The Rooster

I was never here. If you say I was, I'll deny it!

We care for an elderly man who used to donate quite a bit of money to different charities. He has since stopped several years ago but he still gets POUNDS of mail each day from it. No kidding, one charity asking for money was actually for saving donkeys which were supposedly being abused from overworking them. Wow. He never donated to things like that but they still got his address. If we skip one day checking the P.O. Box then all we find is a note to come to the counter to receive a laundry basket full of mail.

I have this problem but in moderation. I have a few more combos than I use, but they never build up too much since I've given several away over time as new ones have came in. Some I now keep as loaner rods, too. With baits, I have way more than I need but not more than I can carry. I never use many of them but I'm of the mindset that one day I'll want a particular one and I'll have it. I continue to add to these. As for antique tackle, I have none. Not into collections that are not practically useful. I just see them as clutter. Once I had an old Pflueger Summit casting reel from back when they had cork wrapped on the spools that was given to me. I got tired of it sitting here and gave it to my neighbor.

Nobody mentioned that a 3/4 oz. spinnerbait will actually weigh well over 1 full oz. the rated weight is just in the amount of lead used to make the head. Blades, wire, hook, and skirt will add a good bit more. That may help you decide what rod to cast them on. Up until now I've been using a 6'6" MH/F rod for all of them up to 1/2 oz. rated (actual weight of 1/2 oz. bait is 7/8 oz., I weighed them to see). I just bought a H/F rod that I can't wait to try them with though. Feels like it will give better hook setting power in heavy cover. It will also be a jig rod, too, so not dedicated to spinnerbaits only.

I exchanged that rod today for another Tourney Trail rod. The one piece Tourney Trail rod felt more limber and bendable than the 2 piece rod in this version, unlike the Pro Guide where the 2 piece was more flexible instead. The Tourney Trail is just a bit stiffer than the Pro Guide was but it still bends nicely. This rod has 10 guides instead of just 7 and it holds the line over the blank like it should when under pressure.

Ok, what is the big advantage of the 50? Just casting lighter lures? What else?

I'd say they probably said uh oh, we fudged up with the G model. Let's save face and just ride it out but don't put anymore money into this one. There won't be a 50G. If there is, I'll gladly admit I was wrong. I am starting to come around some though. The Curado and Citica G reels do feel like very nice reels in hand when you can't compare them to the E models.

On Nov. 6 when we're at the polls voting for the next prez, people from KY will also see this question. It basically protects KY residents' rights to hunt and fish forever, as it makes it so that it cannot be outlawed without a vote from the people. I wasn't aware of this until now and wondered how many of you here from KY aren't either. I'm making sure to vote yes to this. Here's how it will read: Are you in favor of amending the Kentucky Constitution to state that the citizens of Kentucky have the personal right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife, subject to laws and regulations that promote conservation and preserve the future of hunting and fishing, and to state that public hunting and fishing shall be a preferred means of managing and controlling wildife?

Yes, I know. I should have just looked at it harder before I bought it. I was in a newly opened Cabela's store, and only for the second time ever at one anyway, and was being overwhelmed by all the stuff. Got excited and forgot what I know about rods, got new rod fever, and had the wife standing there encouraging me to buy two instead of only one, but hurry because it's our anniversary and she wants dinner. I made a quick decision......too quickly. That's all.

I was just gonna call them and order the one I want but I'm afraid without handling that specific model first that it might not feel exactly like the other one does. Looks like it's gonna be a trip back after all, or else I just order it and take a chance. I think I'm just gonna drive back up there and get the other one in person or at least get my money back. I know it's only a $30 rod and I'm not even worried about the cash. I just don't want to be stuck with something that I'll never use, and I'd like to have one I'd be happy with.

I'm chalking it up to an inexpensive rod that the manufacturers cut corners on to keep the cost low. I was mostly wanting to know how it would fish this way because it is such a long drive back. Wishful thinking I believe. Common sense says not to keep it and fish it like that. Too bad though. It feels like the perfect blank for what I've been wanting in a light cranking rod. What makes it worse is that while standing in the store looking at it I knew it had less guides on it and didn't like that but never gave a thought about what it would mean in actual use. I also already knew there was a version of it in the step up rods, too, but forgot that while standing there. D'oh!

Well, I remembered (with the help of rereading all those old threads) that I questioned the function of the reels after some time or even when new. It does sound like that it's not as smooth as it once was, but I think the use you're subjecting it to is extreme compared to just about anyone else on the same reel so being a bit less than factory new feeling is understandable. For me, I wouldn't be happy with one after it starts to feel rough from use, or rough out of the box either. Once it reached that stage, I'd be shopping for a new one. But it's clear to me that no one can argue against the fact that this reel would absolutely last 5 years and beyond with standard use, and even with abusive use from most people's normal fishing habits, as long as it was maintained sometime in between with a clean and lube when needed. So even if yours fails before that time, it doesn't mean a thing other than it saw probably ten years of use in about three years actual time, and is obviously capable of handling huge fish. A nearly 10 pound bass is a dream fish for at least 60% of us here so knowing that an abused reel was capable of landing it is plenty of testament to the reel. Having caught carp personally, I know how hard they pull so that is further testament again. I only caught carp in the 10 pound range and I thought it was going to pull my reel apart before I got it in. Carp in the 40 pound range, I can't even imagine.

Went to Cabela's today. Picked up two new rods that were on sale. One was a heavy powered 6'6" Tourney Trail with fast tip for jigging in heavy cover (love it). The other was a Pro Guide 6'6" medium heavy with moderate fast tip that I plan to use for light crankbaits. I love the power and action feeling of this rod with a bait hooked to something to simulate a fish on. It feels just right for this. But I noticed with it only having 7 guides, that near the tip with the rod flexed under pressure the line can touch the blank, and even go below it in a place or two. If they had used 9 or 10 guides it would have been much better but then the rod might not have felt the same either since these are double footed guides. Do I have anything to worry about with the line doing this? Maybe line breakage with a fish on? I didn't see the same rod available in the step up model (Tourney Trail over Pro Guide) but the catalog shows they have it in the same power and action. The Tourney Trail version would have the 10 guides on it. Is it worth a drive back to exchange it? I live about an 1 1/2 hours away from the Cabela's. With gas and the added cost to step up to the next one I could just get something from around here instead but I have yet to find a rod that had this perfect of a feeling for crankbaits around here. I mean until I looked up and saw how the line was doing on the end of the rod, I was sold that I had found the perfect 1/4 oz. crankbait rod. If I could take off the last 5 double footed guides and put back 7 single footed ones, I'd be set! Can't do that myself and don't know anyone who could.

There are none that I can see. It's an empty cylinder with two slots cut end to end to allow the long fastening screws to go through along side of the armature. It's highly magnetic though. I have to hold the armature down hard while reassembling everything or it will try to center itself in the cylinder, which is incorrect, and it pulls away from the brushes. Since it is magnetic, I know that impacts can depolarize a magnet, which effectively demagnetizes it. Could this have happened? I have hit stumps with it, but it was running fine in open water later on. That's what makes me think some electronic component has failed. If so then it must be in the body of the motor that attaches to the deck of the boat. Foot pedal works fine and the armature is new. Is it possible to use a VOM on the brushes to check for voltage there?

Recently my trolling motor took a dump on me while at the lake. It was running fine and we were using it to get back to the dock after having engine trouble when it suddenly just died. We paddled back. Later I was looking at it and it seemed that the prop shaft was bent slightly so I figured I must have damaged it somehow, maybe hitting a stump or getting caught up in underwater tangles. When the boat mechanic fixed the engine he also said I must have bent it as well so I was sure that was it. The thing would only turn 1/2 a turn and then just hang up and the motor would hum. This also helped convince me that it was just bent. I ordered a new armature for it since this is the prop shaft, the entire thing is one piece, coils and all. I also ordered new seals, and when it came in I installed it all. Now after doing this, I still have the same problem so apparently this wasn't it. Motor still turns 1/2 a turn and stops and hums. What else is there? I know there is a circuit board inside the body of the motor that mounts on the deck, right where the power cord comes out, right where the battery life meter is at also. Everything else on the motor works, the electronic steering and the battery meter. That's about all there is to it other than the motor itself. As near as I can tell, the brushes still look good too. There is a lot of material left on them anyway. Could it be possible to lose power to just one of them and have this happen? That could be just a simple wiring problem then.

I had a couple places here like that but I figured it was because I was young and they thought I was full of attitude maybe. One place acted like they were bothered to help me or even talk to me and the other made me feel watched constantly. Over the years they have both gotten much better and I am recognized when I come in but I'm 38 now and I probably act different than back then. Who knows why they did it. I've heard others say the first place was rude to them also, and a few said the second was suspicious of everybody but I don't notice it anymore when I shop there. We had a third place but the owner got caught messing around with his female employee's under aged daughter. That place closed and I think he went to the big house!

Good luck. Prayers going out to you.

I disagree. After you eliminate one choice, your odds are now 50/50, not 33/66. You have a 50% chance of getting it right if you switch or stay after you know the 3rd choice was wrong. Now, staying or switching, there is no advantage one way or the other. It's a shot in the dark no matter what.

Wow that musta been hard to find time to fish with all the big T-Rex's running around trying to eat you. LOL

DVT, did I catch a reference that the PQ could be upgraded to hold level wind bearings in your post?? I'm under the impression that the current reel in factory form does not have these now, but would be made more like my old Extremes where it only has plastic bushings on the level wind worm gear instead. So, if I understand right, then you can add bearings to the level wind where none exist now. Knowing what I know about the handle paddle grips, you can add one to each of those as well, turning a standard 7 bearing reel into a 9 bearing reel. If the level wind is another place to add them then I could have 11 bearing PQ's when finished (but probably also one of the heaviest reels out there by then as well). To the OP, I know you can add at least one bearing to each paddle grip, replacing a bushing that's there now. This will do nothing in terms of performance but it does make it nicer feeling to fish moving baits with resistance to them, like spinnerbaits or crankbaits. It's really slick feeling. I did this to my Extremes and they have become some of my favorite reels because of how they feel. I fish them along side of my Shimano E reels and for moving baits I think I like them better than the Citica for sure. In terms of ease of casting and casting distance though, my Shimanos do out gun the Extremes by a fair margin. But you cannot upgrade the Shimanos to feel as slick as the Extremes do due to their design of the handles, and I've also never tried upgrading the spool bearings on the Extremes either, which might make a good difference. That's one reason I'm starting to like the Lew's reels now. From what I'm told they're everything the Shimanos are with the slick feel of an upgraded BPS reel. I compare my Extreme for reference here since its build design is similar to the PQ in many ways. What you can do to one, you can do to the other in a lot of cases.

There are lots of scents that find their way onto a finger from time to time.

Dad did that on a bad cast with a crankbait. The lure was just tipping the surface and a large sunfish began circling it and striking at it and finally ended up snagged in the side with a hook from each treble. We were untangling his line at the time so that's how it had time to do all that. My brother hooked a bass in the mouth and when he landed it, it turned out to have been dead for some time before that. It was hooked on line that was snagged and broke off. Died on the line, and then my brother's hook found it later. A not so funny catch......I was using a nice spinnerbait that I didn't want to lose when it got snagged on old fishing line. I just had 12 pound line but my brother (who just happens to dislike lure fishing and thinks bass are baitfish) fishes for LARGE cats with 50 pound or more super lines, so I asked him to cast out and hook that line and pull until it breaks. He did and the line snapped with me just holding slight pressure on my own line. My bait comes through the air so gently that I reached up and caught it with just a finger and thumb. His 1 oz. sinker came straight at him like a bullet and beamed him right on the tip of his........you know!! I never heard so much cussing as he said for me to never ask him to do that again.

Put it on a jig as a trailer. If it was a fat kid who lost it then you'd still have a jig n pig combo.

Don't forget translucent colors in clear water. Sometimes you need a see through worm or fluke instead of a solid color. I really like the new disco green trick worms for this.

Thank you. I wrote down the phone number from their site and will give them a call. Gotta do something for this boat, but I'm fairly sure my season is over except for trolling motor only now. Good thing I have two batteries, I'll be using them both for trolling to get me out there farther away from the ramp.