USMCGrunt

Much like a lot of stuff coming from Asia, the labor unions aren't as much of a factor there as they are here in the US that demand much higher wages and benefits for workers which leads to lower costs for foreign-made products. Sorry, but I tend to believe that it was the unions that put our auto manufacturers in the state they are in now. Sure there are other factors but I still believe that the unions also played a major role in that as well. As far as the sham-wow guy, does that lisp of his remind anyone else of Sid the Sloth in the Ice Age movies? :-?

I have always been a spinning reel guy. This summer I thought I would give a baitcasting reel a chance but didn't want to spend a lot of money on one in case I didn't like it. I went with a Pinnacle Platinum from the local Wal-mart that set me back I think something like $40 or so. So far I've caught a couple cats with it and a few bream in the few times I've been able to go fishing this year. All-in-all, I bought this reel as a test-bed to see if I like the design and even for a cheap reel, it has performed quite well. Sure, I'll probably get a few more higher quality baitcasting reels before next summer but that little Pinnacle turned out to be a pretty decent reel as well.

Once upon a time, a Chinese arms merchant stopped by a village to sell his wares. He was proudly proclaiming his finest sword made and all of it's virtues. "This sword will penetrate through the strongest armor and the heaviest of shields." he said. A young peasant hearing his claims stepped up and asked him if he sold any shields. Being a peasant, he was never trained with the sword but believed a good shield would protect him. "Here I have the finest shield ever made" said the merchant and went on to proclaim on how fine a shield it is. "This shield is of such high quality that no sword or arrow will be able to penetrate it." The peasant paused and then asked him, "what of that sword you were just trying to sell that can penetrate any armor or shield?" The merchant stood there for a moment and finally said, "I am sorry but I must leave to go to the next village." The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I guess my wife isn't really into fishing at all but she will go out and humor me from time to time with my recently re-acquainted hobby. I figured there isn't much sense in spending a lot of money on a rod and reel for her at this time so I've currently got her a Wal-Mart rod on an old Daiwa reel that is older than me. Anybody ever hear of a Daiwa Number 7 sold through the old Coast-to-Coast hardware stores? :-? Anyways, from what I've heard, the Daiwa Goldcast is a pretty good reel as is the Zebco ZO3 Omega reel. Doesn't Abu Garcia also make a pretty good spincast reel as well?

I just got one here last week at the local PX and tried it over the 4th of July weekend. I'm not a fishing guru of any sort or even all that experienced but it seemed like a nice rod to me.

What tends to work better, tying your line directly to the lure or using a snap swivel between the line and lure? I've heard that tying directly on the lure gives the lure a more natural action but using a snap swivel is faster changing out lures if one isn't working and in some lure designs, it needed to prevent some serious line twist. What method do you use?

Well, just an update here. I finally decided to go with the Sahara. Got the last one they had yesterday at the PX. Had a chance to try it out in the back yard last night and it sure is a pretty decent reel! Thanks for all the help!

What's the main difference between these two designs? I know that the low profile is far more common but there are still some of the old style round reels being sold as well but not nearly in the same numbers. So what's the big advantage to low profile reels that they are the most common baitcasting reel design?

Has anybody ever used a Browning Citori spinning reel? What's your opinion of them? Worth the money or is the price mainly in the Browning name? Thanks.

Hmm, just had another thought about the reels I've been looking at. Does anybody know off hand what kind of material is used in their gear constructions? I'm guessing it's brass gears but with the number of reels out there today with plastic gears in them, could it be plastic gears used in these reels as well? :-/

Well, I have never broke one yet but the movers from TMO when we first PCS'd from Minot to Hurlburt Field managed to break one. Wasn't an expensive one as I recall but I was reimbursed for it on our claim.

OK, so I'm hearing a lot about using a 2500 size reel rather than the larger 3500/4000 size. I guess this past winter when I was deployed to Kandahar, I spent a lot of time talking to my team leader. I'm the CATM/gun guy (read this as very knowledgeable about firearms and hunting but coming up WAY short on the fishing side :-[ ) and he was a big fan of fishing and his recommendation was a bait-casting reel with a MH rod and 12-15 pound line. I guess what I was thinking was doing something similar in the spinning reel class (I'm not really that good with a bait caster and it's nice to be able to switch hands every now and again with a spinning reel) by trying to go with a reel that is designed around 12-15 pound line and a MH rod. That's what lead me to believe the 3500/4000 class would be what I'm looking for. So just how far off am I here on my thinking? :-[ Am I F'd up as a football bat or might my plan be able to actually work?

OK, so it's been a few years since I've done any fishing but with my son getting older, I figure I better get back into the game. I've been looking at getting a new spinning reel and the three that I've narrowed down are all in the $80 price range and from what I can guess all very similar. Originally I've shied away from the Sahara due to the graphite side plate thinking I would prefer an all-metal reel this time but I'm not sure if the graphite side plate is all that much weaker to be a problem or not. So which one would you choose and why? Thanks.