Indiana Smallmouth

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There are some that send their reels off to be maintained yearly and there certainly is nothing wrong with doing so. That being said, if you have slight mechanical abilities and can read a reel schematic, yearly reel maintenance can be done easily. All it takes is a handful of small hand tools (small straight blade, phillips screwdrivers, eyeglass repair kit calibur screwdriver and some needlenose plyers), tooth picks, paper clips, Qtips, some reel grease, reel oil, a shot glass, a container of lighter fluid and a reel schematic. A good source of schematics is
Southwestern Parts
When visiting their website, click the manufacturer in the left pane which will link to a page where you can select a model and view the schematic. You can also purchase parts if needed from Southwestern.

This post will not be a 100 percent step by step on the procedure but will give some general instructions. This post will focus on a baitcasting reel. Step one is to prepare your work area. You will want to do this on a clean table top in a contained area. If you should happen to have a spring, clip or other small part fly away on you, take every precaution to make locating it easier. I like to cover my table area with white paper to make locating parts on the tabletop easier. Though not shown in these pictures, I have now moved to a table top tray designed for eating food at the easy chair. It has a raised lip all the way around to contain the parts and lessen the possibility that parts could end up rolling off the work surface.
Start by completely disassembling the reel. I like to lay the parts out in the order they came apart paying particular attention to every detail. Some screws are longer than others and need to go back where they came from, particularly on palm plates. Be careful when removing Eclips and retaining washers, they can shoot off on you and be gone forever. I use eyeglass repair kit screwdrivers to carefully pry them away with one finger covering the part to prevent it from flying to oblivion.

Once apart, you will want to use a mild cleanser and an old toothbrush to remove dirt and old lubrication. I like to use Simple green as a cleaner/degreaser. Remove bearings carefully. Stubborn bearings can be removed with a paperclip bent with an small L bend in one end. Be careful not to damage the bearing by scoring its surfaces. Take the bearings and soak them in a shotglass of lighter fluid. This will loosen old lube and dirt. Periodically swish the bearings in the solution, changing to clean fluid when it becomes soiled. Once clean, remove them and allow them to dry thoroughly. When dry, spin them on a pencil tip to ensure free spinning. If they are noisy or do not spin freely, replace them. Now it is time for reassembly and relube. Simply reassemble in the opposite order, taking great care to assemble all parts correctly. Refer to schematic if you become confused. Lubrication is key and using the right lube in specific areas is important.


Drive Gears=grease
Spool bearings=oil
Crank Shaft Bearings=grease
Worm Shaft and Pawl=grease
Worm Shaft ends=grease
Cast control bearings and Isolators=oil
Pinion Gear and Release/Engage Mechanism=grease
Clutch Bar=Grease
Centrifugal Weight Spokes and Race=light oil
Use lubrication sparingly. Any excessive lube will end up where it shouldnt be which can contaminate other lubes and affect performance. There are several brands of lubes on the market. I have been using Quantum Hot Sauce on my reels for years and have had great luck with it. I have been maintaining my own reels form many years and have several reels that are over 15 years old and they perform as well today as they did when they were new. Once your reels are properly cleaned and lubed, there are certain areas that are easily accessible without dissassembly that you should check from time to time. Bearings such as cast control bearings, spool bearings and centrifugal races should be lightly oiled as needed throughout the season. Never submerse your reel in water and never lay it on the ground if there is any sand/grit that could find its way in the reel. If you perform a complete teardown yearly and periodic lubrication, your reels should give you many years of faithful service. Though design varies slightly by manufacturer, most modern baitcasting reels are designed the same and have very similar components. After you have done your arsenal once or twice you will be a pro.

Even experienced anglers experience “professional overruns” from time to time. This is a great tip that really works for getting out backlashes quickly and easily without putting damaging crimps and kinks in your line. I personally have used this trick one time that I got a backlash a few years ago and it worked like a champ. And if you believe that I have only had one in so many years, dream on.

I am a huge Lindner fan and watch Angling Edge pretty regularly. This is a great clip from a recent show on topwater smallie action. This is a great video with some great smallie attacks on top. Enjoy!!

The guy’s at White River Bassmasters are holding their annual first tournament of the year this coming Saturday at Geist Reservoir. The weather is going to be beautiful so grab a partner, or fish alone and head on out have some fun before the lake becomes crowded. You can get more information by going to their website

If you’re an avid smallmouth fisherman and care about the resource, please stop in and visit the Smallmouth Alliance for their annual fund raiser. Great speakers and awesome raffles. Make a difference and have a great meal all in one place.

A MUST FOR ANY SERIOUS SMALLMOUTH FISHERMAN

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — If several hundred spectators hadn’t been there to witness it firsthand, both from the water and from the bank, it would be hard to believe how easily Kevin VanDam won his third Bassmaster Classic crown this week at Alabama’s Lay Lake.

In an era when increasingly specialized electronics and 70-plus mph boats are considered indispensable on the Bassmaster Elite Series, the simple fact is that VanDam probably could have won this tournament out of a jon boat with a 9.9-horsepower outboard.

James Overstreet
VanDam holds the trophy as confetti begins to fall. “I didn’t have to work my equipment very hard,” VanDam said. “But I certainly did during practice.”

Based on past experiences, he believed that the coontail in the backs of creeks and pockets had the potential to produce the winning weight. He said that he scoured the lake “dam to dam” with his side-imaging sonar looking for such areas and only found two other places where it existed, although neither was quite as sexy as the back of Beeswax Creek.

He mined a large spawning flat in the back of Beeswax for three days and delivered three limits that totaled 51 pounds, 6 ounces. He outlasted Jeff Kriet, Todd Faircloth, Russ Lane and 47 others to take home the trophy to an increasingly crowded mantle.

In many respects, it was déjà vu all over again for the Kalamazoo, Mich., angler. He found the area during practice for the 2007 Classic, which was chilly like this year’s, but a warming trend at the end of the prefishing period spread the fish out.

This year the cold persisted through the first two days of the tournament and lasted long enough to keep the bass buttoned up in the back of Beeswax. The 2007 Classic was also the event when he introduced the Strike King Red Eye shad to the world. It produced a third-place finish that week, but it’s come through multiple times since then, including this most recent event.

He used gold and gold sexy shad hues to match the gizzard shad that choked his chosen fishing area. Using his GPS, he marked key stumps and shellbed points and when the bait bounced off those key pieces of structure, he let it flutter down to generate strikes. He said he caught seven bass off a single stump.

“Well, this was a challenging week weatherwise. I’ve had a lot of success in Alabama over the years,” VanDam said of his seventh Classic in the state. “It’s always eluded me. I love fishing these lakes.”

VanDam was also appreciative of the fishing-savvy fans in the state, saying the throngs of spectators gave him room to win. “In 1992, when I won my first AOY, what I remember about Alabama is the fans,” he said. “One of the main reasons I was able to catch what I did was the fans. I was fishing in the back in Beeswax Creek and the fans were very courteous.”

James Overstreet
At 8:24 a.m., Kevin VanDam he put his second 4-pounder in the boat on Sunday en route to a 19-7 day.The victory wasn’t wire to wire: VanDam led after Day One but trailed Kriet by 2 ounces after the second day. When they launched Sunday, he was only a single ounce ahead of Faircloth. All three fished almost exclusively in Beeswax, but VanDam’s fish proved the most reliable, plentiful and sizable over the course of three days.

If VanDam’s legacy as the greatest fisherman alive wasn’t already cemented, then this week’s victory adds another weatherproof brick to the wall. He now trails only Rick Clunn (four) on the all-time Classic victory list. Only three other anglers, Bobby Murray, Hank Parker and George Cochran, have won more than once.

VanDam also has five Bassmaster Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year awards, including the past two. Furthermore, he’s only 42 and may not have peaked yet.

VanDam boated Sunday’s big bag of 19-7 to weather the charge by Kriet, who totaled 46-6. Todd Faircloth finished third with 44-2 while Lane made a major jump in the standings with 18-1 Sunday to take fourth with 43-12.

VanDam’s Day One and Day Three bookend limits of 19-8 and 19-7 were the only bags to eclipse the 19-pound mark. His area was so chock-full of bass, he said, that on the first day of competition he “threw back a 15-pound bag and a 14-pound bag and a 13-pound bag.”

Despite falling water and increased spectator galleries, VanDam remained confident all three days.

“Some people worry about anything and everything,” he said. “I don’t worry about things that I can’t control.”

It appeared that the only thing that could shake VanDam’s confidence was a matter of simple mathematics. After 20 Classics, he’s only won three times. As a batting average, that would be poor, but compared to his competitors, he’s Ted Williams. “In this sport, you’re going to lose a lot more than you win,” he said.

At this point, that provides little consolation to the rest of the field, all of whom would give anything to win anywhere near as often as VanDam does.

LIVING THE DREAM

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — There’s a buzz in Beeswax.

Jeff Kriet of Ardmore, Okla., leads the Bassmaster Classic on Lay Lake with a two-day limit of 32 pounds, 1 ounce. Fishing lipless crankbaits in Beeswax Creek with two others close behind, Kriet said he’s out to obtain a breakthrough win.

Coming into the event trailing Day 1 leader Kevin VanDam by 3 pounds, 1 ounce, Kriet surged ahead with the day’s heaviest limit — a 15-10 sack of largemouth. Kriet focused most of his effort on a 200-yard stretch of the creek in about 5½ feet of water. He said the sweet spots had a grassy bottom and stumps near a slight roll-off.

James Overstreet
Jeff Kriet jumps on stage showing some confidence.”I caught 11 keepers, but it’s slow,” Kriet said. “It’s cold and there’s a lot of pressure. I watched [Todd] Faircloth catch a couple and I watched VanDam catch a couple of his. I know that if any one of us had it to ourselves, it would be a blowout.

“Tomorrow, I’ll just grind it out until I can’t grind anymore. I know a lot of other guys would like to be where I’m sitting and I appreciate those guys — and they know who they are — who stayed off of me.”

Kriet acknowledged a tight race, but said he has confidence in what Sunday holds for him.

“I think I have a chance,” he said. “It’s about time I won one of these.”

In second place, VanDam trails Kriet by 2 ounces with 31-15. VanDam began his day power fishing the sunny cove off Beeswax Creek where he did his Day 1 damage. He tried other spots, but finished his day back in Beeswax. VanDam’s limit weighed 12-7.

“The lake changed a lot,” VanDam said, noting a depth drop of about a foot. “It got tougher today with those high, bright skies.

“I’m not going to die in one place tomorrow. I have other places to look at.”

Sitting just an ounce behind KVD, Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, dropped a notch to third place with a 13-12 limit that gave him a 31-14 total. Also working in Beeswax, Faircloth caught most of his fish on a Sebile Flats Shad in hollow green color.

“It’s a grind out there — we’re all fishing the same area,” Faircloth said. “I feel like if you could let something rest for 30 minutes to an hour and come back to it, you could catch one or two. But it’s just not getting much of a rest.”

Improving from seventh place, Michael Iaconelli is in fourth with 26-12. Ike caught two largemouths on a vibrating Lazer Lure in spicy shad and a pair of spots on Berkley Shaky Worm rigged on a 3/16-ounce Tru-Tungsten Iky Head.

Russ Lane of Prattville, Ala., gained four spots to place fifth with 25-11. Lane caught his fish on an Excalibur XR50 rattlebait in Foxy Shad, a Strike King Red Eye Shad in Sexy Shad and a ¾-ounce flipping jig with a Biobait YoMama trailer.

Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., placed sixth with 24-9, Takahiro Omori was seventh with 24-5, Matt Herren took eighth with 23-6, Brent Chapman finished ninth at 21-2 and James Niggemeyer rounded out the top 10 with 20-7.

Jason Quinn of Lake Wylie, S.C., secured the final top-25 spot with 15-9. After placing 35th on Day 1 with two fish weighing 5-12, Quinn moved up 10 notches on Day 2 with a four-fish bag weighing 9-13.

Despite pleasant conditions of light breezes and rapidly warming temperatures, Day 2 saw a sharp decline in productivity. Total fish caught dropped from 189 on Day 1 to 153, with limits slipping from 30 to 19. Greg Hackney, who blanked Saturday, theorized that he saw too much of a good thing too soon.

“I think the fish were so cold for a week and today they were lying out there getting a sun tan,” Hackney said.

Omori, who missed his limit by one fish and dropped two spots, lamented a lackadaisical bite.

“It was a lot different today,” Omori said. “The fish were missing the bait today. They just weren’t taking it.”

Sunday’s forecast for continued sunshine should bring more stability as the fish start to adjust. If the water level remains consistent, those with stout rods and heavy baits may find the home run they need.

“Every minute this sun stays warm, we get close to the big females moving up,” said Herren, who improved 10 places from 18th on Day 1. “The flipping bite should get good.”

Dean Rojas, who made the cut at 23rd place, found some warm water and enjoyed some topwater action with his signature series Spro Frog.

“I have a little pocket with 58-degree water and I had two fish come up and eat the frog,” Rojas said. “It’s supposed to get warmer tomorrow, so [the frog] will probably get some more action.”

Day one Leader Kevin Vandam

Can he hand on for a thrid title?

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — No one enters the Bassmaster Classic to work on a tan, but the 51 competitors who took to Lay Lake were undoubtedly pleased to see a day of sunshine. After a tough practice marred by extremely cold conditions, the sun came out and the fish started biting.

Kevin VanDam Bassmaster Classic
James OverstreetKevin VanDam leads after Day 1, a far cry from his dismal 45th-place start in 2009.
Daytime temperatures reached the upper 50s, and that warmed the shallow creeks where largemouth like to roam. Moreover, a full day of intense sunlight sent the invigorating radiation into the water column to stimulate some of the fish that had been laying low. Thirty anglers found limits, and only three blanked.

Two-time Classic champion Kevin VanDam grabbed the early lead with a limit weighing 19 pounds, 8 ounces. Understandably guarded with his details, VanDam said he was using a trio of baits to “effectively cover the range of water in the area that I’m fishing.”

With the lake temperature remaining in the low to mid-40s, VanDam said he found the fish mostly concentrated in small areas, but he expects the next two days — with more sunny conditions in the forecast — to see the fish spreading out.

“People see the big weights that some of us caught and they may think that fishing’s easy, but it’s not — it was a struggle today,” VanDam said. “You’d catch several fish and then go two hours without catching another one.”

VanDam said Day 2 could see big movement in the leaderboard.

“Lay Lake is full of fish,” he said. “This lake has the potential to produce a 25-pound bag, so anyone within 10 pounds of the lead has a chance to win.”

Behind VanDam was Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, who caught a limit weighing 18-2. Fishing reaction baits, he caught about 10 keepers — a mix of spots and largemouth. Faircloth secured his limit of spots by about 10 a.m., then upgraded with three largemouth.

“I was just covering some water and staying in the four areas that I have confidence in,” Faircloth said. “I fished three of them today, and I caught fish in two of them.

“I caught them better than I thought I was going to catch them today. Practice was tough for me. I caught some fish, but I wasn’t getting a whole lot of bites.”

In third place, Oklahoma pro Jeff Kriet fished mostly a Sebile Flats shad, but mixed up his presentation with a jerkbait. He caught a limit of 16-7 in a backwater creek.

Mike Iaconelli
James OverstreetMike Iaconelli, holding the big bass of the day at 6 pounds, 10 ounces, stands in seventh.
“I’m just grinding — I have a few key stretches and I’d hit them, catch a few fish, leave them and come back and catch some more,” Kriet said. “There’s a lot of fish there and I jerked on quite a few, but I felt like I had to. I just didn’t want to get behind.”

A shad die-off caused by the week’s cold weather still haunted many, as the fish had plenty of easy targets. However, Kriet said the area that he and his top two competitors fished appeared to have suffered little.

“I haven’t seen nearly as many shad dying in there as in other places,”he said.

Mississippi pro Cliff Pace sits just 4 ounces behind Kriet in fourth place with 16-3. Fifth place went to 2004 Classic winner Takahiro Omori who sacked up a limit of spotted bass that went 15-7.

Billy McCaghren of Mayflower, Ark., was in sixth with 15-4. Although he threw a lipless crankbait most of Day 1, he’s expecting a strong flipping bite on Day 2. He said if the fish will turn on in the grass, “It’s going to get good.”

In seventh place with 14-9 was Mike Iaconelli, the 2003 Classic winner. He earned the day’s big fish honors with his 6-pound, 10-ounce largemouth. The Pittsgrove, N.J., pro said he had his hands full when the hawg gobbled his finesse rig.

“I was kind of struggling before that fish, and when you get a big one on like that on light line, it leaves you breathless,” Iaconelli said.

Rounding out the top 10 were Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., with 14-3; Russ Lane of Prattville, Ala., with 14-1; and James Niggemeyer of Van, Texas, with 13-3.

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and the home town Colts will represent the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana in the NFL’s biggest game.

All I gott say is? Go Blue…..