MN Fisher

Ya, I have a short net for the canoe - but I also clipped a leash to the elastic cord...gives me the reach I need and no loosing it if I drop it overboard. You can see the leash and it's attachment point on the canoe here.

Umm....so....what is it? Can't read the make/model from the pic. And that rod looks suspiciously like an Aird-X - i have four of them myself.

Ned, Drop-shot, split-shot and light finesse jigs (up to 1/4oz), I do with the Pres-25/Fury 702 rig. A good, light spinning rig is very versatile for finesse presentations. While I do wacky with a Medium rig - Trion-30/Aird-X M/F - you could probably get by with the ML rig for that too.

I'd go Hi-Vis braid and maybe a 6# leader on it. If you insist on BC only - go find a good, light casting reel and a ML or at most a M rod. I'm a half-n-halfer - 5 BC rigs, 5 spinning

Ya - I'm running Sufix Elite, Hi-Vis Yellow on my finesse rig.

We don't have DD bass here - state record LMB is just shy of 9#. What we DO have is lots of slop along the shore. So My flip/pitch/punch/frog rig has 50# braid My main moving baits/jig rig has 40# braid Both with 12# leaders

Ummm - no Here's the 'starting lineup' the last time I went out BC: Fuego CT-XS/Aird-X H/F - WP-110 Bluegill Fuego CT-HS/Fury 705CB - Rapala Ratlin' Rap 08 Shad Supreme/Aird-X MH/F - 3/8 Swim Jig Green Pumpkin/Berkley Pit Boss Green Haze trailer President XT/Laguna MH/F - 3/8 Spinnerbait Yellow-Orange/RI Skinny Dipper Light Hitch trailer President/Aird-X M/F - Rapala Original Floating Live Smelt Spin: Trion-35/Stratus VI MH/M - Rapala DT-4 Perch Trion-30/Aird-X M/F - Donkey Rig/Zoom Super Flukes Houdini President-25/Fury 702 - Drop-shot, 1/8oz/TRD CrawZ Watermelon Red Avocet/Avocet ML/F - Gammy Offset Finesse Jig/Zoom Trick Worm Watermelon Red Magic President-20/Spinmatic UL/F - 1/10 Mushroom Jig/TRD Canada Craw Yes, I changed lures, but it was more like 'swap the Ratlin Rap for a Shad Rap' or 'swap the Yellow-Orange spinner for a Chartreuse chatter'

Personally - I'd go beyond that and do a full tear-down. If you're uncertain as to your skill, you can take it to a local shop that has reel maintenance service or send it to DVT (in the right-sidebar is a link). Mike's service is touted here as one of the best. Might take a couple weeks (or more) and cost a bit, but what you'll get back is basically a reel that's like new. All depends on the grease...some can be a milky color.

Whoops - got lost in the fog. Personally - if it was my reel, I'd do it before I went out again. Of course I have some experience in full-service of reels, so it's only a 2-3 hour job. Being new it might take a weekend's worth of work. Be careful, be methodical, be attentive...that's the best thing.

I'm still using the Abu Reel Grease I got when I purchased my Ambassaduer 500R lo those many years ago...but now I'm starting to get low. I've heard good things about Cals, but as my Abu has performed well, it's a tossup. Others may have other opinions. Don't take my word for it...get LOTS of opinions.

I do all my finesse work with light spinning gear. My current main finesse rig is a Pflueger President-25 on a Dobyns Fury 702 (ML/F) with 8# mono...going to 6# mono next year.

Yep - compared to my Diawas - the Dobyns Heavy is a Diawa Medium-Heavy. So if you want a 'medium-heavy', the 734 or even the 704 is what you're looking for.

Ya...this. I accidentally got some acetone on a plastic, push-on retainer-ring in my old Ambassaduer 500R - dissolved it. Had to get a replacement ring.

If your rod is bending over too much, don't worry about the line...worry about the rod breaking. Even my Heavy rig with 50# braid - I've got my drag set at about 6#...which is less than 1/2 the 13# max-drag rating of the reel.

Like this? https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Lifted_Jigs_Ned_EWG_Jig_Heads_3pk/descpage-LIFTND.html I use the CrawZ on drop-shots.

I have racks for 12 rods in my 14' Square-stern canoe. Took 10 out with me every trip this past year. It's doable with a little ingenuity.

It's 5pm in London - so I'm sure that @Tim Kelly is about to nip down to the pub for a pint pretty soon.

Dude, I've been married for 30 years...of COURSE I know

Well, if @A-Jay does mess something up - Lynn will put him straight.

Yep - if you got the reel new - even 'bubble packed', they include the diagram. So you're good.

Watch some vids on disassembling/reassembling reels - and make sure you have a parts breakout of your reel - like this one I have for my Supreme (lo-res copy of the hi-res PDF I have on my computer).

The outside isn't the important part - realize that the soup could seep through the line, go through the spool vent-holes and get inside. A touch of that on bearings and gears and you could be in trouble. It really does need at least a partial tear-down, solvent rinse and new lube/oil (lube the gears, oil the bearings). Well, I changed addresses (Massachusetts to Minnesota) when I was 14 - few months shy of 15...so I had to find a new girlfriend. First one didn't work as a girlfriend...we figured that out halfway through the school year...but we remained friends. Second one lasted from near the end of 9th grade until graduation.

Tonight's drink of choice? A glass of raspberry melomel (fruit flavored mead)

Did you use some type of solvent to remove the traces of soup. Acetone or at least alcohol (no not the drinking kind) Adult...definitely adult (this from a retired 60 year old) Girl chasing at that age? Yes Drinking at that age? Occasional glass of wine with dinner or a beer after yard-work...which my dad handed to me, so it was supervised.

Full tear-down, clean and re-assemble is the only way I'd be confident after something like that Ya, if you're not up to a full, deep clean - send it out. IIRC, Mike at DVT gives a discount to BR members.