Sunday 10/7

[John Pensyl]

Hit the Niagara with Cullen this am.  Started west river, had a fish pickup my brown monster tube right off the bat but didn't mange to find her face with my hooks.  Hammered a pretty wide area until about 10:45 when we decided to give it a shot down the east side. 

Barely shut off the motor and Cullen picked up a thick 36 on a ninja in un3.  20 minutes later just down river I picked up my biggest tiger, a nice 38 casting a obp deep toothy.  We continued down the east river and while I played with the little pike as they put on some nice aeriel displays trying to kill my hellhound in the weeds, Cullen picked up a nice mid 30's tiger snapping a stickbait along the weed edge from the back of the boat.  From there we shot across the river and hit one last weed bed.  Cullen carefully chose a random lure from the massive pile that accumulates in the back of the boat when we are out and managed a 33 on a jerkbait rigged tube, his 3rd skii of the day. 

All in all a good day, didn't find them until almost 11 but made the most of it when we did.  Also the first time we played with pike, tigers and pures in the same day. 

Who's next in line for the Tranx??  Thing is a beast and makes even the biggest baits seem like jr. thundersticks but honestly its not my style.  Its just too big and I don't fish twin 10s often enough to take advantage of it.  Also had a problem with it backlashing today, heavy baits I was fine but casting stickbaits into a light wind was a nightmare no matter how much I adjusted it.  Finally gave up and took it off.

[Frank Stachowiak]

Check with Scott about adjusting the spool for different weight baits.

[John Pensyl]

Yea I fine tuned it to no avail. Popped the side spool and adjusted the VBS weights 10 diff ways, tweaked the spool brake, thumbed it way more than I should have needed to. Lost way too much distance adjusting it the way it needed to be to prevent backslashes or constant thumbing with cowgirls and a depthraider in a light wind. Could cast tubes and perchbaits a mile without problem tho. I'm good, much prefer the fit and feel of a Toro.

[Josh Ketry]

Have you tried the Daiwa Lexa?  I don't like it for jigging but for casting it is really an ergonomic and light weight reel with a solid drag and fat crank handle. It isn't much good on the big 10 blades but for the medium and smaller stuff I like it even better than the Toros (although the Toros rock too)

[John Pensyl]

Have not played with a lexa yet but I'm sure I'd probably love it. Was going to pick one up for casting for kings but I got another revo offshore for free though the rewards program at work so I stuck with that.

[Joe Dolan]

Josh:  What gear ratio Lexa do you use?  I am thinking this is going to be my next reel.  The 7.1:1 ratio they offer sounds like it would be nice, but I am a little nervous that it could be too fast...I would love to hear your thoughts and anyone else's that have been using the Lexa.

--Joe 

[Scott McKee]

I bought a Lexa a few months ago and I really love it for casting minnow baits, crank baits (think Depthraider size), normal sized bucktails, Bull Dawgs and jigging in light winds when I can get away with one or two ounce jigheads.  (I tend to snag these less and the Lexa's limited line capacity won't get spooled.)  I have the 7:1 gear ratio model with the big handle (make sure you get the big handle).  The reel is very, very light and compact and it is "fun" to fish with for lack of a better term.  It casts very smoothly, but I sometimes feel I'm casting too far.  The spool capacity is so small and I lose a lot of cranking power on a bomb.  I wouldn't suggest a Lexa for throwing really large baits (especially cranks you want to burn in using just the reel) or double 10's, but for lures where you are just picking up line while working them with your rod, it excels.  I know you like hatchet jerkbaits and I bet it would be great in that capacity.  The reel is well worth the relatively small sticker price.  If you want to chuck big lures or huge blades, look elsewhere.  

Adam Kaz hipped me to this tip: Don't crank your drag down all the way when jigging with a Lexa.  They have a 22 pound drag maximum and snagged jigs will pop at the knot almost instantly, even with 80 pound line.

I plan on adding another Lexa to my batting order next year.  Good luck.

[Joe Dolan]

Thanks Scott,

I mainly throw jerk baits, twitch baits, glide baits, small bucktails, etc...so I am thinking this reel will be perfect!  I appreciate your info and am going to plan to make the purchase this week.

--Joe

[Scott McKee]

Picked mine up for $160 on E bay.