Garry2Rs

Okay John here's my list, but limiting me to three outfits is tough for a true gearpig... 1. St.Croix Avid 6'9" spinning rod ($180.00 CDN ) with a Shimano Stradic 1000($175.00 CDN) it's rated as med. light with an extra fast tip. This is my plastic's rod. I bought it specifically to fish Flukes, but it's great for weightless Senko's too. 2. G.Loomis GL3 MBR 843C ($230.00 US) with a Shimano Chronarch 100SF ($350.00CDN) This is a 7" med/med. heavy rod. MBR stands for Magnum Bass Rod, and that's a pretty fair description. I use it to throw jerk baits and spinnerbaits a long way. It was designed to pitch jigs and Texas rigged worms, so it's a great all purpose rod. I have landed Pike and Musky as well as big southern Bass with it. This is where it gets tough. I have 20 other rods and they all serve a purpose. I am torn three ways between a Crankbait casting rod and a light Musky rod and a general duty casting rod... If I was on the desert island, I guess I could fish crankbaits on a general purpose rod and I can land all those desert Musky on the MBR...HAHAHA. 3. G.Loomis IMX CR722. ($250.00US) with a Chronarch 100SF100 ($350.00CDN) This is a med. power 6' casting rod that is very accurate. It's my Pop "R" top water rod and handles all the teardrop shaped DT 3, 4, 6 and 7 and Fat "A", Flat "A" type baits. My choices reflect my style and the fact that I fish from a boat. Honourable Mention: My all time favourite rod is a G.Loomis MBR784C This is a 6'6" true Med. Heavy rod rated for 1/4 to 1 ounce baits. I have owned at least 4 copies of this rod in several different grades/price ranges. It has caught Bass, Carp, Drum, Gar, Lake Trout, Musky, Pike, Rainbow/Steelhead and Walleye using Shimano Curado's, Calcutta's and Chronarch's and if I could only have one rod for everything this would be it.

I have an St.Croix Avid AS69MLXF that I use for worms etc. It is a little more money than the Compre but a great rod for the baits you mentioned.

It sounds like your working pretty hard to get the action you want. That suggests that your rod is too soft. The X-Rap is a jerkbait, and I feel that jerkbaits work best on a stiff rod. Soft rods are like shock absorbers and cushion the hard snap out of the presentation. A stiff rod will let you make small hard jerks, and have the bait almost dance in place... With any jerkbait, to get the right action you need to start with slack line and end with slack line. The rolling, darting action comes from the bait turning, on slack line, at the end of the first jerk, and then changing direction on the following jerk. I don't know what size baits you're using. I fish jerkbaits on MH baitcast rods, but I don't own any that are light enough to be cast with any spinning rod that I own. There are medium heavy spinning rods out there, and I suppose they would do the job...The magic is in the rod not the reel. Regardless of reel style, I think you are going to have to run the line through your fingers at least some of the time, to get the tight spool you want. The first thing I would look at is getting the reserve line good and tight on the spool. You need a firm foundation to build on. I run the line through the middle of the phone book, then put a big Dictionary on top for extra tension, when I re-spool. Even after that I will let all the line out behind the boat anytime that I'm not satisfied with the tightness of the spool. With spinning reels I always close the bail by hand and place the line on the pick-up roller. This helps to keep my line tight and reduces line twist. I hope this helps.

Have the batteries load tested. You should get more than 6 hours.

For me there is something about being on a Shield lake, standing on the casting deck, throwing a bait to a Birch and Cedar shoreline that makes my heart glad. The odd bite just puts the cherry on top...

Albert Hometown was here for a couple of days and we checked out a couple of lakes. Friday we went Musky and Perch fishing. We had one Musky hit a spinnerbait, but didn't hook-up. There were some OOS Bass, and Albert proved that Perch will attack spinnerbaits... Then he switched to his Crappie rig and put enough in the live well for a great snack, that evening. Once we got home, Albert conned my nieghbour into inviting us over to watch game seven, and into cleaning all the Perch..."WOW, Could you show me how you did that again?"...and the famous ..."I'm not sure I've got this yet..." I couldn't stand to watch this charade and went to hide in shame, behind the beer fridge...HAHAHA. That evening we ate the perch and watched some of the hockey game with the neighbour's before more fishing friends arrived for dinner and drinks... Saturday we were off with the rising sun...almost...to my favourite Crappie lake. This was a favour to me, because I wanted to check the lake out for Bass and Musky and to see if the Crappie, might have finally come back in to spawn... We would fish for Musky in big-fish looking spots, and throw pan fish rigs in Crappie looking spots...Our incidental catch would tell me if the lake was good location to take Bass clients at the end of the month. I had a good time test fishing with The Handyman. The Pan-fishing was okay, the Crappie weren't shallow, we had no Musky action but there were plenty of Mid-size Bass. These fish weren't big, but they were willing, so I think that this will be some place that I save for friends and relations...grin. Best of all, it was good to spend a day with Albert that didn't involve saws and flooring...Hahaha.

This all depends on the weight of the leader material we are talking about. If you are using 130 pound Fluorocarbon for toothy critters like Muskies, then the double barrel crimp coller is fine. Put a bead on the line to protect the tip guide from the swivel, attach the leader to the swivel, using the crimp collar, then about a foot later attach another swivel or go straight to a cross lock snap etc. using another double crimp collar. The leader will be about 12 to 24 inches long and will never have to go though the guides. If you are talking about fluoro of 10 or 20 pounds, the Uni to Uni or two Blood or Nail Knots will hold the plastic to the braid. The leader can be as long or short as you want. These knots will wind through the guides...although they will rattle a bit on there way out again. I tried long fluoro leaders for casting and switched back to short ones already this year. In between it gets harder and harder to make a good knot in the thick and thicker Fluorocarbon...I would revert to the crimps and swivels and make the leader short enough that it didn't have to go through the guides. I don't think you need leaders on braid for reaction type presentations, like spinnerbaits and cranks etc. The fish is not inspecting the bait closely, they are attacking a fleeing object. For slow moving baits like worms, drop-shot and shaky head rigs etc. A leader can't hurt....but we are now down to 10 to 20 pound test and it can be tied.

You will want a deep cycle battery. Cranking batteries, marine or not, aren't designed to be discharged and recharged over and over. Brand isn't an issue with the motor, or with your recharger, any brand will work. When it comes to batteries, bigger is better because big batteries hold more power than smaller ones. In the chain stores like Costco, Wal-Mart, CTC etc. Group 27 is the largest I have seen. I picked up two Group 31's from a battery dealer in Peterborough. They were $140.00 each plus tax, but I am very happy with them. If you need more info PM me.

A similar bait, with a single hook, is a spinnerbait. You retain the spinning blade and body shape, plus the single hook is easier to remove and less snag prone than the trebles. I don't know how they work for Stripers, I caught all mine on chicken livers...grin, but LM/SMBass and WGSF love spinnerbaits. It might be hard to find really small spinnerbaits in most tackle stores, but Strike King makes their KVD model in 3/16 ounce, and at least one other company in the BPS catalog makes a 1/8 ounce spinnerbait. If no one else here can suggest a source, your friend could order some for you.

Well said Solo!

Johnny; in a pinch I have cut a section out of a wide rubber band, the type that comes off of broccoli, and done it your way, or sandwiched the hook eye. All of these ways work, the trailer is not too snaggy plus you have doubled you hook count.

As you have seen, Pike have no molars, (grinding teeth) just needle like ones. They break line by pinging it across the sharp points of these teeth. Bite-offs tend to happen to live bait fishermen using small hooks or jigs on light line with minnows, worms or leaches. The hook and bait are in the Pike's mouth and the line is sawing back and forth across the tooth points. If you use spinnerbaits or spoons the teeth are generally a long way from the line. With crank, jerk or swim baits, heavy fluorocarbon makes a nice leader, but in a pinch I have used a foot of 60 or 80 pound Braid as a leader on spinning or spincasting gear, where there was the chance of an incidental Musky or Pike.

Treat her nice and don't let her get bored. Then in a couple of weeks bring her up for a boat ride... You can see where this is going...GRIN.

I put stingers on all my spinnerbaits. I use surgical tubing on the hook eye so they stay in-line with the main hook.

If you own the boat, drill holes and use screws and silicon. If you are renting boats, attache the transducer to a stick or metal strap and "C" clap it to the transom of the rental.

I just went to a site called Cooliris to check what time the final game is tonight. Cooliris is a big picture driven search engine that links to all kinds of news, sports and entertainment stories with text and video clips etc. There were dozens of baseball links, dozens of hoops links..links about NFL (which is out of season ) and Nascar, plus Euro-league soccer, tennis, ladies golf and much more...oh yeah, there was one small link to a story out of the NY Times about how Detroit needs a win in Hockey tonight because of all the crap that has fallen on them with the economic down turn in the USA. The article soon switched to talking about Tiger Stadium being torn down... If this is the coverage that the NHL's biggest night, a game seven in the Stanley Cup Final warrants in the USA then Gary Beckman should shut-up and sit down and let's bring the teams back to Canada because obviously the Yankees don't get it and don't care!

I was looking for a replacement bail spring last winter and got talking to the reel repairman. He told me that the biggest problem, he sees, is over lubricated reels! In my opinion, a DROP of oil on the bearings and a DAB of grease is all that is required. These units aren't hitting 6000 RPM or doing 12 second quarter miles!

John... Thanks! I didn't write the article, I cut and paste from something that came in my e-mail. Tom If it feels good ... keep doing it...grin. But the answer is "Yes" you would turn the handles down, that's how they taught lefty's to cast right hand reels, before left hand models were available. As far as righty's using lefty's is concerned...If you are an experienced caster use whatever you want. However, I don't like to see beginners using "wrong handed " reels. In my opinion, they will never reach their full potential using the wrong reel, but that's only my opinion. Most of us old guys crank left on spinning reels and crank right on casting reels if we can do it everyone can do it. Look at all the manual dexterity young people have from hours of video games...hell they should be able to cast with both hands...HAHAHA. Seriously, it only takes a few minutes to get comfortable with a right hand crank. Most guys change hands while the bait is in the air, so they are ready when the bait hits the water too. I notice that some of the Pro's use lefty's for pitching...On a short range cast the bait is in the water before you change hands. If you have a flippin switch etc. the reel is instantly in gear...The rest of us have to use our thumb to jam the spool if we get an instant bite...

I cut this out to share with those of you who were sucked in by all the advertising etc. HAHAHA June 4, 2009 Not all that much physical strength is required to make an accurate cast with a level wind reel. At least it isn’t if you have quality balanced equipment and you give it an opportunity to do what it’s designed to do. What does count is the timing and coordination you develop through practice. Now let’s consider how to make your first practice casts. As I’ve recommended you’ve got your targets out there at 25 or 30-feet and you're ready to start. Take a relaxed stance with your rod and reel out in front of your body. Rotate your wrist to the left (I'm assuming you are right handed) so your knuckles and reel handles are up. When you cast don't hold your rod and reel in this position. Rotate your wrist to the left so the reel handles are up. You'll have more freedom of your wrist joint when you do this and that can be a big help to your casting. Now draw an imaginary line from your nose to the target. Make your rod come back and forth along this line as you cast. The entire casting stroke should be executed out in front of your body. The last thing you should do is let the rod tip come way back over your shoulder. Remember, now, I’m talking someone just learning how to handle a level wind reel. What I’m recommending is a base from which to begin. Once you get a feel for things you’ll be able to loosen up and not concern yourself with some of the points I stress for beginners. That imaginary line from your nose to the target is important. If you've drawn that make believe line, and if your rod moves back and forth along it, there's no way you can be way off to the right or left of your target. Provided, of course, you keep your rod and reel out in front of your body as you cast. You'll be off in depth in the beginning, but not left or right. And your depth perception will improve as you practice. The casting stroke I've just described keeps you from doing what most beginners do. That's to let the rod tip come way back over their right shoulder. If you make this mistake two things are a cinch to happen. The first is you'll wind up doing the work your rod should be doing. The second is you'll not be able to make your rod walk back and forth along that imaginary line that is so helpful in achieving accuracy. If you've got your rod out in front of your body, you're forcing it to work for you. There is tremendous strength in the modern day casting rod, but you have to load it up. You’ve got to put a bend in it so it will fire the plug out there. If you bring your rod way back over your shoulder you might as well have a broomstick in your hand. You'll recall I also mentioned the need to rotate your wrist to the left so your knuckles and reel handles are up. What this simple maneuver does is to provide more flexibility in your wrist joint. It's the wrist that does most of the work in a well-executed cast but you have to give it a chance. Grab a rod if you have one handy and hold it with your thumb up and your knuckles to the right. Watch the tip as you attempt to flex your wrist as you would when you cast. Don't use your arm, just the wrist. What you'll discover is when held in this manner the wrist doesn’t permit you get the same rod movement. Your rod tip may not come up far enough to zip a practice plug out there. Now rotate your hand to the left so your knuckles are up along with the reel handles. Again watch your rod tip. See the difference? Now you should have plenty of movement for your wrist to do its job. Your wrist action, along with a slight upward movement of the right forearm, is all the effort you need to exert if you're casting properly with a level wind reel. As I’ve mentioned before, and this is so important, you must have a rod with sufficiently light action to enable you to do it. I've already mentioned timing and coordination as the keys to casting success. You develop both through practice. Don't expect to knock the center out of your targets in the beginning, but do follow the steps I've recommended. A good casting stroke is a bit like flipping an apple off the end of a stick. I've also heard it described as much like hitting a nail right in front of your nose with a hammer. You release thumb pressure on the reel's spool at the exact instant you'd smack the nail. Then you must be sure your thumb stops the rotating spool at the exact instant the practice plug lands. You'll find as your skill develops that you never completely remove your thumb from the reel. You lift it so the spool can start, but you maintain contact to keep the line flowing smoothly and to slow the spool down and drop the lure neatly into the target. It's this constant "communication" with the line as it pays out that enables the expert caster to obtain such pinpoint accuracy. Don't expect everything to come together for you within the first 10 minutes of practice. It's not going to happen. But you'll probably be pleased with how fast you do start to get a feel for what you're trying to accomplish. I'll make one more promise: Every minute you spend practicing casting will pay big dividends when the chance to fish does come. You won't sit there picking at backlashes while your fishing partner does all the catching. There's great satisfaction in being able to handle your equipment well. And learning to use all the tools available to you is essential. There's no question about your ability to learn how to use a level wind reel. Just get the darn thing out of storage and start practicing what I've just finished preaching. You’ll never regret it.

The pkg deal price is attractive. I don't see how a person could go wrong buying one of these as a first outfit.

What reel is in the Extreme pkg?

Shimano has their head office in Peterborough. Parts and service are available there or through places like Aickman's in TO or Rocky's in Orillia. Where do you have to send these other reels for service? Do these companies actually make the reels? Today most popular priced reels are being made by third parties in Korea or China. In three or four years there will be new models and the current units might be orphans.

This looks like a decent outfit. If it's on sale, great, if not, can you wait? With BPS everything goes on sale, so I only buy their brands when they are on sale. I have owned three of their Extreme rods and can't find fault with them. As suggested above, Medium Heavy is probably a better all around Bass and Pike fishing choice. I don't know who makes this reel. It looks like a Pflueger...but who know if Pflueger makes their own reels...grin. In any case, with these house brand reels it's doubtful that there will be parts available in the future. On the other hand your not paying a lot for it.

In New York State a study suggested that only about 20% of the eligible Bass spawn in any given year. In response to this, is an early Catch and Release only season has been introduced on some larger lakes...like Champlain etc. In warmer areas, of the USA. Bass spawn over as much as 5 or 6 months! Here in Ontario, Bass are doing very well, you don't have to worry about them. If you want to do your part to insure the future of fishing learn CPR! Catch, Photograph, and Release.

I have one that I will sell you. I broke the transducer and the GPS unit in a crash and the replacement parts cost as much as a new unit...grin.