PFangler

Don't pass up this offer!!! Cabela's is blowing out the Pflueger Patriarch spinning reels for $129 instead of $199. Can't say enough about what a deal that is. http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=1089580&type=product&MDK=dynbanP_SL&MDC=cat104760180

Agreed. Most people open the bail when the line roller is next to the rod blank so they can easily grab the line with their finger before casting and so they are not reaching over/around the open bail wire.

More than likely it’s not a functional problem. Since you are hearing the noise when the spool is at its farthest point it is probably caused by the spool shifting directions and the change in momentum. I have heard this on several spinning reel for an assortment of manufactures over the years but it’s never turned into something not working for me. It is louder on some reels and is more noticeable on quite days or when fineness I have found. You can enhance the noise temporally by pushing down on the spool slightly as you wind the handle. When the spool changes direction you will hear a louder click from the added pressure. I have a feeling this is what you are experiencing.

Personally I think the main problem is with the way your bait is rigged. The gap on your jig head’s hook isn’t large enough to expose enough of the hook to get a good set. I would either use a weighted hook, Texas’ rig, or a jig with a wide gap hook. This link should help illustrate how I would fish your grub. http://www.kevinwakeman.com/rigweedless.htm I also agree your problem is probably in part due to the rod. I haven't used or felt a Denali 6'6" finesse but finesse rods by design are typical stiffer and faster than an all purpose rod like Cherrywood. It should help you feel the bite sooner and get better hook set.

While the sound can be annoying there is nothing wrong with your reel and typically becomes unnoticeable with line on the spool. The noise is caused by a change in momentum as the spool hits the top or bottom of its oscillation and reverses direction. It is more predominate in some reels vs others but there isn’t anything wrong with the reel. I have found it tends to be less noticeable when line is added to the spool not sure why other than maybe the added weight helps muffle the sound.

Noise is caused by a combination of the line in guides. For some reason certain combinations make more noise than others. With that said I would 100% without a question use Spiderwire Ultracast Invisi-Braind for light braid applications or any freshwater spinning reel application. I buy bulk spools of 10lb for must of my bass fishing and use quite a bit of 6lb with a fluorocarbon leader for river fishing. I have found it is supper strong, soft (not stiff), and it's a fused braid so it works well on spinning reels. Fused braids are rounder than traditional braided lines and tend to act more like mono when used on a spinning reel so less tangles and wind knots.

I would say go with a spinning setup 5' to 6'. If you want something inexpensive Shakespeare makes an Amphibian combo which comes in two very cool neon colors Orange and Green. The rods are 5'6 so it's very manageable for a kid and it's prespool for $19.99. You can beat that kind of price. My nephews lover their combos and they have held up great for the past few month. Ugly stik isn't a bad way to go either because the rods can handle the abuse kids tend to inflect on things. If you use a baitcast reel something fun to try would be the Shakespeare EZ Cast. I have seen a couple of videos on youtube and it looks great. I wish I would have seen this before I bought the Amphibians since my nephews want to fish a baitcast reel but get frustrated using a traditional baitcast reel and end up going back to their spinning combos. The EZ Cast is like a set of training wheels for baitcast reel.

Abu's bail wires are solid Aluminum and the NanoShielded material looks very cool especially if it delivers on the lighter stronger quote.

They were on display at the Bassmaster Classic and they were nothing like the Duckett rods. The Abu rods use a standard guide system and looked a 100x better. With that said the Duckett rods felt good in your hand which is to be expected when there aren't any guides (not sure micro guides count as guides). Needless to say I picked up a Duckett to see what it's all about and will let you know what I find out.

Abu has this really cool new braking system on a lot of their Revo reels. Its call a pitch centrifugal braking system and it is a modified centrifugal brake especially designed for pitching. BIG BIG fan of this! The problem I have had pitching is the spool never turns fast enough to activate the centrifugal brake blocks but this new system works great when pitching. The pitch breaks turn on as soon as you let her rip really giving you that added control when pitching also works great on a windy day. The down side for your maybe I haven't seen a flipping switch model in Abu other than their Max reels which I don't think is what you're looking for. So if you can live with out the flipping switch I would say get a Revo S or if you really need line capacity try the High Speed Toro 6.4:1 according to their web page holds 200yds/14lbs. Another cool thing is the reel can be used like a normal baitcaster just use any of the 3 standard centrifugal brakes instead of the pitching brakes.

My experience is when you buy a combo you are paying for the reel and getting a free rod almost. If you are a technique specific guy buy the rod separate however if your looking for a general purpose rig combos typical work. If you're looking for a baitcaster my understanding is the Abu Max reels have a good rep because of their price value. The Max reel I saw had a flipping switch which doesn't really fit my style. I guess you wouldn't have to use the flipping switch however I have had my eye on the Templar baitcaster at Wal-Mart for a few months just haven't pulled the trigger. That baby spins like a banshee in package and looks like a heck of a deal. If you're looking for a great value the guys at Bass Pro were pushing me towards a President spinning reel this weekend in NC. Said the sell the snot out of them I think Wal-Mart also carries the President but don't quote me on that. It was around $50-60 bucks. I just bought a Pflueger Arbor not to long ago and can't justify a new spinning reel yet but its fun to look. Based on my experience with the Arbor I will probably try out another Pflueger at a higher price point the next go around.

A-Jay how is that Supreme treating you? I have been holding off on a new Supreme because last year they introduced a new XT version in Japan and it looked HOT. I am trying to attach a photo in the post. Hope it works. I was thinking they would release it here in the US but no luck yet maybe this year. It's a major upgrade for that mustard color if you ask me.

Used the Arbor on and off the combo and it works great. A Pflueger 30 size is smaller than a Shimano 2500. If they made the Arbor in a 35 size it would be a better comparison based on the sizing of traditional reels in Pflueger. If you're fishing fluorocarbon like me its hard to beat. Not only does the larger arbor prevent coils the slower oscillation and short stork of the spool prevents tangles. Smooth reel that can cast a mile.