Big Hands

So, rather than threadjack the other braid thread since it seems to be primarily about spinning reels, I started this one to ask specifically about (BFS-ish) baitcasters. In the other thread @@bulldog1935 stated: "Note however, Jun Sonada recommends PE#1 as the smallest braid to use on a LW that doesn't have increased LW pitch for the smaller threadline braids (e.g., Silver Wolf, Daiwa Air), and his recommendation is all about line dig." And that got to thinking about my own situation a bit more. I have two Curado BFS reels which I started out using 15 lb (8 carrier) braid with 6 to 8 lb leader, and as I mentioned in the other thread, I have had significant issues with line dig. The Curado BFS already has a fairly shallow spool on it. I have tried keeping tension on the braid as I reel it in, but that hasn't seemed to help. I mostly have an issue after setting a hook, and then reeling a fish in. After releasing the fish, I go to cast and %$%^&*(*&^%. So, when I remember, I strip out some line, reel back up and take a 'practice cast' keeping a watchful eye and thumb on the spool, reel back in and then make my cast to the next target. For the time being I have respooled both with 6 lb monofilament because I have a lot of experience using 6 lb mono on the four Daiwa PT10Z and PT15Z baitcasting reels I used back in the 80's and 90's. There are some other things I have thought about trying: a different brand/type of braided line a different diameter of braided line a super shallow 'microcast' spool (although the stock spool is only estimated to hold 45 yards of 15 lb braid) My thought with the microcast (Ss) type spool being that there is even less line on the spool to dig into. I have no experience with microcast type spools, so other than the reduced thickness of spooled line and reduced weight as pros and the fragility and further reduced capacity being the cons, I don't know what unintended can of worms that might open up. I am not throwing fingernail size crankbaits and trout magnets. . . . more like old-school finesse type offerings. For example1/16 to 1/4 ounce jigs, slipshot and texas rigs with possibly up to 3/8 ounce weights, shakey heads, ned rigs. . . that kind of stuff. I know that using monofilament on at least some of the super lightweight microcast spools is very much against the recommendations of the the makers of the spools because the stretch of mono can work to literally crush them. I truly would like to go back to braid for at least one of them IF I could resolve the line dig issue. Otherwise I will continue with mono, or maybe wait so long since I used fluorocarbon that I might be tempted to try fluorocarbon again, LOL.

The only reels I have that experiences line dig are my two Curado BFS reels with 15 lb braid. I finally had enough and swapped over to 6 lb monofilament and we will see how that goes. I fished 6 lb mono for many, many years on casting gear and never had a problem, so I don't anticipate one now. I have 10 lb braid (to 7 lb leader) on all five of my most used spinning reels. No line dig.

Maybe the nice gear is what improved your chance to hook the fish in the first place. The passage of time often turns what seems like tragedy into comedy. Eventually, you'll have a fun story to tell for the rest of your life. 1) Stop blaming your gear If you blame your gear, it doesn't allow you to accept that you can do better I'd bet dollars to donuts that your technique allowed the bass to get away 2) Accept that sometimes the bass wins their freedom Hopefully you were going to put it back anyway, if not, than good for the bass ;~) 3) Try to figure out what you could have done better Keep your hooks sharp Improve your hookset technique Keep tension on the fish by keeping a bend in the rod. I tell beginners to try to keep the rod at around a 90° angle to the fish and keep a decent bend in the rod. 4) Enjoy that you had that moment. Get back out there and hope you get the chance to battle test yourself with more big fish. If it were easy to land big bass, everyone would be doing it.

As you can clearly see, it does not spend it's idle time in anything made by H. Gerstner and Sons. I have had one bookmarked. . . . for a while . . . . just haven't pulled the trigger, LOL.

I had an 87 15 hp Evinrude that had a 100:1 sticker next to the plug for the fuel line. I did a bit of a dive to find out what was up. 'Rumor' has it that the engine will run fine with the 100:1 mix. The reason they backed off of that is because when the motor sits for long periods (think winter for example) the thinner mixture has a tendency to not provide adequate protection from rust and a lot of people simply aren't able to run their outboard often enough to keep the vulnerable parts from rusting when the fuel is mixed at 100:1. I did try it at 100:1 and 75:1 and had no issues, but I eventually decided that running at 50:1 wasn't going to hurt anything and a little extra protection is better than questionable protection and ran at 50:1 from that time forward. Once I undid all of the damage done by the previous owner, it was a fantastic little motor. It would push my little 14' Valco at 23-24 mph according to my GPS.

Daiwa Samurai 7 lb fluorocarbon (tied to 10 lb braid) in clear and green has been doing work for me the past couple seasons. It was a little over $20 for a 200 yard spool last time I bought it which isn't Big Game cheap, but it's not Tatsu expensive either. No plans to switch.

Seems like it should be that way, yet I'd put a $54 Daiwa Aird-X up against any of my vintage $49 Lightning Rods or $99 Bionix from BITD.

I once thought that might be an absolute truth, but every rod has a sweet spot that is usually like the filling of an oreo cookie with regards to what it is rated for, if that rating is close to being truly accurate. As you get into the outer limits of the range of a rod's true sweet spot, the results become less satisfying. A rod needs to load up with energy, and then release that energy during the cast. A broomstick doesn't do that very well no matter how hard I try. When you get into the outer edges of what a rod is capable of, it either loads up too much, or not enough and casting suffers. (EDIT: and Choporoz has just posted what I think is the same opinion while I was busy being my usual verbose self). And, I am not an engineer, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. And then, after that dilemma is reconciled, there is the ergonomics, retrieve, and fighting a fish that should be considered as well. There are often compromises to be made for these factors. The good news is that myriad others have already been through this and share enough experience for you to get in the game and then figure out what works best for you. Even though I know this, I still do a lot of hand-wringing over rod and reel purchases, so I can empathize with you going through that.

Ajay and Choporoz have made a good point. I used to work in a bike shop part time selling bikes. A lot of people want to swing for the fence right out of the gate and they aren't even sure of what they want to do as a cyclist. There is some wisdom in getting something entry level and middle of the road for the type of riding they want to do (intent), knowing that this isn't likely to turn out to be the bike of their dreams. Heck, they might not enjoy cycling at all. An example of a entry level mountain bike would be a 29" hardtail costing from $600 to $1,000. An example of an entry level Swimbait rod would be cost between $100 to $160. The entry level bike allows them to: See if they actually like riding a bike at all Let's them try some different niches of riding Discover who they are as a cyclist They are more likely to make a wrong choice the first time around, IF they even really like it at all. Only repair what breaks and resist upgraditis, instead saving your money for the type of bike that will actually suit you far better than what you thought you wanted. Once you've ridden a while, you can rely on your own experience to guide you and you can sell your entry level bike, losing far less than if you'd thrown down big time on your first bike. Consider it a good deal on a long term rental. The odds are that it will cost much less and get you what best suits you. Now apply the reasoning to swimbait rods. You just need to have patience and faith that the process will work for you.

Were you raised in a Zebco-free household? ;~) ================================ A rod and a reel are best considered as a system, especially when used at the extremes. Putting a 'great' reel on a 'great' rod doesn't necessarily equal 'magic'. I can't honestly say that a rod or reel excites me more than the other. I go back and forth between both of those rabbit holes with plenty of hand-wringing taking place.

There are carton staplers that leave marks like this.

The Cal Ripken of my collection is the Daiwa Tatula 7'3" MH/F "All Around" casting rod which is currently paired with a Curado DC 150. It's the only rod that I consistently use throughout the year. It just has that "je ne sais quoi", but I love it. The reel isn't necessarily the only one that would always see action with that rod, but that rod is the cornerstone of my quiver. Carolina rigs in the winter and either Carolina rigs or other bottom contact techniques throughout the year. And as if that's not enough, if you happened to be using another rod and reared back to cast and snagged this rod and flung it 30' in front of your boat, the full cork handle will keep it floating long enough for you to retrieve it. Don't ask how I know. I just know. I took it as a sign that we should always be together.

You beat me to that one. Good call!

The shot caller is rarely who you think it is. . .

The world will never know.

Gary has stated that they fish very similarly, but are made with different materials. They also make a DC794.5 AR (AR = Alabama rig) that has a shorter handle and is rated up to 3.5 ounces that might be of interest.

I have the 806 that's supposed to be 'fast' action and it's not. And the 795 is a step down in power. In addition to that, I think they make what is called a 795SBMT (magnum topwater) which is made with a shorter handle. . . . But it would still be 7'9". Here's a couple screen grabs of that fast action 806. My eyes could be lying, but that doesn't look terribly fast to me.

An off the shelf option is going to yield some mighty slim pickins given your criteria. A custom rod might be an option. Or, you might consider something like trying a Dobyns Fury 795 SB, rated from 1-5 oz at 7'9. Put a ring of masking tape up 3" from the bottom of the butt section and see how you feel about casting it and fishing with it. If all that keeps you from loving it is the longer butt section, cut 3" off of it and you have your 7'6" short handle swimbait rod. If you don't particularly like the action of that rod, sell it and continue your search.

They are. I have two of that exact model myself.

The Revros is a very nice spinning reel for the $59.99 price point. The biggest knock I can come up with for such a reel is the weight. They are one of the few reels in the USDM that don't have the "D" (deep) spools, which is a definite plus in my opinion. They make an "XH" version of the 2500 that retrieves more line per turn of the crank than the 3000 or 4000 version. With that said, the Regal is only $10 more, is an ounce lighter and has over twice as many ball bearings as the Revros does. It does have the "D" (deep spool), but it might still offer better bang for the buck. For $54.99 the Aird-X punches well above it's weight and they fish well that I haven't disliked using the ones I have tried. If you prefer cork handles, the Procyon goes for $79.99. So, the Aird-X/Revros combo goes for $114.98 and the Procyon/Regal pairing bumps up to $149.98, or mix and match to suit.

I also like faster rods because it helps to not have to load it up as far to get to pop loose from weeds and rockpiles that I like to fish in and around. If the rods loads a long ways down, when it does pop free, it tends to try to move the bait further and all I want it to do is to free the weight and still have it be nearby.

Your incredible attention to detail makes 'this guy' seem like a complete googan! I can only imagine what your tackle rooms look like. Thanks for sharing this stuff.

Question: Is there any disadvantage to having a rod that is overpowered or "too stiff" for throwing 1 - 3 oz swimbaits? Short answer: Yes, absolutely! Long answer: My 0.03 (accounting for my verbosity): I have found action ratings on swimbait rods to be about as useful as an ashtray on a moving motorcycle. It's merely a starting point for the search at best, and maybe not even that TBH. Some of the rods that are rated as fast, aren't that fast and vice-versa. If you really want to get it better, if not right, without too much trial and error (especially the error part) you'd do best to go and put hands on them and side by side if possible. I'd recommend taking the reel you intend to use with you too, and don't be shy about trying some reels the store has as well. The weight of some reels in combination with particular will affect the balance of 'the system'. I have seen some rods that balance better with a 300 size reel than a 200 size reel even though a 200 size reel might be otherwise fine and vice versa. Battling weight and balance of a swimbait combo is noticeable and can wear you out. But you'll only know how much different it could feel if you try different combinations, especially side by side. Ergonomics of the way a reel feels and the way it works in conjunction with a particular rod is also another factor. The length of the butt section should not be overlooked too. A lot of anglers like the butt section to come to around the back of their elbow when they are holding the reel as they would when retrieving the lure. It tends to make it comfortable to hold the rod, but minimize the possibility it hanging up on the their clothing as they get ready to cast or fight a fish. Again, consider that a starting point as individuals may have their own ideas to some extent and that factor is often initially overlooked. Butt length, or lack thereof for me (at 6'5") can be a deal killer, and what you like could be different from what I like. Then of course there the other probably more important considerations such as how the rods behaves when casting, retrieving and ultimately when hooking and fighting fish. There could be some crossover where you could use a rod that's generally suited for single jig hook baits to throw heavier treble hook baits that up in the higher side of the lure weight rating for the rod where you can apply a lot of pressure to a larger stronger treble hook. Or you could possibly throw smaller single hook baits with a rode generally suited for treble hook baits. For example, a rod (properly) rated for 2-8 ounces with a relatively parabolic action could be possibly be used with a 2 ounce single jig hook soft bait better than it would be for a 4 or 5 ounce single jig hook soft bait on that same rod. I think it's wise to stay in a certain lane with regards to which baits you choose to get started with, and it looks like you are targeting relatively small-ish treble hook baits. So, if you can put the rod you have picked out in your hands and lean into it, you'll get a good idea of the true action and power it has. Is there a particular hard limit constraint you're working with that limits you to rods that are 7'6" or less? When it comes to swimbait rods, that leaves out a lot of rods that would otherwise work well. And, rod length is a factor in casting distance as well as other factors. You can resign yourself to fish around whatever a particular combo gives you, but if you can minimize the issues before you commit, I think you'll be much more satisfied and potentially spend less money or like what you spent the money on more than just taking a stab at it. I'd rather do the hand-wringing up front than having buyers remorse afterwards or just simply not even being aware that I could have done better.

Well, I bought the replacement tail and fin set for a BBZ-1 Trout, but I can't seem to find any information about the type of adhesive used to glue the tail on. SPRO's website has been about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. Nothing on the packaging, nothing on the website for the product except how they will sell them to you. Nothing in their FAQ's. If the information is there, it's not very obvious how to find it. I have removed the old tail and sanded the old adhesive off. It's hard to know for sure what type of adhesive was on there. At any rate I tried Super Glue Gel and it laughed at it. Felt like honey would have stuck better. I could try some regular Super Glue, but thought I would go ahead and ask here it anyone else has been successful (or unsuccessful) getting a new tail glued on to one of these?

If you're referring to the issue of the reel taking it's time to engage when the handle is turned after the cast, I have also seen that issue reported.