Tackle Tour Reviews Bps Pro Qualifier

[SoFlaBassAddict]

http://tackletour.com/reviewbassproqualifierbaitcaster.html

Interesting read.

[ColdSVT]

Yes it was...solid reel just we all have experienced

[F14A-B]

Don't like them at all, just a pitiful braking system,drag, etc.... Buy Shimano or Diawa, either company Excels with the baitcast reel, I suppose they are popular, though I don't understand why.

[0119]

They might as well have copy and pasted any other review of a Revo/Lew/Phel/Penn/Banax/Fox clone and saved the effort.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

The PQ is a good value budget reel. I give TT's opinion less consideration than that of most posters here. I wouldn't make any decisions about anything based solely on what you see there.

[BassCats]

After reading the article I feel that it is justified in their world. They mostly use high end gear and JDM products. So a workhorse reel that the general public uses. In their world the reel is heavy and basic, to us it is a workhorse of ease and reliability. 

 

Tackle Tour is good if you have ton of money and want to spend it on fishing. The everyday angler should stay off that page and focus on down to earth forums like this one. Though we do have some heavy hitters on here that push expensive things, the average angler outnumbers them.

[Goose52]

Interesting that TT reviewed the reel...although they did review a BPS Johnny Morris reel quite a few years ago.  I'm not familiar with this reviewer but I'd have to say that he was perhaps predisposed in his review of the reel - he wasn't expecting much...and so he didn't want to find much.  Some of the points from the review:

• Faults the 6.4 ratio reel as being inadequate for deep cranking...but doesn't acknowledge the availability of 4.7 and 5.2 options (in both RH and LH).
• Says the reel is not as "compact" as he prefers - wow, then he will be giving poor scores to LOTS of reels as the PQ palms about the same as most mid-size reels.
• I'm surprised the drag went to 20lbs (as were they), but they fault the drag for being "lumpy."  Well, it's certainly not the best drag, and might not measure well on their nifty machine, but in the real world, in actual fishing situations, the reel has an adequate drag.
• Mentions that the reel is perhaps not good for lighter baits - can't argue with that - the spool is heavy due to the dual-braking system.
• Mentions that the reel is heavy - can't argue with that either - BPS needs to take about 1 to 1.5 ounces out of the reel - not for performance necessarily...but for marketing.
• TT is on this kick where they deduct points if a reel doesn't have bearing(s) on the level wind, if it doesn't come with a reel cover, and if it doesn't come with a little bottle of oil. Interesting - how many other $100 reels (and a PQ is really an $80 reel) have those items.  One thing for sure, I guess I won't be able to catch as many fish without those items...
• The scoring system is so subjective that they can really tweak those numbers (like 6.4 for "Features") to get their expected outcome.

Anyway, nice to see TT acknowledged the reel, but in the "real" world, and considering it's price point, it fishes and performs better than the score it received.

 

Lastly, I really liked this comment from the reviewer:  "The drag star also clicks for confident adjustments if you are so brave to actually utilize this lumpy drag system."  Well, I never considered it "brave" to use the PQ drag system, I just considered it fishin'... and then catchin'.   I guess it's good that I use a really heavy line (10lb) to catch 40-50 pound class fish so I don't have to rely on the stock drag system............................

 

[TNBassin']

Interesting that TT reviewed the reel...although they did review a BPS Johnny Morris reel quite a few years ago.  I'm not familiar with this reviewer but I'd have to say that he was perhaps predisposed in his review of the reel - he wasn't expecting much...and so he didn't want to find much.  Some of the points from the review:

• Faults the 6.4 ratio reel as being inadequate for deep cranking...but doesn't acknowledge the availability of 4.7 and 5.2 options (in both RH and LH).
• Says the reel is not as "compact" as he prefers - wow, then he will be giving poor scores to LOTS of reels as the PQ palms about the same as most mid-size reels.
• I'm surprised the drag went to 20lbs (as were they), but they fault the drag for being "lumpy."  Well, it's certainly not the best drag, and might not measure well on their nifty machine, but in the real world, in actual fishing situations, the reel has an adequate drag.
• Mentions that the reel is perhaps not good for lighter baits - can't argue with that - the spool is heavy due to the dual-braking system.
• Mentions that the reel is heavy - can't argue with that either - BPS needs to take about 1 to 1.5 ounces out of the reel - not for performance necessarily...but for marketing.
• TT is on this kick where they deduct points if a reel doesn't have bearing(s) on the level wind, if it doesn't come with a reel cover, and if it doesn't come with a little bottle of oil. Interesting - how many other $100 reels (and a PQ is really an $80 reel) have those items.  One thing for sure, I guess I won't be able to catch as many fish without those items...
• The scoring system is so subjective that they can really tweak those numbers (like 6.4 for "Features") to get their expected outcome.

Anyway, nice to see TT acknowledged the reel, but in the "real" world, and considering it's price point, it fishes and performs better than the score it received.

 

Lastly, I really liked this comment from the reviewer:  "The drag star also clicks for confident adjustments if you are so brave to actually utilize this lumpy drag system."  Well, I never considered it "brave" to use the PQ drag system, I just considered it fishin'... and then catchin'.   I guess it's good that I use a really heavy line (10lb) to catch 40-50 pound class fish so I don't have to rely on the stock drag system............................

 

TackleTour just got O W N E D.

[Arv]

I really disagree with that review. Like already mentioned, so much of the reviews are subjective. I feel like the reviewer had higher end reels in mind when writing the review. If they want to compare the PQ to an Antares or Steez, fine, that's their call. Will the PQ stack up to those? No. But they're also ~5x the price. Its like comparing a Ferrari to a Civic. Is a Civic a fine car, sure. Is it a Ferrari. Nope, not even close. Having owned and fished with several PQ reels I will confidently say that they are well worth the money. Are there better reels out there? Without a doubt. Are there better reels out there for $100? If there are they are on a very short list.

[kickerfish1]

I prefer the Goose52 review that he conducted and posted on here some time ago. With Goose52 being a user of alot of rod and reel choices at various price points, plus the fact it was done "over time" only adds to the strength of the review.

[sarcazmo]

Solid workhorse reel.

 

I like TT, but if its not expensive typically it doesnt get reviewed very favorably.  A lot of the people there try to tout their preferred products as superior to justify spending that much money.  Case in point, Dobyns DX rods are god like over there... But IMO they dont fish any better than rods costing hundreds less.

Still a lot of GREAT info over there, but take everything with a grain of salt, just like every other site.

[aavery2]

Every review ever done is subjective, the key is to pick the things from the review that are facts, like weight, bearing count and placement, handle length, things of this nature. The rest is the opinion of the reviewer and you have to take it for what it is worth.

 

Someone told me once, if the only meat you had ever eaten was bologna, you would never miss a T-bone.

 

Despite some of things already mentioned and a few not, I felt the review was fair.

[BadBassWV]

Its really got me thinking, I love my PQ and think its a very good reel. So does that mean that a reel that they rated quite a bit higher would be that much better than the PQ. IMO I think it was a little bit biased due to the price range of the PQ.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Interesting that TT reviewed the reel...although they did review a BPS Johnny Morris reel quite a few years ago.  I'm not familiar with this reviewer but I'd have to say that he was perhaps predisposed in his review of the reel - he wasn't expecting much...and so he didn't want to find much.  Some of the points from the review:

• Faults the 6.4 ratio reel as being inadequate for deep cranking...but doesn't acknowledge the availability of 4.7 and 5.2 options (in both RH and LH).
• Says the reel is not as "compact" as he prefers - wow, then he will be giving poor scores to LOTS of reels as the PQ palms about the same as most mid-size reels.
• I'm surprised the drag went to 20lbs (as were they), but they fault the drag for being "lumpy."  Well, it's certainly not the best drag, and might not measure well on their nifty machine, but in the real world, in actual fishing situations, the reel has an adequate drag.
• Mentions that the reel is perhaps not good for lighter baits - can't argue with that - the spool is heavy due to the dual-braking system.
• Mentions that the reel is heavy - can't argue with that either - BPS needs to take about 1 to 1.5 ounces out of the reel - not for performance necessarily...but for marketing.
• TT is on this kick where they deduct points if a reel doesn't have bearing(s) on the level wind, if it doesn't come with a reel cover, and if it doesn't come with a little bottle of oil. Interesting - how many other $100 reels (and a PQ is really an $80 reel) have those items.  One thing for sure, I guess I won't be able to catch as many fish without those items...
• The scoring system is so subjective that they can really tweak those numbers (like 6.4 for "Features") to get their expected outcome.

Anyway, nice to see TT acknowledged the reel, but in the "real" world, and considering it's price point, it fishes and performs better than the score it received.

 

Lastly, I really liked this comment from the reviewer:  "The drag star also clicks for confident adjustments if you are so brave to actually utilize this lumpy drag system."  Well, I never considered it "brave" to use the PQ drag system, I just considered it fishin'... and then catchin'.   I guess it's good that I use a really heavy line (10lb) to catch 40-50 pound class fish so I don't have to rely on the stock drag system............................

 

Thank you. My thoughts exactly, but I'm being lazy.

[Dwight Hottle]

Interesting that TT reviewed the reel...although they did review a BPS Johnny Morris reel quite a few years ago.  I'm not familiar with this reviewer but I'd have to say that he was perhaps predisposed in his review of the reel - he wasn't expecting much...and so he didn't want to find much.  Some of the points from the review:

• Faults the 6.4 ratio reel as being inadequate for deep cranking...but doesn't acknowledge the availability of 4.7 and 5.2 options (in both RH and LH).
• Says the reel is not as "compact" as he prefers - wow, then he will be giving poor scores to LOTS of reels as the PQ palms about the same as most mid-size reels.
• I'm surprised the drag went to 20lbs (as were they), but they fault the drag for being "lumpy."  Well, it's certainly not the best drag, and might not measure well on their nifty machine, but in the real world, in actual fishing situations, the reel has an adequate drag.
• Mentions that the reel is perhaps not good for lighter baits - can't argue with that - the spool is heavy due to the dual-braking system.
• Mentions that the reel is heavy - can't argue with that either - BPS needs to take about 1 to 1.5 ounces out of the reel - not for performance necessarily...but for marketing.
• TT is on this kick where they deduct points if a reel doesn't have bearing(s) on the level wind, if it doesn't come with a reel cover, and if it doesn't come with a little bottle of oil. Interesting - how many other $100 reels (and a PQ is really an $80 reel) have those items.  One thing for sure, I guess I won't be able to catch as many fish without those items...
• The scoring system is so subjective that they can really tweak those numbers (like 6.4 for "Features") to get their expected outcome.

Anyway, nice to see TT acknowledged the reel, but in the "real" world, and considering it's price point, it fishes and performs better than the score it received.

 

Lastly, I really liked this comment from the reviewer:  "The drag star also clicks for confident adjustments if you are so brave to actually utilize this lumpy drag system."  Well, I never considered it "brave" to use the PQ drag system, I just considered it fishin'... and then catchin'.   I guess it's good that I use a really heavy line (10lb) to catch 40-50 pound class fish so I don't have to rely on the stock drag system............................

 

 

 

Nice to see an impartial viewpoint. I know Goose uses a lot of high end tackle & enjoys doing so. When he critiques a low end product favorably it must have convinced him it was worth the price in its price range. WTG Goose.

[Grantman83]

I felt the review was fair. TT does deduct points for high priced gear so I feel it evens out. Several lower priced items have gotten great reviews such as the vendetta rod, *** rod, skeet victory reel, pinnacle rods, powell max etc so I do feel that they generally give lower priced stuff a fair shake. They have also been hard on higher end gear when it didn't live up such as the pixy spr and others.

That being said, what most will view as all purpose workhorse isn't the general trend over there. On TT, if it isn't shimano or daiwa, you are already starting off on a negative foot. I used to talk of liking lews reels there and several times was almost laughed off the board even though the curado g and lexa were less than stellar compared to the lews reels they were going against.

[bootytrain]

I felt the review was fair. TT does deduct points for high priced gear so I feel it evens out. Several lower priced items have gotten great reviews such as the vendetta rod, *** rod, skeet victory reel, pinnacle rods, powell max etc so I do feel that they generally give lower priced stuff a fair shake. They have also been hard on higher end gear when it didn't live up such as the pixy spr and others.

That being said, what most will view as all purpose workhorse isn't the general trend over there. On TT, if it isn't shimano or daiwa, you are already starting off on a negative foot. I used to talk of liking lews reels there and several times was almost laughed off the board even though the curado g and lexa were less than stellar compared to the lews reels they were going against.

To be fair their favorite rods often get a 1 rating in the price category. Also it was not the actual editors that put down LEWS, it was the forum members.

[Arv]

I felt the review was fair. TT does deduct points for high priced gear so I feel it evens out. Several lower priced items have gotten great reviews such as the vendetta rod, *** rod, skeet victory reel, pinnacle rods, powell max etc so I do feel that they generally give lower priced stuff a fair shake. They have also been hard on higher end gear when it didn't live up such as the pixy spr and others.

That being said, what most will view as all purpose workhorse isn't the general trend over there. On TT, if it isn't shimano or daiwa, you are already starting off on a negative foot. I used to talk of liking lews reels there and several times was almost laughed off the board even though the curado g and lexa were less than stellar compared to the lews reels they were going against.

This is a good point. They gave the max 683c stellar reviews along with other good reviews like you mentioned. I'm not sure who did those reviews off the top of my head, but I don't remember seeing the guy that did the recent review of the PQ much, if at all. He might be the same guy that reviewed the Savvy, but I haven't taken the time to look it up yet. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. The reviewer is entitled to his. My opinion, and probably the opinion of many others, differs from his on this reel, and that's fine by me.

[Goose52]

Sure, everyone is entitled to their opinion...but someone representing Tackle Tour, who posture themselves as authorities, should probably come up with more objectivity...and less subjectivity.  Also, using convenience items like reel cases/bags, and oil bottles, as measures of a reels "fishability," or overall score, is to me, strange.   Deducting score because the reel is "not as compact as I prefer" just means that perhaps TT should give that guy assignments to review smaller reels, not that there is any fault of the reel under review as compared to its competition. 

 

So, like many have already said, take the measurable, objective portions of the review into account, but carefully weigh the subjective portions.

 

I've never said that the PQ is a great reel;  I've only said that it is a good, serviceable reel, that represents good value at it's price point, and that much of the internet lore about the reel is not true.  Available in 4 gear ratios, all in RH or LH, and it represents an excellent choice for an angler seeking a quality reel that is available in models to fit most bass angling needs.

 

TT rated the reel as "Fair" and gave it a score of 6.96  - only .04 below "Good."  IMO, it should have scored solidly in the "Good" category. Just makes me wonder if one of those 6.0 or 6.4 scores was bumped a bit down to get it into the "Fair" range...

 

I prefer the Goose52 review that he conducted and posted on here some time ago. With Goose52 being a user of alot of rod and reel choices at various price points, plus the fact it was done "over time" only adds to the strength of the review.

 

The next, and final, report of the PQ 5-Year Challenge test reel is coming up on October 26 or thereabouts.  The last report, at the 4-year point, is here: PQ 5-year Challenge

 

Someone told me once, if the only meat you had ever eaten was bologna, you would never miss a T-bone.

 

I'm puzzled by this comment.  Can you translate?  Was that meant to be turned around and mean that since the reviewer mostly ate T-bones that he couldn't appreciate a good bologna?

[DTack]

I will give my opinion I guess...  The reviews there often don't make much sense to me.  They will deduct points for the strangest reasons... What I advise is reading the review entirely rather than going off of just the rating.  They do give lots of details about products, which are helpful to read through in detail.  I prefer making my own choice on what is important based on the detailed information they share. 

The forums are just as any other, lots of information and opinions.  Some I don't agree with, some I do. 

[CWB]

They mentioned there is better out there for the price but gave no examples. Strange. I gave my 6 year old PQ to my son and he absolutely loves it. had too many reels as I recently bought a Lews BB1 Pro for crankin'. Lews does cast a bit further.

For $79.99, which it is usually on sale for, I think you'll be hard pressed to find a better value.

[aavery2]

Sure, everyone is entitled to their opinion...but someone representing Tackle Tour, who posture themselves as authorities, should probably come up with more objectivity...and less subjectivity.  Also, using convenience items like reel cases/bags, and oil bottles, as measures of a reels "fishability," or overall score, is to me, strange.   Deducting score because the reel is "not as compact as I prefer" just means that perhaps TT should give that guy assignments to review smaller reels, not that there is any fault of the reel under review as compared to its competition. 

 

So, like many have already said, take the measurable, objective portions of the review into account, but carefully weigh the subjective portions.

 

I've never said that the PQ is a great reel;  I've only said that it is a good, serviceable reel, that represents good value at it's price point, and that much of the internet lore about the reel is not true.  Available in 4 gear ratios, all in RH or LH, and it represents an excellent choice for an angler seeking a quality reel that is available in models to fit most bass angling needs.

 

TT rated the reel as "Fair" and gave it a score of 6.96  - only .04 below "Good."  IMO, it should have scored solidly in the "Good" category. Just makes me wonder if one of those 6.0 or 6.4 scores was bumped a bit down to get it into the "Fair" range...

 

 

The next, and final, report of the PQ 5-Year Challenge test reel is coming up on October 26 or thereabouts.  The last report, at the 4-year point, is here: PQ 5-year Challenge

 

 

I'm puzzled by this comment.  Can you translate?  Was that meant to be turned around and mean that since the reviewer mostly ate T-bones that he couldn't appreciate a good bologna?

You got it, but you have to also look at like this, if bologna was the best meat you had ever eaten, how could you possible appreciate what someone was telling you about a fantastic T-bone steak.  

Keep in mind they are not comparing the PQ to reels within its price range or even reels that are a 100 dollars more, the comparison is being made to every other fishing reel they have reviewed.  If you think of it in those respects, it rated good, and in my mind that is an accurate and fair rating .

 

Another thing I was pondering . regardless of the score, think about what this has done to promote the PQ, and all the talk it has spawned on message boards all over.

[K_Mac]

Thanks for the comments Goose. My experience with PQs over hundreds of hours of fishing has been very good. My experience pales in view of the exhaustive testing you have done though. I completely understand that some may not like the PQ, but in its price range it is a fine reel and a very good value, and I think there is enough history here to make that case.

[Montanaro]

They scored the d**n reel at 7 out of 10....

And you all say it isn't fair and they under value it? Very few of their reviewed products hit 8/10 or above...and the ones that do win awards.

If it scored in the fives I'd say you might have a point. But a budget, big box store, generic reel scored an average score when the expectations for those types of reels by consumers is that they are subpar (even junk). I'd say their review is right on point with everything I read about it on this forum.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

I won't judge whether the review itself was fair. Certainly it should have been done a while ago. That reel hasn't had any changes to it for quite a while now.

I've still got a handful of them left. They get used just as much as my other "name" brand reels.

I would argue with the drag comment they had in it though. I've found all of mine to be quite smooth. Especially if you clean the excessive grease out of the reel. I've landed plenty of large hard running fish on the ones I take saltwater fishing.

For the price, they're darn good. On sale, they're a fantastic value.