JawjaBoy

Thank you! That is exactly the kind of info I was looking for! I'm definitely planning on going. The wife will be along, but she's a good one. Even though she's not a big fisherwoman, she knows I love it so she won't complain...too much! And our 4 year old daughter loves fishing so she'll be busy looking for stuff for her.

Ok, I did a search and didn't find anything so I figured I'd just ask here. I saw an ad for this expo recently and it looks like an heck of a show! Seriously thinking about going, but it's a 5 1/2 hour drive so I wanted to ask a few questions for anyone who's been. What can I expect having never been to a show of this size? What companies, vendors, pros, etc. can I expect to see there? Any good deals to be had? And is it even marginally wife friendly(!)? Please forgive me if this has been talked about before and I missed it! Thanks in advance!

In a similar situation myself. Got a new outfit coming and wanting to go with braid on it. I've narrowed the brands down to Sufix 832 and Power Pro Slick 8, but I can't decide on the color. I love XT Solar! Still have a few spools in fact. They are kept cool and out of the light in an old freezer with my other line and break strength is still on the money. Also have a couple spools of Trilene Inshore. Fantastic line!! Can't figure out why Berkley quit with it. Gonna be a sad day when they're gone!

I have an older one that I caught on sale as well. Hard to beat for the money. Not the lightest or most sensitive rod I've got, but it's solid and dependable and does the job. Mine still goes out pretty regular even after close to 10 years.

Dang! I could've written this! Lol! I'm still using my old Quantum 1310's I bought in the late 80's. Up until the last couple of weeks when I bought a Lew's Tournament MB and a Mach Crush rod, the newest outfit I had was a Quantum 1310CP on a BPS Crankin' Stick that's probably 10-12 years old. I add to the collection every once in a while, and I'll replace broken stuff, but I've never done the swap out the whole arsenal thing.

And aren't made a tenth as well, unfortunately.

I was just starting to put together an excel file when my computer in my shop died. That was maybe 4 years ago. Since then my daughter was born and I changed jobs so it got pushed WAY to the back of the priority list! I do maintain a fairly detailed written logbook for all of my reels that includes purchase date, line, cleaning schedule, and repairs and upgrades. With twenty something reels in the rotation at any one time, I can't rely on my memory!

Yeah I was thinking it didn't look right in the store so I did a little research once I got home and found out that Dick's had their own version with slightly different colors. I agree with you: I like this version better!

Found a Lew's Mach Crush 7' MH rod in the clearance rack at Dick's today. Came from combo missing the reel. Couldn't pass it up for $49. It paired up nicely with the Lew's Tournament MB that I picked up a couple of weeks ago! Oh, please excuse the mess on my workbench! I've been trying to do some cleaning and mending and it was the only place available with some light for a pic!

Texas rigged worm, usually 8" Gillraker or Zoom MagII in Green Pumpkin or June Bug. Weight varies. If I can't catch SOMETHING with one of those I'm probably better off cutting the grass!

I haven't received an email, but whenI went check my order it shows it was cancelled! I'm a little perturbed that I received NO notice!

They work. Make a cast with about a 3/8 ounce lure with the magnetic beakes all the way on, then make another cast with them turned off. Trust me, you'll see a difference. I use my MB with 2 centrifugal brakes on, the magnets turned off and spool tension knob set with just enough pressure for a slow lure fall when clutch is tripped.

I freely admit to being one of the few Quantum fans. I've been using them for almost 30 years now, and I have yet to have one malfunction seriously. Yes, I've replaced a few parts here and there and I've had to do a bit if tweaking on one or two, but that can happen to any brand. I'll also qualify that I've stuck pretty much with their higher middle to upper range reels. The lowest level I've had are the old EX series and I'll have to say that for composite framed reels, those suckers were stout. Yes, I still use a couple. Lew's is my second favorite and gaining ground. I've had an original BB-1NG for about 20 years now and it still goes out most days I fish. That thing is a tank!! Recently picked up a Tournament MB and a Speed Spin and although I haven't had a chance to really wring them out they feel great and perform very well. This is kinda like the old Chevy vs. Ford vs. Dodge (and now vs. Toyota vs. Nissan) argument. Every brand has it's loyal customers who won't even acknowledge the others. Tben there are folks who use some of them all because they've found that every brand has it's strengths and weaknesses. My advice is to use what works for you regardless of the brand and enjoy!

I still use XL on a few spinning reels and I do use 17# on baitcasters occasionally. For the most part though, I've gone mostly to XT for mono on my baitcasters. It handles very well and still has good shock and abrasion resistance. I REALLY liked the Big Game Supreme until they discontinued it. It had the handling of XT with the sheer toughness of Big Game.

Just thought I'd throw this out there. Cabela's has the Tour KVD reel on sale for $89.88, regular price $229.99! I snagged one and used the code FREESHIP for free shipping. I know Quantum doesn't seem to be one of the top brands here, but I've gotten excellent service from almost every Quantum product I've had and I'm definitely willing to try one of their upper tier reels for that price!

I'm still using the old Paasche model H I got some 20+ years ago. It's siphon feed but it's been a good, solid brush. I generally haven't tried doing a lot of fine work with it but I've never had any trouble with fairly thin lines and spots. I probably will invest in a gravity feed brush eventually though.

I picked up several spools of Big Game Supreme 15# a while back and it quickly became a favorite. Tough but still fairly easy to handle, and has less stretch than regular Trilene, at least to me.

I picked one up a couple weeks ago for $99. Best hundred bucks I've spent in a while! VERY smooth reel with a good, solid feel and casts a mile! And I really like the dual magnetic/centrifugal braking. I got the 6.8:1 ratio and it looks like it is going to be a fantastic all purpose reel.

With the mono backing I'm going with the drag slipping. Probably as easy as tightening it up to fix.

Personally, I prefer aluminum frames as they usually feel much more solid. That said, I do have 2 older Quantum EX series reels that have graphite frames and they are hell for stout. Never an issue with either and they have both hauled in some fine fish. My EX300P even landed a 28 pound gar and I felt zero flex. Like many other things, I believe engineering plays a role many times in just how well a given product holds up.

I recently faced a similar quandary. I've fished for the last 30 years with NOTHING over 5.2:1(!), and decided I wanted a new reel with a higher gear ratio. After looking around a bit, I decided to go with the Lew's MB, but I didn't know what ratio. I finally settled on the 6.8:1 as it pulls in around 8" more line per turn than any of my other reels. I figure if I like it I might step up to a 7 or 8 next time.

Been using XL and XT for almost 30 years with no complaints. Absolute best? Maybe, maybe not. But it has done everything I've ever asked it to and most of the fish I lost were not completely the lines fault; i.e., I didn't check the line and retie like I should have. I've got a few other brands, but Trilene has been good to me and I always seem to go with it.

Don't feel bad. My collection starts at 3.8:1, then 4.3:1, 4.4:1, numerous 5.1:1's, and my first "6" class reel (6.8:1) should be at the house this afternoon! And that's just the baitcasters!

My formative fishing years were the late 70's, and I started getting seriously addicted in the mid 80's. Baitcasters then were pretty much 5.1:1 across the board with a couple of 3.8:1 and 5.4:1 reels thrown in!

Am I the only one that reads through all of the "which speed is best for ____?" threads wondering how we fished for so many years and caught so many fish using basically 3 gear ratios? All of which, by the way, were slower than current "cranking" ratios!! I know I can't be the only one!