psuangler91

I'd sell those old ones and use the money to buy a few new lures and go on a nice fishing trip for a weekend, or maybe a whole week depending on how much you make.

I'd go with the smoke, I love Quantum. They cast smoothly, the drag is great, and they're easy to use. You don't have to take the sideplate off to change your braking and it feels great in your hand.

With the metals, and composite materials used in rods and reels you really don't have to worry about any structural damage due to a normal change in seasonal temperatures. If you have cork handles you could see a difference because they'll dry out a little in the winter. I would take the reels off and keep them in the house just in case because if you were going to have problems that's where they will be with the high number of individual parts.

Right now i have a spinning combo for drop shotting and one for topwaters. Then a M baitcaster for spinners, cranks, traps. etc and one for shallow cranks, flukes, and pitching. I'd like to get one more baitcasting combo that I can use strictly for flippin/punchin and heavier pitching duties. I'm lookin at a Powell endurance MH 775 flippin rod or a dobyns 766 flip. I can afford to go a little pricier with the dobyns cause I get a 40% discount through my teams sponsorship. Just wondering which of those you thought would be better and if you have any other suggestions. I was thinking maybe a st. croix mojo bass too. Not sure what I'm gonna put on top of it yet, i really like quantum though so probably whichever one I can afford. Still open for suggestions though. I'd love to hear what you use and how you like it. I'm mostly going to punch through really thick weed mats on my local lakes with it but I will be using it in tournaments all over the north east this season. Thanks for the suggestions

First off, congrats on the 3rd place in your tournament. I agree with you that you don't have to be a millionaire with the best stuff to be a good fisherman. Just look at Gerald Swindle, he came from nothing and now he's one of the best anglers in the world. On the other hand you can't hold it against people who buy the pricey new gadgets and the big expensive boats. It may not make them a better angler but it's what they love to do so they're going to spend their money on that passion. I personally am just a broke college student but I love to fish and I love gear so I spend most every dollar on tackle and equipment. My step dad says that won't help you catch fish when I walk in with a new $200 Quantum reel, but it makes me feel good and it sure beats the hell out of my old P.O.S. Shakespeare spinning reel. Also, if you believe that your gear is holding you back then that's going to affect you mentally. Now that I have the best gear I'm one hundred percent sure that the only thing keeping those hogs outta my live well is going to be my inability. This way I focus more on fishing and making the perfect cast rather than whether or not my reel is going to lock up on me or my rod's going to snap. Anyway we're all just trying to go out and spend what little time we have enjoying something we love. Whether you have a cane pole and a coffee can full of worms, or a graphite stick that weighs less than the $20 rapala you're throwin, I think the point is to have fun and keep those lines tight.