Yeah, I still have that darn baitcaster as I have used it for trolling with. I have found it real easy to let a charge of line out of it. It works great for that purpose.. I had a guy that wanted to buy it from me last year after he saw me getting frustrated with the darn thing. But, I hung onto it just the same. Just maybe some day I will fish with someone who can teach me how to use it..

I already have it on a MH 7 foot rod but, have never ever tried braided line on it.. In fact I have only used braided line on my tip-ups and jig sticks with a long leader.. Although my lead core line I use on lakers is sort of braided though.. I hear that you need to tie some sort of special knot in the line or it comes undone on you? Do you tie in a leader for that as well? What kind of braided line works on it? Will it still give me those messes from my back lashes? Nothing I dispise more than trying to fish and have to dig all that mess out right in the middle of it. Which in most cases is my first cast..

I agree with this statement I used to jig fish all the time using a rubber crayfish for smallmouths and it worked great for me.. Except one major problem.. They straighten my hooks out when I use them most of the time.

I used to take a rubber crsyfish and a few desent size rocks with me. When I thought I was in a decent location I would drop a few rocks in to stur up the bottom. Then I would drop my crayfish right down behind those rocks. I would start bouncing it off the bottom and wham-o! They would hit it fairly hard too.

We currently still have ice on most of our lakes right now. But it is going out rather quickly right now.