Finesse Casting Reel

[Goose52]

Love the pixy / recon combo goose!

On a side note I have that pro-lite reel pictured but haven't tried it for finesse baits yet. Since the OP mentioned reaction baits only I think you are right that a BPS brand cranking rod will suffice fine. At any rate the BPS cranking rod and pro-lite reel would probably work. I just question if this reel in its stock form can truly cast an actual 1/8 oz bait. If it can do it well enough I would tell the OP to give it a shot.

When I get my pro-lite back from service and the lakes loose their ice I will throw it on a ML rod and give it a test.

 

I took the Prolite/CrankinStick combo shown in the photo out on my front lawn this evening. I had never actually fished this combo with baits under 1/6 oz so I was curious as to what it would do.  The reel currently has 6lb YZ-US on it.  The reel has never been serviced since I bought it used 3 years ago and I did not fish that combo at all last year so the spool bearing lube might be a bit...gummy.  With no spool tension, a 1/8oz weight would sorta slowly drop from the rod tip to the ground when the spool was released - not a good sign of success for actual casting. It cost me some line (backlash), but I was getting some moderate distance (30-35 feet or so) with side-arm casts at 1/8 BUT I don't consider it practical.  The rod would load fine, but the reel is the limiting factor in it's current state.  Perhaps with a freshly serviced reel, and lots of playing with brakes, spool tension, and amount of line on the spool, you MIGHT make it reliable at 1/8 but I think it's a stretch. Perhaps a more expert caster than myself could do it, but not in my hands.  I'll have to backtrack and say that while 1/6 oz should be reachable, 1/8 oz is probably not gonna happen on a regular basis on the water.

 

Still, a cheap way to get under 1/4 oz, but that next step down to 1/8 oz is tough.

[kickerfish1]

Goose, thanks for taking the time to conduct an actual test for this outfits capabilities. A perfect example of someone going the extra mile to help someone out. I understand your reel may not have been at its "peek" condition but at least you gave it a shot.

I should have mine back in a few weeks hopefully. The reel will be spooled with 10# line and be placed on a 6'9 ML BPS pro-lite rod. I will find something I can toss around in the backyard that weighs an 1/8oz. I will see if I can get much distance out of it.

To the OP, please give this thread a bump or send me a pm a month from now. My memory isn't great at times so I might forget if not reminded!