The Rooster

:-? What's a uni knot?? I just about tie a clinch knot for everything. Once in a while I'll tie a Palomar knot, but mostly it's a laziness issue for me. Clinch knot is fast and easy. Palomar is a pain sometimes cause I have to put the entire lure back through the loop again. A crankbait with two trebles is hard to do that with.

I went to the Cabela's site to check on the price of Shimano Clarus rods......which by the way, most of them are sold out! >.........and while I was there I saw that the Cabela's Tourney Trail rods are on sale (some of them anyway) for 1/2 price!!! I was tempted to immediately buy one cause I had wanted one a while back but didn't get it. For $30 compared to $60, I thought they would be nice. I want one that's pretty sensitive though, more than the average rod is in that price range, and that's why I was looking at the Shimano's to start with. I'd hate to spend money on the Cabela's rod and find out it's no better than what I already have here.

Actually the Daiwa name is on that Prodigy reel in my catalog. It says something like "engineered for Cabela's by Daiwa", whereas the Daiwa version just says "engineered by Daiwa"........or something similar. I'd have to look to know exactly what it says, right now I'm going on memory.

I'm not trying to be cheap, really I'm not. I'm just curious and wanting to gather information so I can make more educated decisions in the future about rod purchases. How does the Shimano Convergence compare to the Clarus?? Being $20 cheaper, is it a huge step down??

Never used a Cabela's Prodigy so I don't know about them. I think they are made by Daiwa if I'm not mistaken. But I have one of the BPS Extreme reels and I'm completely sold on them. As far as I'm concerned, for the money they cannot be beat. Every once in a while you see them on sale for $60, but regularly they are $80. I'm waiting on the sale again and then I'm gonna get 2 more of them. Just awesome reels for the price. They're just awesome reels in general. I was able to cast a 1/4 oz. crankbait straight into the wind with mine and get no backlash. That inertia brake they have is phenominal. As it is, I nearly don't have to thumb it at all when I make a cast of anykind. Just touch it before it hits water and never overruns at all. Well, maybe just once in a while, but that's most likely my fault when that even happens. You'll never be sorry if you get one of these. I've had mine for 2 years now and I love it.

Thanks for all of your replies. I wanted to respond to this one in particular though and to clarify for you guys what I normally do on a good day's fishing. I am used to catching 7 to 10 bass on my home waters. My brother in law has told me about catching 20 or 30, even 40 at times, all summer long on his lake. I went to it and I still only did my normal range in numbers of bass, but I watched him boat 30 that day and it amazed me. I figured up till now that he was just telling "fish stories". Not so, he actually did it. I also have known for a while now that he uses only Shimano Compre rods. He has 5 casters with Curado D reels on them and 2 spinners with Symetre reels on them. After seeing him catch as many as he bragged about, I'm sure those rods must be helping him some. I don't want to take away anything from his fishing ability. Clearly he's a better fisherman than me and I plan to learn a lot from him so I can be just as good. But if a workman is only as good as his tools allow then a fisherman is only as good as his rods will allow. I may not jump up to 30 fish immediately by just swapping rods, but if I could just double the number of fish I caught the other day, that would be 14 and would be a much better day for myself, though still less than 1/2 of what he got. I figure a nicer rod would let me feel more bites than I am able to now. That would let me know when a bass is feeling of my bait. As it was, the 4 out of 7 that I caught on the T-rigged craws, I had to wait till I saw the line running before I knew they were there. There was one fish I never saw line running on, never felt a thing hit it, I was just reeling it in for another cast and felt something different and on a hunch I set the hook and got lucky on it. I played it off as if I knew he was there :(you would've too, don't lie ;D), but in reality I had no clue until after I set the hook and felt him on the other end. So anyway, I think I'm gonna look into this further now, and if the Compre's are gonna be more affordable then I might find one on closeout and get in on that instead of the Clarus. Something to think about anyway. Thanks all.

I'd like to get a new spinning rod and it really needs to be on a budget but I want to go a little better than the $40 or less I've spent in the past. Looking at my brother in law's Shimano Compre rods, they seem to be much more sensitive than the Quest LS-7 rods I got from Dick's last year, and especially more sensitive than the Quantum Dance Class (Bill Dance rod) that I've had for a while now. All of those are IM-7 graphite and I thought they'd be more sensitive to light bites. But Saturday fishing with my brother in law, I got stomped with his 30 bass to my 7!!! :'( I wanna catch fish like he does!!! But my brother in law's Compre rods are out of my price range at $90 and $100 each for just the rod only. I'd like something similar though and the Shimano Clarus seems to be the next step down just based on price. I want to know though if they are going to be noticeably better than what I'm used to or am I just wasting that money??

I didn't notice that much difference in how far we were casting compared to each other. I was mainly watching what he was doing and trying to duplicate it, casting nearly the same places as he was but respectfully staying out of his way. He held his rod tip high at maybe a 60 degree angle so I did too. His line just didn't seem to be curved and pulled away out of the area we casted to like mine was. My line had a deep C in it when the wind would blow and his remained pretty straight and semi tight. Also his rod would flex when he would work the bait along the bottom. Mine didn't do that at all, it was staying pretty straight. So maybe the rod was yanking the bait up more than his was and allowing the slack to come into the line more than his did. We had exactly the same bait, brand and all, right down to the color even. He had given them to me to use. They were Ikey heads, I think that's what they were called anyway, the package had Mike Iaconelli's picture on it. They weighed 1/8 oz. I added a split shot sinker to my rig that was nearly the same size as the head of the original rig, so the wind wouldn't pull it as much. So I'm "assuming" that it was now closer to 1/4 oz. And it did make a difference for the better, up until the wind picked up even more and then it was back to being blown around again. He never had that problem even once that I saw and just kept yanking bass in consistantly on that rig and never had to add any weight at all. It baffled me completely. I think I'm just going to go ahead and look for another rod to use for this setup next time. Already checking out Shimano's like his. ;D

I'd probably put something a little stronger into the screw hole. I usually use a tooth pick tip broken off in the hole to help with stripped screws on things. You might even think about filling the entire hole with something that will dry decently hard but remain soft enough to twist the screw back down into it again. That would be almost like a factory new fix there.

You got 2 rods and reels on the bottom in the same area?? It might be worth a trip down with the scuba gear. By the way, if a rod and reel goes over the side, about how long would you say it has before it's not worth retrieving anymore?? Before the water and elements get to it that is??

Yesterday I went with my brother in law to one of his lakes and in the 6 hours we were there I caught 7 bass and he caught 30!!! I'd say at least 20 or more of his fish were 12" or larger (we measured some to be over 14") and the rest of them were about 10" fish. Of the 7 I got, maybe 4 of them were 12" or more. None of the ones we caught were keepers though, they have to be 15" to be keepers. We were using the same baits (shakey head rigs) but his rod setup is different than mine so I know that was the main reason I didn't catch more like he did. I had 8 and 12 pound Berkley Trilene XL mono line and he had 8 and 14 pound Berkley Transitions fluorocarbon line. Both our 8 pound lines were on spinning rods with the shakey heads tied on. I noticed that when the wind would blow my bait wouldn't make it to the bottom cause the line was blowing down the lake even with 1/4 oz. sinker. He had a 1/8 oz. sinker and his wasn't effected at all even with only 1/2 the weight. That has to be the line difference right there. His fluorocarbon line remained fairly tight from his rod tip to the water and allowed him to work his bait the way he wanted. Mine was being pulled along by the wind and wouldn't make contact with the bottom enough I could tell. Sensitivity I'm sure was a factor as well. When it did touch bottom I couldn't tell it much. He also had medium power 7 foot rods, Shimano Compre brand and type. I had a 6' medium Quest LS-7 from Dick's sporting goods. It's a nice rod but not in the same league with that Shimano. Still I think if I'd have had some fluorocarbon then I might have boated a few more fish. The line was making such a difference for me that I finally quit fishing that bait totally cause I couldn't make it do what his was doing at all. Then we fished another bait too. We were using texas rigged craws and applying Berkley bass attractant scent to them. I got 4 on this and he got at least 15. With this bait we used casting rods. His had 14 pound fluorocarbon and I had 12 pound mono. With that line even the wind was affecting him too so we both switched from 1/8 oz. sinkers to 1/4 oz. and that helped a lot. Now the wind was not a factor for that bait anymore. Again he had the 7' Shimano Compre rod, but it was medium heavy, and I had another 6' medium Quest LS-7 Dick's rod. Each time we had similar rods to what we used before, but majorly different from each other. His rod and line setup must be more sensitive than mine. That's all I can see that we did different. I'm gonna try some fluorocarbon line over the mono now to see if that makes any difference in sensitivity, that's already been decided. But do you think that a rod change might be necessary too?? Seemed his 7' rod was helping him to work his bait with the shakey head, it seemed to flex a bit more than mine did when he'd twitch it to make it hop on the bottom. And being a better rod, he might be feeling more than I can too.

I think about bass fishing a lot. What I can do to better myself at it and all, but it occurs to me that I'm used to catching a certain size range fish and usually can land it within just a minute or less, usually about 30 seconds. Those are 14 inches and under mostly. I'm trying to learn to catch bigger fish though. When I finally do lay into a good sized bass, 5 pounds or more, I'm sure that won't be the case. Is there any advice you can offer on how to fight a fish, how to play it and not lose it before I get it in the boat?? Cause I'm sure my instinct is going to be to try to get it up and in as fast as I can and I'm liable to pull too hard or let it have too much slack line so it doesn't pull off, or just panic in general when I see a good fish on the line cause I won't know what to do.

I mostly asked because earlier this year I wanted to get better at catching fish on a crankbait. Before this season I could count every fish I'd ever caught on a crankbait on one hand I think. I mean literally 5 or less in 12 years of fishing. Of course I didn't fish them a lot cause I had no confidence in them. And when I did I didn't catch anything. So this year I took off with them. Bought a bunch in the colors I thought would work well, and MADE myself use them. I was surprised at how easy it was to get strikes when I fished them a lot. But I missed more than I caught so I was told by my brother in law that I needed a special rod for that. He uses a Shimano Compre with a Curado reel, and his is a crankbait model of rod. He had me worried that I needed a crank rod. I can't really afford to run out and get a rod for every type of fishing I do, and really I'm afraid that if I got one like his, I'd not feel as much of the crankbait actions, or deflections off of structure as I would with a regular graphite rod. So I just backed off the hookset and sharpened all my hooks to the point they are like needles and I improved my hookups by at least 200%. I probably end up boating 8 out of 10 fish that strike my baits now. So I think I really don't need a special crankbait rod like he uses now, at least not for the shallow and medium running baits. Deep divers might be different but I'm about to get a 6'6" med/hvy rod for jigging anyway and thought I might make it do double duty as a deep crank rod also. As for that 6' rod, I just like using it cause it's so comfortable in my hand and casts like a dream. It casts as far as I need it to anyway. It's not capable of hitting the 100' distances I read about on here but I don't fish that far out anyway, 50' would be my average. Oh, one more thing. I tried a spinning rod for cranks and got some wicked line twist so I quickly gave that up for casting reels instead. Thanks for your suggestions though. I think what I'll do is combine my experiences with the suggestions I get here and see where that takes me in terms of rod selection on a deep cranking rod. Shallow cranks though, I think I've got that covered but I just wondered if anyone else used a regular rod for that also.

I just like 6' rods because of comfort to use. No advantage to it otherwise cause I fish from a boat or the bank. Sometimes I use a 6'6" rod for any "ig" lures (T-rig, C-rig, Jig) or any open water fishing I'm doing such as down at the river on the shore throwing a spinner into the rolling water. That's about it though.

I was thinking about getting a rod specifically made for crankbaits. I have a regular medium action 6' graphite rod that I already use now though for cranking and I like it pretty well. Do you see a problem with just using that instead of buying another rod for cranking?? At first when I was using it for cranking I was missing fish and someone told me that was probably my problem, having a rod that was too stiff for treble hooks. But now that I've eased off on the hookset (not swinging like Sammy Sosa anymore), and also I've sharpened all my hooks for easier penetration, I have no more problems and I stick most of the fish that hit the bait. I really don't think I need a cranking rod anymore. Anybody else just use a regular medium action graphite rod for cranking??

Hmmm.....I say buy a rod a foot longer than what you want, then cut the handle off and just use the blank only with no handle at all. total exposure that way. Of course you'll have to duct tape the reel on. Just kidding guys.

What kind of hook were you using for the T-rig where you missed so many fish?? I usually always use EWG 3/0 hooks, but recently I read on here in one of the articles to start using a straight shank hook because of the way it's designed, it said that the J bend of the hook will be aiming at the roof of the bass' mouth as you set the hook and it comes forward, whereas the G shape of the EWG hook sometimes misses the fish cause the eye of the hook along with the weight is directly inline with the point and it can act in the way a weedguard does and prevent the hook from catching as it exits the bass' mouth. Made sense to me when I read it. Now I'm gonna go try it, all I've ever used is EWG hooks but I miss a lot of fish, more than I catch with those. Hope that straight shank will help me, and it might help you too.

I'm on my way to Cabelas.com right now (thanks) and Bass Pro too, just in case.

No, the Sedona has 4 bearings, 3 ball type and 1 roller bearing. There is another reel that Shimano makes, looks about just like the Sedona, even is gold colored and it only has 3 bearings. Can't remember it's name right now but Wal-Mart here where I'm at sells it for $40, $10 less than the Sedona on average.

I AM gonna say a BPS combo. Particularly a Bass Pro Extreme in a 6.4:1 ratio. I don't have one of the rods but I hear great things. However I do have one of the reels and this thing is incredible!! Casts 1/4 ounce crankbaits straight into pretty heavy winds. The reel is capable of it, just your casting skills have to be up to it also. I can do it so I know it can be done though. I can't knock the Citica, it might be great but I've never used one actually. They are bulky reels though and my BPS Extreme is on the small side so it comfortably fits right in my palm. At the time I got it, I got a great price on it and that influenced my decision to get it. But now knowing what I do about them, I wouldn't care if these things costed more than a Citica, I'd get one anyway. But at $80 for the reel (sometimes $60 on sale) and $130 for the combo, this is gonna be very hard to beat and I'm glad they don't cost that much cause it's gonna let me get a couple more soon.

I normally use 8 pound Trilene XL on a medium spinning rod, 6' or 6'6", I have one of each. They do the job, but there's times I wish each one was just a bit stiffer with more backbone. I just wanted to get a stiffer rod with more backbone cause it seems to me that it would help me in working my lures with it, give more action to a topwater when I give it a twitch maybe. Also it would help in setting a hook and being heavier it would make it easier to fight a fish not bending so much. I'm only guessing based on what it feels like in my hand though. This all just seems like it should be the way it is anyway. But I'm so used to how 8 pound line that's limp casts that if I had to get heavier then I'm thinking I wouldn't like it. I know the rod says 8 pound is OK, just being the very bottom of the range I thought it might be more stressed without a giving rod to take up some of the pressure when I set a hook or fight a fish. Now it's gonna all be line stretch only is what I'm thinking. Maybe I'm overthinking it?? Good to know what all you all use. I'm gonna save this link to this thread so when I get that rod I'll remember what all was suggested to try. I like mono type lines, never used braid, and don't know what copolymer is. I guess I have some research to do.

I'm looking at a medium heavy spinning rod, a Team Daiwa-V 6'6", that's got a range of 8 to 17 # test. I've always used 8# medium spinning rods but was thinking of going medium heavy to sort of step up my game some. 8 is at the very bottom of this range though. So I'm just wondering what size you all use.

Thank you for the actual answer to my question. Now let the laughing and joking continue. Hey, I can laugh at myself too, I know I accidentally left the door wide open so I gotta take what's coming as a result. I'll be more careful next time though. ;D

So sorry to read all these things. I once left my tacklebox behind at a lake an hour away from home. Got all the way home and realized it. It didn't really have much in it but I was just starting out fishing and had collected a few things and suddenly they were ALL gone. I drove back and someone who had been there earlier had found them and was still there fishing. I asked if they remembered me and they said yes, here's your stuff. I think they were actually waiting on me to return for it. That's the way I'd like to remember it anyway. One other time, on the same lake, a friend of mine left behind his tacklebox as we relocated from one area to another (bankfishing). We were only gone 15 minutes and went straight back to get it since it was in an area that was remote and no one else had been there when we left. It was visible from the road though. When we got there his tacklebox was gone. Someone must have driven by and seen it and stopped to get it. In hind sight to all this I think it would be a good idea to put a lable onto your stuff if you could so that an honest person has the chance to do right when they find it. But it's sad to say that many people won't do right even when they are given the chance. I know some people personally who would rather just tear the tag off and keep it for themselves. I myself would never do such a thing and would not allow it to happen if I witnessed them find it instead of myself either.

I think I'd go far enough to say it depends on what baitcaster it is. A cheapo one with poor build quality won't let the spool free spin as fast as might be necessary to cast great distances. I have an old Quantum EX250 with 2 bearings only that won't cast as far as other reels with more bearings. I think it's because it doesn't have any ball bearings on the spool shaft, just brass bushings only. It'll cast a reasonable distance but it has to be a 1/4 oz. lure or heavier. I can out throw it with my BPS Extreme, hands down, and it does have bearings on the spool shaft.