Bob Dole

For quite a while now I have had an old 5'6" Berkley rod with a Mitchell Spidercast 3000 on it. I got the setup about 12 years ago in a trade. The rod has mostly sat in the closet but I got it out the other day, cleaned the reel up and found that it still casts well and is in really good shape. So, to my question, what would be a good use for this thing? It's an IM6 blank, medium action 1/4 - 5/8 oz lure. I figure there's gotta be a good application for it, seems better than it just collecting dust. Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks

Hello, I'm looking to pick up a baitcaster rod for all around use. I'm mainly a smallmouth fisherman and spend most of my time using spinning gear but towards the end of last year I started going down to NC and visiting a friend of mine that had moved into the area and we've been going out largemouth fishing. I'm fine using some of my heavier spinning gear for weightless plastics and such for largemouth but I wanted to get a baitcaster that I can use on other things like spinnerbaits and jigs. I know that it would be optimal to have multiple rods for different applications (Lord knows I have a wide selection for different smallie presentations) but I just currently don't go down there enough to justify the cost. I have a Daiwa Tierra reel and I'm looking to pair it with a Med 6'6" or 7' rod and I'm trying to decide between the Vendetta and the Bucoo. I've heard of breakage problems with the Bucoo but didn't know if that's really a problem or a few isolated cases. As for the Vendetta I haven't heard anything bad about it, other than a really goofy name. So I'm posting here to get some opinions on either one of these, and any help is appreciated. Thanks

One of the main keys being the braid/fluoro leader or all fluoro for minimal stretch to really stay in touch with the lure. XF is nice but if your fishing O rings and circle hooks then fast action is fine.

I apologize for my smart donkey remarks but how else can you fish a crankbait besides on a reel? ;D ;D ;D Bassn you could in theory fish it on one of those Cuban yo-yo spools that some of my cousins use. Or tie it to the back of a boat and drive around the lake.

Did we have a winner?

I have a Daiwa Tierra baitcaster I'm thinking of sending off to have the bearings upgraded (probably to Reelmechanic since he seems to be the most recommended on these forums) but I got to thinking, is it possible to upgrade spinning reel bearings? I know it's done in baitcasters for primarily casting reasons but I can't help think new bearings in a spinning reel could really make a difference in smoothness. Anyone ever done this or am I out in right field for thinking about it?

Thanks for posting that video, I've been using the blood knot for the past year now w/o any troubles but that one looks a little easier to tie, I think I'll give it a try.

Freedom isn't free.

Will a regular Stradic FI spool fit on the CI4?

Regardless, seems silly, just make it hi-vis green, if I want a section to be dark green I can color it with a magic marker.

They need to make the Fireline-Braid in hi-vis green or yellow and forget the 'camo'.

St Croix Avid

Are there really benefit to them over the Premier, iirc they are the same blank and guides, or is it just $10 less and s seksy purple color?

Green or blue (for yellow line) magic marker and color the last few feet before your lure.

That may be it Wayne, looking at the spool it's filled pretty full and I could see that happening, thanks

That's the weird thing, it's happening when I'm swimming a grub. Line seems fine on a retrieve, I cast then pop, I hear the knot running through the eyelets and it's big and nasty, looks like about 20-30 loops all gathered up in a ball. Only happens on this reel, I know I had to have done something wrong somewhere.

I've been using a Soron on one of my rods for about 5 months now and really like the reel, still as smooth as the day I bought it, lays line down well, smooth drag and feels overall great, I really want to love this reel but I'm having a problem with it and line twist. This problem may be my fault and I don't know so I figured it would be best to ask. I'm using Power-pro braid (20/6) and when I spooled the line on I spooled it as you would a baitcaster, with a pencil in the spool and using tension as apposed to the old method of seeing which way the line comes off the spool then matching it to the bail rotation and laying it flat and spooling that way. The Soron has a line twist bearing in the bail and every other spinning reel that I own with this feature recommends spooling them with the "baitcster" method. Problem is that every 30th or so cast I will get a big nasty knot about 20 feet up from my lure, which usually ends in me just cutting the line, I also tend to get a lot of spiraling on my line which I don't see in other spinning reels using the same line. This is my first real experience with twist and braids so it's kinda different looking to me than twist with mono or flouro. Any other Soron users out there experience this or am I spooling this reel incorrectly?

All added to the list of brands to not buy, thanks for posting.

When did this happen, Shakespear purchasing Abu Garcia?

Sadly I didn't want to find any fault in it, but the ticking of the reel under load and the spooling issues, well I figured it was time to break down and finally go back to a Shimano even though I had avoided getting one over my last 6 reel purchases. Not that there is anything at all wrong with Shimanos, they are rock solid, it's just that I like to branch out and give other mfgrs a shot.

Dunno, it's just weird, I own Shimanos, Daiwas, Abu Garcias, etc and they are the only reels I have ever had do that. Anyhow, I returned the Supreme and got a Shimano Stradic.

Hello, I recently purchased 2 Pflueger spinning reels, a little Trion 4725GX and a Supreme 8030MG. On both reels I noticed that they would spool line up really low on the spool, sometimes outside of the line area altogether (using 4lb mono on the Trion and 10lb braid on the Supreme). On both reels I removed what is called the "sheet washer" from the main shaft which dropped the spool down some. This helped both reels spooling out a lot, the Trion spools perfect but the Supreme doesn't spool the bottom mm of the spool really well, kinda a wavy thin pattern, kinda like it's tossing line down there as apposed to spooling it but the top part of the spool is fine. I may try and find a washer about half the thickness of the original and see if that fixes it. Has anyone else ever had this happen with the Pflueger reels? Other than that they both feel fine except for a little ticking of the Supreme under load. I have to say the little Trion is the smoothest spinning reel I have ever used.

I've been thinking of trying drop shotting from a canoe on the James river here through Richmond an in some of the upper stretches. I'm wondering though is there a "cut off" current strength limit for this technique or are there changes you can make to your weight and setup to adjust? Any help or advice is greatly appreciated, thanks.