sal669

8-10 lb Tectan Premium or P-Line CX

Good deal! Thanx for the "heads up" !

Cut an 1/8" piece of clear silicon tubing (or some electrical wire insulation, color doesn't realy matter), like the one you use to position trailer hooks on the SB hook and position it on the line tie bend before you atach the crosslock snap to the SB. Hope it helps

It's the pickrels ! Been in the same situation, and thats the reason I'm not buying expensive lures. Musky, pike, pickrell and all the relatives are cold(er) water species (they thrive in Canada) and they are most active in spring and late fall. They ambush and atac the HEAD of their prey, like trying to bite off the head of the bait. Most of the times, when they clamp down on the lure, the line is sitting between their teeth. The moment you set the hook you are pulling the line accross a gazilion of teeth. It's not the big teeth that break the line in most of the cases, but the small ones that look like a rasp or a fine saw blade. To solve your dilema, buy some cheap wire leaders (6-8" long, 7 strand, 15lb or the lightest you can find) and use them for a day. That will answer your question/ problem. Many times bass won't mind the light wire leader. Pickrell has excellent, flaky meat, if you know how to filet them, otherways they are extremely bony. You might want to take some/most of them out of your pond/lake so there is more food for the bass. Of course obeying the law regarding creel and size limits. Tight lines, Alex

Thanx !

Great post ! Thanx !!!

I think the best "bang for the buck" in Shimano's spinning reel line up is the Symetre. (It's the only Shimano reel I own)

You gotta be kidding me !!!!!!! Just join a bass club and go out fishing, make some friends. Chip in with some gas money and and brews and you'll be fishing your whole life , or until you get your own boat. (if you don't have one allready). Read all the articles on this forum (and others) and if you have question, just ask !!!!! Tight lines

I used Power Pro for quite a while and I see no reason to change. But... I bought a spool of Suffix just to try it and compare to PP. Now if this @&$%#** ICE woul go away.... :-/

There was a thread about people having problems with the NEW Stardic. Buy an old Stardic (white) wich is "field tested" and known to be a solid reel. I've seen a couple at Dick's in clearance for $99. If no, go with Symetre. Let Shimano sort out the problems with the new model first. I've heard good things about Daiwa Tierra , Pfluger Supreme , ABU Cardinal 800 series. Hope it helps...

A little bit of something salty(peanut butter/cheese crackers,nachos, doritos,etc), something sweet (swiss rolls(Little Debbie), oreos, chocolate chipp cookies, some kind of chocolate bar), some fruits(bananas, apples,pears,etc) and WATER.

Same here !

Only one spinning combo ! would be a 6-6 to 7ft med/fast or xf. Presently using an Avid 68MXF with a Daiwa Capricorn (the old, silver one) spooled with Tectan Premium 0.25mm, second spool Power Pro 15lb... I don't feel any need to upgrade !

... :..it's about time... :

What Muddy said !!! Besides Fenwick HMX, try Shimano Compre ($90), Team Daiwa S ($100),Falcon Lowrider($100-130), All Star ASR($100), Team All Star IM10(100). Cabelas XML or BPS Extreme are not bad either. It would be good if you could have the rod in your hand before you buy, to see if you like the "feel"of it.Even better if you could get your reel on it, see how it balances out. It's all a matter of personal prefference...

I allways use backing. For mono/copoly & fluoro I use cheap line one step heavier than the main line ( like #8 under #6 fluoro); for braid i try to be close to the braids diameter, maybe a bit heavier.

My opinion: It's called "GREED"...$$$$$$$$$$$$..to the highest level. Shimano did little more than design changes to their high selling models and almost doubled the prices. If I remember correctly, Currado was a hundred $ reel when it came on the market, and it was a lot of reel for the money. It became their best seller. So shimano changed the color and shape a little bit and raised the MSRP 25%. It worked ! So they did it again. And again...Take advantage of the market as long as you can ! No more sales, no more discounts, no more charity (BPS reel trade in comes to my mind). Just $$$$$$$$$$ They are on the down slope now and they are hurting... Daiwa and ABU takes away big chunks of market share...And they have to get rid of the overpriced merchendise by discounting them. Thus the mail in rebates. And they are still ahead of the game(making fools of their customers) because they are using your money for 2 months without paying interest ( between purchase and the time the buyer gets his money). It's just ecomomics... Shimano is not the best bang for your money anymore ( unless in clearance) with very few exceptions. Again, it's just my opinion.

I use(ed) it in #6 and #8 on spinning gear (daiwa 2000 and 2500 size) and I like(ed) it a lot. Give it a try ! However I am not a " one brand" user. I also use Trilene XL (cold water/weather) and Tectan Premium Plus ( my favorite if temp is above 50*F). I am currently phasing out the CX in favor of Tectan. Tectan doesn't come in "pound" rating , so you have to buy it by line diameter (made in Germany). I also use lines that I buy on clearance (brand makes no difference for me) for panfish, catfish, carp, etc. Hope it helps

Thanks for shareing. Great pictures !

Okuma makes some great baitrunners in the medium price range (say under $100). Their spinning reel drag system is one of the best in the industry (ask the carp and salt water fishermen), and they are very reliable. Their spool diameter could be increased a little bit ,in my opinion. I don't know about their baitcasters, but I think Okuma used to make some of the Cabelas brand reels. Hope it helps...

That's just a great looking wrapping station. Nothing to laugh at !

Look for a better paying job...

I apply the same basic principle; the type of lure has nothing to do with it: > lure heavier than 1/4 oz = baitcaster >lure less than 1/4 oz = spinning tackle tight lines

+1. 6-6 medium/fast

First off, every company rates their rods differently. So med power Shimano is not the same as a med. BPS or other brand. I own a Clarus 6-6 MH and it is faster than what I like even for spinnerbaits (I preffer a BPS Graphite Series for SBs, it has a slower action than the Clarus). For crankbaits I would not use anything faster than "moderate". Sure, you have great "feel" of the lure with a faster action rod, but that is not what you want in a CB rod. You want a rod that has enough "give" to allow the bass to enhale the CB and once the fish is hooked, to keep it hooked. A softer rod will give the fish less chances to ripp the thin wire trebles out of his mouth. That is more important if the fish just bumps the CB, and the treble hooks the outside of the mouth. You will have a lot more fish throw your CB if you are using a faster rod. That being said, my vote goes to the "Cranking stick". Heck, I'd rather have a BPS Graphite (at this moment $29.99, but it goes on sale often for 19.99) than a Clarus for CBs. It's softer at the same rating. Legth wise, I think you'll do fine with a 6-6. Just my $.02