ABC123

I've done it all, swivels, Norman speed clips, Dual lock's, tied directly on, all with and without the split ring. I think I have concluded that my favorite is the Norman speed clip without the split ring. A close second is the dual lock.

6'6"-7'0" MH or H fast action rod, your choice of brand, with your choice of brand reel. Keep an eye on the poll about the best MH rod for choices on rods. If your in heavy cover a lot, trying a braid might be worth your while. I think you'll find using a floro leader is more of an opinion than a requirement. I like to use them for a couple reasons. 1) I can find damage easier and can replace it without giving up much of my main line. 2) I feel a bit more confident in the invisibility of the set up vs. direct tied braid.

I have a few Yo-zuri questions as I am already planning my setups for next year. I like to plan ahead in case I find off season sales at stores like Cabela's. 1) Is Yo-Z along the same lines as Trilene XT, and Yo-Z soft along the lines of XL?? I understand that Yo-Z is a floro/nylon blend, I am looking at the managability aspects. For example, soft on spinning gear and regular on baitcasters?? 2) I have only seen clear soft and green regular, can you get either type in either color? Which do you think would be better for average stained waters. I'm thinking the green would be fine. 3) I'm thinking 6lb test would be good enough on spinning gear, would 12 be enough for baitcasters or will the 15+ be needed. I was going to go with mono on my new baitcaster setup, but now I'm thinking I want to try the Yo-Z. Right now my thinking is I want two spools of Yo-Z for my spinning rigs. One for my smaller cranks rod, and one for my worm/plastics rod. Another spool will have braid and a floro leader for worms/plastics in cover (I have 6 spools and three reels). The baitcaster will be handling the larger baits, 5/8oz+ cranks, spinners, topwaters, ect...

My boat. It's nothing fancy, but without it, I would miss out on a lot of fishing opportunities.

When I was a kid, there was alway's set ups to use where ever I went. My first, all my own set up, was one I still have/use. A Berkley Avenger glass rod w/pistol grip and a Shimano Bantam Mag 10Xsg. Somewhere around '82??? It was mothballed for a few years in favor of spinning gear, but lately I had been using it again for crankbaits. Pulled in many Northern Pike, among other fish, with that combo. It was used in a few states and Canada in it's lifetime.

I use the MBR844C, but from the looks of it, he doesn't want to spend that much... Yeah, I'm sure, but he did say, in a previous post, he wanted to try a Loomis. ;D

Loomis MBR 844C or 845C...in GLX.

Al Lindner and his colleagues use Berkley line and plastics almost exclusively. They use Rapala for the majority of their cranks and jerkbaits. Al and his group are subtle but they are pushing products just the same. There is nothing wrong with this as it is necessary to pay for the show and make a living. I would say that their method of promoting products is the one I like the most since it is so subtle. Back to the subject of the thread . . . . I would add Rick Clunn to some of the names already mentioned. Al and Ron Linder, part of the original Nisswa Guides league along with some guy named Gary Roach. Quite a few well known fishing personalities from my neck of the woods. IIRC, the inventor of Lowrance sonar equipment was part of that group too. I'm going to throw out the name O.G. Schmidt as someone who left a mark on the sport of fishing that is irreplaceable, and never strived for fame while doing it. His company though, is one of the most recognized names in fishing.

Oh no, make no mistake about it, they know EXACTLY what they are doing! People think they have more money than you, or just flat out think they are superior, which, in turn, allows them to think they can do what they want. Pure selfishness. You see it all the time on the road, on the lake, walking in a store, it's the direction Americans are heading, and it's only going to get worse.

Sten is owned by Vicious. They have come out with a several new lines all under Vicious brand. I think the way it goes is, Pure fishing owns the NAME Stren, but Vicious owns the production facility that made Stren before the sale. Vicious is now producing the same line that was Stren, but under their own name.

Shimano Bantam Mag 10Xsg was the first baitcaster I owned. I think I got it in '82?? I still have that reel, and it still works fine. It was mothballed for quite a few years. It did see a LOT of action in the '80's though.

I use the egg/tear drop shaped ones.

Well, My Flewgrrrr spinning reels have served me quite well, and a Supreme looked very likely to end up on a rod of mine, but, right now, I'm willing to spend the extra $90 for the Revo Premier. I just wish Sportsmans warehouse had them in stock. I have that $50 card burning a hole in my wallet.

He's got right handed reels?

The "ACTION" also impacts casting distance. To the extent that a rod is "fully loaded" the leverage is significantly increased. Yes, an exfast's tip will accelerate a lure to speed faster than a fast's tip, and a fast's tip will accelerate a lure to speed faster than a moderate action's tip, but if the length of the rod is the same, the speed at the end of the cast will be the same, if the casters wrist/arm is a contant.

Many years ago I used black Berkley nylon braided line on my baitcaster. Caught many fish with that set up. I happen to still have the remaining spool. I guess I figured I might use it for something some day.

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, I'll use Shimano Stradics as an example (a popular reel). I use a reel that is under 8 oz, a lot of casting reels are in the 8 oz range too. In order to get a Stradic to use 14 lb line, your over 13oz for a reel, to use 16+, your over 21 oz's!!!!! That's a lot of reel. For me that would have been nearly 2-3 times the weight. I'm not trying to sway your decison, just giving you something to think about when deciding. Something that ended up being an important factor for me.

Length is the biggest factor in casting distance when the rod is the only factor in the equation. The longer the rod, the faster the tip speed when the arm and/or wrist speed remains constant. There are many other factors like wind/weather, guides, line, reel, action, power, lure size-weight-shape, ect... but the largest factor remains the length.

I struggled with the spinning vs. casting debate for awhile. I really thought I wanted to be an exclusive spinning reel fisherperson. Here is what I ened up concluding. I didn't want the added weight of the larger reel required to use the larger baits. I decided that using lighter baitcasters is a better option than larger, heavier spinning reels. I had, in years past, a larger spinning reel for larger baits, so I knew what I would be getting into if I bought a new larger spinning reel. Ultimately, that was a deciding factor in having both baitcasters and spinning reels. Others may not mind the added weight/bulkyness of the larger reels, but I was not interested using that type of equipment again.

I don't want to get into the middle of a brand/quality arguement, but I will say this subject came up a couple times on an 'Eye site I visit. A few people had complaints. I'm wondering if this is why the big "redesign" is coming. There are a lot of people who just love them too. The reason why I don't own Shimanos anymore is when I went to upgrade my fleet of reels, I bought a Stradic. Got home and took it out of the box and started to play with it. I couldn't get the bail to lock back over without a lot of effort. I took it back and found others on the rack were like that too. I got the Pflueger Supremes and never looked back.

I used to have a couple reels with them, one Shimano, and one Diawa. I never had an issue with them. Guy I fish with uses them with Lightning rods. It's an item that needs to be maintained so it can work smoothly. I have to admit, everytime this subject comes up, the majority of people had issue with them, so I'm a little leary of recommending them, but again, I had no problem with them.

There is no such thing. Some retail associates are better than others, but they are not professional "line spoolers". Ain't that the truth. Sometimes when I'm in a store and they are spooling up line, I get visions of melted mono wrapped around the spool. It sounds like a jet taking off when they fire up the machine. I got one of those $25 Berkley spoolers. It's not the best item on the market, but if you take your time and set it up correct, it will do just as good, if not a better job, than anything else.

That's the item Slomoe, thanks. Raul, yeah, I'd like to make more stuff, but I'm in the process of moving, so I think it will be atleast 2 years before I'm done moving, and settled into the new place to the point I can do things like that. Most likely going to be building myself.

20 series is plenty of reel for panfish, unless you need to cast unusually long distances, then moving up one size may be required. Going with a 5'6" rod, I wouldn't think casting distance is a priority. As far as the rod goes, there are a lot of rods in that price range. BPS and Cabela's store brands, Shimano, Fenwick, St Croix, ect... You just missed the Cabela's sale on their store brands, but BPS's sale is going strong still. BPS is clearing out the 6 foot light Bionic blade and the 5'6" UL. They also have the Extreme XPS on sale with a 5'6" light being one of them on sale. After all that, if you like the Clarus, by all means, get another one. I hear/read they are good rods.

I seen reference to an item that can be put on a hook and/or jig and turn it into a shakey head. Any info on how to aquire some would be most appreciated. Thanks.