The Rooster

I saw something similar in the Bionic Plus combo. Reels out of the box were smooth. Rod combo reels all felt tight, no matter the settings. I could literally feel the difference in hand while at the store. For this reason, I never buy combo rods UNLESS I am totally satisfied with the rod and reel at the time of purchase with my own examination. I would never blindly purchase the combo and assume the reel is the same as the ones sold separately. I don't even care if they have the exact same names and markings, not just special editions or tournament versions, you'll never convince me the rod combo reels aren't cheaper made versions in disguise.

Depends on your budget and desired usage. I bought both, a medium heavy and a heavy rod, from Cabela's, their Tourney Trail rod series, and they're well made rods at $45 on sale. Not especially sensitive which I'm sort of disappointed in, but the MH is a crankbait rod (has medium fast action) and the heavy is a spinnerbait or frog rod (has a fast tip). I guess neither one has to be very sensitive for that by most peoples' estimations though. Check them out for a budget rod, again, depending on your needs.

I was fishing a lake around here that is notorious for not producing fish. It's called Greenbo lake, in Greenup county, KY, but locals call it the Dead Sea. Oh, it has big bass in it, double digit sizes even, but the water is ultra clear so they're hard to catch. Add to this that it was cold. It was November of 2011, so I expected another skunking when we went. My Brother-in-law wanted to go out so we went and since I expected nothing from this lake, as usual, I decided this would be a good time to try learning some jigging techniques to pass the time. I tied on a dirty Sanchez colored D&L Tackle 1/2 oz. football head jig with a green pumpkin Netbait baby paca craw trailer. I had been casting to the shoreline from the boat, same as him, but in a moment of frustration I just turned and casted out to open water just as far as I could and let that jig sink to the bottom in about 20' of water. I had no idea what to do with no prior jigging experience. I just knew I had bought a few jigs to try to learn them but never had tried them before. I just started slowly dragging it like I would a T-rigged worm. The next thing I felt was sort of a prickly feeling through the rod, like you might feel if you were to press the teeth of a comb with your thumb and let them spring loose one at a time. This, I can only assume, was the brush guard on the jig doing something similar inside the bass's mouth. It felt different to me so I figured when in doubt set the hook. Well, now I'm in a fight with my first ever jig fish, and it's a keeper bass, on a cold November day on a lake notorious for skunk days! WHOOHOO is the only thing I can think at the moment! I landed the fish, released it, made another cast to open water as near to the same spot as I could, and had the same experience all over again. Two keeper bass, back to back, from the Dead Sea, on jigs! I'm hooked harder than those bass were at this point. They were only a pound each but to me they were huge since this lake sucks so bad otherwise, and catching them on a jig from these waters my first time using one just solidified how good a jig can be to me. We fished for another couple of hours, and I felt that same prickly feeling again several more times as we moved from cove to cove, and managed to land one more keeper too, making my total for the day 3 keeper bass from totally unproductive waters otherwise. I'm so happy by now that I can't think, and I finally snapped off the jig from frayed line on a hard cast. Lost it deep in the woods, but I had another, and have since bought about 6 more of those same ones as well as many others in different sizes and colors. Since then I have went back to that spot and found there is a stump about 20 feet down and just as far out that these fish must have been holding near to. There's nothing else around it at all that I can see. I'm fairly certain this is where I found those bass and just made a random lucky cast to open water that day and happened to put a jig near to that stump. I'm sure glad it worked that way because I did not have any confidence in that bait and might never have tried it long enough to gain any. Now I am absolutely never without a jig tied on always, and also have found that bass hit it the same way in waters I normally fish. I just feel for the prickly feeling and set the hook.

Wow. That does look like a body. Wouldn't be the first time someone dumped one in a lake with blocks and chains to hold it down.

How many crank rods does a person need? I have two set up right now. One is the 6'6" Tourney Trail rod with a 6.4:1 reel on it, and 12# Trilene mono. It's basically my treble bait rod in general. Not only do I use it for jerkbaits and topwaters, but I also use it for shallow and medium diving crankbaits, and lipless crankbaits since it has the faster reel. Then I have a 7' Ugly Stik Lite Pro with a 5.4:1 reel on it, and also 12# Trilene. I use this rod just for deeper diving cranks since it has the slower reel, and I like to think the longer rod equals a longer cast, so I also would have more distance to achieve the deeper depths in with that. Otherwise, it's not that much different than the first. I couldn't even tell you if it works like I think it's supposed to since the deepest diving crank I have is only a 12' diver, and I could probably just cast those on the first rod also. Really, more or less, I think these two rods could be about the same in function other than the reel ratios. I guess the question here is, does the second rod have a purpose just because of the slower ratio, or did I build two rods too close together in function?

I don't know, maybe I'm expecting to feel more vibration from the baits or something. I suppose I'm just comparing the crankbait feel to the spinnerbait feel, but being two different rods they're bound to be different. Since the spinnerbait rod is a lot more sensitive, when I set it down and pick up the crank rod and make a cast I notice the difference more than I might if I just fished the crank rod all day.

I've read before where some people feel that sensitivity is less important in a crankbait rod, or for that matter, even a spinnerbait rod also. Why is that? I know those type baits are reaction baits, but I fish both of them in and around wood and rocks, feeling my way along the cover, in and out of all the nooks and crannies. I like being able to tell when the bait contacts cover, and also have some idea which type it was. On a side note, right now I'm using a crankbait rod that's a little less sensitive than I'd like. It works, but I thought it would have been a little better when I bought it. It's a Cabela's Tourney Trail IM7 graphite rod, MH/MF rating. It has the right flex and fishing abilities, just slightly less sensitive that I wish. My spinnerbait rod is a previous model Shimano Compre MH/F. It has great sensitivity. Because I feel both types of baits would benefit from sensitivity, and I have it with one, I'm noticing the lack of it with the other rod. But, since this is the first rod besides an Ugly Stik Lite Pro that I've ever bought to be a cranking rod, I don't have a lot to compare it to. I actually feel that the Ugly Stik Lite Pro is either equal to it, or even just slightly better. Is there a cranking rod out there that is sensitive, or are they even designed to be? A lot of people seem to think it's not all that important, but I do.

Not sure if it matters or not. The BPS reel has an aluminum frame. The President does not. That said, I like the President better.

Bandit 300

I've had a BPS Tourney Special casting rod, one of the older ones, and it was excellent quality, built well, the whole 9 yards. I currently use two Cabela's Tourney Trail casting rods, the current models they sell now. Mine are just now a year old and I find them to be of the same quality as my BPS rod was. One is a MH/MF rod that I use for crankbaits. Landed a few fish on it so far and performance was just as expected. The other rod is a H/F that I use for heavy spinnerbaits, jigs, and frogs. It's sensitivity isn't what I had hoped for but I haven't really given it a fair chance yet to impress me with jigs. Since I have other, better rods for that, I usually keep a spinnerbait on this rod, and hardly cast it, LOL.

Cleaning gutters could cost you your life. If you get on a roof, be careful. I do it for a living and sometimes forget why people call me instead of doing it themselves. Then I remember not everyone, in fact most people, get queasy standing or sitting on the edge of a roof looking down. I used to have a 6' casting rod I loved loved loved. It was a $25 Quest LS-7 from Dick's. Then I gave it to dad and went with 6'6" when I upgraded to the Shimano Compre. Hardly use the Compre and sometimes miss my old rod, but I can't get it out of my head that I'd be downgrading to go back to one like that, or to drop down to a shorter rod again. All I did with that other rod was toss 1/4 oz cranks on it. Was loads of fun but had just that one specific use only. That's it in my avatar, landing my largest bass to date on one of those 1/4 oz cranks. Still have the reel but the rod and that crank are both gone now.

Occasionally you find good reels on so so rods. Pflueger President spinning reels sell for $60 alone and on a combo at Walmart they're just $80. The rod is cheap but it's still a decent rod for certain things.

The link new2BC4bass posted is for the H2O Mettle. It has an aluminum frame. I guarantee you won't find another baitcast reel with an aluminum frame anywhere else at that price. Not even used. I've never used it, but I've read a little about it from others who have. They say the gears aren't real smooth, but if you just need a solid reel and don't have a lot of money for one, this one looks like it could be a good choice.

I used Eagle Claw Laser Sharp #6 trebles. They look like (and might be) black nickel, similar to what comes on Rapala lures now. Some of these baits are newer and had black hooks, but some had the old bronze hooks, being older lures. I'd say for it to make much difference I'd have to go pretty small on split rings. That might not work, or be too weak. I don't know. I can try one bait and see. Worst case I switch them all back. All 9 of them, ain't that gonna be fun!

I know what it was, it was all those left handed reels he bought. Those don't come with it.

I wouldn't worry about it one way or another though. Reels need grease as well, and none that I know of come with that.

I've only ever seen it with Abu reels and Shimanos. I've never bought a Daiwa, so on them I don't know. My Shimanos all came with oil, all three reels, and one of those was just $100. Not expensive by some people's standards. None of my BPS reels came with oil. On the whole, I think oil included is just one mark of quality. Little extras that make buying the reel feel as if you are getting something of high quality. Doesn't mean you didn't get quality without it though. On that Chronarch, it should have came with oil.

Speed knot is what I use and, for me, I could tie it way faster than the "8 knot". I pull the line through the eye several inches, pinch the tag between thumb and finger of the same hand that I also have pinching the main line. This lets the lure dangle on the loop between my thumb and finger, and I allow several inches of dangle. With my free hand I grasp the end of the tag, stretch it out, and then use the lure weight to swing the lure around the tag end 4 times. By now I've formed a loop at the top where I was pinching the tag. Put the tag end through this loop and pull. Wet the line and cinch tight. Trim tag. Takes me literally about 5 - 6 seconds to tie this. Have never had it fail and it works with mono and fluoro.

You'd have to find a Citica on sale. It's retail is $130. PQ at full price is only $100 and goes on sale for $70 - $80 several times a year. Of course I'm assuming new. I keep forgetting the flea market here. I even just sold a Citica in it for well under $100. Doh!

Some really cheap reels are not switchable. Almost all are though.

BPS Pro Qualifier. Dual braking makes casting almost thumbless.

I have a bunch of Rapala original minnows (7's and 9's, two treble only models) that I thought the treble hooks, being size 7, were just too small. So I swapped them out to size 6 and I discovered this changed the whole action and float level of the bait when in the water. I'll have to experiment with this some more since I might actually end up liking this. It acts sort of like a very shallow suspending jerkbait now. But I have x-raps for that. I normally go with the original minnow when I want to use a topwater. So the changes I made are taking away from that. Ok, now that the backstory is told, I also noticed that the split rings on these baits are pretty beefy compared to some others and I wondered if I went with some smaller split rings would it possibly make the bait act more as it once did, only have the larger hooks still? Anyone else switch hooks on these before?

Wow. Grindy gears are grounds for immediate dismissal in my arsenal. I guess in comparison to you, I'm very wasteful. I use things, long term even, as long as they work "like I think they should". I'll stick to fishing gear for any references, but this pretty much applies to everything I own. I like stuff to look and feel relatively new. I understand some break in wear and cosmetic blemishes will show up in time, like maybe the overall shininess has worn to a dull haze, but I want the mechanics and feel to be within 95% or more of where it was when new. I do all I can to help maintain my stuff too, but when it starts to wear beyond my tolerance of it, even though it is still well within someone else's, then I feel it's time for it to move on to someone else. This will sound funny to you, I'm sure, but I told myself a long time back that I'd only ever accept three things used (as in not new and perfect). Cars, houses, and women. Whether we know it or not, we all still live in an unofficial caste system. According to my level within it, I always figured I'd "never be able to afford the best" in any of those three, but everything else would be new. So I buy new, I maintain as new, and I dump it when it starts to not feel new anymore. LOL. As an aside, my wife turned 43 this year and I jokingly told her when she turns 44 that I might have to trade her in for two 22 year olds. Also said I may have to wait until she's 54 because the 22's might not have come down in price enough until then. She told me not to worry about a price drop because I'd lose my rear end on that deal anyway.

Goose, I have a couple of good questions for you. I know the purpose of this research is to see whether or not the PQ will last 5 years. It seems the use you've subjected this reel to in that time has been absolutely extreme. To the point that I'd question if you fish your other reels like this or not when you use them, which I don't think you do. If not, then why did you not simply choose to fish this PQ as normal (for you) and see how long it would last that way in the regular rotation? Wasn't the original suggestion that the PQ wouldn't last that way? Of course I do recognize that the way you're fishing it does seem to leave no room for doubt at all. So based on all that, I guess we'll also know how these reels handle normal use after 5 years as well, based on your other PQ's not being officially tested and documented, and also not being fished as hard, but still in rotation. My second question is, at this point considering the wear this reel has sustained to the frame, you are still using it because the test isn't over yet. But, if any of your other reels had gotten to this point while not being tested, would you continue to use them or retire them? I know you said you'll continue to use this one after the test is over, but I assume that's because you'll already have it at that point in its worn down condition so you may as well, it can't hurt it further. Others not there yet but heading that way eventually, would you stop using them before they got there, maybe due to them just not being enjoyable anymore? Not trying to stir the pot because what you've done here I have a lot of respect for. I was just curious about these points. Sometimes words on a screen from the Internet without any tone to accompany them can be hard to discern the original intended meaning from. In other words, I'm asking this because I'm interested to know, not to "call you out on something". LOL.

If you feel this in the unused portion of the line on the spool this could be damage caused when you spooled the line on. Normally the line doesn't contact the spool lip much, if at all, during line filling, but it's something to look at. I check all areas my line comes in contact with, spool lip, bail wire, and line roller, as well as guides on the rod. Even places that the line doesn't normally touch like the reel body. If there's a nick there from sitting it on a rock and I get one of those line messes where I have to strip some off and rewind (due to wind knots, carelessness on my part, whatever the cause) and I let it rub against some rough area on my reel then it will nick the line. I normally use 200 grit sandpaper to just dress it up when servicing the reel but I might have to grab a few of those emery boards to carry in my tackle for field dressings.