The Rooster

Yes that is it. Didn't know that pin could come out. Any chance I might bend it if I use a pair of pliers like what you show here to squeeze it out?? If' it's bent then it's ruined.

They are. Aluminum frames too, and when on sale you cannot beat them for quality vs. price.

I'm considering upgrading the spool bearings on a BPS Extreme reel. I can get two of them out of the sideplates, but there is a thirt one on the spool shaft itself and unless this shaft is physically separated from the spool the bearing cannot be removed at all. Anyone know how to get this off?? Looks like the shaft is pressed into position and likely cannot be done with basic hand tools or by someone in a home workshop.

6'6" MH/F or M/F graphite rod, 6.x:1 baitcast reel, 12lb line of choice

I know you can find some on youtube.com. Search pitcing and flipping on there to see what you can find. I went there to watch them do it to try to learn how myself. I have a DVD here at home that has Gary Klein explaining and doing some of both though and that helped me the most. Also I disagree that the bow and arrow cast is an accident waiting to happen. That's like saying all people who shoot guns or bows will eventually shoot themselves in the foot. Guns are things that you cannot afford to become zoned out or get lazy while using or then and accident will happen for sure. You keep your head in the game and pay attention to NOTHING else except what you are doing at that moment while using it. Same with this technique, if you don't pay attention and make sure you do it right then an accident CAN happen, but doesn't have to. I mean sooner or later I might rare back for a big two handed cast using a 7' MH rod and a 3/4 oz. spinnerbait and hook my buddy in the ear as the lure sails by. Doesn't mean it's just waiting to happen.

Ooh la la....

Doing that type of cast isn't so bad, danger wise. Just make sure you grasp the hook in the J bend of it BELOW the hook point, not above. If it's a lure with trebles, grasp the REAR treble hook by one J bend of the three, not the bait body and not the front hook. Just make sure you don't aim it at anyone. Just like shooting a gun at an event where there are more people than just yourself present, you just have to aim properly and be safe. I saw a bass pro demonstrating something like this at an outdoors event several years ago, pulling the lure and bending the rod, firing into the air, and while in the air he'd remove his hat and catch the lure in it behind his back. Just like anything else, if you're stupid with it you can get hurt but if you do it correctly and safely it can work well. What about pitching?? I can see flippin' wouldn't work but pitching should do some casts depending on how far away they are.......right?? What about spinning reels that have the trigger system that holds the line for you such as something like the older Quantum Hyper Cast where you hold onto the trigger until you are ready to release the line?? Might replace a spincast reel and still allow for doing that "slingshot cast" he described.

I've never used braid, just mono and fluorocarbon. I may try the holding the lind again. Was giving it a shot earlier with these rods I have and somehow it seems I'm able to put a finger above the foregrip but under the line so that it rides across over top of my finger. Not that uncomfortable. Maybe these rods are made different than some I've had before, or maybe it's just that since I don't work construction anymore, now my hands aren't hurting as much so it's not that bad. Who knows but I'll give this a shot next time I'm out. Still thinking about a rod with no foregrip though, seems this would help some anyway.

Well I've never handled one but I think the spinning rods would be OK. Their baitcast MH rods however have a MF rating. I prefer F or XF for worm rods. But they are buy one, get one free right now too so that's a pretty good price. Makes them cheaper than the lesser Pro Guide model.

What does multi-modulus mean in terms of rod blank construction?? I read this and think it's a mix of different grade graphites, such as IM-6, IM-7, and IM-8 all rolled into one blank.

So far it has not been an issue. I don't have large hands, but not small either. Average is what I'd call them but the reel I use is a small reel overall so that helps a lot. I've also tried to touch the line before with my index finger but that is uncomfortable completely. Have to have one finger above the rod. As it is I touch the foregrip with my fingers on the side of it or wrapping slightly underneath it. I still need to get one more MH/F rod for either worming or spinnerbaiting. I have a MH/F here now, a Shimano Compre. I recently discovered a couple of other rods I like pretty well as far as design though. Might use the Compre for spinnerbaits since foregrip or not, it makes no difference. Then I may get an Okuma EVx MH/F for this since it has no foregrip and seems to compare to the Compre in terms of features. Love the Compre but would like to have a no foregrip rod that's similar.

I'm using BPS Extremes which have what I consider a very small profile to them. They're rounded so much as to be almost egg shaped with no protrusions such as what the latest Quantum reels have for the braking adjustments, they are wide on the side. Even Abu Garcia Revo style reels have the palming sideplate sticking way out in my opinion and this makes holding the reel the way I do a lot harder, they're wider towards the front of the reel which is even worse than what a Quantum would be for the way I hold it. But the Extreme reel virtually disappears in my palm, has no protrusions, and narrows out towards the front of the reel some compared to the back. So I'm able to hold it the way I do. So since the Extreme reel is so small in my hand and I am also holding it slightly forward of where a lot of people do, I am able to reach the foregrip with my two front fingers. My thumb is across the front of the reel just above the levelwind guide. My fingers are long enough so that they wrap around underneath the reel seat, putting the pad of my pinky squarely on the cutout of the reel seat in front of the trigger, my ring finger pad is in front of this. I mostly grip the reel with my thumb, pinky, and ring fingers. This leaves my middle and index finger free and I can touch the foregrip with them, or rod blank if there was no foregrip. It's not a strong grip but it's seems more sensitive to me holding it this way. Having such a light grip enables me to tell more about what's going on down on the bottom vs. if I was holding it the same way I do when throwing a big spinnerbait I wouldn't be able to feel nearly as much. When fishing lures other than bottom bouncing ones I just grip the reel/rod normally with thumb on top, 4 fingers underneath and all behind the foregrip completely, and squeezing it somewhat to hold onto the rod against the resistance of cranking a big bladed lure through water and waiting on a strike.

OK, last year I went from using on sale at Dick's sporting goods or Walmart specials rods to using Shimano Compre rods in one fell swoop. Skipped everything in between. Also used fluorocarbon line for the first time too. Until this time, had only used mono. Also due to work scheduling, I got to use those new rods less than 10 times the whole year so really I don't have a huge experience with "nicer" rods. But in the time I did use them I could tell a tremedous sensitivity difference from what I had used before. Now, I have a theory but I don't know how much difference it will make. Due to the way I hold a casting reel as I fish, I am able to put one or two fingers forward in front of the reel so that they would contact the rod blank if the foregrip was not there. I also still have my pinky finger contacting the cutout in the reel seat where the rod blank is exposed. On rods with a foregrip I only have one finger touching the blank anywhere on it. To me this is not much of a connection to the rod. Just the tip of one finger that I am not very well connected to feeling vibrations transmitted through. If I get a rod for worming that does not have a foregrip do you think I would be able to feel anything more than I would normally?? I'd have 3 fingers in contact with the blank, and to me I think that having two stronger fingers touching the actual blank would make more difference than having one touching that is "less connected" to me. Hard to explain I guess but I just think I can tell more about what's going on if I have more fingers touching the blank. Seems I am more connected to the index and middle finger feelings than I am with the pinky finger. If any of this makes sense let me know cause it sure sounds crazier when I see it in print than it did thinking it. Hope you know what I'm really asking here.

Hahahahahah I've never seen that video before. That's funny stuff. That's a TV commercial. Seen it quite often. I'm sure that rod's lineguides are more than a little damaged after that though.

:-X

Someone said Abu is not known for spinning reels?? I think the Cardinal has been a mainstay in the Abu lineup for several decades now and have heard a lot about it. And if that's not enough to get them known then I'm sure this Soron STX is gonna be the next prodigy for sure. Is there any plastic on the thing at all?? About every part on it that they can make metal is made from aluminum or steel. How much more durable can you get than that?? For the $5 difference in a Tierra vs. a Soron STX I'd say it's gotta be a Soron STX. Not knocking the Tierra at all cause it looks like wonderful reel but this Soron STX seems overbuilt in every way possible. Not the SX version in red, but the blue one. The red one has a graphite rotor. The blue one is nearly 100% aluminum.

Yes. In other words.....BOTH. There's not a wrong way to fish one, there's just unproductive, somewhat productive, more productive, and most productive, in terms of how to do it. Sometimes what's unproductive from before will become more productive later on. You just need to start fishing them, experiement with different speeds, stop and go, jerks, bumping stuff under water with them, and just anything you can think of to try. Sometimes the most useless seeming cast can produce a fish while the most well placed cast will come up with nothing. I caught that one in my picture while letting a crankbait drift on top of the water with the current doing absolutely nothing. He hit it twice before I got him (missed the first one). After a while you'll learn what works and what doesn't. By the way, that Rat-L-Trap is too a crankbait. It's a lipless crankbait.

This is what I do as well. I think we're in the minority on the spinning reel crank being on the right side. After this thread I'm beginning to think I'm in the minority with right handed baitcasters also.

I'm curious, is there anybody out there who fishes with both left and right handed baitcasters?? What would be your reasoning behind this?? I'm wondering if there would be any advantage to me learning to crank left handed over right handed. I can cast with both hands now, but left is not as good as right obviously since I'm right handed. However I pitch with the rod in my left hand ONLY. Seems that sometimes I could get a good deal on a reel but the one I may find may only be left handed so I miss out on it since I don't crank left. If I learned how I could grab a reel at a good deal and still use it. But if that's the only reason for doing so, I'm not sure that's enough??

I checked that rod out there, and it does look pretty good. Never heard of Zirconium guide inserts though. What's that compare to in terms of aluminum oxide, hardloy, alconite, SiC, and all those others?? For $90 though that rod has my attention. But I did notice the medium and medium heavy have the same lure weight range. Not sure about that either.

Haha. You forgot the rocket fisherman.....the reel that casts itself. ;D

I don't know about that Carbonlite, I've heard a lot of good stuff so far and it looks awesome. But my money is on the Shimano Compre. It's what I use but I have no interest in split grips. Compre doesn't offer them anyway so that's good for me. Wouldn't mind having a split grip for the novelty of it, they look cool, but I think it's going to be hard to beat that Compre with any other rod in that price range, split grips or not.

Abu Garcia currently offers Black Max, Silver Max, and Pro Max all in low profile models (newer reels, not older versions), all have plastic or graphite frames. Some of these (maybe all) are names resurrected from the past from reels that were better than the modern day namesakes are. Surprisingly I've actually heard good things mentioned about the current Black Max and Silver Max though, being that they are cheaper reels. The Pro Max is a grade higher but I hardly hear anything about it. Myself, if it doesn't have an aluminum frame, I won't touch it.

I've made my own for years by purchasing gym bags. Found out a while back that many of the zipper pockets on these bags are exactly sized to hold 3600 boxes, some are for smaller boxes as well, some even for the 3700 size. It's like they measured for it when they fitted them. The one I have now holds quite a few of the 3700 sized boxes (3701's are thinner, more adjustable with smaller available spaces internally, and are awesome for crankbaits, no wasted space, each in it's own spot, get more boxes in the bag this way too). I also have 1 of the 3600s in it's own zipper pocket on the front outside the main bag. The two vertical pockets, one on each end, would also each hold a 3600 as well but I use these spaces to put soft plastics in their own pouches in. Holds a good dozen or more bags per side so I have nearly 30 types of worms, lizards, and craws with me at any one given time. The main compartment of the bag is so stuffed with boxes that the last space at the top is not usable to insert just one more box due to the fact that the box is wider than the opening and needs to be inserted and manuvered to lay flat (I don't stand them up, too much tangling of hooks that way). So to overcome this, I just put three 3500s side by side, one in at a time and filled it to full capacity this way since I can put smaller ones in and slide them back under the fabric and then pop the last one in right in the middle. Zipped up there is absolutely zero room for any movement of boxes to shuffle around. 3500s work well to hold hooks and sinkers, swivels, things like this where if you spill them you don't spill a lot since the box is too small to hold much. This system could not be more perfect. When I beat the bank, I have a shoulder strap for carrying this rig. When I go on the boat it is perfect to carry everything compactly but easily reachable. Other things it has are places outside to strap a 20 oz. drink bottle to, or cell phone pocket, stuff like that. I paid $20 for it total, but I already had the boxes. They don't cost much to purchase one at a time when needed and I've had them for years so when the bag wears out, another $20 and I'm good for a few more years.

Advantage to rear drag spinning reels.........quick adjustments during a fight. Ability to quickly change spools of line without having to readjust the drag again, just pop off and pop on. If you string your rod up and forget to loop the line under the bail first, no problem, pop it off, open the bail and pop it back on again. Advantage to front drag spinning reels..........larger drag washers so they might disipate heat better for fighting fish that tend to run a lot. Also when a reel comes with a spare spool you are getting an extra set of drag washers built right into the spare spool vs. a rear drag only has just the one (much smaller) set. Also having the drag applied right at the spool seems mechanically to me like it would just work better since the rear drag reels have to turn the entire shaft from end to end of the reel for it to work vs. the front drag reel only has to have the spool spin on the shaft right there by the drag washers. Less moving parts this way. If you have a reel that has spool bearings so the spool spins even easier then it's so much the better but the rear drag reel turning the shaft means it rotates with some added friction as it passes through the pinion gear inside regardless of bearings. Who knows, that might actually add to the drag (very minutely) but it will definitely add to the wear factor over time. For years I fished with rear drag reels, that's all I would use. Began using front drag reels about 3 years ago and have loved them so much I don't miss the rear drag. I don't find it all that hard to adjust it during a fight either. And I think the drag pays out smoother too.