agree completely with one exception; A prolonged fight with larger fish especially in warm water can cause a lactic acid buildup that it might not be able to recover from. Better to be in control and land it quickly. Now that said, I get as much (almost) enjoyment out of a lot of action on medium size fish as I do catching a kicker.

I catch a lot of bass (and occasional cat) on those. I've never had one get so battle scarred as that. I like the #5 and swap out the stock hooks with #8 Triple Grips.

I think St Croix still has them in their lower tiers. Spinning would definitely be best with floating Rapalas, though.

Thanks guys. I bought three spools on sale, 18,24, and 40. I put the 40 an my Ald 50 with Avail spool for light apps. (The 40 is more like 20 lb. braid) I'll use it and reverse it until it's all fuzzed. I do like how quiet it is.