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Interesting that TT reviewed the reel...although they did review a BPS Johnny Morris reel quite a few years ago. I'm not familiar with this reviewer but I'd have to say that he was perhaps predisposed in his review of the reel - he wasn't expecting much...and so he didn't want to find much. Some of the points from the review: Faults the 6.4 ratio reel as being inadequate for deep cranking...but doesn't acknowledge the availability of 4.7 and 5.2 options (in both RH and LH). Says the reel is not as "compact" as he prefers - wow, then he will be giving poor scores to LOTS of reels as the PQ palms about the same as most mid-size reels. I'm surprised the drag went to 20lbs (as were they), but they fault the drag for being "lumpy." Well, it's certainly not the best drag, and might not measure well on their nifty machine, but in the real world, in actual fishing situations, the reel has an adequate drag. Mentions that the reel is perhaps not good for lighter baits - can't argue with that - the spool is heavy due to the dual-braking system. Mentions that the reel is heavy - can't argue with that either - BPS needs to take about 1 to 1.5 ounces out of the reel - not for performance necessarily...but for marketing. TT is on this kick where they deduct points if a reel doesn't have bearing(s) on the level wind, if it doesn't come with a reel cover, and if it doesn't come with a little bottle of oil. Interesting - how many other $100 reels (and a PQ is really an $80 reel) have those items. One thing for sure, I guess I won't be able to catch as many fish without those items... The scoring system is so subjective that they can really tweak those numbers (like 6.4 for "Features") to get their expected outcome. Anyway, nice to see TT acknowledged the reel, but in the "real" world, and considering it's price point, it fishes and performs better than the score it received. Lastly, I really liked this comment from the reviewer: "The drag star also clicks for confident adjustments if you are so brave to actually utilize this lumpy drag system." Well, I never considered it "brave" to use the PQ drag system, I just considered it fishin'... and then catchin'. I guess it's good that I use a really heavy line (10lb) to catch 40-50 pound class fish so I don't have to rely on the stock drag system............................

Caught this the other evening and put her back to be caught again when shes bigger. I was guessing a concervative 8-lbs or more. Any thoughts?

A few years ago, I fished with BPS Pro Qualifier and BPS Tourney Special rods. Whole rig, $100.00 on sale. Now I am using GLX and NRX rods, and shimano reels, Curado i, Chronarch ci4's and a Shimano core 100Mg7. What the heck happened? I don't know. Oh well, I'm going fishing. Hootie

We don't judge on BR? YOU have only been here 3 days. Just hold on a little while....lol. Hootie

Depends how badly I want it. Most of my stuff is between $100-$250, but I'm not above spending $500 for a rod/reel if it really interests me. I don't have any real habits outside of fishing that cost money, so I put my money into fishing.

I'd probably go with a medium and switch to mono or copolymer if the main things you're going to be fishing are jerkbaits and cranks.

I'd like to go fishing with Kate Beckinsale and my combos would be whip cream and some chocolate syrup.

Yesterdays tournament didn't go quite as planned. It was on the very southern end of Champlain and the fishing was tough. Finished in 4th place again. We needed a good kicker fish and we would have had a very good chance at winning. I have fished three tournaments this year and finished in 4th place in all three of them. At least I am consistent I guess.

And now I'm hungry...

If it remains legitimately profitable for resale, I could care less of the price.

Lol. Yeah a little over. I looked at a $40k Z9 yesterday. Kate Beckinsale could've been pole dancing in the middle of that thing, and I wouldn't have drooled more than what I was already doing.

TN, $199 and less can buy you some wonderful rods and reels. You will have to go a little over $199 for a bass boat.

I'd take a couple combos over being teased by a hot celebrity that I'll never see again.

Kevin, many places discount St.Croix rods, they just don't publicly advertise it, much the same with Shimano, Megabass, and G.Loomis. They usually word it something like "For deals too good to list give us a call" If you call, they will apply the same discount to these rods. In fact there is a site sponsor here that may or may not be able to get you a discount on a St. Croix rod, not sure if he carries that brand or not.

Your chart answered the first & foremost question: "Is the lake natural or artificial?" (dam = impoundment). I'm sure many anglers will gravitate to the 20 ft hump directly upstream of the dam, but I personally would put that sucker on the backburner. This particular waterbody has an abundance of deep water areas but a lack of expansive food shelves. Pursuant to the law of 'Priority of Poverty' (a proprietary law), chart analysis should probably be geared to food shelves rather than retreat basins. To that end, the headwaters make a good starting point, extending downstream to both launch sites (north & south). All that said, I couldn't get serious about pinpointing holding sites without a more detailed chart. If I were you, I'd be in desperate pursuit of a chart with 1-ft or at least 5-ft increments, then we can talk turkey ;-) Roger

You make a good point.... and I also think the new crop of members should familiarize themselves with this site before they post. I know its very exciting to make your very own first post... i know I was... however, if you take a moment to really peruse through the threads you will quickly see all the pinned conversations and recent topics.

I felt the review was fair. TT does deduct points for high priced gear so I feel it evens out. Several lower priced items have gotten great reviews such as the vendetta rod, *** rod, skeet victory reel, pinnacle rods, powell max etc so I do feel that they generally give lower priced stuff a fair shake. They have also been hard on higher end gear when it didn't live up such as the pixy spr and others. That being said, what most will view as all purpose workhorse isn't the general trend over there. On TT, if it isn't shimano or daiwa, you are already starting off on a negative foot. I used to talk of liking lews reels there and several times was almost laughed off the board even though the curado g and lexa were less than stellar compared to the lews reels they were going against.

Exactly. Places like DSG, Walmart, and the like order the reels in clamshell since they are harder to steal. Bigger sporting goods stores like BPS, Cabelas, and online shops order in boxes because they are easier to store large quantities of and they generally don't have problems with them walking out the door. Same reel, just different packaging.

Every review ever done is subjective, the key is to pick the things from the review that are facts, like weight, bearing count and placement, handle length, things of this nature. The rest is the opinion of the reviewer and you have to take it for what it is worth. Someone told me once, if the only meat you had ever eaten was bologna, you would never miss a T-bone. Despite some of things already mentioned and a few not, I felt the review was fair.

Make it fat, maket it loud, make it shiny, make it wide wobbling.

It´s the Shimano/Daiwa/Abu/Lew´s country, in that order please.

After reading the article I feel that it is justified in their world. They mostly use high end gear and JDM products. So a workhorse reel that the general public uses. In their world the reel is heavy and basic, to us it is a workhorse of ease and reliability. Tackle Tour is good if you have ton of money and want to spend it on fishing. The everyday angler should stay off that page and focus on down to earth forums like this one. Though we do have some heavy hitters on here that push expensive things, the average angler outnumbers them.

I know you are country strong Zoff, maybe just 1/2 bowl of Wheeties next time!!

Yeah... not bugging me but just thought it was strange. Nope... just locked up dead as dead can be. Not even a gill moved when I got it to the boat. Looked like the hook was in the roof of the mouth way in the back. Possible I hit the brain pan. Yup... got two very nice fillets and served them up about 3 hours after I killed it. Very fresh!!!! Gave it a drizzle of Olive Oil... a sprinkling ot salt, pepper, rosemary, basil, and garlic. With skin on... seared it on the skin side until it was cooked over half way through. Throw a splash of lemon juice on top. Flip it over just to complete the cooking. AWESOME!!!!!

Call a few cajuns , over population to under population when 20 f150's roll up .

Alienware?

I'd scavenge the flea market here and on other forums. For fishing jigs, most of my money would go into the rod. You would be surprise what you can get for $300. I would look for a used reel, or even an H20 mettle. Something less than $100. That leaves $200+ for the rod. In the top end of that range you could find older GLX's, Dobyns Extremes, etc. Point being, drop the money on the rod.

Says the man who believes in ghosts.........

Heres my gotos

Kate 2x!

Buy a real boat- one with a motor, and watch that pain move from your shoulder to your wallet...

Not to mention Tatula R's can be had for around $130.

Did Cobbosseecontee today. I took two other people who have never fished it before. Almost two dozen fish. My biggest was 4.5 the biggest on the boat was 5.5 and I lost 7-8 pounder right next to the boat when my drag failed on my spinning rod. One of the people in my boat even caught one using his possum top water lure which is over a foot long the wind was brutal today on the lake 25+mph. Surprisingly wacky rigged senkos caught all the big fish today.

I use strike king tour grade tungsten and its insert free and is extremely smooth inside and out. i believe it varies by brand tight lines Andrew

Are you saying I talk a lot of BS?

KVD L&L is probably the #1 thing I buy at BPS.

YOUR 704 STANDS NO CHANCE!!!

Thou dost liketh ye sonnet. It maketh me not wantith to vomit. It all doth rhyme. It stays true to its time. For this thou liketh this sonnet.

Waterbodies are continually bombarded nonstop by feces from fish, frogs, snakes, shorebirds, wading birds, raccoons, mink, otter, beaver, muskrat, bear, alligators ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ When I see a dairy farm in the backdrop of a farm pond, I regard that as a source of nutrition for both the pond and fish. Far more dangerous than cattle are the chemicals applied to crops and fecal coliform from human waste. Our respective state departments do an excellent job of giving us a heads-up regarding contaminated waters and land areas. I've never known the culprit to be cattle, which is generally some chemical or toxic metal For example: Mercury in the Florida Everglades <> Copper in Michigan's Keweenaw Waterway Roger

Sounds like school's out, and some bored kid(s) are messing with you. Get a deer camera, set it up, and see who it is.

I did it a little differently. I went straight from a Zebco to baitcaster. I've since picked up a couple of spinners but am not very good with them. The learning curve wasn't as steep as I thought it would be. The baitcaster has the same basic profile as a Zeb and I had already gotten my thumb used to using the button as a brake. My fishing immediately improved. I can cast farther, more accurately and work my bait through more stuff. When I bought my first BC (BPS Pro Qualifier...I love it) I had them string it up with the gnarliest bulk 13 lb mono they had, It backlashed...I fought it....was generally a nightmare...but I did all that in January and February out in the yard and on the banks of some of the water I fish. YEah...just casting out on the ice. But I got good at it....when warm weather arrived, I stripped off about 3/4 of that old mono (leaving the other 1/4 as backing) and filled it up with Power Pro Slick 8 20 lb. HOLY COW!!!!! Stuff casts like a dream. I don't claim to be a pro or anything but now I can put my bait about anywhere I want and I'm not "thinking" about my casts. I just do it. Occasional backlash? Yep..but I love my BC's. I only like my spinners. If I have any advice to give at all, it would be to wait. DO NOT try to learn to use a baitcaster on the water. You'll either sell it or (if you're like me) throw a couple of hundred dollars worth of gear in the lake in frustration. Besides......casting and flippin and pitching into a coffee can in January is fun. Beats sitting in the house dreaming about fishing.

I use old shimano bantams

Learn something new everyday. Here in TX, the shad ARE the bait.

I've always suspected that the smallmouth bass has the longest span of time, for the spawning ritual, than most other species. I've seen them on beds the latest being July 12 in this neck of the woods. The beds were deep - 12' - 15' and located on pebble type gravel on the edge of drop offs to deeper water. I believe many fishermen who catch smallies in the 12' - 20' depths drop shotting, are actually catching bedding bass.

Wow, great posts. I will add just a couple things. X2 on two different types of weeds. Not sure why but bass dig this but then do. Inner weed edges are often overlooked and are pretty productive up north. Not sure why but whenever I'm fishing an outer weed edge, I always throw a couple casts to the inner edge and I've had success. I also see that weed points and other areas of focus along weed edges typically have loner fish on them. But again, I see this a lot regarding any ambush points (outside of the spawn/post spawn times). I will add that any deeper pockets within a weedy area can be dynamite! I have found these deep within weedy areas most often when I'm in my Kayak. One last item, up north I avoid dead weeds right after spawn. If the weeds are bright green, they seem to hold more fish. I think it's the O2 levels. Dead weeds eat O2. Live weeds produce O2.

There is no question that Roger knows his weed.

pappajoe222 & RoLo GREAT posts!

I'm seriously in tears reading through this thread. I can't tell if people (other than Raider) are being facetious or are seriously convinced that a rock-throwing, limb-twisting, bipedal creature is somehow singling the OP out for his apples, trash, rocks and seat cushion. This is pure interwebz gold!

There are several types of weedlines, but the two major forms are the Outer Weedline (deep weedline) and the Inner Weedline (shallow weedline). An inner weedline is not always present, but where it exists it's typically the result of competition from shallow shoreline vegetation. For instance, a broad cabbage bed may form an inner weedline at a depth of about 4 ft, after which it becomes overwhelmed by a variety of shoreline grasses (littoral plants). The 'outer weedline' is a bit more complex, where the depth of the weedline depends primarily on Plant Species and secondarily on Water Clarity. For instance, bulrushes may form a deep weed-edge at the 4-foot contour line, while cabbage (in the same waterbody) may form an outer weedline in 12 ft of water. 'Water clarity' governs the maximum depth of photosynthesis and therefore the maximum depth of all plant life. For example, hydrilla in a murky lake might stop growing at a depth of only 6 feet, but in gin-clear water hydrilla might form a weedline that's 18 ft deep. Third in importance is 'nutrition' (soil nutrients & water nutrients), where low fertility can suppress the weedline depth regardless of the water clarity, but again, nutrition is tertiary. The inner weedline is usually more important during the spawning season (staging cows may also be found on the deep weedline) The outer weedline is generally more important during the rest of the year (barring an oxygen-debit in summer). Generally speaking, the steeper the bottom gradient the more defined the weedline, where an abrupt drop-off tends to produce a wall-of-weeds. In contrast, a sloping bottom produces a more ragged weedline with more weed clumps and patchy growth, but this is normally a preferable situation as it provides more weedline lineage and hidey-holes. Roger

For me, a prime weedline would be one situated on a drop off. Often, on natural lakes, this is a common occurance as the weeds will only grow to the depth of light penetration and a quick drop in depth results in the edge where the weeds end. Another common reason for an edge is a change in bottom composition. The weeds need a certain type of bottom to grow and an edge is created where that ends, this is often the reason for inside weedlines.The third type of weedline is one that is overlooked and that is where one type of weed ends and another begins. During the summer, I prefer a deep water edge. The availability of deeper water along with the ease of parallel casting along the edge allows me to cover water quickly and it has great fish holding potential. Another plus is the fact that one section of the line can give up multiple fish. My second choice would be a weedline formed because of a change in bottom composition. These are rarely straight weedlines and more often than not contain many points and pockets. These are the high percentage points and although it takes more time and effort to cover a long weedline like this, your chances of contacting fish are much higher than a long, featureless edge. The only downside is the fish here tend to be loners and your approach is more perpendicular to the edge making boat positioning a little more difficult. Rarely will you pick up more than one fish from a pocket or point of weeds unless it is fairly large. The last type of edge I mentioned is one many overlook for an obvious reason, it's difficult to present most lures to this area. Junk fishing is a term that's often associated with this type of edge and it requires stout gear, determination and hard work. It's also not a very good time management approach. As for lures/presentations, the type of edge will dictate what shouldn't be used. A crank is a poor choice for all but a straigter edge, but a jig or worm isn't a bad choice for a straighter edge either. The other edge I often forget and many rarely consider is the top edge of the weeds. Submergent weeds can be fished with any number of baits depending on the depth they top out at. This is a great edge for a topwater approach and my favorite for weightless worms under cold front conditions.