fishhugger

i you charged it, you might have a warranty protection plan on your card. that means the warrant of the product can be doubled in length of time, thanks to your card. there's a possible option, and a reason to charge things....

@MN Fisherthanks for the explanations! particularly about how to palm the reel --- really wasn't sure how people hold those things... happy fishing

thanks for the reply... i will have to try the heavy braids and cutting through weeds... this slx rod is heavy enough to do that? as someone totally new to baitcasting, i'd imagined a much heavier rod for that and pictured this mh as pretty light. altho it's heavier than almost all my other rods (which are all spinning rods) i hold the line with my r fingers, between the reel and the first guide. i'd read that guys do that to feel the line better.. i've just started trying that. i'll try to see if that's doing something weird to the ... idk what it's called - the guide on the reel that lays the line back and forth... i do just strip line off the reel by pulling - would that mess up the even laying of the line? if i get a small birds nest, i just pull out the line and clear out the nest... then when i reel the line back in, i use my r fingers to apply tension, until all the line is back.

the weeds where i fish i assume are typical --- many are long stemmed, and i think two varieties. idk if they grow from the bottom, but they are only near the shallow, such as 1 to 3' deep edges of the lake. i think the only places they don't grow are --- the edge is maybe 7' deep.. braid really cuts through the weeds? i'd pictured it just pulling up the mass of weeds, in a big, heavy, wad. i retrieve with my swim jig, 3/8 oz... when i retrieve the line and i'm practicing casting on a lawn, i apply moderate tension with my fingers in front of the reel... i'll try to notice if i'm tilting the reel or something... sometimes the line seems level; othertimes, pretty lopsided...

lessee.... so, day 1, i spool up the slx reel... actually, the line ends up lopsided --- most of the line is on the ls of the reel...day 2, i walked the line out, and i think i was able to get it even again. i practiced casting on a lawn, all brakes on, about .6 oz lead. day 3, since casting went so well, went fishing. went great, a couple little birdie nests. no fish, though. i turned off two of the brakes. i had loaded the reel w 10# mono (tried getting #15, but delayed indefinitely). the slx rod seems to cast 3/8 oz fine. at this point, i can cast about 40 or 50 feet. i wanted the rod, which is my first bait caster, to be a couple steps (in terms of 'backbone' and lure weight) up from my spinning gear. i feel like this rod, a mh, fits the bill. i don't like how the handle is so small though.. i used to play tennis (even played with wooden rackets, way back then) and may get some tennis grip tape to put on the handle. maybe a couple questions -- why does the line sometimes end up lopsided more on the LS of the reel? and i don't get why the slx mh rod specifies power pro rating of --- 20 to 50#. as a newbie to BC's - the rod doesn't seem strong enough to handle 50# line... the mono rating is 10 to 20#, which seems totally reasonable.... thanks for all your help and suggestions... wow - this baitcasting is not bad..........

most people here no a lot more than i about spinning reel maintenance. but for elementary maintenance, every few trips, here's what i do... . this is assuming you fish in fresh water. i have 3 in 1 oil, . cleaning - i might use alcohol as a solvent, or just wipe at stuff with a rag. q tips are handy, as are rags. i oil the roller bearing - maybe check it for water first... i think some try wd40, which displaces water. and where the bail pivots on the reel - two points, i think. i carefully wipe away all excess oil on the roller bearing, to prevent it from getting on the line. i'm careful to not get my reels coated with sand or grit --- but new reels generally just work great and just need minor maintenance, as above... for annual maintenance, i suppose i may dissasemble the reel to an extent, and add more oil or grease, penn grease for me, to other areas --- that's another topic, to me. but once you been just taking care of simple stuff, you'll graduate to dissasembly, if that's your thing... be sure you can get your reel back together... some recommend taking photos of the dissasembly.

i explained the situation pretty calmly and plainly to them. which is, usps stated it was delivered, but i checked all around my house and no trace. i even looked the next morning, lol. the reps stance was: you can file a police report, contact your po, etc. no apology. nothing. to me, it was clear they felt it was all on me, not them. when it left them, it was not their concern anymore. if it's that bad with a wrong delivery, i can't imagine what it would be like with damaged goods or a return. personally, i don't want that kind of potential headache. but i think i'm, maybe like others, kind of naive... i expect if there's a problem with a shipment, that the seller will make good. now, i no ------------ they don't have to, actually. just wondering what others experience or expect. and the stuff i got wasn't even *that* expensive... although $139 is not nothing... i guess it's back to good old jeff bezos. maybe we can send him to mars next... (he went into space recently).

thanks guys! i decided on the slx combo (altho i wasn't that thrilled with the shipper's customer service..." it'll be a new experience learning baitcasting!! and i just my PB a couple days ago, on my spinning rod. i was trying out some of the jigs i want to use on my baitcaster. and then i just graduated from fry to minnow on this great forum.... my life is fulfilled....!!!...lol.. this is a nice resource. happy jigging!!

just wondering what you guys accept in terms of safety of receiving (expensive) fishing stuff online. i've chiefly dealt with big retailers, and never had problems. if a shipment is damaged - they generally accept responsibility. no problem. if i return something - no problem. i don't recall what's happened with missed deliveries, etc... just bought a slx baitcasting combo online from a retailer i've never dealth with before. part of it was misdelivered. when i called, the attitude from the retailer was - you can file a police report, contact your post office, etc. it's all on me. they did their job. all on me once it's shipped in my general direction. i'm pretty inclined not to shop with them again. i did receive the rest of my shipment, after a trip to my post office, but with 'customer service' like that --- i ain't happy. and, if i needed to return something that was damaged, or simply wanted to return the items under their return policy, --- i wouldn't expect 'smooth sailing'. i don't need that aggravation. experiences? happy shopping and shipping

how's the sensitivity? i'm pretty new at this, but this seems to be what people value in a rod... since i'm planning on using jigs, plastics, chatters, texas... i assume most or all of these like sensitivity... thanks! sensitivie fishing!

Thanks! Yes, pretty clear.

thanks for the replies... i'll keep in mind that the SLX might be a little heavy for their ratings... as i said, i'm looking for something to fish around grass, which i avoid with my spinning setup. @T2DMwhat size jerkbaits do you use with your medium SLX, and what else do you do with it? for example, texas rigs, and what weight? happy fishing...

looking for any advice, tysm. i'm a relatively new seeker of large mouths, and want to try bait casting. i've been using spinning gear, using ned rigs, trick worms, spinners, pretty light weight stuff. i'd like to try bait casters for slightly heavier things that i gather are not ideal for spinning gear - heavier plastics, texas rigs, heavier lures... just, in my mind, the next one or two or three steps up. but not super heavy. i fish a lot in smaller ponds --- less than 10 acres, in california. so - not the HUGE fields of grass in other parts of the country, but definitely some. i've avoided the grass with my lightweight spinning gear. so i'm thinking of a perigee 2, 7' MH and M twin tip type rod, and gather that the slx tatula is a nice reel... i think that outfit is about $70 plus $130, so $200 total. or the combo people seem to like, the shimano slx, 7' MH one piece rod, with a slx reel. total is about $140. so, a large price differential, but that's not a big issue. altho, saving money is nice...! i'm leaning a little away from the one piece, or maybe i need to get used to it. for the first time i didn't take apart my two piece 7 footer, and in my honda accord the tip gets in the way, as it extends up to the back of the driver seat. i figure breakage at some point is possible.... idk if i'm comparing apples to oranges, but yeah, i'm wondering about the cost differential of $200 vs $140, whether the perigee 2 with two tips is better or worse than the one piece slx rod, and the difference between the slx reel and the tatula. thanks a lot, and happy fishing.

so, i figure i'll be in between @schplurg (10# MF) and @PhishLI (40# braid min) and start from somewhere in there. for rods, i understand lure weight, but only now maybe understand line weight. i figure if you're using #50 braid, your rod should support that amount of weight. i see BC rods that list this on them. but most BC reels seem to go around 12# or less drag --- i found one with around #20 drag. 50# line would be way over this..... i've never used a baitcaster - so what am i missing here? thanks --- i been watching various videos and forums, maybe i'm totally missing something really basic...

k.. well, i'm thinking of a daiwa tatula 100, with a kastking perigee 2, 7' fast/h 14-25 lb line, 1/2 to 1 1/2 oz lure, 2 piece rod... unsure about the line at this point. i'd guess 30 to 50#? how does that sound for fishing around these grass mats? ty blake --- i'm a little old for the tube route, but sounds like fun....

um,,, ok... thanks for the replies... ok, so 30# or stronger line, get the fish on top, out of the weeds... and pull.... try to keep him up top... but, yeah, i guess you need strong line simply for the weeds, not the fish, and i guess the occasional snag. and if the fish gets under the weeds -- and you're on the bank --- you're going to have to clear out quite a bit of weed to get the fish, heaving and maybe poking at it, unless you can just (luckily) pop the fish out. so i get that this is what you want to avoid....! if you're fishing in the weeds with 1 to 2 oz weights -- is the line even heavier??? like 50#? i'm going to have to start lifting some dumb bells.... happy landscaping!

i fish a 10 acre lake nearby, in the bay area, california. now that it's almost september, there's a four to six foot wide mat of weed along the shore. very few, if any breaks. idk what kind of weed -- an example is a longish, reddish stemmed one, with small leaves. there's another with smaller leaves, but also with long stems. if you pull on the mat, everything comes up - especially if you're under the mat, of course. so if i fish beyond the mat into clear water, and get a fish, how do i get it past that mat, and to me, on the bank? clearing out the mat is difficult. all i can think of would be pulling the fish so he's on top of the water, and pulling him along the top of the mat. i haven't tried this yet. i have gotten a fish who got into the mat. that was a mess.... i think he survived, though. i'd like to fish right on the other side of the mat, from me --- but again, if a fish gets into the matt - i don't look forward to that. i'm currently fishing very light tackle, ned rigs, worms, etc... i'm guessing this technique might not work around these mats, and i might need some heavy tackle. thanks so much.

it takes 20 minutes to drive to my local 7 acre pond. i fish for about an hour or two.