gulfcaptain

This was many many years ago, but there used to be a Wednesday night bass tournaments out at Thunderbird Lake. Of course that was a long time ago and they started in Spring, fished each week and then went to another lake for the championship. It was a lot of fun the few years I fished it...back in my teens. Met some really good people and got the chance to fish with a lot of them.

I fish a lot of Falcons. The Bucoo line up is great. Think they are right at the $100 mark and the 7'MH is a pretty good all around rod. Has a ModFast action which lends it to almost any kind of fishing you want to do.

My best success has been with the standard 1/2oz rattle-trap. Both in the knocker and the original. As far as retrieve, I throw them on a 7:1 Quantum TourMG which picks up about 29 IPT. Steady to somewhat quick retrieve. Fish pretty much every area you asked with both as well as scattered reeds/tullies as well. I've had better success myself though with the knocker this past year then the original. And if I need a shallower retrieve, I do what Catt does, just hold my rod a bit higher.

One all around reel, I'd have to agree with the 6.3:1 as well.

Hit up E bay and see what you can find. I've upgraded almost all my gear at about a 50% discount or better depending on models. Hard to argue when you pick up $250-$300 reels for $100-130 each. And all new gear.

A 8" Hudd slowly fished. Atleast around here. Also fish an A-Rig, and a blade jig. Then a jig (smaller size 1/4-3/8 around here). Those are my winter baits.

I'd also look at the Megabass I Slide 185, that's one glide bait I've had my eye on but just haven't pulled the trigger on.

Thank you for your service, sacrfice, and protection of this great country.

Glide baits have a different action opposed to say a Triple Trout or a Spro BBZ. The glide baits do what they say, glide back and forth, not wobble and the other two have more of a swimming motion. And the S-Weaver is a slow sink. Depending on what you're wanting to do, hard baits work best in warmer water (50 and above) and higher in the water with a faster retrieve as where soft baits work best in cooler water (but remember fish don't follow rules) and if you're looking to fish them slower. I fish the S-Weavers, Triple Trouts, Hudds (8"), and then the Savage Gear Line Thru (almost like a soft hard bait in it's action) in the 8" as well.

Strike King Series 3, 3XD, 4, 5XD. Norman DD22, Rapala Shad Rap (7 and 8).

I have a planted tank and used to do aquarium service for extra money as well as managing the fish department in two different major pet stores. Sorry to tell you, your planted tank with the silver dollar is doomed. They eat plants. So unless they are plastic, odds are in favor of them becoming food. Chinesse algae eater, well they are good when they are small, then get really agressive when they get bigger (around th 4" mark). Your rubber lip pleco is fine, they don't get very big, I'd look for a bushy nose pleco though if you can find one and ditch the algae eater, or throw him in your goldfish tank. I have a 40gal planted sitting in my front room with small rummy nose tetras, some small catfish, and a couple dwarf chiclids (and some shrimp to control the algae as well as my one bushy nose pleco.). A tank can be very relaxing, if I had more room I'd probably look at trying to throw a couple pond bass and some green sunfish in there, but don't have the space for that large of a tank. And I'd love to have a reef tank again, but being away from home for a month at a time, I don't think it would make it.

I wouldn't get an inshore reel just to fish a 2 day trip. A quick rinse/wipe and you're gonna be fine with the other. And then a couple drops of oil on the bearings after....good as new.

That 7'4" MH is really light too. It fishes nice and the price I got for a pair I couldn't complain. Thought about selling one, but think I'm going to keep it after fishing the other for a while now.

Right now if you hunt E bay you can get a Quantum Tour KVD 7'4MH" for about 50% lower then retail if you search. I have 2 and they are light and have a great action. I use them for squarebills, lipless, and all but the deeper diving (5XD and larger) then move up to the 7'10"MH but the 7'4" will handle that bait as well.

Kietech makes some smaller jigs, I fish a lot of Bass Patrol football jigs (1/4-1/2oz) which are small and compact, and Pepper has a good one as well.

The 6.6 refers to the gear ratio on the reel. Not the rod. The rod I suggested is a 7'5".

You need to make room for aditional books feel free to let me know. I'll store those extra books for you so you can have that shelf space for more......lol

As in your other post where did your question go, here is a quote you should recieve letting you know it's still active. Sorry guys, just trying to help another member out as this has nothing to do with the topic.

Your Quantum thread is still up. Most were wondering why no reply to questions answered back asking for more info on what reels you were interested in to give you feedback. I know I responded twice and offered, just needed more as I fish A LOT of Quantums.

Pretty much what Josh said, but as stated depends on what I'm doing as well. My spool will be looser on my flip/punch rods then on my crankbait set up. Want to go old school, some reels you used the tension knob or scew to adjust the bushing the spool rode on instead of bearings. Reels have come a long way since back then. I believe some of the older 5000c's used to have bushings when I fished with one in the late 80's. So habits are hard to break and if it isn't broke I'm not going to fix it and change my approach. Probably would mess myself up. So I keep it simple and go with it.

EXCEPT Clear Lake and The Sac. Delta. There it's "Rough Fish Matter".

You're looking at 2 different style baits. What I throw a 130 Whopper Plopper on and what I fish a 68 weedless are well two different set ups. The 68 weedless you need to be able to drive the hook home, the WP, well you want something that is going to be a bit softer to not rip hooks out. I do fish the 130 and the smaller glide baits on the same rod. Only rod I can think of that may cover both isn't even on your list. It's an iROD Genesis II "Freds Magic Stick" which is 7'5". I'd opt for something in the 6:6 range if you're looking for a multi-use rod. The Hudd needs a slower retrieve then say a Whopper Plopper. It's much easier to wind a bit faster then slow that 7:1 or 8:1 down to a painfully slow wind barely turning the handle. I use 5.3:1's for my Hudds and other soft swimbaits, with 40-50lb braid and 20-25lb mono leaders. And your spook would fish great on the 7'MH you already have.

Yes it is a lost art and not for everyone. But when it's second nature to you it works. And you can't ditch the tension knob. Still has to be set right. A sloppy spool (side to side movement caused by the tension knob being too loose giving the bearing too much play) is different then a properly set free spinning spool.

Why do I fish my reels that way? Simple, I like the spool free. Now I don't crank down on the knob, it's adjusted properly as it would if I were to use a break system to slow the spool. But after years of fishing conventional gear,working in the saltwater charter business over 20yrs and learning how to cast an anchovy on conventional gear years ago (almost 30 years), then years of fishing S. Cal. surface iron with a 9'6" jig stick and a Newell 322. So with doing that for so long and perfecting that touch, I choose to fish my baitcasting gear the same way, with the breaks turned off, spool free to spin and the control of the spool in my hands.

Yes, the Quantum bashing starts again. The OP asked which is the best reel Quantum makes. Not where they are made, why you prefer Shimano, Diawa, Lews, etc. I'm stoked most like the Customer service at Diawa and Shimano. They should be good at is as much as they get used where I have yet to have ANY Quantum reel I fish in the last 4 years ever give me an issue. Wish I could say the same thing about the other two companies my fishing buddies use. But they are loyal and tell me how great their reels are which is great....when they aren't in the shop. Again, if the OP has a serious question about a Quantum reel, I have no issues giving an honest answer as someone that fishes A LOT of Quantum reels proudly.