BreamMeUpScotty

Got 2 favourite outfits.. Loomis Dropshot 2-4kg coupled to Certate 2000 with 6 pound fireline and for a lighter outfit, a 7ft Loomis IMX coupled to a Biomaster 1000 with 4 pound fireline. Light enough to cast all day and capable of landing big fish in full confidence.

I usually don't think about how much I spend on plastics because I'll buy a couple of packs here and a couple of packs in a different shop the next day. I don't have one big outlay in one place unless its on sale big time. This way the conscience doesn't bug me but when I put it all together in the one box, it looks like I've spent a couple of hundred bucks, maybe more, so far. Scary! I have different favourites for different conditions and target fish so they all justify being in my box. Atomic Fat Grubs - my fav when I want to use single tail grubs, perfect size-wise and action. Sliders & Ecogear grass minnows - when I want paddle tails Berkley Bass Minnows - preferred stickbaits Berkley Gulp Minnows - when bass minnows need the extra oooomphhh in smell. Squidgy Fish - when I don't feel like using up bass minnows on them useless couta, the squidgies don't seem to work for me anywhere else. I wouldn't use the ebay ones because I'm confident with the current ones I'm using. You get what you pay for is a rule I'd always use. I'd rather pay good money for a pack of 10 SPs that catch fish than pay half that price for twice the number of lures that is only good for christmas decorations.

The reason I used INOX is because I was told INOX doesn't affect the fish behaviour. I'm fussy that way too to the point where I absolutely hate putting on sun block even because I think fish can sense it through their lateral line. This is where I believe scents like Spike-it or Yum is handy. If it doesn't serve to attract fish, at least it will mask the scents that I emit after coming in contact with sunblock, inox, or even my naturally emitted pheromones...

I've used the certate the last 3 weekends in salt water and gave the drag a pretty good workout on the local trevally population. Came back after that and spent more time than I should trying to make sure there is no salt left. Basically used a wet cloth and wiped the whole reel and a dry cloth after that to wipe dry the reel. Then I removed the spool and ran only the line part of the spool under very slow (a bit more than dripping) flowing tap and lightly rubbing the line as the water flows through. Also ran the line roller section under the slow tap and then dried the whole thing. 2 questions: Is that sufficient for cleaning the reel or is there more I should do? and does the wiping down the reel and drying it remove the INOX?

I did what Kevvie suggested, removed all the line, sprayed it with INOX and put the line back on. Spraying the reel all over with INOX, now, is there a way of spraying too much on or too little on? Basically, what I've done is a quick spray of INOX all over and then I use a paper towel to dry the excess bits otherwise it almost looks like it'll drip oil. Still leaves behind a coat of inox I reckon (or hope) and that's all that's required I take it? I don't think I'll ever bring myself to do what swoffa does. When one of Swoffa's certate dies, he goes out and buys 2 more... I reckon this is the one and only certate I'll ever be allowed to have.... the missus has a pretty tight rein on the purse strings. This certate will have to last a long time..

IS there some area you don't spray INOX on? OR do you basically spray it on every part of the reel? I'm not going soak it in inox but I was just wondering if it spraying inox on some part may actually do more harm than good.

Leaving the spool and line in a container with water - won't that force water into the drag and salt with it?

I've gotten myself some INOX for this purpose, where do I spray it on and where do I avoid spraying it on?

Finally bit the bullet and got myself a Certate 2000 after previously using reels which cost no more than $200. Best thing I've used and worth every cent I paid for it but after a session in saltwater, I remembered again why I'd gladly pay $600 for a rod but hesitated to pay more than $200 for a reel. The cleaning of it baffles me no end. I want to clean it so that the salt doesn't kill it as I can't afford to replace a certate as easily as I can a Stradic so how do you properly wash down the reel after use in the salt so it not only lasts a long time but the smoothness of it stays? I've asked around and the responses I get just makes me more confused. Some said to tighten the drag up and then rinse it under a running tap. Others say that will force the salt in deeper into the mechanics of it. Others say use a sponge with a little hand soap, tighten drag and sponge it all over and then rinse with wet sponge to clear off soap, yet others will say use the misty sprinkler to lightly rinse it.. I know the certate says its washable and is better sealed than many other reels, so what is the best way to wash them down? Also, another problem I had in the past was corrosion building up in the spool due to saltwater that "sticks" onto the line and when winded in, saltwater gets "trapped" and rinsing doesn't get rid of it. It then reacts with the spool and hence, corrosion. How do you prevent that?

Swoffa, does this mean you plan to sell the Certate 2500R?

If I had around $250 and wanted to get a decent soft plastics outfit, here's what I'd go for: Berkley Dropshot rod 1-3kg 7ft Shimano Sahara 1000 Berkley Fireline 4 pound in pink or fluoro green 125yd Berkley Vanish 4 pounds leader fluorocarbon Berkley Vanish 6 pounds leader fluorocarbon How to set it all up: Tie on about a yard or 2 of some 6 pound mono line on the spool as backing before putting on the Fireline. This is because Fireline has no stretch and it doesn't grip the spool. Tie the Fireline to the mono using an albright knot and nip the excess. Fill up the spool with the Fireline. A 1000 size Shimano goes perfectly well with a 125yd spool of 4 pound Fireline without more than 2 yds of backing required. Any bigger the reel and you'll require more backing. Once full, join the Fireline to about 7 - 10 foot of the Vanish Leader using another Albright and its ready!

A point maybe to consider is that the cappy is slightly heavier than the stradic. Apart from that some swear by Daiwas and others by shimano and its almost six or half dozen to me..

With dropshotting you go through a lot more than if you use a jighead and thats a downside of dropshotting. However, you also get a lot more bites because you're in the strike zone for longer. The way you hook the bass minnow dropshotting is to lip hook the minnow and its prone to fish tearing it out of the hook in a bite frenzy. You might get away with rigging it up like the jighead way on a dropshot, ie. enter the minnow from the centre of the head and through the body so that ore of the hook is inside the minnow. I'll put up with the losses because you can't really put a price tag on FUN!

I like the Berkley Gulp Minnows 3 inch for snapper. They're like the bass minnows but have a lot more scent about them. If you're fishing in fast current or deep water where your traditional jighead doesn't get into the strike zone long enough, try dropshotting with a heavier sinker... It works..

Looking at your title, I was thinking to myself, isn't it a little cold to be canoeing? Then I read the rest of the posts... Brrrr.. I put the kayaking idea aside for a while until it warms up a little. Even in summer here, I have to pick my days to go out kayaking...