Dinger0306

I have a 2000 I use for creek fishing and I love it. I've caught dozens if not hundreds of fish on it the past 3-4 years including a bunch of Smallmouth up to 17". I just broke it down to service it a month ago, it's as smooth or smoother than the day I bought it now. I don't think it lays line as well and gets more line twist than a comparable Shimano but I'm okay with that because of how much lighter it is in comparison. IMO, if you wanted to use it for ultra light I would've opted for the 1000/2000 though, but I'm sure the 2500 will do fine.

I agree with a lot of @The Rooster's points. I look for an aluminum frame and brass gears at minimum. I'm not too concerned with one side-plate being graphite, but it's not preferred. I've fished some graphite framed reels, some of the newer ones might be better, but they always ended up flexing or creaking and feeling awful. I wade fish a lot, so I will spend longer hours holding a spinning combo. I want my spinning reel to be as light as possible, so I fish Daiwa's. On the cheap end, they're ounces lighter than a comparable Shimano. For rods, I like split-grips with cork (but full handle cork is OK too) - EVA just looks cheap to me and at least the cheaper EVA feels "soggy" when wet. I'm also sort of partial to Daiwa spinning reels as I've had some problems with cheap Shimano's binding when accidentally being submerged in water. It's possible the newer or higher end ones don't have that problem, but it's enough for me to look at Daiwa first.

I've abused mine for 8 years or so and it works like a charm. Still decently smooth, but I'm gonna break it down and service it this season.

I use a short (5'6") GX2 for creek fishing heavier baits and it'll do just fine. I palm the reel with my index finger under the line when working a jig and it makes a world of distance. If you were using a super light finesse technique (ie. ned rig) there are times where you won't feel the bite no matter the gear.

If you were super worried about it, get a Shimano with X-Protect or a Daiwa with MagSeal. I wade-fish quite a lot, so my reels have accidentally been submerged a few times. The only reel I've had issues with afterward was a cheap Shimano Sienna, but my Daiwa Regal has handled it like a champ.

I've been debating picking one up. I own a Premier spinning rod for smaller baits in the creek, and have been using a 5'6" Ugly Stik for moving baits and jigs. A short, pistol-grip casting rod is the ultimate 1/4oz jig and spinnerbait creek setup IMO.

I used to have the same feeling towards spinning gear, but I finally got around to getting decent spinning setups and I thoroughly enjoy it. I fish way too much finesse to get by with normal casting gear 95% of the time. I went from a guy that would fish a 7’ baitcaster in creeks that I could jump across to relying on ML spinning rods almost entirely and it’s only helped IMO. In muddy water conditions I’ll pull out the BCer and use spinnerbaits and jigs with 12lb Big Game

May is when I start. March-April is largemouth at the lakes then the remainder of the year until it gets too old is smallmouth in the creeks and rivers, 80% of the time wading.

I use a 5’6” medium power casting rod for wade fishing creeks for smallmouth. It’s the perfect rod for roll casting 1/4oz jigs, spinnerbaits, and 3/8-1/2oz topwaters. Almost always has a SK Bitsy Bug tied on though. I think the things they excel at most in like a lake/open water casting scenario are close casting scenarios especially spinnerbaits around cover. But any lure really where you’re not trying to make a bomb cast. Accuracy is second to none with them IMO. It’s funny to think a 6’6-6’8” rod nowadays is considered short. I hate to see the 5’6-6’ ers dying out.

It depends. But if there are, there's only one way to find out. I've been fishing primarily small streams in search of smallmouth and have caught my fair share of 12-15 inchers but few 16-17s. Areas where small creeks run into larger rivers seem to hold larger fish as they move from the larger areas to the smaller ones. IMO nothing cooler than catching 15+ inchers out of creeks that you can cast across (sometimes, even jump across lol) but I'm still on the hunt for a small water 18+

I wade a lot but am super careful. Never wade for any distance in waist deep water. I stick to the outskirts in shin to knee deep water and cast in the deeper holes. If it's slippery large rocks and fast moving water I won't go in. Limits the areas I fish but not taking any chances. Thinking about getting a PDF/fishing vest to ease my mind a little more

In muddy water for creeks/small rivers a 3/16oz lipless crankbait in silver works well for me.

I bought some BPS Hellgrammites to try them out, and have had a bit of success with them. I've been fishing them on 1/20-to-1/15oz Ned heads. Light enough to where if they are hitting the bottom I can't feel it. I have MUCH better luck with just a regular ole Finesse TRD but I'm gonna keep fishing them. May try the Nikko's out and see if I have any better results.

17-inches in a small creek. I wade fish for smallmouth often, but mostly small water where a good fish is 12-15" and anything over 15 is a tank..

For casting reels, there's really not much reason to look beyond Berkley Big Game. Yes, it's stretchy but you're asking for that with mono. Yes it has line memory but that's not an issue on casting gear. But it's tough and cheap. I actually prefer clear/blue florescent line for line watching fishing plastics. So I'll use Stren in clear/blue florescent often, but if you're fine with clear or green line Big Game all the way.