diehardbassfishing

Don't walk away until you get the info to make an informed decision. https://www.evinrude.com/en-US/our-evinrude-customers.html Karl

No - they're bronze on my Pointers. Karl

Trying to maintain neutral buoyancy - need exact match. Yea, that's it. Just match the size - for instance a Pointer 100 uses two #5 hooks. Luckycraft.com calls out the size used in the Pointer specs. Karl

Yes, fiberglass and graphite (carbon). Graphite being the current most common standard for fishing rods. The re-introduction of fiberglass is from a re-invention of the material. There's E-Glass and S-Glass. The new fiberglass generation of rods use S-Glass. Don't know how long this thread could go on, but I'll keep it short. From experience, fiberglass rods are a bit softer given the same rating as a carbon fiber rod. Fiberglass generically is more flexible than graphite. This isn't a bad thing. Just makes them fish different. I've purchased "up" in rod rating on my glass rod, so it fished closer to what I'm used to in a graphite rod. Many like the extra flex that you can expect from glass. Helps keep the fish "pinned" because the rod bends a bit more - keeping the line taunt as the fish changes tension on the rod. The other characteristic I notice is how it feels fishing a soft plastic. The strike "tap". With graphite, it feels like a quick sharp hit. On glass, it's more like a thunk. Reason is this - the is rod acting like a tuning fork when the fish "taps" the lure. Graphite is stiff, glass less so. Just holding the rod and tapping it with your finger half way up will demonstrate the rods resonance frequency, The graphite rod resonates at a higher frequency, the glass rod resonates at a lower frequency. Sensitivity - the same - but it feels different. I kinda enjoy the thunk. It works. Like in many things, a different design isn't better or worse. It's simply different. Karl

Even if not an expensive rod to purchase, if you're used to good rods, you'll likely find it lacking and it'll go unused. They're not good rods. I pulled out my U Stick a while back after sitting around, saying "what the heck". It's fine for this... Nope. Casting shanked the lure so far to the left, I was shocked. I switch around various rods all the time. But this was way off the charts. The rod tip is very very soft. Reason - to make it break proof. They are designed to take a beating, not taken fishing by anglers that know what a real rod is. Karl

Thanks for recommending! Wow - was glued to every minute of the movie. Fantastic! Karl

8' 8" rod specs: Line 12 - 25 lb Lure 1/2 - 1 3/8 oz As mentioned, an Ambassadeur 5500 C3 would be a good pairing. Karl

8' 8" rod has handle 4. It looks like designed for surf casting. Karl

I tell non-fishing friends that don't totally understand the sport - why artificial bait for instance: "I wouldn't fish if it was easy". It's the every day, every season challenge of it all - the effort to figure it out that keeps us interested. Karl

Perfect!

Wow - I called that wrong! Really never thought any reel could come off the line w/o a TON of grease! And - what it would sound like if it did... Very happy to hear of your success! Karl

Slug-Go, Texas rig. I really like their Texposer hook. (The regular old style - not the new wide gap z). I don't fish as long as the 9". I fish 6" on the 4/0 Texposer. Karl

Does not sound like anything associated with gear teeth. It's a rubbing sound. Something out of place. Karl

Only fresh water for me. No issues. Plenty of hrs on multiple reels. Karl (I've actually never found water to reach my spool bearings.)

Spool bearings most critical. With RPMs 20,000 and higher - good reason. Second would be level wind worm gear. I use oil here - some use grease. Factory uses grease. Here reason is exposure. Gets lots of water exposure. Hopefully no grit dirt. Weed stuff common. But a fair amount of water! Karl

Not all spool bearing ship with grease. Very few actually. Oil is typical. Shimano in earlier days did use grease. They got tired of doing warranty repairs for neglected bearings. Karl

Oil progressively gets "pushed" out of the bearing. Unlike ceramic bearings, stainless steel bearings must have proper lubrication to avoid failure. Not a good idea for the spool to sound "real bad" when casting before doing a lube job. Karl

Best thing you can do is remove shields. No question. Makes cleaning effective, and oiling easier. Better anyway you look at it! I usually remove only one shield. Depends what I see for ball keeper design inside. I use cigarette lighter fluid for cleaning. I feel better to handle over acetone - which can destroy plastic. Karl (Hopefully you have bearings with shields clipped in place - some are press fit. Removing press fit shields is difficult at best - risk bearing damage. I've done it. A learned skill.)

T-Rig Drop shot (1/8 oz - 1 ft) Rig called the "Bubba Shot" Karl

Crazy on ribbon tail worms! Karl

The drag shouldn't be "set and forget". A star drag is right on the handle for good reason - decrease (or increase) tension quick when needed! Often, as mentioned, when the fish is close to the boat and makes a run straight down or under the boat. Quickly backing off the drag saved a lot of rods for me. Karl

I have 3 different small ABUs new in box: Black Max 3600 Pro Max 3600 (silver paint) SM 1600C 75th Anniversary (JDM, silver paint) PM any offers.

Glass. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Shimano_Poison_Adrena_Casting_Rods/descpage-SPC.html Karl

St. Croix Premier 6-6 two piece. Comes fast and x-fast. Great rod. Karl

I enjoyed fishing Lake Mead. Largely because it's so different from my experiences in the North-East. My guide had us fishing drop-offs. I largely fished a T-rig Brush Hog. The drop offs are unreal! From 3 ft to over 30 ft in no time. Also fished narrow areas that held bass in apx 5 -15 foot water. The fish in the pic was around a brush pile close to shore - in AZ! Karl