The Rooster

Recently I asked this question in the Shimano forum concerning the Shimano Compre rod, which is a darn good rod for $100 - $110 depending on length (SSHHH!!! don't tell Shimano, but I think they're UNDER priced). I wanted one to use for jigging and texas rigging worms, and also to double duty as a frog rod. The suggestion I got was to use the Shimano Compre 7' MH with the XF tip action. It would do jigs, t-rigs, and also do frog duty if the slop I am fishing them in isn't too too heavy. Around here, there aren't a lot of lily pads or grassy mats, just some occasional grass or other leafy water plants, so I should be good with that choice. Check them out, those rods are extremely light weight but strong. The Citica would look good on it too, and keep the brands all the same (not that that's so important cause I have a Bass Pro Extreme sitting on my Shimano rods). BTW, the model number for that rod is CPCX70MHB. There's also a CPC70MHB, which is the same rod but with a fast tip instead of an extra fast tip. I could also see this rod doing spinnerbait duty as well since I use a MH for that anyway, but I like a 6'6" version for that. Still, that rod would serve a variety of functions. Spinnerbaits Jigs Texas rigged worms, craws, lizards, creatures, beavers Frogs Those are some of the uses you could get out of it.

I was told that a crankbait rod will help keep the treble hooks from tearing out as you set the hook. I've missed a few fish in the past because I used a graphite rod and pulled the bait out as I set the hook so this seems to be true, but I also fish a jerkbait on a graphite rod and usually do pretty good and they all have treble hooks too. The fish in my avatar I caught just last weekend using a crankbait (you can see it hanging out in the pic) and it was on a graphite rod. However I missed him the first time around and 5 minutes later I caught him again and that time I didn't miss. I had my drag backed off just a bit to try to compensate for the stiffness in the graphite rod and maybe that helped some on the second swing. So I thought I had the answer for future crankbait fishing, just loosen the drag a couple clicks. Then just now on another site I read that a crankbait rod can also help add action to the bait that it won't have otherwise. Is that true?? I still have to get a rod for my cranking reel. That's the reel in the pic but I just have it on an old rod. I was going to get a Shimano Compre to match my other casting rods, and as you know they're $100 or more so this has to be the right rod when I buy it. I don't want to regret my choice after it's too late to do anything about it. So, do I need a cranking rod or can I just use a straight up graphite rod?? The Compre comes in both types and they're both the same price.

The 7.1 is nice for when a fish charges at you, you can take up line quicker in order to either set the hook or just pick up the slack and help keep tension on the line. Otherwise when fishing the bait, there's no distinct advantage. Maybe the convenience of a quick retrieve for making another cast a little faster. That's all I know of though. I bought a 7.1 just for this purpose, to be a worm/jig reel.

The Quantum Catalyst looks sweet. Anyone own one?? Does it have aluminum sideplates on both sides, making the whole reel basically aluminum, frame and all??

Any reel that has an instant anti reverse in it will have that roller bearing. Different companies call them different things. Shimano calls theirs "Super Stopper" for example. Some say instant, some say continuous. It's all the same technology, they do it with a one way roller bearing, meaning it will only turn in one direction, and they're all built the same (as far as I've ever seen, but I've seen a lot of them, only exceptions are spinning reels have a way to turn them "off" so they rotate in both directions, baitcasters do not). They have a hex shaped frame to fit into the reel and prevent the frame from turning, then they have rollers inside that riding on a cylinder shaped sleeve. They stay together because when they're inside the reel, there's no way for them to come apart, too many things surrounding them and holding them together. There's a tendency for the sleeve to try to pull out of the middle of it though as you take the reel apart. Once the bearing is removed from the reel, the sleeve can potentially fall right out and that allows the rollers to fall out as well. On baitcast reels this bearing is located on the main cranking shaft, the same shaft the handle and drag star are on, so you know where to look.

Recently I saw a rod at Walmart that was only $30. It was a 7' Mitchell Avocet complete with a 4 bearing spinning reel, the Mitchell Avocet II. As I looked at it, I was impressed that it was worth the $30 and would last a while. If you get 2 or 3 years out of it, it's been worth it and then you'll have had some experience using a spinning rod/reel and also had time to shop around to see what all else you may like to replace it with when the time comes while you were using that one. And that same reel is also available separately for $20 and you can match your own rod to it if you don't like the one that's on the combo. It's a cheap reel but at $20 it's affordable and actually underpriced for how nice it is in reality. You might match that to a Shimano Voltaeus ($40), which has a lifetime warranty, making it well worth the money it costs, and then you'd have $60 plus tax in that whole outfit. You'll have to look around for the Voltaeus though, Walmart doesn't have that one. Local tackle stores might, mine here do, and also Cabela's catalog or online site has it. Of course Walmart has several others that aren't too expensive either. You could pair an Abu Garcia Cardinal ($35) with any rod there still in your price range of what you have left to spend. One in particular is the Quantum Torsion for $20 or so, and it's a medium 7' long IM-6 graphite rod. That's $55 plus tax. The rod is so so but the reel is pretty decent and will probably outlast the rod by a long time so you could get started using that now and just upgrade the rod later when you have more money. I had 2 Cardinals that lasted me 10 years once. They are pretty well built for their price.

If you want to build something, do it because that's what you enjoy doing and want something unique and different, or maybe a little better sounding. Yeah it's gonna cost more than a cheap portable radio but it will be fun, look cool (depending on the viewer), and sound pretty good too. If you just want some music to break the monotany of a dull day, this might not be the way to go. Personally, I'm the type that would get a cooler and some speakers, wire, a deck, and go crazy, might even include built in CD storage in there somewhere. Small amps, whatever I might happen to think of. It would be gaudy and possibly ugly when I got done but it sure would sound sweet and no one else would have one, that's for sure!! It would look better built into the boat though. Only problem is you'd have to get speakers that would be marine grade (Polk and Kicker make some though, don't always have to be "boat" speakers). Then the deck has to be protected as well. Only reason I haven't done it on my boat yet is cause it would cost me more than I'd get usage out of it. I could see $300 or more in it and right now that would get me 3 more Shimano Compre rods instead, which I...umm...need?? Yeah, need is the right word. ;D

Well, any two piece rod I've ever bought I've always rammed them together so tightly that it took two people to pull them apart so in essence it was like having a one piece rod. Don't laugh, I'm serious. My wife nearly fell on her butt one day helping me pull one apart, it was so tight. We played tug of war until suddenly it popped apart and she staggered backwards. ;D So I doubt I lost "that" much sensitivity. I used to get them because they would come apart and fit in the trunk when I first started fishing. Those were "pre-boat" days. Now that I have a boat I don't take them down anymore, and just to avoid the risk of diminished sensitivity I only buy a two piece rod when I really want a particular rod and a one piece in the same kind is not available. Otherwise, I get all one piece rods now.

I started out with mono and stayed with it for many years. It was good line, held up strong, did on occasion break but thankfully never with a good fish on. Wind was a bit of an issue since it tends to float so it gets blown around and keeps my lure from sinking like I want. Then this year I began using fluorocarbon after many years of nothing but mono. Sensitivity increased for sure, I stay much more in contact with what the lure is doing at the moment. Also I don't have as many problems in the wind as I used to since the line naturally sinks. That said, next time I spool up (this coming winter when I replace all my lines) I plan to get some Yo-zuri Hybrid. I've read so many wonderful things on this line, how it's tougher than fluorocarbon and resists fraying more. I've just got to try it. I've not had any problems with fluorocarbon but my brother in law who got me into using it says that if it frays or gets a nick in the line then it will snap and cause you to lose a good fish or a costly bait. Don't want to take that chance. I can't really recommend a line 100%. I'll just tell you my experiences and let you take them for what you get out of them.

Why thanka....thanka very much. ;D

Some people believe the sensitivity is diminished on a 2 piece vs. a 1 piece. With me, the jury is still out on that one. I've never seen anything that would cause me to believe that but I'm not the most experienced person in using jigs or other lures that require a lot of sensitivity. However, now that I'm getting more into fishing lures that need more sensitivity, I have been buying one piece rods.........just in case! ;D So far, I have owned quite a few 2 piece rods and have never had any problems with the better ones. Cheaper ones would periodically send the top half out into the lake with the lure on a cast.

I only have one Ugly Stik, but it's been a good one, it's my oldest rod, I've had it over 10 years. No one can say they aren't durable cause mine's seen and caught a LOT of fish. Anyway, they aren't so great for things where sensitivity comes into play such as jig fishing or T-rigging a plastic worm. But for crankbaits and even spinnerbaits they are pretty good. Especially with crankbaits and any other lure that has trebles, the softer action of the rod will help keep you from tearing the hooks out of the fish's mouth when he hits. They're also good for catfishing, carp fishing (yes I do this), or even bass fishing using live bait. When you look at all the uses you can get out of it, there's really only a very few places where you wouldn't want to use it in bass fishing.......sensitivity areas. The only serious drawback to an Ugly Stik for bass fishing that I don't like is the weight of the rod. They're heavy. The one I have is an Ugly Stik Lite Pro, so it's a bit lighter but it's still heavier than a graphite rod like my Shimanos are. Compared to them, there is no comparison. If it's an Ugly Stik Classic (the ones with the orange spiral wraps on the bottom) then it's going to be even heavier overall. That can fatigue the hand after a while of throwing a spinnerbait. So obviously not the best choice for that.......but this isn't the best situation is it?? There's pop's feelings to consider, and that to me is worth more than any fishing rod out there. If it were me, I'd keep it and find a way to use it, and then I'd make sure he saw me using it everytime we went fishing together.

Yeah, now one of those big ones would be a lot better. Good idea about numbering them too. And you could double up on some things like the screws holding the sideplates on if they're the same size and you have more than one. Or some things that are obviously not easy to mix up such as the handle and drag star, you always know which order those go back in. The internals are what you'd want to make sure you lay out exactly as they came out and only put one per hole in the carton.

Yeah. They are little metal cylindrical shaped rollers instead of balls. I made the mistake of removing the metal sleeve in the middle of a roller bearing on a spinning reel once and a couple of the rollers fell partially out. It was "real fun" putting them back too as you can imagine. Fortunately for me the bearing had a lot of grease on it so it mostly held the rollers in place and only those 2 moved around, and even they didn't fall all the way out. I can imagine if they all did. In short, AVOID IT. ;D

Are you related to Muddy?? ;D That rod/reel choice sounds like his setup (unless he's changed since I was on here last year).

Thanks for that link. I added it to favorites to check out later, looks interesting. To me, I found it no trouble to learn to do this as I'm pretty mechanically inclined. Some it comes easy for, some not so much. But if you keep all your parts in some kind of organization to let you know how to reassemble them then it will be a LOT easier to learn. I like to be aware of what each part is doing on the reel (its job) before I remove it and that way I know where it should go back if I drop it or forget where it was before I took it off. Some parts are easy to figure out and some aren't because they may have a shape to them that is totally customized to fit them in their place where they belong. But just laying out loose on the table, they look like nothing at all and give you no clues to how they would fit. I'm not sure about the egg carton since it would only have 12 or 18 holes to use. You will have a lot more parts than that and would have to double up, or even triple up or more in order to make it hold everything. Then if you don't put them back in the proper order as you dig them out of the little cups, things will not work or fit right. Good luck though. I like the camera idea, photo before you remove parts then reference the pics. Some parts will fit either way but only one way is right, such as with washers that are bent (opposing). They are supposed to fit like this () but sometimes people put them back like this )( instead. Also the main gear will go on the shaft either way but it's cupped to hold drag washers and needs to go on in only one way. Roller bearing too, it only turns one way but might fit on both ways. Your reel would turn backwards. That would be horrible to put it all back together and then have to tear it down again to flip the roller bearing around. NOTE: that roller bearing will fall apart on you if you pull the sleeve out of the center of it. Don't let it come apart or you'll have real fun : putting that one back together. And this might sound like I am giving you great advice but I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff. I'm good at this while doing it but only so so at explaining how to do it. And even at that, I'm not an expert, I've made mistakes and had to disassemble it again to fix them. Takes time to learn it, and it helps if you have more than one of the same reel as well incase you did do something wrong, you could always open up the second one to look at in order to see how it goes back together. GOOD LUCK!!!

Makes sense. My suggestion is a Bass Pro Shops Extreme, model ETX10SE (it's right handed crank, get model ETX10SLE of you want a leftie). It's a 5.4:1 ratio and pulls in 23" of line per handle turn. It's retail price is $79.99, but many times it can be had for $60 or $65 on sale. If you look on ebay you might find one of last year's models, the ETX10SD, which I personally have. I like the brakes on it better than this year's model. It has the inertia brake (centrifugal/magnetic hybrid) compared to this year's model only having just the magnetic brake. This year's model also has the swept inward handles vs. last year's are the traditional type. Otherwise virtually the same reel, aluminum frame and all.

If you're going to tear it down, I suggest laying out a clean cloth to put all the parts on instead of just the table top. Keeps them from sliding around quite as much. A towel works but if it's a bath towel then there is potential for lint to be stuck to the parts as you reassemble it so look them over. I like a dish towel or something not quite as thickly knapped as a bath towel is. Take the reel apart in an orderly fashion, slowly so as not to damage anything or drop parts. Lay them out in the order they came apart in so reassembly will be easier. MAKE SURE THERE'S NO LITTLE KIDS AROUND THAT LIKE TO STICK THEIR HANDS IN STUFF OR YOUR LIFE WILL BE MISERABLE TRYING TO DO THIS. The last thing you need is a jumble of parts that you forgot how to put back together. When I break mine down, I wash thoroughly all the parts, dry them making sure there's no lint on the parts, then modestly grease the gears making sure to get grease between every tooth on the gears, and then put one or two drops of reel oil on all the bearings. One good drop should be enough on them really. You don't want grease or oil on the drag washers though, not unless the reel calls for it. Well, that's my experience with it. I do my reels every year in this fashion. Mine aren't Pflueger Trions though, but they are Bass Pro Shops Extremes which are made by Pflueger. So far, so good.

Shimano Compre 6'6" medium rod with fast tip, model CPC66MB. Works great with a Rapala X-Rap #08!!! I'm loving the action it gives me. This is not the cranking version of this rod, it's a straight up IM-8 graphite rod. At first I thought I needed some kind of cranking rod cause the bait has trebles on it but I didn't want the rod quite as soft as that would have been. So I just backed the drag on my casting reel off just a little bit and then it was perfect for setting the hook and not tearing out the trebles. I use it for crankbaits also.

How quick do you need it?? Lots of times in the fall Bass Pro Shops puts their Extreme on sale for $60 - $65 and it's a SOLID reel (I know I own 5 of them anyway). Casts very smoothly, and long distances, slick feeling on the retrieve, very comfortable to palm in the hand and it's loaded with features that are right up their with higher dollar reels such as an aluminum frame and japanese stainless steel ball bearings. Their stout little reels too, no give in these babies.

It was a very nice day. My brother was also there but his day was not quite as nice. He was using one of my rods with a crankbait on it, thought he had it snagged and went to pulling on it with a tap, tap, tap motion to free the bait............and up comes this HUGE bass that would have dwarfed mine and throws the bait at him. He was sick!!!!!! Then he proceeds to repeatedly cast to the spot where he lost it and finally he loses the crankbait to a real snag. It was the only one I had in that size and color (it was my lure) so then he gets dad's cause he has an identical one (my brother had none of his own), and he finally lost that one too. At that point he gave up, discouraged. He thought he might get that fish back cause earlier I had done the same thing with the larger fish above. I hooked it but it got off. A few casts later he hit it again and that time I nailed him. I could tell it was the same fish cause it came from the same area and also had the mark in his lip where the lure had stuck him the first time and he had came off. Worked for me but not my brother. Tough luck but normally it's me missing fish while he nails them.

Went fishing at Yatesville lake in Kentucky today, actually the spillway below the lake's dam. Down there the bass only have to be 12 inches long to be keepers, but we scored some keepers that would have been even if they were in the lake (15" plus). I got one that was 16 inches and one that was 15 1/2 inches. Only 1/2 inch difference in the fish but the weights between them were dramatically different. The 16 inch fish was a lot beefier than the shorter one was. You be the judge, the pics are below. The first one is the larger 16 inch bass. I didn't weigh it (no scales) but I'm guessing 2 1/2 pounds?? The second one is 15 1/2 inches but it felt a lot lighter weight and even looks it to me. Dad also got a 16 inch bass but I messed up the resolution on the cell phone camera so his pic was smaller than mine but you can still see it. But the pics are pretty good for a cell phone I think. This first fish fell prey to a Bandit crankbait, 1/4 oz. square billed shallow diver. The second one I really caught first but I got it on a Rapala X-Rap #8 size, olive colored pattern. I also got one more bass on the crankbait but it was only about 10 - 11 inches or so, so no pics of it.

Funny you should say that about line twist, I've noticed my President has the worst line twist problem of any reel I've ever owned. The Trion I own isn't as bad but I have a smaller version of it, the 4730GX, and also only 8 lb. line on it (maybe those two factors effect it for the better somehow). The President is the 6735 size and has 10 lb. line and it's horribly twisted after a few trips.

Yeah, what he said 40 bucks @ basspro. Even better is the president 35 or 40 series for 60 (10 bearings as apposed to 7 woohoooo) I only use pflueger spinning reels and 9 of my rods are rigged with them! Hey, as a matter of fact this 6 1/2 came on that exact reel (Trion 4735gx) You do get 10 bearings with the President. I even own one myself. The extra bearings are as follows.....2 in the handle to make it feel even slicker than it already is, and one under the spool on the spool shaft to allow the drag to perform a bit smoother. Other than the super slick feel of the handle though, it's basically a glorified Trion GX. The President also has an aluminum sideplate whereas the Trion is all graphite only. I've had two Presidents now though and both of mine have had a grinding to the gearing. The second one is not nearly as bad as the first was (it was completely unenjoyable to use). But even the new one still has a little bit and I'm wondering if it's going to get worse as time goes on. I have a Trion and it's never had those problems. Not sure if the President is made at a different factory than the Trion, could be some machining issues maybe (cause otherwise the Prez and the Trion should be virtually the same??). Anyway, all I can say is, after 2 Presidents and one Trion, the Trion is an awesome value for what you get. The President would be even better if I could just seem to purchase one that was as smooth as it has the potential to be.

Good finesse rod for around $100?? I gotta go Shimano Compre on this. I'm lovin' my Compre's. Very light and sensitive to a fault (if there can be such a thing).