FishTank

I found a steal at Dick's on last years Curado for $43. I bought five of them. They also had a Saharas for $25 and Cruxis for $35. I also found some Lucky Craft Lures for $5.50 and some Zoom Lizards for $1. Also, just a heads up, I went to a BPS today and they have raised their prices on most of their BPS made products. For instance, the Tourney Special Rods are $49.99. They used to be $29.99.

I just got my hands on a couple of new Shimano Curados (last years models) and I am looking to set one up just for crankbaits. I need some suggestions on a rod. I looking to spend under $200 and I am wanting opinions on length, power and action. Also, I would like to here what you guys think makes a crankbait rod, a crankbait rod. Thanks again for all your help.

Another vote for G. Loomis. I have tried several different rods and I think Loomis is the best out there. They may be expensive but wow, they are awesome. On the downside they are not the best bang for the buck. The Shimano Crucial gets my vote for best value.

I am right handed and have fished with spinning gear for 20+ years. I was so used to casting with my right hand and cranking with my left, that a right handed baitcaster was almost impossible to use. I tried to learn but had no success until I tried a lefty. Now I have a two left handed baitcaster and I love them and have no problems casting or setting the hook. I look at it this way, why should I have to deal with switching hands if I don't have to.

he obviously had no clue how to set up a reel.any good salesman who is trying to sell a newbie a baitcaster would set it up right so it wouldn't backlash at all. He actually was an old school fisherman that was the most experienced fisherman in the store. He could pitch a 3/8 oz casting weight further than I could cast overhand with my best spinning equipment. He also set a Quantum Accurist and a few other cheaper reels and had no problems. His issue centered on this reel only but being it was a BPS product he wanted to succeed in his demo and since I was new to baitcasting, it was all just a lesson to me.

I am new to baitcasting this year but a salesman at BPS tried to teach me how to use a baitcaster with one of these reels. He was trying to sell me a good reel for under a $100 but out of all the ones he tried to show me, the Rick Clunn reel (blue one) kept backlashing. He went through three of them before he found one that worked properly. Needless to say, I did not buy it. I did notice that the reel seemed loosely constructed. There was some play in the handle, spool, and the line guide.

Just wanted to here some opinions on this reel. I purchased it today at Dick's on clearance for $40. I have several shimano spinning reels and a Quantum Tour Edition Pti baitcaster. I looked at this year's Curado and did not like at as well as the Quantum. I thought for $40 instead of $200 why not give an older model a try. Just on a 15 min. first impression, it seems smoother than this years model and overall a pretty nice reel. Thanks again for your opinions. PS They also have this years Cruxis for $40, the Sahara 4000 for $25 and some Lucky Craft crank baits for $5.50. The Bait Monkey is happy. :)

This a great reel for the money. I have the 750 and get this, I bought a 4000 today at Dick's for $25.

What type of bait or lure are you using? I went through 300 yards of this stuff over the summer and had, what I thought, was the same problem. I went to set the hook or a fish would strike hard and snap, the line would break. I fish plastic about 50% time. After looking at my knot and hook I noticed that the knot would slip into the crack where the knot hole met the hook. I changed to Gamakatsu EWG hooks for power line and the problem was solved. You might also try to wet the knot before pull it tight. A little spit should do and stick with the palomar knot.

Clueless? I am still new to this forum but I am not new to fishing. When most of these guys offer their opinion I listen because I respect what they have to say. I am glad that the BPS lure works for you but understand that it may not be the lure of choice for others. For me personally I like the DT 4 Rapala in Silver and the Lucky Craft Moonslaut CB-50 in the Ghost Minnow.

I was faced with the same decision this year. I tried a cheap right handed set up early on and I could not get the hang of it. I borrowed a left handed reel from a body. Problem solved. I was just so used to cranking with my left hand that I could not break myself of it. Once I figured out how to use my left handed baitcaster I was one happy camper. Fishing has never been so much fun.

Black with blue flakes is my favorite.