AJ Hauser

Hey fellas, Just had a quick question - I got this jerkbait out of some subscription box a few years ago and I was wondering if any of you know what it was? I used it in a creek yesterday and had some decent luck catching smallmouth. There are no letters or markings on the belly or lip, I just have the color/pattern to go off of. Ever seen one? Thanks for any and all help.

I appreciate the input my man, but Big Game has so much memory it's definitely not for me. The Invisx I've been using is super strong and manageable and in the crystal clear streams I've been fishing (on days when it's not blown out), thick green mono would spook 'em for sure. How much cover do you use it in when fishing in MO? You working thick muck like we here get in our IL lakes? Thanks.

You're just trying to make me feel better... and it worked, thanks.

I was using a 20 lb Vanish leader this morning and no joke - I broke it off on a nice largemouth... probably user error, overly aggressive hookset... but still... I chuckled because of this conversation Whoopsy.

Yeah I have a few stories like that... lol... so sorry for your loss Thanks man, I hear ya - this is on a spinning rod and I can say so far there is a huge difference (a massive reduction) in my line jumping off the spool. I was not a believer until I started using the stuff - still love Red Label for my leaders though. Good stuff.

Thanks man - she was a beauty! On to the next one (I hope)

I do like me some mono from time to time... the fight sure is fun as long as I get a good hookset!

Hey all, Recently updated the fluoro on one of my reels from Seaguar Red label or Barkley Vanish (can't remember) to Seaguar Invizx. I have fished a local creek a few times now, and I noticed something... even after a 4 hour session in chocolate milk yesterday, the Invizx doesn't seem to have "picked up" any of the color of the water. At all. It's still nice & clear, not green or brown or yellowish even. This has not been the case with other fluorocarbon lines. Have you guys experienced anything similar, or am I crazy? Thanks - much appreciated. So far I'm really impressed with this stuff... landed a 20" smallie on it the other morning and 2 others right around 18" on a jerkbait! (The day BEFORE I fished the chocolate milk...)

Rock & roll brother! Thanks!

Got it - two questions: 1. How would you have cleaned the old gritty grease off of the gears instead of WD-40? 2. When I clean it next, anything in particular I should do to get the old WD-40 off? Thanks!

Status Update: after a deep cleaning with WD-40, a rinse, re-grease and re-oil - she's all back together and humming away beautifully. Better than new! Clean as a whistle! I don't think the WD-40 residue will cause any issues with the new grease and oil applied after the fact... we will see. Thanks again for the feedback all, it was helpful and very appreciated!

Oh no. Things have escalated quickly!

Hello fellas - it's a sad, sad day. Yesterday I fished a creek that was carrying a ton of sediment from a recent rain. About an hour before I had to call it quits, this Abu Garcia Orra S spinning reel started to get really hard to turn. I removed the handle and the spool in the field to try to clean things off but nothing helped. When I got home, I assumed it was just in need of some oil... however, while that made it slightly easier to turn for about 5 minutes, I'm now in a position where I can't turn the handle forward. At all. If I turn off the anti-reverse, I can turn the handle backwards easily, and the bail spins in reverse - but I can't turn it forward at all. I'm guessing I got some crud in there but I'm not sure... what would you guys recommend in terms of taking this apart and attempting to clean & rescue this bad boy? Any similar situations you've experienced? Thanks! Here is where I have it at the moment...

Awesome - thanks guys - much appreciated!

FOLLOW UP: it says "Line & Lure"... do you guys spray any of this on plastics to keep them lubed up in the packaging and prevent things from getting sticky or drying out? Sometimes I'll throw a handful of plastics directly into a Plano container, and I wish I had a little squirt of something to keep them "hydrated" and from sticking - just as a preventative measure - but I have never tossed in any Real Magic or WD-40 because something about aerosol on my baits seems like a really, really bad idea. I've heard the myth about WD-40 having fish oil and therefore acting as an attractant... but I just don't buy that. Thoughts? Thanks dudes!

This is a key differentiator for them - thank you for pointing this out - I just switched to a "softer" fluorocarbon line in the same lb test to help with management, and I was worried that it would already be less abrasion resistant... last thing I want to do is weaken the line further with an additive of some sort. Side note: the Real Magic stuff does act as a quick lube on the spool, which I like, even though it does leave a bit of gross build up over time. You have anything that you use that might be a better option that you hit your gear with in between routine deep cleaning/oil/grease sessions? Thanks much!

Got it - thank you very much!!

Ok so this is awesome... do you find that you have to match the spools with the manufacturer? So the Abu Garcia Orra I mentioned earlier, yesterday I re-spooled but I only wanted about 100 yards of Seaguar Invisx (not cheap) on the spool, so I filled a portion up with some mono, tied a back to back uni knot, and the put fluoro on. A shallower spool could make it really easy for me to swap out different fluoro types for this rod, which MAINLY gets used in creeks. Meaning I don't need to bomb jigs 50 yards per cast. What are your thoughts on this? I am liking the idea of picking up a few shallow spools so I can just bypass the mono backing and the connection know that can cause issues if the mainline gets low on the spool... Thanks!

Cool I ordered some - seems like everyone here loves it and it'll be worth checking out - thanks!

I'm so depressed that they don't give out extra spools anymore that I've decided to go fish. Have a great week, everyone!

Noted - thanks!

Got it - thanks all, appreciate the feedback and input!! Lots to work on over here...

Well this took a sad, dark turn quickly... here I thought I was onto something! Thanks for the heads up fellas, much appreciated.

Hey all - working on cleaning up some of my spinning gear for a stream trip tomorrow if the weather holds here in Illinois. I noticed that on my Abu Garcia Orra, I have two different spool types. One is a shiny metal, the other is a matte black plastic / composite spool. Same size. Any idea what the uses and differences are between these types of spools? Know of any other spool types that are suited for certain conditions? I'm wondering if maybe the dark composite one prevents straight braid from slipping on the spool if I skip the mono backing - ? I learned that lesson the hard way last year... Thanks much!

Hey all, I suffered a bit of heartbreak the other day when I broke off two - count 'em - TWO nice largemouth with an overly aggressive hookset. I was fishing some muck with a light TX rig, 14 lb fluoro leader on 50 lb braid. One broke at my knot (back to back uni-knot connection) the other broke at the hook. I need to adjust my hookset, and I have bumped up to 20 lb test leaders in the meantime... but it got me thinking about my spinning rods. I use 10 lb fluoro for a lot of my smallmouth fishing, and finesse largemouth presentations as well. This is a bit heavy but again - I tend to get a bit excited and set hard. What do you all think about over-the-counter "line conditioners"? I'm changing all of my line out today with stuff I bought new ($$ OUCH $$), but I don't want any of it getting brittle if I can avoid it. Hoping to get maybe 2 seasons out if it. I've been using that "Real Magic Spray" you can get at Walmart because it lubes both the line and it's a light lube for the reel as well, usually popping a bit on when I retie and change presentations between trips. What are your thoughts? Have you found these to be beneficial, do more harm than good, or just be worthless? Thanks!