PainInTheBass

An ounce or two is not a large number on its own. But as a percentage of the total weight of a combo, it can be huge. When you are down to a 10 oz combo, 2 oz is 20%. Beyond that, it can change the way a combo balances and feels. To some, this is not important, to others it is. There is a huge market for the ultra lightweight reels, and I don't think it is because the people who are spending big bucks on these reels are simply buying into marketing. Some put a high value on the total weight of a combo for whatever reason. It could be vanity, but if the price of their vanity is justified to them, then the difference in price is worth it. I can comment on the quality of Pflueger reels in that the president has a good reputation of longevity and performance. I have used a stradic F1, and I did not like them for any true performance reasons (I am a Daiwa guy). I have not used the Cl4 to be able to comment on the differences aside from weight; however, I have read reviews for which the only real negative is the lack of a spare spool. I am not sure if this is the case with the Stradic F1. I am not a fan of the Quantum spinning reels as the the constructino on the models I have played with did not feel very good to me. The Abu's I have played with all felt solid and smooth. Of the one's you listed, I would personally select the Patriarch followed by the CI4. Disclaimer: I put value on weight as well as on bling. I am young and vain.

I have and use Cal's Drag Grease. I ordered it from Smooth Drag, and it wasn't any trouble getting it at all. It just took a little while to cross the border. Typically, different parts of reels (baitcasters at least) use different viscosity lubes based on the component. Cal's Drag Grease is more viscous than reel gear grease, which is more viscous than bearing oil. I have used Cal's gear grease on the non disengaging levelwind idler gear in my round Abu, and it definitely affected the reel's feel and performance. I have not used the above mentioned product, and am not making any claims to it's application. I am just giving a heads up.

Thanks Mike, I actually have this topic posted there as well. With my minimal experience with these reels, I was just hoping for insight from others is all.

Well, My round Abu is on a 7' MHM St. Croix Premier. I have a 6'6" turd Browning Midas whose balance and I action I love for jerkbaits/topwaters. I have a 7' MHF Okuma C3 that I tend to use for spinnerbaits/lipless traps since it is a little tip heavy making it appropriate for tip down techniques. I also have a 7'3" MHXF Rapala R-Type that I was using for jigs. I am planning on building a finesse rod on an MHX SJ781 blank for the S O L; a 7' M-MHF worm rod; and one more rod for whichever reel I still have not designated. Of the Fuego, Advantage and Zillion, which has the best range of castable weight? Which is the most robustly geared, better for say spinner baits? Which is best for pitching? Best for casting plugs? Thanks for the feedback so far.

Thanks EC1. I figured something along these lines 1 x TD S o l - finesse 1 x TD Viento - worms/soft plastics (got the twitching bar, might as well use it) 2 x TD Fuego - Jerkbaits? Spinnerbaits?/Lipless Crankbaits? Shallow Crankbaits? 1 x TD Advantage HSTA - Jigs? Spinnerbaits?/Lipless Crankbaits? 1 x TD Zillon HA - Jigs? Spinnerbaits?/Lipless Crankbaits? I don't throw frogs enough to have a rod/reelcombo dedicated to it.

There was a certain tone in that post which made me feel like I was there. I enjoyed that read very much. Thanks for sharing!

Hey all, I have the following reels, purchased from various membes from various message boards, and I was wondering which techniques you would apply each reel to. I currently have: 1 x TD Sol 1 x TD Viento 2 x TD Fuego 1 x TD Advantage HSTA 1 x TD Zillon HA I already also have an Abu Garcia c3 4600 modded to a c6 that I use for deep crankbaits, so deep crankbaits is out of the question for the above reels, not that their gear ratios were conducive to the technique anyways. Throw out any recommendations you may have. I am open to any and all suggestions. Thanks! PITB

Do their lipless cranks fall vertically? Or do they flutter over on their side when they fall? I have been trying to find a lipless bait that I really like, and have yet to come accross one? How good are they in grass?

I believe it is sent to you when you join their rewards program. I also got mine. This is bad when you want to save money...

That is a brave move that I hope works out. Good luck. Everyone here is rooting for you.

And the results?

I am curious about their lipless crankbaits as well. I have never had much success with liplless crankbaits, so I have been hesitant to buy these ones at their regular price. And I think my wife is on high alert with respect to my fishing purchases... so even at this price, it would be iffy...

Good Lord those be some nice pike! I am jealous.

Those Pumpkinseed are so tempting, as are the crawfish. I own a few of them already, and have had quite a bit of success with the pumpkinseed.

I find I have more control and power using 2 hands. I am not comfortable at all casting one handed. I have seen the palm smack the jig head technique on FishTV as well.

I pretty much agree with all of that. I want my money back. The Mir/Cro Cop fight reminded me of Kimbo and Houston Alexander. They danced for nearly 15 minutes. Serra/Lytle was pretty bad ass. I am not a Serra fan, but man, can he take some punishment! There is no way that Sherk should have gotten that decision, with a 30-27 no less. I didn't think you could award all 3 rounds to a fighter based on a cut he gave his opponent in the first round.

This year I wanted to learn to fish jigs - I have not yet done that, unless you count swim jigs, which I did successfully fish soft plastics more - I did that, and caught some fish along the way learn to fish lipless crankbaits effectively - not great at it yet, but still coming generally learn to fish more finesse techniques that require patience, but can produce fish I always find it difficult to apply some of these techniques based on who I am in the boat with. Often, my brother's fishing personality dominates since I can fish the same way he does. However, I wanted to become a more well rounded angler in learning these techniques. I plan to continue working on these until I get them.

GSP beat Koscheck at his own game when he wasn't nearly as focused as he is now. I don't think Koscheck can throw anything GSP's way that he won't prepare for. The only chance is for Koscheck to land a lucky shot. But other legitimate KO artists have not done that since GSP has increased his level of focus while training.

I have heard that although they are based on the Japanese Scorpion 1000/1001 XT's (aluminum core frame based reel), that they are not as refined feeling.

I had posted this on another forum to help other users with learning to use baitcasters (names have been blanked). I apologize in advance for the length. I hope it helps. They are somewhat difficult to learn to use. However, the benefits of learning to use a baitcaster well include: -significantly improved cast control. As ------------ said, being able to control the speed of the spool allows you control your casts more precisely. This means that you can produce softer entries, spooking less fish. -baitcasting gear is more well suited to handling larger lures and presentations -generally higher ratio gearing means you can more efficiently present high speed lures, or horse fish out of cover when flipping -and, as my friend (who I taught to use a baitcaster) put it, Using a baitcaster is like driving stick... I got my buddy using a baitcaster this past weekend. What I told him to do was tighten all of the brakes first as well as the cast control knob (the knob right under the handle). Second, I told him to press the release button, and the line should not move (assuming a lure is tied on). Slowly, loosen the cast control knob until the line starts to come out and the lure drops slowly to the floor. The knob should be loose enough that when the lure hits the floor, the spool does not do a full turn. Once you get the knob tightened to this point, it is set for the weight of lure you are using. You can loosen it further once you are more comfortable with casting and want the spool to spin more freely/quickly. Now try some casts with all of the brakes on. When casting, your thumb must serve to slow the spool down and to stop the spool from spinning as the lure stop moving (i.e. - it hits the water/ground). Keep practicing until you are comfortable then reduce the brakes. Repeat the previous step until you are comfortable with the timing of thumbing the spool and the distance you get. The trick is to understand that the lure can only pull line out so fast. If the spool is spinning too quickly, and the line is not being pulled fast enough, then the line will tangle, resulting in the birdsnest. The brakes, your thumb, the spool tension knob all serve to control the rotation of the spool. You must learn to use all of these tools to control the rotation. Once you do, you will have accuracy and distance in your casts. I have mine set so that I can launch the lure with only having to thumb the spool at the end of the cast and not during. Your comfort level may vary. If you manually set the brakes, make sure that they are set up so the brakes apply pressure in a balanced fashion around the spool. Typically there are 6 pins in a centrifugal braking system. With all 6 pins on, they apply braking pressure evenly. The rudimentary diagram below depicts 6 pins engaged. \ / - o - / \ With 2 pins on, the pressure will depend on which 2 you engage. In this situation you would engage 2 pins opposite to each other such as below. \ o \ With 3 pins on, you would engage the following pins (This is the configuration that ----- described). \ o - / And so forth. This is to make sure that the balance is even on the spool as it spins. If the balance is off, this could affect the rotation of the spool, negatively affecting spool speed and casting distance. If your brake controls are external (dials) then you don't have to worry about this. Do what ----- said and cast in a park for some time to practice. Instead of a weight (because if that thing comes off it is like a bullet, lol), what I did was remove the hooks on a relatively heavier lure that I did not use as much and therefore did not care about the finish on it, and casted with that thing. You get a feel also for how the air resitance of a lure can affect the cast and how you may have to compensate with a baitcaster. The cast with a baitcaster is a whole different thing than on a spinning reel. With a spinning reel, you can simply noodle back, let the rod load up (bend) and then sling shot it forward. This is not so with a baitcaster. If you do this with a baitcaster, what happens is that the rod loads, but as the lure slingshots forward, all tension on the line is lost. As the lure moves forward through the air, the line becomes taut again and the lure suddenly jerks the spool into motion. When this happens, the energy of the slingshot is lost in overcoming the inertia required to start the spool spinning. The lure then slows down almost immediately after the spool starts going at top speed, resulting in a backlash. This is true when pitching (underhand casting) as well, and probably more easily observed. If you pitch your lure on slack line, it will go as far as it can before the spool starts spinning then the lure will fall flat right there. If you keep taut line, the lure will fly further. The trick I found to casting relatively consistently is to let around 6" of line plus the lure dangle from the tip of the rod. If you point the tip of the rod directly away from you, you should be holding the rod and reel so that the open face of the reel (spool side) is sideways, your hand should be palm down with your thumb directly out to the side. More than anything, this allows your wrist a greater range of motion as you bring the rod back and then follow through. There is not as much of a snap in the wrist as much as a smooth follow through as you bring the casting hand back, bend the wrist (like a free throw in basketball), then initiate the cast by rotating your forearm forward at the elbow, then following through forward with your wrist (again, just as you would a free throw in basketball). What this motion does is make sure that the lure travels like a pendulum, using centrifugal motion to keep the lure pulling consistently on the line, and the line taut. You then release your thumb (you should have pressed the butten and been thumbing the spool during all of this) just before the end of your casting motion. This initiates the rotation of the spool to accelerate in sync with the acceleration of the lure, and avoids the loss of energy caused by the slack line using the slingshot effect. The trick to remember is to try and keep the line taut at all times during the cast. At least that is what has worked for me. I hope that helped.

I know this may be late, but of the reels you had originally listed, the Caenan is the only with a graphite frame, which may not be abig issue for bass fishing. However, it should be known that graphite can flex more than aluminum, and can put the gears out of alignment. If you are set on going with Shimano, then I would suggest going up to the Citica. I, personally am a Daiwa guy, and would second the recommendation to look at the TD Advantage supertuned. Great reel. The only issues with it (and the Tierra because they share the same frame) can be the size as it is a slightly wider reel that may not palm as comfortable as other reels. I have not had any issues with it, but others have. I do not think you can really go wrong with the reels you ahd listed. They are all quality reels, and I am sure will do the job. More than anything, you should feel them instore and determine your choice by handling the reels and seeing which ones are most comfortable to you.

I rented a cottage on Lower Buckhorn for the weeks of Canada Day the past 2 years. We would fish the western shore of Deer Bay (Large Souther Bay in the South of the Lake) using x-raps in perch and the Koppers blugills with some decent success. There is also an island just north of one of the marinas on the main lake (I am sorry I do not recall names) with relatively steep drop offs to 20ish feet on the eastern side of the island. We caught largememouth bass at the dropoff and I ccaught my first ever muskie there. There is a also a small bay at the extreme southern tip of Deer Bay that we would fish topwaters in the mornings with some success. Pencil walk the dog lures worked well there. I hope that helped some. Good luck!

I recently started using that knot for my fluorocarbon leaders. I love that knot. It is strong and easy to tie.

To answer your question; on a spinning rod, the guides are aligned for the line coming off of the face of a spinning reel. thus, the guides are generally taller closer to the reel. On a casting rod, the line coming off the reel is much closer to the rod blank, and thus, the guides are lower. The height of the guides is deisgned to minimized the contact between the guide and the line during cast, so as to minimize friction and maximize casting distance. Using a spinning reel on a casting rod, or vice versa, will increase friction and minimize casting distance. Further, the reel seats, as mentioned previously, are different for casting and spinning reels. I hope that helped.

I think it would depend heavily on the preferred technique. You can get a lot of rod and reel for $150-200. If it is intended as an all around combo, I would likely look at a 6'6" medium fast rod and a matching reel. I am not going to venture into specific brands as that is preference and you can get quality from just about any manufacturer in that price range.