PhishLI

Store them in the clamshells they came in.

In competition, this gear is steroids/ TRT, corked bats, loaded gloves, or whatever else you can think of that boosts outcomes artificially even if everyone is allowed to use it, and it's out of line with long standing tradition. It's only going become higher resolution going forward. What's next? Infrared? Satellite laser LIDAR? Why not? This newer stuff represents the best case for the proverbial asterisk next to any record. I'm a boxing/mma junkie, and while fitness regimens and rules have changed through the eras, the essence of the competition hasn't. That said it doesn't affect me. I fish in shallow overgrown ponds with a no-boats policy 98% of the time, and the places I can boat fish in are so shallow that even a Striker 4 is basically useless. Personally, I have no dog in this fight other than it's making me care less about watching many tournaments, and I was watching them bell to bell up until recently. Also, every place that gets pounded changes for the worse eventually unless it's loaded with Gobies or some other anomaly. Some people suggest that the fish will adapt. That isn't the case around here. Fishing pressure alone since the shutdown has crushed most of our spots with easy shore access. It's tougher than ever to get a bite.

One word, and it rhymes with blows. And all of the reviews are gone.

Get this and never look back: Amazon.com : VARIVAS Max Power PE x8 (16.7 lb (#0.8) 150m) : Sports & Outdoors It's about half the diameter of Power Pro SS rated at 15lbs which feels like rope in comparison. Casting distance with lighter baits is drastically improved using the Varivas. I haven't been broken off once yet using this line. I break the 150m spool down to 3 runs of 165ft and use backer on the reels for the balance.

Have you ever cleaned then greased the gears? Over the last 3+ years, my 2020 TP has gotten a ton of use in choked out waters. Whether I have two or six rigs with me, that reel is often the most used during most sessions or a close second. It feels the same as it did when I got it, which is reasonably smooth. Not Zillion G smooth, but very few reels are. However, I clean and grease the gears on my most used reels several times a season. This might not be absolutely necessary, or practical for everyone, but it takes me several minutes per reel so it's not a problem. The upside of having the side cover off to grease the gears is that you can do a quick lube on the clutch mechanicals and spring moorings which will keep the whole rig running smoothly. Also, one of the two bearings supporting the pinion gear is shared with the spool. If you don't maintain lubrication of the bearings in the orbit of the gears in any reel, you'll often end up with what feels like pronounced gear meshing. Periodically oiling the spool bearings and P2 pinion bearing on the TP can be done in less than 2 minutes with no major disassembly required other than removing the spool tension knob, palming side plate, and spool. The Daiwa Reel oiler comes with a built-in needle tip which puts the oil precisely where it needs to go. Super easy.

The now discontinued Tour S3, the current Smoke S3, and the Smoke X are all essentially the same compact reel aside from weight differences due to material choices. Mine have been flawless and are high performance reels by any measure. They are excellent. Clean and oil the brake drum and spool bearings periodically and you're good to go. Plenty of very good reels fly under the radar if they're not called Shimano or Daiwa, but that's just how it goes.

They're true to their ratings which means they fish heavier compared to rods that typically run lighter than stated. Consider them robust for their rating but not overly beefy. In your earlier posts you started out asking which rod would handle a 3/8oz jig but have since upped it to 1/2oz. Get the MH if that's still the case and you're talking about total weight or a skosh more, but don't expect it to be magnificent with TRDs rigged on a 1/15oz ned head. In a perfect world you'd get both a M and MH and manage well enough between the two.

The thing that matters to you since this is brand-new to you is handling. Better fluoros like Tatsu "handle" more like soft mono which means they're less inclined to want to jump off the spool as easily. Fluoros more inclined to do this by their nature will do it more in cooler weather. You should kick your brakes up several notches right off the bat and even add a skosh of spool tension until you get a feel for what this particular line does. Back things down once you've figured it out. If you get an over-run or a backlash, Gently remove it. No tugging or using the thumb-n-reel trick to unwind them. Fluoro doesn't like kinks. Go easy. They'll come back to bite you if you cause them.

This reel is definitely intriguing. If the inductor-type braking system is up to scratch, there's a lot to like if you're reel nerd. Dual bearing supported pinion and a free-floating spool is nice. Machined metal frame and what looks like cast metal side plates is nice. I imagine they can keep the tolerances quite tight. I'm sure they can if they wish to. It's ticking a lot of wish list boxes. It's what I'd make if I had the ambition. We'll see. Someone on YT will probably get their hands on one and we'll get the scoop eventually.

If you want durable, the XTs are just that. I've pulled in some whoppers on my two MF XTs over the past 5 years. I'm guessing the newest version is just as tough.

Never caught a thing around here on any red colored bait.

I have a preference for pitching with reels having wider spools, or reels with a frame that allows for easier access to a typical 25mm wide spool. A Chronarch is an example of a reel that I don't like to pitch with as I need to contort my thumb and grip to pitch with it without rubbing its spools's rim. The 150 has a 28mm wide spool, so it works for me and my hand size. YMMV. I believe the ABU's is 22mm wide. Besides that particular criteria, my 150's have been great. Very smooth and very good casters. The 150 is very capable for bombing cranks. All of my Daiwas with metal gear-side side plates have been very smooth. Whether you'll be happier with the 150 or the Elite depends on your hand size and grip particulars. The 150 palms just fine for me. If you have smaller hands the Elite is probably the better choice.

I use their reel covers exclusively. Both spinning and casting.

The toilet seat.

It's interesting. Unconventional brake. Hundo_Schematic.pdf (shopify.com)

Did you activate the discount through the email?

That's a small factor compared to the change in performance you're talking about, but it's worth it to keep your line guide clean regardless. Doesn't matter that you got it recently either. It might've been dry to begin with. What you're describing is dry centrifugal brakes. A quick clean and lube every 4th full-session or so will keep braking performance consistent, or whenever you feel things begin to change, it's time. This only takes maybe two minutes tops. BTW, if you don't perform this simple maintenance, plastic fines shed from the brake blocks due to lack of lube will act as lapping grit, and when combined with the pressure from the blocks it'll begin to cut a groove into the brass friction ring. Whether it's Lew's MSB braking, or the older ABU Infini, they're the same brake system and require the same treatment for best performance.

Have you ever cleaned then lubed the friction ring where the blocks make contact? Alcohol on a q-tip will clean the ring and brake-block tips. A small drop of oil on the ring is all you need, then wipe it off with a fresh q-tip. A drop of oil on the spool bearing and removeable sideplate bearing while you're at it should get it back in shape. When performance drops off again repeat the process. This depends on how much you fish, not time. If you don't have reel oil, this does the trick. Amazon.com : Daiwa 64110100 Reel Oiler, One Size : Fishing Reel Care Accessories : Sports & Outdoors

I've never bothered with 65lb braid because I've never been broken off using straight 50lb Daiwa J8, and my local waters are super choked out with lily pads, heavy milfoil, and water chestnut. Haven't been broken off using 40lb either and only a few times with 30lb so I'm more judicious around the worst of it even though it's a rarity. Only when they've done a full wrap around a pad stalk early in the season is there danger of guillotining the knot using 30lb, but I can count the times on one hand where this has happened, so I use this lb rating the most without worry.

Is this really a sanity check, or more of a guilt thing? If you're in debt and not paying bills you're probably batty buying more stuff. If you're feeling ashamed over your indulgences, you can buy your way out of it by donating something to a charity in the form of your time or money. If it's neither, kick back and enjoy your neurotic obsession without apology because it's fun. He who dies with the most toys...

We've been broiled all week with high temps and brick-wall humidity just like early August, but with clouds overhead again and rain in forecast finally I decided to sweat it out for a bit just before midnight. Couldn't get them to come topside for nothing, so slow-n-low got my bites but they were all super subtle as if they were keyed-in on small baitfish stuck on the bottom. Slow-dragging and lightly twitching a Houdini Super Fluke was the deal. Just as lightning bolts crackled in the northwestern sky, I finally hooked into a hard fighting picture-worthy chunk then made my escape.

Fantastic! ??

I’m sure you’ve heard about this tactic before, especially regarding the Whopper Plopper, where you let it sit for a bit once it lands. Anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute. This is something that applies to any floating bait, and I’ve had dumb luck with the G2 more than once while answering a phone call just as it lands, or when pulling out errant loops in my line. It can definitely call them in and give them time to decide, especially if you drop it in outside of a pad line or a stand of weeds that they’re unwilling to move too far away from. I’ve had them eat it just as I started to wind it as if they were inspecting it then decided it was food once it twitched or dove. This is worth trying occasionally if chuck n wind isn’t drawing bites for you.

Could be that you simply missed a feeding window, and that particular bass wasn't hungry. Circling cruisers often aren't eating or willing. Just like when fishing during the day you might be fishing dead water, or the fish in the area are gorged. I've observed that the aggressive night-bite windows are short in a single location. Not often longer than an hour, and often less. Miss that, and you've missed the boat. However, when you find one or can trigger one, you'll have a nice rally. Yesterday morning's bite window clicked on a little after midnight in a lake we've rarely fished, but not before we spent 3 hours without a whiff, and it wasn't just us. A well known local hammer got blanked fishing within a football field or so of us on and off for the first 3 hours. We finally pushed way up north to the super shallow end where the springs feed the lake and we found them. He stayed put and didn't. But without the clouds that rolled in and the wind that came with them we probably would've struggled getting any to bite even though they were there. It worked out though, but not without work and thought. I'd spotted very few small baitfish on the southern end. Mostly small schools of larger bluegill. I played a hunch that smaller baitfish might've pushed into very shallow flats, and I was right.

Check to see if NC has a site like this: Places to Fish - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Here's an example of a lake outline including whether or not there's shore access or a ramp. Lake Ronkonkoma - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation