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Conventional Reels Dual Gear Ratios: The new Heavy Conventional Reels have 2 gear ratios. The lower ratio has more force, and the higher gear ratio has more speed. The higher ratio is used for lure presentation and fighting active fish. The lower gear ratio is used for fighting larger slow moving fish, or finishing the fight on large active fish when their stamina is depleted. Physical Differences: Conventional reels have a similar braking force to classic bait casters so what makes them special? They are heavier duty. The spools can hold more line, and additionally the breaking strain on the spool is typically more than a similarly sized classic baitcaster. Also due to better manufacture the gear wear is less. The difference in gearing can also reduce casting distance especially on heavier models. Are they better?: Conventional reels have advantages, but they are best for heavier fishing. If you are looking for long casting distances and faster retrieves - classic baitcasters may be a better choice. If you want to haul monsters, conventional reels may be better - especially if trolling.

Groundbait - What do they do and what are they good for? Everybody knows them. Everyone has worked with them before and made one or the other big catch through them: groundbaits. But how exactly do you use them? And how do they affect themselves? Do they really have any advantages or do they even scare off the fish? We have written this guide to give you clarity on some of the groundbait mechanics. Groundbaits are available for all occasions. You can throw them, put them in feeders, use them in rocket feeders or use PVA nets. Throwing: When throwing the ground bait hits the water surface and gives off particles to the bottom. It makes sense to throw several balls to increase the effect. In this method, one can either cover a larger area by scattering the mixtures or increase the attraction by throwing it repeatedly on the same area. Feeding baskets: In principle, they act like thrown ground baits. Through the respective basket, however, the particles are delivered at different speeds. The distribution differs depending on the basket. The more groundbait that fits in the basket, the greater the concentration of particles and the greater the attraction. Please pay attention to the description of the individual feed baskets because of the delivery and the quantity. Rocket Feeder: Also acts like thrown groundbait . The balls simultaneously fired with the rocket feeder have the same attraction as a corresponding number of individually thrown balls. The advantage of the rocket, however, is that you can throw quite a few balls of groundbait in exactly the same place and thus significantly increase the attraction there, while individually thrown balls always scatter within a certain radius. PVA net: This lure is a special kind. It spreads a kind of "feed carpet" on the ground. Spod Rods: These rods are a great way to get feeder rockets with multiple portions of groundbait simultaneously to the spots you want to fish. By clipping, you can adjust the ejection distance to the fishing rods and thus optimally offer the food. Because there is a larger amount of groundbait, there is a greater attraction. Special features: The addition of clay can slow down the delivery of the feed particles. Especially in flowing waters it has advantages, since otherwise the mixture would be washed away too fast and the attractant would no longer be in place. Frequently Asked Questions: Do mixtures in feeder baskets affect other rods? Yes, if the bait is within the working area of the filled feeder basket, the mixture also affects the other rod. PVA nets also affect other rods when their baits are in the attraction area. For example: I throw a rod with PVA net in one place. Since the particles from the net also rise, I can fish with a float rod in this area and thus benefit with this rod from the PVA net. Do I have to put a new mixture in the feeder basket each time? The effect of an already applied mixtures lasts for some time, depending on the circumstances (eg water flow, etc.). In theory, you do not have to add a new mixture immediately when the basket is empty, but it is of course quite difficult to hit the same spot with the bait exactly as before. So we recommend filling the feeder on each cast. How long do the mixtures work? The maximum duration of effect is specified for each stack. What is the radius of the sphere of action of the groundbait? Each groundbait ball has a radius of impact of 2.5 m. What is the radius of the PVA net? The PVA net also has 2.5 m effective radius Do the different stars in the ingredients affect the mixture? Yes. Take as an example cheese: You can use the processed cheese (1 star), or the loaf of cheese (4 stars). The loaf has over the processed cheese a more intense taste and thus has a better attraction than the processed cheese. Do the different methods add up? Yes. For example, if you use Feed Basket + PVA Net + Feed Rocket, you have far greater chances of attracting fish than just one of these methods (the mixes add up to a certain maximum). Examples: In the following sketches, the black circles represent the respective areas of effect of the mixtures, black lines represent basic rods, and the orange line is intended to represent a float rod. In the following picture, the baits are far apart, the individual spheres of influence have no influence on each other. Here, the rods were ejected quite close, the impact areas are superimposed: In this example, the angler uses the area of effect of a basic rod for his float rod:

Original German Posted May 1 2019 Link Dear Fishermen, today I would like to talk about the bait choice for predator fishing with artificial lures. First, let me introduce the two most important factors: Lure Shape: As you can easily see, baits are differently shaped. But basically we have two main categories, the compact shape and the elongated shape. The fish's preference must be found out by testing. Once you have caught your target fish with a form two to three times, you have identified the correct shape. Lure Colour: When you have found the right shape of your lures at a spot, the next question is the colour. How do you find the right one? Here, we consider the following different aspects: Predators being cannibals often prefer baits with a colour that resembles their own species. The Pike for example, greenish, or the Kuori char red-orange baits, no matter of the weather. Sometimes you may have the feeling that it is quite difficult to catch fish using naturally coloured baits, e.g. white or in blue/white fish-decor under clear weather conditions. Then it occasionally helps to chose a more stimulating colour such as yellow, red, or green. In principle, however, it can be said: Clear Weather Conditions - Natural bait colours like brown, white fish-decor, blue Sulky weather conditions - Somewhat brighter colours, e.g. light orange or partly coloured baits. Rain: Here, extremely bright colours can be used to provoke the fish. Clear Night: brown, white or black tones Cloudy Night: Bright colours like yellow or red As you can see, this topic is quite elaborate, but it goes even further Bait Size: Lures are available in various sizes from 3 cm to over 20 cm. What is for what? Here again, there are several factors to consider: First, look at your target fish. If we take e.g. a char or trout, small to medium bait can lead to success. Here, you may try to chose smaller grubs (6 cm) or rubberfish up to a maximum of 12 cm. The same applies to wobblers and metal baits (spoons, spinners). However, if we are looking for pike or big zander, you should switch to medium-sized or large bait, for example soft fish from 12 - 18 cm for the zander, and from 12 - 25 cm for the pike. These are just some first guidelines and not a must, but probably a good start for beginners. Water Depth: In a body of water with many different depths and structures, where shall we start? First, you should again take a closer look at the fish species. Can it be found near the bottom or does it chase its prey in mid-water or at the surface? We take the example of the brook trout which is almost always found near the bottom, so here deep-running wobblers, rubber baits with jigs, or fishing along the ground with good old spoons will be successful. As a counterpart we have the pike which is more likely to roam in mid-water and near the surface, and attacks its prey from below. Here we usually take jerkbaits, poppers as well as wobblers to catch them. Only under cold-weather conditions or in winter, you can also outsmart the pike well with artificial lures closer to the bottom, like deep-moving baits or rubber fish.

Original Post (16. September 2018) in German: Link Dear community, Some of you are probably a bit overwhelmed with the huge selection of rods in the game. In this guide I would like to help you to decide which rod suits your needs best. First, I would like to explain the actions of the rods and talk about their advantages and disadvantages. Let's start: (enjoy the puns that come with this topic ) Rod Actions and Sensitivity Sensitivity = describes the flexibility of the rod. With higher values, the flexibility moves towards the tip. Extra Fast Action = ultrafast in the game Also called extra-fast-taper, is suitable for very fine fishing with small baits such as the Texas Rig or poppers (surface lures) on asp and similar predators. Produces extremely long throw distances and has a direct transmission through the incredibly fast spike. Very suitable for finesse fishing. Fast Taper = fast in game A good example is the Armada ... This rod is just great as for jigging on zander and similar benthic predators. How so ? Quite simple: Because of the tip action and the extra hard blank, we can recognize even the finest bites but still have lots of power due to the strong spine. In addition, rods with a hard blank and pointed action throw very far. The disadvantages of such a rod can be felt when fighting very strong and heavy fish such as e.g. Salmon, catfish, or sturgeon. The rod is just too hard to absorb the impact of such a heavy fish. Medium Taper = medium in game Here I chose the Evora as an example. This rod is a great allrounder. Due to the medium action, it is well suited for fishing with wobblers, but you can also jig with it, as there is still enough backbone available through the medium hard blank. It is great for trout or pike, since it already - by the action itself - can absorb impact really well. Slow Taper = Slow in game Lightweight spinning rods are also included. The fishing rod bends over the entire rod length under load. So from the top to the hand part. Advantage is the cushioning of escapes at close range and optimal utilization of power reserves For bigger fish: Here I chose the Barracuda. Slow, parabolic rods are very suitable for catching very large and heavy fish. It is particularly suitable for tiring them out because you put pressure on the fish with the entire blank. Although they are usually softer, it is much easier to bring the fish in. However, you should choose a fishing method on which the fish hooks itself, since the rod is hardly suitable for striking. Catfish and sturgeon usually hook themselves with their weight. The Barracuda is also suitable for very large salmon, because it absorbs much of their impact. However, you have to be very careful because of enormous tension problems with such fish. In addition, such soft rods provide a rather short throwing distance, because they have little transmission in the blank. Sturdiness and Power of the Blanks "Power" = speed of the blanks Power describes the speed of the blanks from the grip to the tip. Example: During the fight with a fish, it suddenly swims towards you and we have complete loss of tension. Now the speed of the rod shows how quickly the blank responds to the situation. Be it the speed of the bending curve in the normal state (return speed) or the reactions to violent head bangs of the fish. "sturdiness" = stiffness or flexibility of the rod blank The sturdiness has a direct influence on the casting weight of the rod, regardless of its carrying capacity. The more robust the rod, the greater the minimum throw weight that is needed to cast out far .. Stiffness The stiffness helps to determine how well the blank will react to sudden movements while drilling and it also indicates what retrieval methods suite this rod best. Stiffness <5/10 will not allow for twitching retrievals as the blank will be too soft to get the twitch through to the bait.

Hi When it comes to repairs of reel and rods we need to remember that some parts of our tackle can be repaired and some parts can only be replaced for brand new parts - the price for replaceable parts is always this same at for example at 1% and at 31 %. I will give you some figures here that will allow you to save some silver when it comes to repairs and replacing your tackle parts. Reparable part - restoration Replaceable part - replacement The golden rule of RF4 repairs - better to go once and repair for example your mechanism at 30% and pay for example 800 silver than going twice at 15% and pay 500 silver each time. Repairing it once will save you silver. As with all RF4 repairs, you pay a base fee + second fee that depends on the damage to the part you want to repair. The more damage a part has, it means more to pay but your base fee stays the same when you got at 15% and 30% - that's how you save silver with repairs. 2 x 15% - 1000 1 x 30% - 800 Replacing the parts - as mentioned above the price for replacements stays this same no matter what % damage is on the parts. Please see an example of Rebellion Match rod - Line guides replacement cost - Cost of replacing it at 6.6% is this same at 7.4%. You might even consider getting the brand new or even better rod than replacing line guides. Reels: Mechanism - you can repair it - my advice is not to repair it below 30% Ball bearings - replacement - my advice is not to replace them below 50% Friction brake - replacement - my advice is not to replace it unless you can see yourself that fighting the fish is becoming more and more difficult for you - I would not replace it below 30% if you want to save silver. Spool - replacement - my advice is not to replace it below 50% Grease - replacement - I would not replace it below 15%. Rods: Line guides - replacement - my advice is not to replace them below 50% Blanks - these can NOT be repaired or replaced at the moment. Lines: Lines can't be repaired - you need to replace them with the new lines. It is up to the player to decide when to do this. With every 1% dmg on your line strength of this line is reduced by 1. So if your 30kg line got 10% dmg on it, the max weight on that line is reduced by 3kg. Obviously, the more damage on the reel or rods, the less strength your equipment will have. If your reel can handle up to 10kg drag at when in pristine condition, it will be able to only handle up to 5kg when at 50% wear. This too goes for rods and lines. Some players might decide to replace their brakes earlier, so the reel will still be able to handle the big fish better. It is your decision. - Check all the tackle shops before repairing for prices - prices when paying with silver can be different from shop to shop. - The cheaper cost means more waiting time - you need to be online when waiting. - Repairs and replacements paid with silver might not be always successful - the unsuccessful rate is low but it might happen. - Repairs and replacements paid with gold are always successful and are instant (no waiting time). For more info about wears on reels please see :