Heartland

I usually start with PB&J in clear water and work my way to more natural colors like GP in darker water.

I use this exact setup, with the exception of line, I use Gliss.

This thread serves as a reminder to me as to why I have chose to make fishing a hobby rather than a sport. Relaxing and fun outweigh the self induced stress of a competitive event.

I don't personally own one, but have fished from several boats that have been equipped. What I noticed is that if we pulled into an area with little to no noticeable bait activity and then switched it on, that in many cases you would start seeing smaller bait fish break the surface around the boat. I personally seen that as a good thing, but it would be hard to say that there is anything but subjective data for its ability to increase catch rates.

Your post made me feel like I wanted to offer some information that may be helpful. If you are already aware please take no offense and just ignore this post, as it may help another. ABEC is not a brand, ABEC is an (U.S.) industry accepted engineer standard. ABEC is the acronym for Annular Bearing Engineering Committee, and they set standards to which bearings are rated, which is now 1-9 with the higher number having tighter tolerances. Ceramic bearings are available in various ABEC ratings, so to say, "ABEC ceramic fast" is not an entirely accurate or descriptive statement and may lead one to think that you are mixing or confusing the standard with a brand name.

I think that your post is too general in nature. There are a wide variety of crankbaits, and what might be best suited for one application will certainly not be for the next. Couple this with a wide ranging opinion on type of line and strength, rod composition length and power, reel brand and ratio and you are likely to end up with so many differing opinions that you may possibly find yourself having even a more difficult time making a decision. I would say to try and narrow the scope of your question for the most helpful response. I will respond as to what I would use for the bait and details that you have given. This is by no means the best just what I have experience with. Mono line works well with crankbaits, has for years and years. The smaller treble hooks can tear holes and come unpinned if the rod and line combination do not offer enough give, this is a reason why the combination of mono line and moderate action rods have been popular over the years. Mono line also is buoyant, if you want to help keep your shallow diving baits shallow then it may help. Mono line is also hygroscopic, meaning it can absorb water and become less abrasion resistant with more exposure. Line treatments like KVD Line and Lure are advertised to help with this. Rod Length, I prefer a longer rod for casting crankbaits, something in the 7 to 7 1/2 foot range. The longer rod aids in casting distance one of the biggest factors in time at working depth as well as depth in general. Material is another big factor when choosing a rod, you have basically three choices each with their own merits, glass, composite or carbon fiber. Myself I prefer composite of CF for reasons that I will leave out of this already long post. Gear ratio preference seems to have changed significantly over the years, due to what I suspect is better gear design and efficiency. I am probably old school in my preference of a slower gear ratio, something in the range of 5.1:1 or about 20 I.P.T. I find this works well for most of the methods and presentations that I frequently use. I will stop here as I am sure others will expand and give their opinions as well.

For jigs like a football head or a biffle head that are heavier and I want to get to the bottom quickly and drag and bump back to the boat I prefer braid, 30lb is fine for my application. Moving baits, like a swimjig, or chatterbait, my go to line is usually 12lb FC.

Looks like a warmouth to me. Description - The warmouth sunfish is commonly dark olive with mottled brown sides that often contain numerous yellow markings. The body is highly compressed and deep (similar to most other members of the Lepomis genus). Each side of the head possesses 5 distinct dark lines (often referred to as war-paint) that radiate out from the snout and eyes. They possess a tongue with a very small tooth patch. Unlike most other members of theLepomis genus, warmouth possess a rather large mouth. They are often confused and misidentified as rock bass, however, warmouth possess three spines in the anal fin, while the rock bass has five to six spines present in the anal fin.

I have fished it. It is a very fun little lake. The west end has a creek that feeds it, we caught most of our fish on this end of the lake. The NE shore of the lake is rocky and we caught fish there as well. There was a lot of grass in the lake and it was fairly clear when I fished it. I know this is not much to work with but I thought I would try.

Jen Kravassi Jekyll bait Co. , Lure me In custom painted crankbaits. Tons of others but these a two very good ones.

So you have actually tried it at 70 yards?

Try it, you might be surprised

Take your rod and reel outside and try this little exercise. Have a friend, wife, neighbor, someone walk off about 30 -40 yards. Give them the end of your line whatever line you would normally use. With them 30-40 yards away have them pinch the line between their thumb and fore finger, then see if you can pull it loose from their grip by imitating your hookset. You may be surprised.

I use Sunline FX2, I would be embarrassed to tell you how long I have had it spooled on my frog rod. I just can't seem to find any reason to replace it.

Many of the ST. Croix rods I own seem to fish a little faster than some of the other brands I own. If it were me I would go with the M/F. If it were also me, I would fish these on a MH.

I typically do every reel I own in the same manner. Turn centrifugal and magnetic brakes off. Loosen spool tension. Tie on whatever it is that I want to cast. Release the spool and then tighten the spool tension knob to control the drop of the bait to whatever it is I prefer. Set two of the centrifugal brakes on, set the magnetic braking to about half, make a few controlled casts and dial it in from there.

fixed it for you

Don't, either get an airbrush and do it yourself, or pay to have someone do it for you. Acrylic paints go on way to thick with brushes in my opinion. Might be able to do a descent job with rattle cans. Many people will re-paint them for you for about 8 dollars each as long as you don't want anything too crazy.

My experience with Loomis rods and the 853C in general are that the 853 does fish weightless senkos well, but you are on the upper end of weight at around 3/8oz for the 853. Can probably get away with fishing up to 1/2oz but I don't find it enjoyable on this particular rod. I would try to find a 4 power rod that met my specs. My personal choice would be the 844.

I spent a lot of summers on the banks of the Arkansas river with my little brother honing my skills by catching and fighting carp on zebco 202's and 33's. Destroyed many a reel, prolific fighters and great fun to catch.

If nothing else (which I don't agree with) it gives us a great source of common terminology that makes understanding fishing and comparing apples to apples much less difficult.

Quite the rabbit hole my friend. My advice is find a line you like that supports the type of fishing you prefer. Stick with that line and balance your system (rod, reels, tackle, drag and line) to work in conjunction with one another. Too many variables for any one line especially when you talk about them in the most general of terms, (mono, braid, FC) to suit the needs of everyone. My .02

I don't understand your Malaria analogy, do you get or have you had vaccinations for smallpox, measles, polio, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and Hepatitis B. Annual Flu shots? The issue of clean drinking water just came to the forefront recently in Flint Michigan. I have spent time in many, many parts of the World in support of my profession. I agree it is very different but not necessarily worse. Mexico is probably not the best example of how different of a world we live in. My last post on the subject, we are probably starting to skirt the realms of a political discussion.

People die of very common things like the Flu in the U.S., strep throat, tonsils, crack, meth and opioids, not to mention cheeseburgers, pizza and TV. We are not as sophisticated and refined as many would like to think.

It effects it to the point that it will not run, as in no action at all. Remember this is just my experience, your mileage may vary. A split ring or speed clip create a tie point that allows the bait to remain free, and does not kill the action.