redmeansdistortion

Some of my most effective trout baits this past season were 2" Powerbait minnows on a 1/16 darter head and the 1/16, 1/8, and 3/16 Rapala Countdowns. Big browns love Countdowns. Pulled some big ones from the Rifle in northern Michigan on a few occasions. I fish trout more than any other species. I run a couple of setups, one for smaller headwaters and brush choked creeks and the other for more open rivers. For the spinach, I use a 4'10" UL Major Craft Troutino paired with a Revo ALC-BF7, spooled with 8lb Daiwa J-Braid and a 6lb FC leader. For the bigger water, I use a 6' L Major Craft Finetail and a Daiwa Alphas CT SV outfitted with a shallow SLP Works spool and 8lb J-Braid.

I tell those new to baitcasters to follow through, similar to how one would a golf swing.

I learned to use a baitcast reel with my grandpa's old Shakespeare knuckle buster. Quite the primitive piece of equipment compared to what we have now. I was a broke kid in the 80s and couldn't afford even a cheap baitcast reel, so I forced myself to learn since it was all I had. Paired with a Shakespeaere Wonderod and a 1 ounce Dardevle with the hook removed, I had a lot of fun learning to use that thing. I never actually fished that reel until about 20 years back, but it got me in the yard working on my thumb the decade prior.

I'm a smallmouth guy since I live near arguably the best smallmouth water in the world. I've caught countless smallmouth north of 5lb, while largemouth I can count the 5lb+ fish on one hand. This is 30 years of fishing Lake St Clair. Most of the largemouth I've caught were in the 1 to 3lb range. I'd love to get on some big largemouth like those down south or out in California.

Love it! It's an art piece. Oldschoolbasser hit it out of the park.

I think another record smallie will be caught before the largemouth record is broken. Smallies tend to get bigger here in Michigan. I've pulled countless 5lb+ smallies fishing the Great Lakes, and if the bite is on you will catch many in one outing. Now with 5lb largemouth, I've only landed a little more than a handful in my 30 years of fishing this state. They aren't very common at all. Most of the largemouth I catch are usually 1lb to 3lb or so.

It depends on spool. Deeper spools are easier to manage with heavier line. 20lb and 30lb are usually about the lowest I do on those. Now with a shallow spool, I run 8lb J-braid and never have any issue. If I do get a backlash, it's easy to remove since there's only 40 to 50yd on the spool.

How much do you want to spend? There are some really nice rods around the $100 price point that work very well. Something in 8'6" to 9'6" ML to M would be best. Lamiglas X11, Okuma SST, Berkley Buzz Ramsey IM8, and Shimano Clarus are the ones to look at in that price range. I own the Lamiglas and the SST and prefer the X11 as it's a little lighter in the hand. In my experience, most of what works for steelhead works great for whitefish. 2/5 Little Cleos, #3 Mepps, husky jerks and jointed Rapalas, Wiggle Warts, and Hot n Tots all work well. I do best with Wiggle Warts and Little Cleos personally. Spool up your reel with some 8lb or 10lb mono. Whitefish have soft mouths and braid may yank the bait right out of it. I have yet to fish them on Lake Michigan, I usually cast for them on the east coast in Harbor Beach, Port Sanilac, Tawas, and Oscoda.

I've bought 6 JDM reels this year, never got charged tax on any of them. Keep in mind that the warranty is void as soon as it leaves Japan, so it helps to know how to service your own reels. If you ever need replacement parts, PLAT is the place to get them for JDM reels.

I eat quite a bit, except for bass lol. Walleye, perch, burbot, pike, trout, salmon, crappie, and bluegills. Burbot is especially good and very few people are aware of how tasty this "trash" fish really is. Deep fried, it's like the deep fried cod you'd get from a restaurant, and when boiled, it has a lobster like flavor and texture. Burbot is very closely related to cod. We catch them from the piers in the Great Lakes from late October into early December fishing live and dead bait off the bottom. There is no limit, so it's very easy to fill a freezer.

Welcome to BR! You don't have to stop when the water freezes, tasty perch and walleye to be had through the ice, plus you get steelhead from Lake Erie hitting the rivers. Dress warm and jig up some dinner! For keeping my hands warm, I wear those convertible mittens that let you fold the finger portion over to expose the fingers. You'll still get cold, just not as cold lol

Spinner bait. I always seem to encounter toothy critters when I throw them. Not complaining, but would be nice to get what I'm fishing for. Funny enough, I tend to catch a lot of pike on Senkos too.

Lots of rain here down state as well. My mom sent me pics of her home in West Branch a bit ago, she is getting tons of snow right now. My brother put the plow on his truck and is going to head out later on and dig friends out.

Yamalube is NLGI2 which is considered a normal consistency for grease, about the same consistency as peanut butter. Super Lube makes a NLGI0 grease that I like to use in baitcasters. It's a lower viscosity grease which gives a smooth feel. I typically use Yamalube on bigger conventionals like Penns and Okumas.

Try and locate some underwater brush piles, that's their usual hangout.

His grease packer works very well. I grease every bearing except for spool bearings and knob bearings. I know some use oil on every one of them, but very few oils last long enough considering most service their reels once or twice per year. Sure, you can reapply oil periodically, but some of those bearings can be hard to get to without extensive disassembly. Especially spinning reel bearings.

Tatula LT

Another worthy mention, although it's a love it or hate it reel, the Daiwa SS Tournament. I still use the same one I bought 25 years ago, the drag is excellent. I have the SS 1300 and it has been my go to spinning reel for years. It's tough as nails, easy to self service, and has probably the smoothest drag I've ever used in a spinner. Even compared with modern models, that drag is still the sweetest of them all. Also, unlike most reels that use an oscillating gear, it uses a worm drive like a baitcast reel. This lets it lay the line in a manner that makes it exceptionally good at long casts. Now, on to the shortcomings. It screams 1980s. The design of the reel hasn't changed since release. Still the same reel I purchased long ago. Second, the rotor is unbalanced so it can be a little wobbly on the retrieve. While it does put off some, it can also be beneficial in giving your bait a little more action. Third, it has no instant anti-reverse, but uses an older ratchet style system. The wee bit of back play in the handle is a put off for many, but I have no complaints personally. Lastly, it isn't as smooth or refined feeling as most modern reels. I really love the reel and still choose it over every other spinner on my shelf. It works day in and day out. It has taken dunks, gotten sandy on a river bank, and Lord knows all the spawn goo that has been all over that thing. It still works great and will probably last me a good amount longer. Daiwa sells it for only $5 more than I paid in 1995, $104.99.

I love the switch when jigging walleye. Easy peasy to keep your bait at the right depth.

Two places I'd look. Check the tension knob and make sure the shims are in there. There should be two of them, one round and one square. Second place, make sure the inner part of the magnet assembly in the palm side hasn't become dislodged. This does happen on some of the Magforce reels and can be fixed by indexing both magnets (turn the mag dial until the notches line up) and gluing it back in place.

It definitely doesn't palm like a low profile, but it is comfortable. It doesn't sit as low as something like a Calcutta, but at the same time not as high as an Ambassadeur. It's somewhere in between. The reel frame itself is a 100 size, but Daiwa added spacers and changed a few other things to let it use the 70 spool.

This just came in yesterday, very impressed with the fit and finish. Hopefully I'll get to throw it a few times before the water ices over.

Ones that come to mind are the G. Loomis and higher end Lamiglas rods. There are others, but I'm not sure which as I'm not into bass fishing as much as I am other species.

Many of the higher end rods will come with a 5 year, and in some cases a lifetime warranty. That warranty typically doesn't cover things that occur outside of fishing conditions, like slamming your rod in a car door for instance. If you're careful with your rods, something higher end may be for you. Clumsy folks like myself get the short end of the stick on that end.

I spend more on my reels, much more usually. I appreciate the fine craftsmanship of a nice reel, almost like a fine watch. With rods, I'm not super concerned because I've broken a fair amount of them. I can fix a malfunctioning $300 reel no problem, but a $300 rod goes into the trash if it breaks and the warranty is up. I'm known to be careless when it comes to closing a tailgate or bed cover.