Phil77

When the flipping switch is on you can push the thumb bar down to flip/pitch without the spool going into complete freespool then let off when you hit the water to engage the reel. It's kinda cool but honestly I never use it, just easier for me to do it the old fashioned way. That's a great reel, I have that exact one for football jigs and it's done a great job.

Straight braid or 12# P Line CXX, strongest mono I've ever fished. I like to tie directly to the jig, I never have found the benefit of a leader for the waters I fish.

Much easier to fish and more productive for me. Always use a weighted swimbait hook for the longer one and a weightless on the front. We use the almost same rig for a double crappie jig rig.

I've used it to remove cured marine epoxy from a boat.

A razor and some acetone.

I could run 5 but I've had good success using 3. Have a buddy who molds them and cut two leaders off and spread the remaining three to look like a small school with 1/4 oz jigs. I've fished 5 before and it's a good way to develop Popeye arm real quick. Will troll a much bigger heavier version for stripers in the spring.

Sorry bout that, confused the action thought the 843 was heavy for some reason.

I'd go with the 843 to start depending on the weight of your umbrella rig, I throw one that weighs a little over an ounce on a 7'3MH Lews. Be more concerned with how many hooks you can have on your rig, big fine if the lawman catches you with more than allowed. My state doesn't regulate them so we can run five jigs on them but I know certain states only allow two.

I have the concept Z, I think the specs are the same or close. It's a good reel, I mainly throw weightless paddle tails with it. They have a very simple but effective brake system that you have to open the side plate to adjust. That might put some people off who prefer an external adjustment but it only takes a few seconds to pop the cover open then adjust the brake, the side plate stays attached like a curado. I've had good luck with mine, just have to keep the brake ring clean and oiled.

Gamakatsu 3/0 for creatures/7 inch worms, 4 or 5/0 for senkos. Been slim pickings to find locally since covid so I've had to use eagle claw which aren't bad but have more confidence in the gama's. Forgot to mention EWG style.

Honestly the main improvements since you stopped have been the ergonomics and less reliance on your thumb. If you're wanting a reel that palms a little better and casts a tad bit better without a trained thumb then go ahead and upgrade. If not all those greenies and citica's need is a lube job and will be as good as most new reels. I'd take the greenies with the old VBS over the new SVS any day of the week.

I broke a $175 dollar rod trying to free a less than $2 texas rig from a tree on the bank, felt like a real dumb&*% on that one. I snagged one I had sitting vertically behind me in a yak a long time ago, unfortunately never had a fish break one.

Can't go wrong with a loomis, I have no experience with Dobyns because nobody around me sells them but I hear a lot of good things about them. If I was cranking that deep I would prefer a fiberglass rod for comfort and a reel in the 5 or six gear ratio. I wouldn't change reels if you're getting good performance out of the current one.

My pond rod is a Duckett Incite 7MH. It will handle your weight range with ease. I've caught a few close to 5# and brought in an 11# channel cat with it. I've thrown weightless flukes and paddle tails a tad bit over 1oz with no problems.

I have the 7'3 MH Black. It has done great for spinnerbaits not sure if it would do well for square bills. Loomis E6x crankbait 7'M has done well for me this year for traps and square bills, plenty of flex to keep them pinned. Handle is a little shorter than I would prefer but still a good crankbait rod.

Scorpion DC, wont win a beauty contest against the Met DC but will perform the same. The 21 Scorpion DC looks a lot better than my 17. If money isn't a concern then go for the Met, the IDC-5 is a better brake system than the IDC-4 on their USDM reels. I don't think they cast any farther than a regular reel but they do sound cool and are great when you have to fish into the wind.

Nothing but beat up reels on my local FB, hard to find decent used ones on ebay these days. Guess I'll have to go look at flea markets when the fishing slows down.

That's a beautiful reel. My brother moved to Florida and needs a frog/swimbait reel. Been looking for an older C3 or C4 to customize for him.

Is that an Akios double bearing idler gear?

Lews 9.5:1 hyperspeed comes out next week. TW exclusive so I'll have to wait a while to get one.

100 yds of 12# would work fine for me since I fish from a boat. Thanks for the info.

I love the size, haven't had a shimano round reel since the Cardiff 100 and that looks smaller. Would it handle spinnerbaits up to 1/2oz?

Nice paint job, got that same reel for football jigs.

Lews tourney pro these days, shimano curado was my previous work horse. Both are sub $200 reels and work great.

I like fluoro for plastics but have lost some nice fish this year so I'm probably going to straight braid soon. I use 30# braid for all my jigs and getting to depth hasn't been an issue. I was using straight braid for plastics at the beginning of this year but went back to FC out of habit. If anything I would think braid would be an advantage for slack line presentations since it floats. There is only one lake around me that the fish are spooked/line shy and some days nothing works but everywhere else I fish they will hit on any line. It never hurts to experiment but I'll probably continue to use all three types.