Enough Is Enough - Time To Upgrade My Rod And Reel

[Mr Q]

   Way back when I started LMB fishing (late 60s), I went with a spinning reel and average quality/size rod. After several replacements, each one better than the last, and with my fishing skills growing rapidly (bigger fish caught), I finally reached an important decision to make. What do I need to get for a final rod/reel upgrade that will handle the biggest LMB I catch - between 8 and 12 pounds.

 

   The rod was easy to decide on - an Eagle Claw 61/2 footer medium action with ceramic  glass eye inserts to save on line wear while landing those lunkers. But the spinning reel kept giving me problems when landing big bass. The last one I had seemed to work fairly well, after trying several "top brand" reels costing up to $40. Then a stroke of luck happened.

 

   At my local town bait shop, I went in one early spring day to stock up on jelly worms, snap swivels and Stren line.  The clerk asked if I wanted to enter the year's fishing pool based on fish species. Costing only a buck, I entered the LMB category and forgot about the contest for a couple of months. I kept forgetting to bring home a good sized bass to enter and one day, my last fish caught was a 4 pounder, so I took it home to enter. The clerk was surprised at the fish and I wondered why.

 

   A few months later in the fall, I stopped in the store and while paying for my tackle supplies the clerk told me I had won the LMB category! "But that was only a 4 pound fish! I tried to remember to enter a much larger fish but kept forgetting to!". Well, that small fish won the category hands down because the next biggest fish entered was a mere 21/2 pounds! I only expected a few dollars cash (credit) prize money and the clerk said, "Not bad...lets see.(counting the entrees) well, the total is 97". The winner of each category collects the number of dollars entered and that amount is the only prize for the type fish chosen. I couldn't believe it - 97 dollars! After standing there for several minuets trying to decide what to get, the clerk said he had some nice light duty saltwater Penn spinning reels. So I picked the best one he had in stock (cost $89). I still use that awesome quality reel today, some 20 years later. Since I was having trouble with casting distance using 12 pound test golden Stren mono, I finally switched to braided tevlar  20 pound test (diameter of 10 pound mono) and I haven't looked back since.  Close to 100 entrees and the second biggest fish entered was 21/2 pounds??? Guess I knew a lot more than they did without realizing it.  Of coarse knowing a few honey hole ponds didn't hurt either

 

   So how about you? Any strange circumstances around any of your equipment upgrades?

[WPCfishing]

I won a 22cal Ruger semi auto Ducks unlimited rifle in a skeet match about 20 years ago. 

 

I've been buying lottery tickets for years, haven't won once.

 

I won  $ for Lunker at three tournaments.

 

I almost caught a beaver Saturday.. no joke.

 

When I was 16 I knew everything, I can't remember any of it.

 

and lastly, My rods are better than yours.

[new2BC4bass]

About 3 years ago we had a baby gator following us around.  I almost upgraded my 7' MH Jupiter for a Heavy Fast flyswatter, but was able to refrain.

 

Kidding aside....nope...no stories.  I upgrade just to keep the wife upset.  Got to find your pleasure where you can. 

 

Example:  Recently picked up a second guitar.  Can't play the first one yet.

 

EDIT:  My rods might be better than yours, but I can't remember what you have, and not 100% sure what I have.

[WPCfishing]

About 3 years ago we had a baby gator following us around.  I almost upgraded my 7' MH Jupiter for a Heavy Fast flyswatter, but was able to refrain.

 

Kidding aside....nope...no stories.  I upgrade just to keep the wife upset.  Got to find your pleasure where you can. 

 

Example:  Recently picked up a second guitar.  Can't play the first one yet.

 

EDIT:  My rods might be better than yours, but I can't remember what you have, and not 100% sure what I have.

 

Awesomeness!

[Mr Q]

Like the old saying, "guns don't kill people, it's the people pulling the trigger that do". And so it goes with fishing gear - the best money can buy is useless if not used properly.

For the record, I rarely win anything worth mentioning, especially involving skills of any kind but do enjoy how I got my expensive Penn reel. I suppose if I did enter a 7-10 pounder, I would have had many anglers knocking at my door that just didn't take the time and effort to learn the necessary skills needed to get those lunkers.

[new2BC4bass]

I hope you realize we are just having some fun.  If I want to catch a 7-10 pound fish locally, I have to fish for either catfish or carp.  Largest LMB around here I have heard about (from a fishing buddy) was 6-something.  I fished with a 300 Mitchell and K-Mart special for a good many years.  (Probably a cheap Berkley rod.)  Caught tons more fish back then than I do today.  Course the fishing where I grew up was so much better than where I live now.  However, my brother tells me it isn't nearly as good as it use to be.

 

There are some hybrid muskies in a local river, but it would be like winning the lottery for me to catch one.  I did get lucky and catch a 25 inch juvenile 3 years ago.

[tomustang]

Misleading topic

[Mr Q]

Misleading topic

How so? Did you read the last sentence in the first post?

[WPCfishing]

Like the old saying, "guns don't kill people, it's the people pulling the trigger that do". And so it goes with fishing gear - the best money can buy is useless if not used properly.

For the record, I rarely win anything worth mentioning, especially involving skills of any kind but do enjoy how I got my expensive Penn reel. I suppose if I did enter a 7-10 pounder, I would have had many anglers knocking at my door that just didn't take the time and effort to learn the necessary skills needed to get those lunkers.

I enjoyed reading your story. I hope you enjoyed my following post. I added humor..

I had a Rod with a fuji reel seat. The glue dried out and it became loose. I re glued it with super glue. The SG cured so quickly I didn't have time to position it at center. It's off set about 1/16th to the left. Next time I'll use epoxy.

It gave me an excuse to go out and buy a new rod. That was the best mistake I ever made!

I upgraded my rod.

[Mr Q]

I enjoyed reading your story. I hope you enjoyed my following post. I added humor..

I had a Rod with a fuji reel seat. The glue dried out and it became loose. I re glued it with super glue. The SG cured so quickly I didn't have time to position it at center. It's off set about 1/16th to the left. Next time I'll use epoxy.

It gave me an excuse to go out and buy a new rod. That was the best mistake I ever made!

I upgraded my rod.

Yes, I did. Fate sometimes works in mysterious ways. That new rod I got - the Eagle Claw with the ceramic eyes, I took it with the new Penn reel I won to the canal to try it out before using it in fresh water. The break-down feral was all fiberglass and because I didn't seat the halfs fully in my excitement, on the first cast the joint separated and the end half went flying down onto the rocks and damaged the end part of the rod. I took the rod to a tackle shop that built rods custom to the owner's request and they had to cut an inch of the damaged part and replaced the joint with a metal joint. This made the rod even more stiffer and that could have helped my hook setting with lunker bass in the future. In any case, the rod (in my opinion) was better in the end. Though this stupid mistake had a positive ending, it still bothers me to this day many years later. And yes, that modified rod caught my largest bass while shore fishing.