fishnkamp

Go to Getbit and look at "butt caps" Under that you will find some weighted butts and some adjustable weighted butt caps. The adjustable kit only costs $3.19 so it is a cheap option.

Change out some of the bling on your reel to match. problem solved LOL

For a reel in the $30 to $60 range a Pflueger President spinning reel int he 6930 or 35 sizewill work really well. it will cast well, has a good drag and will be reliable for a long time. As for a St Croix rod. This depends on your connection and what you can afford. If your budget allows it look at a St Croix Avid X 6'8" medium extra fast tipped rod. That is a very nice rod for many light texas rigs, Sencos. jigs etc. You could easily fish a bait like a Reaction Innovation Skinny Dipper swimbait on a belly weighted swimbait hook. It will easily fish grubs, tubes etc. If the Avid X is too high look for the 6'8 MXF or 7'1" foot medium action Mojo Bass rods. They cost almost 1/2 as much.

Instead of looking at the older original Tatulas and doing upgrades, just look at a Tatula CT. I think you may be happier in the long run. Now I have 4 Tatula Rs and 2 CTs. I like them all, but I think most users of other brands will like the smaller size of the CT. As for the bearings let's face it 4 bearings in the knobs is silly it does not feel any different. As for buying a new reel and start modifying it you are crazy. The reel works great out of the box. If anything take it to a good reel guy, and have it professionally cleaned and lubed. All of the factories over grease and lube these days.

Big Bait Fishing when you say you held every model at a bass show last month did you put a Tatula CT on a rod and actually try to palm it? I kinda doubt it. Either that or you have TINY hands.

Once you get a CT you will want more of them.

Why does it matter are you thinking of getting a new reel. I can say from experience the Tatula CT is a great reel. I own 1 Exceler, 4 Tatula Type Rs and 3 tatula CTs. They are so good I got rid of my Lews and Shimano Chronarchs.

I looked at that 7 foot MH rod. It specs for baits 3/16 to 3/4 and says it is a moderately fast action tip, This probably is why it can throw the lighter baits, Scott calls it an "all purpose casting"rod. That rod is probably a bit lighter than you really want down in your waters. It would cost around $150. The next heavier rod is another 7'11" rod. That I do not think is your best option. Instead, step up to the Helios series, which is his top of the line rod. That rod costs $169, so it costs less than $20 more. In that series he has a 7" medium heavy fast action rod that rates as 1/4 to 1 ounce and for 10 to 20 pound test. The rod weighs about 1/2 ounce lighter than your new rod. I think that MH fast would allow you to throw 3/8 to 3/4 or even 1 ounce baits really well. This rod would complement the rod you just got, with its 1/4 to 2 ounce rating. I would rig up a 1/2 ounce swim jig or texas rig on the MH rod and a 1 1/2 to 2 ounce punch rig on the other. That could be an effective one-two punch approach. Hopefully you have a nice frog rod and you should be set for heavy vegetation fishing.

I just took a look at Cabelas online.. It looks like the Elite series is not available in two pieces. So most likely you were comparing a Shakespeare Ugly Stick Elite 1 piece 7 foot medium and a two piece Shakespeare GX2 series 7 foot medium rod. If I am correct you are comparing apples to oranges which would explain the difference in the blanks.

I fish a couple of 2 piece rods and if you put them together properly then they should never come apart on a cast nor be that difficult to get apart. Several of my 2 piece rods are made by G Loomis and cost upwards of $250. I use them with light baits for river smallies.

S Sass explained it well. The good thing is that your heavy rod would most likely handle the typical 3/4 to 2 ounce punch rigs really well, but might not be too good at "feeling" a 3/8 ounce or lighter jig. So perhaps look at a 6'9 to 7'1" medium heavy rod to throw 1/4 to 3/4 jig and plastics or tx rigs. These shorter rods also work really nice around docks, rip rap etc. They are better for accurate casting with these lighter baits. It is really nice to have both in your arsenal.

When your boat is fully modified will you have an upper deck to stand up on and flip or pitch. If you sit or stand below the gunnel of a boat. then do not go for a long flipping stick. It will not work. I loved my Polar Kraft boat and enjoyed fishing from it, however there was no way to use that type of technique while fishing on it. See the pic below. Now with my Lowe it is worth owning a 7"6 rod or a 7 foot Flipping stick. Mine are 7 foot Abu Garcia Veritas rods in MH and Heavy. I use them on this boat

It depends on where it fits in the arsenal. If you want a rod to throw small to mid sized cranks, and traps or maybe even some square bills and spinnerbaits, then stay with what you have. If you have a different rod that throws them well, then the 6'9 m fast makes sense for throwing jigs and creature baits, in fact any 1/4 to 3/4 ounce texas rigs. It should also handle things like small to mid sized spoons or blade baits like Silver Buddies. These two rods fill very different purposes. Do a Tackle Tour search for a Powell Max683 CEF and read what they say that rod did well, now forget the fact that they tried throwing the heavy 2 ounce swimbait because they admit that the rod was not designed for it and they were amazed it handled it. But for tx rigs, jigs, and even some rip baits it played well. It is typical of what a rod with those specs can be expected to do.

The info you gave on the rods is a little lacking. A Jay had the first question correct. What water conditions do you usually encounter * clear, cloudy, dark), do you fish shallow lures, mid depth and deep lures. As for the rods there are 3 that say roughly the same 7 foot to 7 and a half foot medium heavy. Are any of them moderate tapered ( If you bend the rod it bends to say 1/3 to 1/2 the way down the blank)? Are any of them med fast *bend say the top 12 inches, or any that are xf meaning a short part of the rod is soft with lots of beef that ot transitions to. If any are the xf tipped I might put the 8-1 metanium on it and try to throw frogs and pitch with it. So frogs, figs and even punch rigs here. If none of the 3 mh are like that then the 8-1 Metanium would go on my heavy rod and I would pitch and flip with that rod. The rest does not matter except if you do have a medium moderate action rod because I would install the 7-1 on it and try to throw cranks with it. I prefer a 6-3 for small to mid sized cranks and a 5-1 for big deep ones. It seems like you may have too many identical rods. perhaps your next rods might be something you can throw jerkbaits, traps and cranks on.

Two pieces makes it much different. I know this suggestion is much higher in price but I am going to offer it as a terrific option. Take a look at G Loomis SR 842-2 GL3 This is a 7 foot 2 piece amazing piece of graphite. It is in their 'trout and panfish" series which they say also works great for bass, salmon trout etc. I own the 843 next heavier version of that rod in IMX, but an GL# version would work well for you. They retail for around $275 but can sometimes be found for less on the internet. It handles 1/16-5/16 lures. My wife owns that rod in 98% graphite and I own the 843 in IMX. Both throw 1/8 ounce leadhead jigs with beetle spin type grub bodies a country mile and you can easily feel a fish fart near your lure.

I would suggest a couple of rods. First look at a Dobyns Sierra SA 700SF or SA 692 sf, Dobyns runs a bit lighter than one might think so either one would be nice. Next look at a Powell Max 3D 711LEF or even an Inferno 6101LEF. All of these rods cost between $100 and $170, they are well made with good components.

Some of these old engines are really good ones. This is where you have a mechanic check it out. Also you ask for a test ride. In the past I have offered to pay some fuel money and the steak dinner was on me if a seller was willing to meet and go for a test run. Believe me a steak and a beer goes a long way towards learning about the boat and the seller. My current boat has a 2000 Mercury 75 hp engine and it runs ny boat great.

Look for deals like this http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/boa/5842830913.html or this http://orlando.craigslist.org/boa/5900296463.html. Take a good look at this this is a well made hull. http://ocala.craigslist.org/boa/5913895844.html. Xpress boats are real good hulls and this one has a big Yamaha on it. I would call, if he is asking $3700 you should be able to get it for a bit less, maybe $3400. Give him a call and go look at it. It is hard to tell its condition from the pictures but it looks pretty good.

Another great option is to purchase blade baits from Cincy Fisher. He makes great baits and uses very good hooks. Check out Cincy Fisher at http://www.cincyfisher.com/. You can order 10 baits in a mixed group ( sizes and both solver or brass for $25 in sale right now. They are normally $30 for 10 baits and these include Mustad KVD short shanked hooks. I have a bunch of friends tearing up Potomac River bass and Chesapeake Bay stripers on them.

Why did you want to log out? Actually, if you look up on the page where it says your member name and you can drop a box down ( it is the drop box with your name , located next to the "create box") drop the menu down by clicking on your name. The bottom option is sign out.

For spinning reels I have found I love Berkley Original FireLine in 14 pound test. That stuff just plays so nice, it is super strong and is only the size of 6 pound mono. I usually attach 4 feet of P Line CXX moss green in 10 pound test. This combo plays very well as the line sizes are close and the CXX in 10 pound moss green breaks in tests at over 20 pounds. I like Stren Original mono in 14 pound test as my backing in case I run into a large predator like a big cat or striper. I have had over half my reel emptied before I cold get them turned. For baitcasters, I like Power Pro Spectra, Suffix 832 and Spiderwire Stealth and for your use I would get either 20 or 30 pound test. I would kinda lean towards the 20. This setup has worked for me in dirty tidal waters and on Tennessee deep clear lakes.

This may sound funny but I fish here on the Chesapeake Bay rivers for bass. I also chase stripers in those same areas as well as around some main bay islands up here on the upper bay. While you can target bass and catch a striper at almost anytime, they are usually the couple pounders. Once the temps fall in the bay around September through december the bigger ones come into these areas. The other fish we catch are really big blue catfish. I once caught a blue cat that was over 18 pounds, he ate a 3/4 ounce XCalibur one knocker lipless crankbait (rattle trap). He nearly spooled me and I was fishing a 7 foot Med mod Irod Genesis II rod and a Daiwa Tatula. That was an amazing battle. That is why I never use a junk $2 spool of line. The Stren I use, regardless if it is on a spinning reel or baitcaster is 14 pound test and the diameter is .014. It costs $9.00 for a 330 yard spool. That means it cost less than 3 cents per yard. I think it is worth using good line for that price. The other benefit is that it lays very nice and smooth if you wind it on tight, This gives you a very smooth surface to spool your main line on top of.

One way to save money is simple. I have spooled all of my reels half way with Stren Original clear blue in 14 pound test. Now I simply fill the spool with FireLine ( I use that on all of my spinning reels and add a 4 ft leader. On by baitcasters I have them spooled half way again with the Stren mono. Next they have half a spool with either braid or fluorocarbon. Now if there is an issue and I had to replace line I only need to replace half a spool of main line.

My wife and I fish a total of 6 Pflueger Presidents. Two are 6930s and the rest are 6935s. Both work great but I tried a bunch of different lines. My wife just had problems with wind knots, way more than me. My answer is to install a bit of mono as a backing then spool the rest of the reel with Berkley Original FireLine. I happen to have some eye issues, so I like the flame green in 14 pound test ( I think it is equal to 6 pound test and I add a leader. All of our line issues disappeared. Make sure you do feather the line with your index finger, always always, always flip the bail by hand. I stop the line, follow the lure down (allow line to come of the reel but under control) then flip the bail and lift the rod a tiny bit. This sorta tightens the line on the spool. Now you are ready to fish! I do this as a regular act so I never have to think about it. Give this a try. Lastly never reel in a fish when it is pulling line under the control of the drag. You will certainly add line twist. I use the same line/ leader combo everywhere I fish, which includes deep clear lakes as well dirty tidal water. My choice for a leader is P Line CXX in moss green. Their 10 pound line breaks around 23 pounds. I usually fish a 4 foot leader.

Athlon Spartan is correct if you have a 10 ounce reel now and the rod seems a bit tip heavy then going lighter is going to make that seem worse. Why were you considering changing anyway? As for line tangle the larger a spool the less coiling you should get to a point. To avoid 'wind knots" or line tangle there are several good habits to use all of the time. First never ever close the bail by spinning the reel handle! Instead make your cast, feather it and stop the line with your finger. Next lift the rod tip just a tad to tighten up the loose line a bit and close the bail by hand. It becomes something you do and never even think about it. Also NEVER EVER reel when a fish is taking line with the drag! Lastly make sure the weight of the lure you want to fish falls within the specs on the rod. Trying to fish an unweighted plastic worm on a rod that says 1/16 to 5/16 will fish much easier than a heavier rod with 1/8 to 5/8 lets say. These are specs for the typical medium light and medium spinning rods. My last suggestion is going to Berkley original Fireline in 14 pound test (6 pound size) and a copolymer or fluoro leader setup. I have changed all of the spinning reels my wife and I use over to this fused line. It plays really nice since it has no memory, is thin and tough. I use a 4 foot leader made up of P Line CXX moss green 10 pound test. That line breaks at 22 pounds!.