fishnkamp

I can tell you this from personal experience, those rods cut cost by doing things like using good quality EVA on the rear. The blanks and other components are of good quality and the balance is terrific. "Balance and feel in your hand" is one of Gary's personal things. They fish much more like some other brands $200 rods. What you do not see is flashy looks. Well I sorta have to say that with a caveat. He is releasing a new less expensive rod line called the "Colt" series. They will be a $80 rod, and will be pretty bright and flashy as some younger anglers are demanding. The Fury will still be a better performing rod, but these new Colts will fit a niche! You will see them showing up in places like TW in by probably the nest month or so. Anyway I own some Sierras and Champions but have a good friend that owns 4 Fury rods. I have messed with them and really like them. For the price their sensitivity is really good.

Okay here is my opinion. I consider a 7' medium power fast action rod a standard weapon in ones arsenal. Since you have that I would go with a either a 6'8 or 7' light or medium light fast action rod. I fish a couple of G Loomis IMX spinning rods. I fish baits like Ned rigs, light weight drop shots, Kalin 5 inch Lunker grubs on some finesse texas rig jigheads BPS sells. I love them. I fish 1/8 and 1/4. This rod also fishes baits like unweighted Reaction Innovation Little Dipper paddle tail swimbaits. There are lots of other baits like small crappie size spinnerbaits that work well on highly pressured bass. Mepps spinners work here as well. This rod rates 1/16 to 5/16. My second G Loomis spinning rod rates 1/8 to 3/8. It handles heavier texas rigged plastics, tubes heavier weighted grubs, heavier drop shots with minnow style baits instead of small finesse worms, mini carolina rigged plastics, lightly belly weighted Little Dippers and Keitecks, and tons more. This rod also throws the baits like finesse jigs ( think of a Bitsy Bug and a Craw Papi) or a 1/4 to 3/8 ounce spinnerbait and buzzbait used to catch river smallies. One more bait that works well on this rod is original Rapala floater/diver minnow style baits. Many of the smaller version jerkbaits/ minnow baits still catch a lot of fish but since they are old school many have moved on from them. That is a mistake! They match the hatch of many ponds and small lakes or streams. I find these two rods compliment each other well and do not duplicate each other at all. Often times I will fish an area with say a shakeyhead worm and then use a drop shot just for that extra bass before moving on. It also allows for a quick change to a follow up bait fast if a fish follows your first bait but does not commit. I hope this makes sense and get you thinking. I have no idea what your budget is but take a look at a rod like a G Loomis Classic Spin Jig Rod. These have very special actions with a bit faster tips. They are perfect for this kinda fishing. Check out a SJR 781 IMX or perhaps a Dobyns Champion DC 702SF. A DC 682 SF would work well as well. If those are out of your budget look at a Dobyns Fury Fr 702SF.

There are as many opinions on this as you can imagine. Some of today's pros use nothing but really fast reels. Others not so much. Here is how most people feel things work best. Let's look at treble baits. For wakebaits and shallow running crankbaits like KVD 1.5s, squarebills, even cranks that run at to 10 or 15 foot deep, and jerkbaits most like a reel that has a retrieve of around 6.1 to 6.3-1. Reels that run in the 5-1 to 5.5-1 are best used for deep diving cranks like DD22s, or a Strike King 6XD. This relieves stress and fatigue on your hands. Some anglers use a 6.x-1 reel on spinnerbaits unless they want to BURN a spinnerbait just under the surface for a reaction strike. Here a 7.x-1 is best and it works great for chatterbaits, and buzzbaits as well. The buzzbait or a toad need to be kept moving quickly in order for it to run on the surface. Many anglers like myself have a rod rigged with both so I can simply drop one and pick up another rod. They might have the same bait tied on, but be able to present it differently by changing the retrieve rate of the reel. I prefer an 8-1 when flipping, pitching and throwing frogs. For me bottom bouncing baits like jigs, carolina rigs and texas rigged plastics can be fished well with either a 6.x-1 or a 7.x-1 reel since you may be making long fan casts and need to deal with lots of line out. Here is when braided line and a coplyner leader shine well.

Now me here is what I would do and it is a little different. I would use part of the 8 pound mono on each reel. Not all of it. I would fill each reel with less than 1/3 full with the mono. I prefer 12 to 14 pound mono but it is okay. Now I would fill the Pflueger with the 14 pound braid and a 4 foot leader made up of the 8 pound mono. You will find the braid casts really nice and has no memory issues. I would do the same and add some mono to the Abu reel. Then fill it with the 20 pound braid. Depending on the lures you are throwing and how clear the water is I would run the same 4 or 5 foot mono leader. I would throw basically the same type lures on these rods as Outdoor Zach suggested. The mono backing does provide a few benefits. Braid has a bad habit of spinning on a reel. The mono allows for a good tight knot on the arbor. If you line is moving you will have trouble when a big fish is pulling drag. Next it provides a nice smooth surface for the braid to set on. My wife and I fish a bunch of spinning reels setup this way. In my case I always use 12 t 14 pound Stren mono and half fill my spools with it. I then fill them the rest of the way with Berkley Original FireLine in 14 pound test (= to 6 pound diameter for mono). I usually use a 4 to 5 foot leader made of either 8 pound Stren or P Line CXX in 8 pound test. Tie the lines together with uni to uni knots with 5 loops each and things should work well. As for baits consider these baits if you do not fish them. They work everywhere in the country. Look to throw Kalin 5 inch grubs and tubes. Go get some Reaction Innovation Skinny Dippers or Keitech paddletail swimbaits. These can be fished either on a weightless swimbait hook, on a light weight belly weighted swimbait hook or deeper on a heavier swimbait jighead ( looks like the head of a fish on a hook.

Gus I am sorry I should have welcomed you to BR first. You will find that if you spend a little time doing a search on almost any topic there are hundreds of past posts on almost every topic. There are lots of us members willing to share our knowledge and experience as well. By the way where are you located? I have offered the opportunity to meet up and cast some of my equipment to more than a few other members and each one has learned a good bit by just physically handling and getting a little one on one instructions. If you live anywhere near MD and wish to do the same I would be happy to catch up somewhere in between us. I live near Baltimore MD.

check out these videos on you tube.

First check out your local Walmarts. Some of our members have found the 6'6" Berkley Lightning Shock rods on an unmarked clearance. Instead of $49.99 they have purchased them for as little as $15. Just be sure to look the rod over really well some of the stuff at Walmart gets broken so check the rod and guides to be sure they are fine. Go take it to the check out and have them do a price check. That covers the rod. Now for a reel. I would avoid the Kast Kings some guys love them BUT not enough to be reliable yet!! Instead I am going to suggest you look here. They are offering a high quality reel for $79. It regularly sells for $99. This reel is a Daiwa Fuego CT. These are extremely reliable reels built on the tatula CT body and Magforce Z brakes. It will be easy for you to learn and grow into this reel without ever upgrading. http://www.sportsmansoutfitters.com/daiwa-fuego-ct-baitcast-fishing-reel/. This rel replaced a reel I regularly fish called a Daiwa Exceler. The Fuego is an upgrade to that reel. If you can find a Shock rod on clearance then your whole combo will work very nicely. I also fish two of the Shock rods right alongside several other much higher priced casting rods while fishing for big stripers during the fall. The Shock rods are just two of my 12 baitcasters ands 4 spinning combos I regularly fish with for bass, stripers and even catfish occasionally.

Well you seem to be a Lews guy. I can not help you with a Lews, just not a fan. I did run a bunch of SHimano Curados, Chronarchs and BPS reels. A friend put a Daiwa in my hand a few years ago and I have replaced most of my 12 baitcasters with Daiwa Tatula and tatula CT reels. They are an aluminum housing reel and have both the T wing system and Mag Force Z brakes. The MagForce Z brakes do a very good job of controlling the cast. A good choice for you would be a Tatula CT in either 6.3-1 or 7.3-1. These reels will need to be adjusted very differently than any other reel but once you do it will work great. A Tatula CT can be purchased from Amazon for $99. I have done o many times and really like dealing with ABCD Sales on there. They are a top notch company. As for a rod, there are plenty of good choices available online from places like Tackle Warehouse or The Tackle Trap. Consider a Powell Max 3D 683CEF. I own one and it is the most versatile rod in my arsenal. Mine is the older version called a Powell Max 683 CEF. It is a workhorse. It is also available in a 723 or &'2 # power version. Go read the review of my 683 on Tackletour for a better idea of it's abilities. Go here" http://www.tackletour.com/reviewpowell683cxfast.html Next look at a Dobyns Fury FR 734. Dobyns runs a tad lighter than others in their specs so a 4 power is my suggestion. The 734 rods are the best sellers and most versatile rod in all of Gary's lineups. Finally look at an Irod Genesis II IRG704 or 744C. I think AI would choose the 704 if I was going the Irod route.Either one will work great depending on the size spoons you are thinking about throwing. I fish some of all 3 of these brands. I prefer them to a lot of other manufacturers rods. None of these are "Fancy" they all look good but their "real value" is in the blanks and components chosen to create a rod that will feel good, balance well and perform the tasks you need it to do while chasing, hooking and landing your quarry.

"You like em all" ! Be honest the gear monkey likes you the most!!!

Amazon has those same Tatula CTs for $99 with free shipping from their seller ABCD. I have purchased several Tatula reels from them. They are a first rate company to deal with.

Not sure what to offer him but here is what the trolling motor low down is. Most 12 volt trolling motors provide between 30 and 55 pounds of thrust. That was the standard for the Lowe 170s and 175s. I paid to not use that and instead add the extra battery ( so there are three on board) and upgraded to a 24 volt 70 pound thrust model. I wish I had stepped up to an even more powerful model as there are times in d heavier wind or current that more power would be nice. If the boat comes with a 12 volt unit a local dealer can upgrade it to a more powerful one. They are expensive but you could sell off the old one to help pay for thc cost. You might be happy with the one on there. As for the batteries it works like this. There will one on board that will start the engine and power things like the lights and livewells. The trolling motor will use its own dedicated batteries. A 12 volt system will have 1 dedicated battery and a 24 volt model requires 2 dedicated batteries. The batteries used for the trolling motors are always deep cycle batteries and should be like group 27, 29, 30 or 31 depending on the size that particular brand offers. I run 3 group 30 Cabela brand AGM batteries and they have held up well.

I would recommend a Daiwa Tatula CT in a 6.3-1 ratio if you are looking at a very easy reel to use and one that will hold up well for you. For a spinning reel I would look at Daiwa BG or Pflueger Supreme

I think i can help a little since I own a 2010 Stinger 170 with an older 2 stroke Merc 75. First they make a fairly nice boat. This is the 11th bass boat, jon boat or canoe my wife and I have owned, including two fiberglass rocket ships. The difference between the 170 and 175 is all on the top floor plan. The hulls are the same. Lets talk about the good things. The boat has a really nice ride, very stable and I have fished mine in winds that no aluminum should be out. I can not help it the stripers bite good then sometimes. The boat will not be the fastest you will find but that is partly do to how the mod V works and that assists in the better than most ride. It is a trade off. Now for me I did not like the floor plan on the 175 because I want the big tackle storage the 170 had up front. The 175 has two livewells and sacrifices the tackle storage. Take a fem minutes online and look at pictures of a 170 and a 175. Several other things that I did not like was my storage lockers had no locks. I had to drill and install locks myself. I have to be carefull my drain tube clogged once and water filled a storage locker costing me a lot of expensive tackle. I check them carefully often now. One note the boat was originally setup with a Merc 25 for a HP restricted lake I fished. It now has the 75 you see in the second picture. I did make some upgrades when I purchased it. I have a 24 volt 70 pound thrust trolling motor, on board charger good electronics etc. That boat has been launched on lakes,and rivers in MD, PA, VA, NC, TN, and KY. It has seen a ton of fishing here at home on the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal rivers. If I were to by one today I think I would rather go for a newer Ranger or Triton but these boats will work. If you do purchase it make sure to take it to a local marine dealer and have all of the old fuel lines replaced from the tank to the engine. They were built with good fuel lines then but those lines are not ethanol rated and all of the industry is dealing with the ill effects of ethanol. It is not expensive but have them changes and you will avoid more costly issues. One other thing is it helps to add side boards to the trailer in order to get on and off the trailer. Id I can help any more just ask. Good Luck in your search. Here are a few pics

I am not sure what reel "only" comes in one speed but you can easily use a 7 or 7.3 to 1 reel for spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. You may have to crank slow sometimes but that is okay. We do not always burn a spinnerbait, but when you want to that reel will make it easy. For swimjigs I usually use a 6.3 to 1 but again you can slow down on your retrieve. As for swimbaits, I am not sure what bait you were referring to. If I was throwing a Keitech or Skinny Dipper I like a 6.3-1 but could easily use 7.3-1. If you are looking for a good reliable reel I would seriously consider a Daiwa Tatula CT in 6.3 or 7.3-1.

My wife and have used a ton of different lines on spinning gear over the years. The one line we both enjoy fishing and have for the last ten years is Berkley original fused FireLine. We start by spooling the reel half way with 12 pound Stren Clear Blue mono. Then we attach it to the 14 pound FireLine and continue to fill the reel up till it is about an 1/8 of an inch from the lip. Do not over fill. The FireLine can be tied directly to your lure or a 5 foot leader can be used as well. Most of our spinning reels have the 5 foot leader attached. I like the mono backing for several reasons. I fish with lots of rods on board. The mono is cheap so it cuts cost. It ties tight to the spool sop no slipping and it gives a smooth surface for the braid to wind on. Sword of the Lord where are you located? Are you anywhere near MD. I would be happy to meet with you and help you.. I have a Berkley Line Station I have used for years, no decades to spool my reels. As someone already mentioned you spool a spinning reel off the bulk spool by having the line come off the bottom. I spool all my baitcasters by having the line come off the top of a bulk spool. This eliminates issues. As for casting if we are able to meet you will be casting within minutes. Correctly casting with accuracy and distance is not an issue if you do it properly.

Check Amazon I have purchased several of my Tatulas from ABCD Sales. They have the TACT 100 for $98,69 and offer free shipping. If you are a prime member you can get it faster for free. By the way a TACT 100 is a Tatula CT 6.3-1 right hand reel. If you need a leftie or a different gear ratio then do a search on ABCD on Amazon. I have been more than happy dealing with them. They are first rate.

The Savvy line has had a great following for years. They were only dropped because the Sierra line came out and Gary started making the Sierras in both standard and micro series. He has said micros are not his favorite guides, but as long as his customers want a rod built that way he will keep building them. The fact he started making a Sierra rods with micro guides proves he is still selling them. That should be an awesome rod.

These reels are so new I have not even had one in my hand yet! There are a few guys I trust as my "reel gurus" and the info they have shared is the reel performs as advertised. These are guys with some very high end reels and lots of time modding reels for high performance. My personal rod that I fish the baits like your 1.5s, my Rebel Humpys ( that is an old school 1.5 wakebait before a 1.5 square bill was ever thought about), and other shallow baits, like a Baby 1 minus, has a 6.3-1 Tatula CT on it. My Irod genesis II 703CC and my Falcon Bucoo Trap Master both have Daiwa reels on them. One is my Exceler and one is an original Tatula Type R, both 6.3-1 reels. I throw all of my traps for bass and stripers on these reels as well as all of my crankbaits that run shallow to 15 foot deep. They cast terrific. Having said all that I have no idea how much farther a Daiwa SV TWS would cast compared to mine. Where I am told the SV TWS reel really shines is when throwing baits like unweighted worms like Sencos or floating trick worms. I bet they would make a weightless toad fly. If all I was throwing was a Stanley MR Ribbit and a hook I bet it would be a big advantage. I would also jump on one if I threw little hair jigs and the Bitsy Bug jigs with a small craw trailer like the small papa craw. As for your needs the big deal is deciding between a Tatulas CT for around $100 or a Tatula SV TWS. Both reels are built with good bearings, the same aluminum housing, similar designed brakes and the TWS. The difference in price to handle really light baits is an extra $100. Only your wallet can make that decision.

Let me give you a little Tatula lesson. OH Boy here goes. First Daiwa brought out the Tatula and next the Tatula Type R. These are the original size reels. The standard Tatula is a fine reel and came in many gear ratios. The Type R is a slightly upscale version which included a slightly lighter weight spool and one of the regular bearings was exchanged for a second corrosion resistant bearing. This was supposed to improve the Tatulas ability to handle lighter baits. Both are great reels. I own some of each and if you cast both you probably would not think the type R was worth its upgraded price unless, like me, you wanted a left handed 8-1 reel. That is why I own some Tatula Type R reels and I love them. One of the things that I must point out on these reels is they are aluminum frame reels, so they were not as light or as small as some of the competitors' offerings. To help combat that Daiwa designed the CT body. So there is a Fuego CT and a Tatula CT series of reels that share a slightly smaller body and are also slightly lighter than the original Tatula. The Fuego CT is the replacement for the $100 Exceler reel, which was Daiwa's good quality non T wing system reel. The Fuego is its replacement, but shares the smaller CT body. The Tatula CTs are terrific reels and yes there is an upgrade Tatula CT and it is the Tatula CT Type R. It is basically like the original Type R a bit of an upscale version. Again not a major upgrade but an upgrade. Daiwa is known for its top of the line reels where they generally develop their best technology. The SV spool technology, the T Wing System, and Magforce braking all comes from the higher end reels. They are also known for bringing that technology down to their mid priced reels as well. That is how the Mag Force brakes and T Wing System helped the Tatula line of reels become the excellent reels they are today. The final reel I will try and explain is the Tatula SV TWS. It is the newest reel in the Tatula lineup. It is built on the aluminum Ct body, includes a special SV spool and also has the T Wing System. The SV spool borrows technology ( but not the exact same parts and pieces ) from the Daiwa SS SV series and Steeze SV reels. The SV spools are lighter and designed to speed up quick and handle very light baits. The Mag Force brakes for these reels are designed specifically to allow you to cast light baits better without backlashing. they still handle heavier baits as well. I own one Exceler, one original Tatula, 4 Original Tatula Type Rs, and 2 Tatula CTs. SO I guess it is obvious I like them! From my own experience I would suggest a Tatula CT in 6.3-1, left or right hand retrieve depending on your preference. That makes a great setup for throwing small to medium crankbaits, spinnerbaits, squarebills, rattle traps, plastic paddle tail swimbaits like a Skinny Dipper or Keitech, jerkbaits and even topwater poppers. I think it will match up with your rod nicely. I hope my ramblings helped explain the way the Tatulas morphed into so many reels.

I have been using many of the Pflueger reels for years. I have all of them spooled up halfway with mono and then fill them up with Berkley original FireLine in 14 pound test and it works great. I use FireLine in the flame green and add a 5 foot leade made of P Line CXX in 8 pound test. I just played around with a friend's Daiwa BG and was impressed with it. I also like the 832, but I use it only on my baitcasters and usually in 30 pound test.

My take is a little different. I reel with my left with a spinning reel. For baitcasters I use both left and right handed reels. If the lure I am throwing is one that I just cast and crank than I prefer to use a right handed reel. I will switch the rod to my left hand and retrieve with my right. I do this with lures like crankbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and buzzbaits. Any lure that I am going to cast and use the rod to move the bait, like a carolina rig, a texas rigged creature bait or worm, any jig and trailer, as well as a jerkbait, than I prefer to use a left handed reel. Doing this does several things that benefit me. One thing it does for me is I have the rod in my right hand at all times (my dominate and stronger hand/arm) so if a fish hits the bait on the fall I am better ready to respond. Secondly my dominate hand is dragging, hopping or jerking the bait so I am still better prepared to respond. My left hand is just keeping up with the slack line. Lastly I have been making my living as a mechanic for over 35 years. As a result my hands can cramp up and by changing back and forth between left handed and right handed reels I can avoid the cramps. This makes my day go much more enjoyable. It is rare that I am fishing with less than 4 different baits tied on rods sitting on my boats deck. These will regularly include baits good for covering different part of the water column and different structure..

See if you have a good local prop shop nearby. Get a quote from them. Use your spare in the mean time. If you have trouble finding a local shop there are some good ones you can ship it to. Check into Mark Croxton and his prop shop. I have heard nothing but great things so maybe give him a call and discuss what you are interested in getting done. He can repair, balance, add any cup or tweak you may want. http://www.marksprops.com/

Lonnie have you looked at used boats in your area? The trackers are okay, but you may find a better boat used for the same money or even less.

Yes you were correct the first time They are not speaking about how many balls are inside one bearing but rather the count in a reel is how many complete bearing units are located inside the reel. Your picture contained two separate bearings.

Are you serious!!! Yes your picture is of two bearings. In case you are serious, the way a reel ends up with a large bearing count is they put two bearings in each handle knob. They will support the spool with a bearing on each end and some will use a bearing on each end of the shaft the line winder runs on. The rest get put in different places as needed in the reel to make it run smoother.