Basswhippa

I had a dolphin grab a hooked Spanish one time. That was a hit! But check out the following: This one. http://www.sliptalk.com/shark-bait/

I had been making perfect casts far under a crowded Guntersville bridge with a small worm and 3/16 ounce lead bullet weight and catching some decent bass. Feeling kind of cocky, I told my then 15 YO son "WATCH THIS" as I let the Calcutta rip. You guessed it, The loud ping was a dead giveaway that I had just hit the top of the bridge square on and you could hear a big "Poof" overrun and the dying laughter of a 15 YO that knew his dad had just finished using that reel for the day. The 3/16 ounce weight was flat as a pancake it hit so hard. He chuckled for a while. I'll never live that one down.

X2. The higher end Lews are basically the same as the $59.00 ones with a couple of extra bearings in the handle and here and there. Stick with Shimano.

Since ergo is a non issue, the answer to your question is as follows. 1. If you find yourself casting 3/8 ounce baits or smaller, get the modern reel. They are more capable. 2. If you find yourself casting 3/8 ounce baits or more, keep the greenies. They will leave the others in the dust due to their very heavy spools. 3. If you really aren't as concerned about casting distance as your OP indicates, get the modern reel, as who cares about an extra 15 or 20 feet. One last thought, if you love your other greenies, parts will eventually get scarce and you over time you will lose them to attrition. Keeping the new reels will keep you running greenies that much longer. Decisions, decisions.

Clarificatino please. Is that Iglides or iSlides

Awesome mount. Any idea which state the 17 pounder came from?

Glen Lau was involved. I'm thinking the 6 year age is right. Amazing and thought provoking. What could be grown down there if so many people had not moved in. I was talking to a 70 year old man who spent time in his youth there. He said he remembered when you could buy large acreage tracts if you would just pay the back taxes. Walt Disney saw the value. At one time there were 1,000 people a day moving there. That said, I would say it's the fishing guys looking for their first 10 pounder who haul the most bass out of the lakes to take them back north for the wall.

In 1991 Shimano changed the fishing reel industry for good. They introduced a reel that truly was superior to anything that had been released before. It was the Shimano Calcutta. They made there attempt to build a perfect fishing reel and got pretty darn close. Trivia. Do any of you remember exactly how the handle looked and how it was constructed on that breakthrough reel? Within a year or two, they discarded those handles and used the handle that used for all Calcuttas, Curado B's, Chronarch 100A and SF and Castaics, etc. Again, what did the handle look like on that inaugural legendary reel, the Calcutta...? Maybe someone should use the design again. It is an old and great idea. Unfortunately I misplaced the one that I had.

The article claims the Rodman Reservoir record was only 6 years old. That would explain why the technique used of trolling right over him would catch him, when giant bass are normally more cautious and reserved. Could a fish that young really reach that size even in a perfect giant bass producing area such as Central Florida? It seems far fetched. That said, big names in fishing handled the fish. What do you think. Makes you wonder if there weren't so many people who live in and travel to FL, just what could be grown down there. The fish does look very young. Interesting read. http://www.rodmanreservoir.com/Bass/bass.htm Edit thread title. It was 17 pounds 2 ounces, not 17.2 pounds.

That is what Chinese made reels do. The reason ABU's do the same thing is that they are the same thing with a different sticker. Same as Bass Pro reels too. Take it back and get yourself a Shimano Curado. One day Chinese engineering might equal Japanese engineering, but it will be a while.

If you are buying an Abu, get a Swedish made one like a 4600 or 5500, etc.. Don't get a Chinese made dud.

He was lying about his pb being only 9-10 lbs.

I've used 50 pound pp for many years and so has my son who had extreme violent hook set s and heavy action rod and neither of us had had this happen a single time. Palomar with overhand on the tag end. That is all.

Answer is ... it depends. There is a classic guide fishing post by a young man. He had come from up north and had a baseball injury. His present for all he had endured was a guided trip to Guntersville Lake. He got to watch Alex Davis "Spinnerbait Kid" catch an 8 pounder. Ha. He had a great attitude. He said he never had seen one that big before and that was kind of neat. That said, I'm sure he would have rather caught it. I never could tell if he actually had the skills to catch the fish.

You should never pour Mountain DEw on a bleeding fish. Sun Drop works a whole lot better.

Glad someone bumped this legendary article.

Forget the swimbait tool. Nice Spyderco!

I use a Berkley Lightning Rod Shock 7'6" umbrella rig rod that is rated to 3 oz. It was regularly $39.99 and I had a 20% off discount so I got it for $32.00. I have caught a ton of fish off it. It makes a good frog rod as well and backup jig/flipping stick. It is no IMX, but they normally attack a swimbait anyway. Wish I had it when I hooked a 12 to 13 pounder last year rather than the 7'2" Skeet Big Worm rod.

A different way of looking at it is if you want to keep it for the very long run, you have to realize the E could be discontinued at any time. If so, you should have close to a decade of getting parts. After that, it will become obsolete. So the I might be better over the long run, should you be into keeping reels for a long time. These reels last so long as there are parts available in case of some sort of wear.

aprw1, nobody lies on fishing boards. Cut me some slack! LOL

Get the Shimano and leave the commie pinko Chinese junk in China!

I have a couple of the prototypes. They are unreal. Should be available at 2016 ICast.

Go to Waterfront and follow guide Mike Gerry around as he often leaves from there in the morning and learn a few spots. You can see what he looks like by looking at The Bass Fishing Home Page and he normally is holding 5 or 6 post spawn fish, often by the gills.

Get any of those you want. They are the same reel. As others have suggested I would just get a new Shimano Curado, or at least a Chronarch E. With regular care, either will be running tightly after the Chinese/Korean reels you mentioned are in the junkyard heap dead reel box.

I believe it is the Strike King ponds Bill fishes. I've heard the rumors of him having scuba divers put fish on his hooks in public waters, but never really believed it. He is probably the only fisherman who I've ever seen produce quality shows on Reelfoot Lake, due to it being unkind to boats and kind of out of the way. He always produced a great show there every few seasons and I'm sure there were no scuba divers attaching fish to his line in those waters. LOL A reel fishing show pioneer and I too recall watching his shows when I was a kid. I always was suspicious of his big fish catching but it's entertaining and a lot of it was private waters, so it made sense and gave me something to hope for. That said, I've seen many a show on Pickwick and on the Mississippi River. Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston, Roland Martin are true pioneers of the modern fishing show. Any of you all buy a Dance's Eel? I think YUM or somebody still makes that lure. LOL