Musky_Fever

I thought I was bad but after hearing some of you guys...I've done a pretty good job keeping Mr. Bait Monkey at bay. Some of you guys could open up a small fishing supply store.

Looks like I've found my answer. Thanks guys.

So, the S model has less ball bearings than the c3 but it's about $50 bucks cheaper. Anyone used them both before? Please do a compare/contrast.

What are some of your general guidelines or known recommended guidelines for gold vs silver/chrome blades? Also, while we're at it, how guidelines for blade shape as well. Thanks.

Time to pick me up a "qwuantum"

I won the grand championship for backlashing the other day. I ended up having to cut some line to un-do it. I was just wondering if there are tips/best ways to un-do a backlash, if there is such a thing. Thanks.

I'm glad this topic came up because I was going to post something similar about how all my cheaper, older rods/reels catch more fish than the Avid and Loomis and shinny reels. The rod I have caught the most fish on is an old Berkley lighting rod that was given to me by an elderly fisherman. He's been fishing it since the early 90s. The reel I've caught the most fish on....an old Shakespeare reel from an Ugly Stick combo and an old school Shimano spinning reel with a rear drag. I can fish for hours with new expensive stuff and not catch a thing. Then, just for fun, I'll use old gear with el-chepo worms and catch something. Drives me insane. Fish are scared of all of the expensive s***.

I was at Gander a few weeks ago and the guy in the fishing dept. told me that Ardent makes their reels. I don't know anything about Ardent reels so I can't make a statement. Maybe someone on here can comment? I have been looking into store brand baitcasting reels too just because they're a whole lot cheaper than brand name.

I'm glad I didn't buy a rod without the insert. Some of the rods were marketed as being lighter due to no inserts. Hahah.. Yeah, what's 9 guide inserts weight...the weight of a small rooster tail? Geez.

Would you guys ever buy a rod that does not have the black insert/smooth thing inside the guide eyes? I was looking at some rods the other day and the guy in the fish dept. said some rod companies have began making them like this. He even showed me a high-end Abu rod without the insert on the guides. I didn't trust it so I didn't buy one but I was just curious if any of you guys fish with these kind of rods.

I was using a size 1 mepps spinner bait, a white rooster tail, a rainbow trout colored rooster tail, a Bass Pro spinner and a fly rod w/ a few different wet flies and a small woolly bugger streamer. No luck. My buddy even used worms! No luck. I'm depressed now. Haha.

Within the past two weeks I managed to get out on the water twice, which was miraculous. The magic faded though when the trout weren't hitting. I'm not the best angler but I'm not the worst either and on each trip, I only caught one. My buddy didn't catch any. Even the hatchery supported waters weren't yielding any fish. We fished a little back water creek of Lake James (western NC) and I caught a 7 incher there. Today, we went up to Wilson's Creek, the section that's on Brown Mountain Beach, and now I remember why I haven't been there in years to fish. Empty water and trashy as last time. All this hype and glory about Wilson's Creek must just be good marketing on the Web but I tell ya, if you're planning a trout trip to western NC, stay away from Brown Mountain or else you'll be disappointed. We ended up ditching that area and found a little spot off a bridge where I caught a 12 incher and that was it. Hopefully, someone else is doing better on the stream than I am.

Just curious...is there a reason for this.

Hello everyone, I currently have a Cardiff 300 and I'm considering the Abu Ambassadeur C3 (round reel) for a musky rod (I'm gonna go w/ Gander Mountain's musky rod). The C3s come in 4600, 5500, 6500 models and I was just wondering which of the C3 models is about the same size as the Cardiff 300. Is the drag system good? How would you compare the Cardiff 300 w/ the C3? Would you go with the model a bit bigger than the Cardiff 300 for musky, striper, big cats? Cheers and thanks to all that reply. Vic