The Rooster

How does the Cabela's Tournament ZX do for gear grinding issues?? I'd like to try one, but I'm sceptical of how it will do after a season of use. I can't stand anymore gear grind in a reel and if it means $100+ reels from now on to avoid it then I'm there. I've already started... Oh, and I have had 2 of those Pflueger Presidents, and they BOTH grinded horribly. Never were smooth from day one and only got worse as time went on. Everyone I've ever looked at in stores had the same barely noticable gear grind that mine did so I'm sure in time they would be doing the same thing. My experience with the President makes me think that what most are calling smooth is really not nearly as smooth as I'm looking for. I'm convinced no one would think the one I have now is smooth.

Ah....I see. I thought you were talking about the blank. For that tiptop I'd just replace it and keep on using the rod. That makes me worry what you said cause I have 7' ceilings in the basement where I keep my rods and I just bought a 7' rod. I've scrubbed the ceiling with it already but then again I do that with about all of my 6'6" rods too. So far, no damage to any though. I inspect them everytime I do that. Drives me nuts. I gotta get a better storage solution for them all.

On this I used to work at a Walmart in the sporting goods department, for about 6 years, and 1 year of that was spent as it's manager. Back then I had "some" choice of what to stock from the vendors that came in and pitched their products. It was usually generic type stuff other than the good lures they offered. Most of it was South Bend branded items, cheap combos and reels. For the regular everyday merchandise the home office lays down a carved in stone diagram of what the counters will hold, what items will be on it, and how much. The only real differences I ever saw to it was depending on what area of the country you lived in. I live in Ashland, Kentucky, right on the Ohio river. The river seems to be the cutoff point from one region to another according to the company. So stores in Ohio have dramatically different stuff sometimes compared to Kentucky. Also West Virginia has some different stuff sometimes too. I live in the tri-state area, right where all 3 states meet. That gives me "some" options at the different stores. But mostly, there's a lot of the same too.

I'd be inclined to think that the top section of that rod had taken a hit prior to that ceiling contact.

Well, for this rod it's not worth putting a lot of money in it. I hardly use it anymore. I think I'd like to try it myself actually, but probably down the road sometime. Got too much going on right now.

Wow, I'm impressed for you being a kid. I have never tried anything like this but have wanted to several times. Looks like you have a very good start with those guide wraps. What type of guides did you put on it?? Did you make sure to replace them along the same path as they were before?? As I understand it, all rods have a spine where there is a top and bottom so to speak. You want it to flex and bend the right way.

You are redoing one?? I gotta check that out. Was thinking of redoing the guides on a spinning model I have. They just need rewrapped is all, the epoxy is chipping off after nearly 13 years of use.

I like the Ugly Stiks, every single model they make. Not for bottom sensitive bass fishing lures, but for general fishing of cranks and some other lures the Lite and Lite Pro rods from the Ugly Stik lines are good, durable rods that are comparible to a lot of "average" bass rods for weight. None will compare to the likes of Loomis or Powell, or other higher end rods, but for what use I'll put them to, I don't think it's bad at all. For catfishing, stripers, even muskies, I think you could do a lot worse than an Ugly Stik.

Today I went to Walmart for some paint to redo my basement laundry room and hallway leading to it. Ended up leaving there with 2 Ugly Stik Lite Pro casting rods too. ;D These are not the original Ugly Stiks with EVA grips. These are the light weight versions with cork handles, but they're a Walmart exclusive as far as I know. Have blue wraps and aluminum oxide guides instead of the chromium ones. I got a 6'6" medium for throwing 1/4 oz. shallow and medium diving crankbaits. I'm going to put one of my BPS Extremes on it, a 6.4:1 ratio with mono line. That way I could use it for topwaters too being that it's a fairly soft feeling rod. Not the dog walking baits, just large poppers and jitterbugs and the like. Things with trebles that I don't want to rip out on a strike but I will still want a stiffer rod for walking the dog lures. Then I also got a 7' medium for throwing deeper diving crankbaits. It actually has more of a parabolic bend to it than the 6'6" does, it bends much deeper into the butt section when flexed, but it's also stiffer feeling at the same time, takes more pressure to bend it, it seems. I thought it would be good for the heavier baits based on this. There are some Bandit 7/8 oz. cranks I'd like to get. I'm going to put a BPS Extreme on it too, a 5.4:1 ratio. That should crank them down fairly well. The 7' rod handle is longer than the 6'6" by a good bit and there's maybe 2 more inches of blank at the tip than the shorter rod has, so holding it in my hand palming the reel it feels a lot like the 6'6" rod which I like. It's not so loooong feeling that way. Also having that longer handle makes it feel like I could use my forearm to help leverage the rod when fighting a fish, or even deep cranking some big Norman DD22's. I already have the two reels here, and I want to get some use out of them so I figured why not. Also I cannot afford to get more Shimano Compres for them just yet, especially since that will just make me want a Curado E5 for the deep diving one anyway so I thought this would be an affordable alternative to get a couple of different cranking rods. I know for the price of both rods I could have paid about $30 more and got at least one Compre. But I will eventually get there and I will have 2 rods to use this year instead of just one, and I'll have a use for these for other types of fishing later, like catfish. Also, they have the Shimano Sonora spinning reels on clearance there for $35. It's identical to a Sedona internally, just the bail wire is shaped differently on the outside and that's the only mechanical difference at all. I didn't get one though. That orange color is FUGLY, but it would make a good reel to have as a backup, or for the trunk of a car rod, or whatever. Again......it was an Ugly day at Walmart!!! ;D

I have a 6'6" medium heavy Compre rod with a Curado E7 on it. It's going to be used with the following lures....... Spinnerbait Buzzbait Jig Carolina rig Rat-L-Trap (ripping through grass) Frogs (since I have no other heavier rod for this) Swimbaits up to 1 ounce (since I have no other rod for this) Those are all the lures it would see but primarily it will be used with just the spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and jigs. I was thinking braided line for sensitivity and strength but fishing spinnerbaits I like to let them drag into things like rocks and stumps. I'm afraid braid will fray up. I know I can use a leader which I would do. Is there still a chance for fraying?? I've never used braid so I just don't know.

Probably would be the 20 size based on line capacity for those techniques, that's what I'd get anyway.

I like splitgrips, no problems with them. Just the Shimano Crucial dropshot rod has that cutout on the foregrip that I don't like. The model that I am looking at though does not. I mostly want a shakyhead rod and thought it would be nice if dropshotting were an option for it as well. I fish water that is at most 30 - 50 feet deep and less, most of the time 15 feet or less. Some say that rod will do both, some don't agree. For what little I would likely even do a dropshot I think I'll get by with it. It's primary roll would be shakyheads and very small texas rigs but that last one would be rare cause I like casting gear for that instead most of the time.

Will a 6'6" medium with fast tip do the job OK for dropshotting?? I'm looking at the Shimano Crucial CRS66M spinning rod. Also the Clarus CSS66M2A spinning rod, or even the Clarus CSSX66MA with x-tra fast tip. I'd go with a Clarus only if money was too tight to get the Crucial. I probably wouldn't fish a dropshot that much at this point. Mainly want a sensitive shakyhead rod but it would be nice if it would double for another use too. Oh, and I also know they make what they call a dropshot rod in that series too but I HATE the handle grips on it so....it's out. It does have power and action ratings similar to the other one though, lure weights and all. Just x-tra fast tip instead of fast, and the handle, was about the only differences I read about. Haven't handled it to see how the actual blank compares though.

I was there today but didn't pay much attention to their rods. They only have a very few I have much use for. I did notice that they do have a Cardinal reel/rod combo though. It's the 300 series reels. But they're about $60 I think. I ended up leaving without getting a single thing, not even the Rapala X-rap 10 I had in my hand. Hey, I thought you already ordered an All Star IM10 rod. Didn't you??

Follow your heart and you will not go wrong.

I have no comparisons to make cause I have experience with just one GOOD rod class, and that's the Shimano Compre. But after I switched to using them the difference was night and day to my older, lesser priced rods. I found them to be very sensitive using fluorocarbon for bottom contact lures. I can feel things I never could before.

I think it's probably gonna be about 50/50 for people who like a "circumcised" rod handle. ;D

If it's a spinning rod, I HAVE to have a foregrip. That's where I grip it at. If it's a baitcaster, I can go either way. I like the idea of not having a foregrip on mine so I can reach up and rest a finger or two on the blank as I fish a bottom lure, but up until now, it's not been a real issue and all of my casting rods have one on them (though I'm thinking of customizing one or two OFF of the rod but this would void the warranty I'm sure. My biggest complaint with rods that don't have a foregrip is that a lot of them leave the threads showing after the reel is tightened down. It's like the manufacturer wasn't quite sure how to finish the rod without a foregrip so they just........didn't. :-?

Yeah, for a beater version. I'm thinking of stain, varnish, and jewelry showcase velvet for the carpeting. Seriously though, I'm going to make one, might be out of plywood too, but it'll have to be 3/4. I know it would be heavy, but it would hold up to beats and bangs too. 1/2 inch would let the sides come off from impact I think once a cooler slid across the bed at 50mph and hit it a few times.

If a spinning reel is going to be green it should say Shimano on the side and be a Symetre. ;D

I'm going to build a truck bed rod rack to help with this. Take a 1x12 board and make it into a long skinny box by attaching 1x4's to the sides and ends. Carpet the inside of it and attach a set of Rod Saver straps to it like you would on the deck of a boat. This way, the rods are secured to a solid surface, protected on the sides from things like 50 quart coolers full of ice and drinks from sliding into them in the bed of the truck, and also the rod rack can double as storage for the rods at home. No more scratches that way.

I have personally seen it happen, but only with super cheap rods that are not made of graphite (I'm talking $15 Walmart specials). Any graphite rod I have ever owned has never had that happen to it and I lean mine against the wall in a corner for all the cold months of the year, and anytime during warm months that I'm not using them. So far they've been in the same place they are in now since June (had a very busy year, no time for fishing). Periodically I pick them up and sight down the blank to see if it's doing anything to them, cause I worry about it anyway, but so far there is still no sign of any "set" setting in. Perfectly straight.

I stick my rod under my arm pit while I unhook a fish. For that last one, I also do what BASSclary does. Notice in my avatar at left that even with the fish in hand, so is the rod. I never sat it down to unhook him. Also for the one I highlighted in pink, I completely disagree. I have reels that I've owned for years that look absolutely brand new without a mark on them and I've used them a lot. The rods also look amazingly clean and sharp but they do occasionally get a very slight mark on them from rubbing on various surfaces while in use or storage. But it's so small as to not even be noticable, and never below the epoxy surface into the graphite blank itself. I'm fanatical about how I take care of every rod I own.

I'm thinking of trying the snaps this year to help with speed of changing a lure. Until now I've never used it, always tied directly to every lure I put on. However, on occasion, I have used a swivel, and only the ball bearing type, to try to prevent line twist. I've never noticed the slightest bit of difference using it. The line still twisted like crazy on an inline spinner tied to spinning reel/rod line, swivel or not. So, I said forget them, the line will twist just the same either way.

Did everyone forget this post from page one?? BASSclary isn't the only one who has used fluoro for topwaters. I have pondered the effects of it on topwater lures too, enough that I decided not to try it for that, but based on this post, I don't think it would just simply "not work".