The Rooster

Sanother siteBASSER, I can believe the rod has and effect on action you try to give the bait. If I want to move the bait and have a soft wiggly rod doing it then I'd have to put more effort and movement into it to get the same job done that a stiffer rod could do otherwise. I'd find it easier to make the bait move left or right or pop suddenly on a jerk with a stiffer rod. I fish jerkbaits on medium and medium heavy graphite rods for this reason. I fish all treble hook lures on rods that are not "crankbait rods" at all. I was debating getting a crankbait rod for trebles to keep from tearing the hooks out on a hookset or while fighting the fish but it means I'd have to modify the way I fish the bait too, of which I am unwilling to do so I modified the way I fight them and set hooks instead. Stiffer rods give me more ability to add the desired action to my baits. The only way I'd use a crankbait rod would be for bait action reasons as well (not hook choices), which brings me to my next comment..... JlScott (original poster), I also can see where having a softer rod on a straight retrieve will allow a bait to have more freedom of movement as well. Even though the line is by far the most flexible element in the chain it's pulled fairly tightly during retrieve due to resistance of the lure to water and also the pull of the reel cranking it in (opposing forces), so it isn't flexing as much. The bait is wobbling back and forth on the end of a tight line and with a rod that will allow for more movement against this resistance then I'd feel that the bait would wobble a bit more as well. That extra little movement of the bait allowed by a softer tipped rod might make the difference in "getting schooled" each weekend. As we have all seen, bass are funny creatures and the smallest most minute detail can make all the difference in the world at times.

Why do people keep saying this? A longer rod provides LESS leverage than a shorter one, not more. It's simple physics. The longer the rod is, the greater the distance from the fulcrum point (your hands) so you have to work harder to apply the same force to the rod tip. A shorter rod is just the opposite and requires less effort to "lever" the fish. I'm with you and Rolo, actually have been since before this. It's simple physics. I guess "longer rod = more leverage" it's just one of those things though where it's been said to the point that people believe it so it's ingrained right now in people's minds and they can't get it out. But if you actually "think" about it instead of just repeating what we've all heard a 1000 times then it makes no sense at all. Longer rods give you the advantage of longer casts with less effort, and easier hooksets since they move more line and build up more energy on the swing each way. After that the advantage is over, and it's you against the fish with the fish having more of an edge than he otherwise would've if you'd just stuck him with a shorter rod instead. Well...I guess you could use the longer rod to help guide the fish so that your line doesn't get tangled up in the stickups and brush as much if you fish in heavy cover but no matter what it's going to take more power and pull on the part of the angler to do this which definitely equals LESS leverage, not more. At the risk of turning this into a debate though, one thing I think might be happening is that people may not really notice the extra power and pull they had to put into it to get the job done. Rather they may have only noticed that the extra 6 or 12 inches of rod helped them to get done what they wanted to get done a lot easier. Basically, it does take more power to do the job, but how much really?? If it's only a small amount more comparitively for great gains in return then it may seem as though the longer rod did all the work even though it really did not. As for me, I just use rods in lengths based on my level of comfort as I fish, with no thought of any advantage lost or gained. 6'6" is the longest rod I'll use no matter what. Talk about "ingrained" train of thought, that's more "hardheaded" on my part instead, but that's just me. ;D

5600C4 Elite came with a clicker. I had one in the late 90's that I bought just for that reason. It was chrome and dark blue in color, had a thumb bar release, 4 bearings, was a smooth and sharp reel. Newer models of the 5600C4 that are gold and blue do not have this anymore. Here's a link to download PFD formatted reel schematics for Abu Garcia reels. You can open the models up that are in the 5000 range and look at them to see which ones have the baitclickers. http://www.pursuetheoutdoors.com/fishing/reel-schematics/index.php?dir=Abu+Garcia%2F

Things to think about...... Larger spool can equal greater surface area for drag which can be nice to increase drag pressure potential, or to dissipate heat when fishing for species that are known for hard charging and long runs. Also means line wraps in a less tight coil on spool which will allow it to flow off the spool a little better. It could even mean greater IPT of line retrieved at one time given that the gear ratio would be the same as another reel with a smaller spool, everytime the rotor makes a round you take in more line than the other one would. Only thing I'd make sure of is if you get one I'd make sure the stripper guide on the rod is large enough to take the flow of line as it pays off. I've noticed the larger the spool, the wider the line flaps as it pays out and the smaller that first line guide is then the more slap you get against it which creates friction and resistance and can cut into casting distance. I personally buy rods with no less than 25mm line guides at the bottom always (exception...ultralight rods). If my thumb won't fit through that bottom guide on a spinning rod then it goes back on the rack. Aside from all this......no I've never tried a wide spool reel......even with some obvious advantages, I just think they look ugly as sin so I just won't get one.

It's useful to pull fish in when you have to use the reel as a winch, or to make a crankbait dive deeper since it stays in the water longer due to the slower reel speed and has more time to dive downward. Sometimes a crankbait doesn't achieve it's maximum depth due to the fact that it gets cranked back too quickly. And then sometimes you just want to slow the bait down, such as slowrolling a spinnerbait on the bottom. To me this is easier accomplished by using a slower reel so I don't have to concentrate as much to make myself slow down. I can still reel at a comfortable pace while knowing my bait isn't going faster than I want it to. Those are the uses I see for slower speed reels.

In that price range I'd say Shimano Clarus, IM-7 graphite rods. $70-$80 depending on whether you get 6'6" or 7' lengths. $80 starts the 7' lengths, $70 is 6'6" and less. They make them in several actions and powers so they would cover a variety of techniques. Also they have lifetime warranties so that's a BIG plus. You can get 2 piece versions or 1 piece versions. They also have hardloy guides so they will work well with braided line, or mono, or fluorocarbon, or whatever you want to use. You can get them with a medium power and fast tip which would cover a lot of uses (for me that would be topwaters, jerkbaits, 1/4 oz. crankbaits, 1/4 oz. spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, light weight texas rigs), or go a little heavier with a medium heavy power for deeper water jigging, and heavier spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, also texas rigging with larger plastics, and even using frogs. Although, if you could swing $100 per stick I'd step up to the Shimano Compre (IM-8 graphite) over the Clarus just so you can open up the door to some other "special" rods such as a rod specifically for crankbaits with a softer action, and to me the Compre rods seem lighter in weight as well which helps improve sensitivity. They have even more actions and powers available than the Clarus and also have more tapered handles which feel more comfortable to me. But if you like a thicker handle then the Clarus might be for you instead. Either one is a great rod though, lifetime warranties on both of them.

I used it all season and had good results in so much as that it didn't produce any "bad" results. Never experienced any of the "hard to cast" issues I read about here, or any of the line breakage I read about either. So it did what it said it would do. It's decently sensitive also. I was also recommended to use this line because it was supposed to be easy to see above the water and invisible below the water by the way it turns colors in sunlight. Turns out it's not easy to see above the water except when it's wound on the spool and turns bright orange. As you fish it and it's out on the water, you can't see it any better than any other clear line. The transition part was a waste, might as well have been crystal clear only. Still no complaints overall with using it, but when I respool over the winter I will be switching to something else. I paid good money for the Berkley Vanish Transisions and did not get and real advantage for doing so. It just did the job and that's about all I can say for it.

Man y'all had me thinking this was going to be expensive until about 1/2 way down through here I read some of the prices paid. That's not too much for me so I'm just going to spool up completely from the core out. I know it's probably needlessly wasteful, it's just the way I am. I'd hate the knot being in there, and also seeing the different line on there after a cast the lower the line on the spool got. I've already made up my mind that's the next line I'm trying based on reading so much here about it. Yo-zuri sounds like it is da bomb based on all I heard you guys saying.

I'm glad someone knew what I was talking about. The rod I have is not that sensitive at all, and that's the reason I just use it for striped bass, but it is stout and feels ruggedly built so it fits that usage very well. It also balances wonderfully in my hand so even though it's heavier than it has to be to do the job it still feels fine and not all that heavy, and it is a load of fun to fish with. This was just one of my "for fun" posts was all. I have no intent to replace that rod nor am I trying to figure out what would be better. I just wondered if anyone else was "weird" like me on that.

How do you prep the surfaces?? I'm assuming sanding of some kind??

I recall reading somewhere that an IM-6 graphite rod takes more material to make the same strength of blank than an IM-7 rod would due to the graphite not being as strong. Using more material basically makes the rod strength equal but it ends up heavier and maybe less sensitive as well. I have a 6'6" spinning rod, a semi-old Quantum Dance Class (Bill Dance signature series, 10-12 years old). It's an IM-6 graphite rod and feels a little heavier in weight than another IM-7 rod I have here as well, although not uncomfortably heavy.......as a matter of fact I like it quite well. I just use it for fishing at the river for striped bass and hybrids, casting inline spinners and jigs from the bank or boat. When I hook one out in that current, to me it seems the heaviness of the rod just feels more right for what I'm doing with it than if the rod were lighter weight. I know in my head this doesn't matter, but it just feels like I have "more" rod in my hands than what it would if I were to use the IM-7 rod for the same purpose. Even though I know that extra weight isn't really helping, I'm basically saying that it changes the experience of the fish fight by the way I perceive it and enjoy it by having it there. Anybody else ever have a similar thought or experience?? Just wondering if anyone else can relate.

Nuff said. Scrapping the idea of Krazy Glue now. I did not know it was not waterproof. I've used this stuff before to repair cracks in crankbaits when I accidentally bounced them off of rocks and chipped the finish. I was using a Rapala Shad Rap I had just bought, one for me and one for dad, we both bounced them off of the same rock and chipped them in the same places. I had some Krazy Glue so I applied it to "seal" the finish on both baits so the balsa wood wouldn't begin soaking up the water while using it. Since then it has seemed to work but I admit I have not fished that bait very much so I don't know how long it would hold up if used continually in the water. I'll look into that flex coat. Got a catalog here from mudhole.com so I should be able to read up about it. I was just thinking for what I wanted to do that it might be simpler to get some glue from a local source and make the repair. I'd have to order the other stuff.

Will standard Krazy Glue work to hold cork glued onto the blank where your hand will grip it, or is there some other adhesive that's recommended over this?? I've used Krazy Glue in the past to glue tip tops on the end as a replacement when needed and this always worked, but that never involved constant contact from a hand gripping and applying pressure so I am unsure if it will work as a repair on a handle.

There may be some upgrades you could do to add instant anti reverse, or even get smoother bearings.

I just use the Zebco branded reel grease and oil. Does the trick, though there may be something better.

Did a search on the reel and found an article with the following information in it about the Pro Max 3600. I just copied and pasted a few facts about the reel, but the link to the full article is at the bottom of this post.......seems to me this reel is 17 years old in design, the article was dated 1992 and it was about the introduction of this reel as a new model. ---------------------------------------------------------- Pro Max 3600 holds 180 yards of 12-pound test line The Pro Max reel is made with an aluminum alloy spool that revolves inside its metal frame. All its parts are metal, which ABU Garcia contends is superior to the plastic and graphite that make up the internal parts of some reels. The Pro Max reel is made with eight ball bearings, which make the spool run smoothly and freely, and add support and stability to the reel. The reel also comes with a new way to bring in the fishing line. Other bait-casting reels draw in the line from side to side across the spool with successive cranks of a handle. The Pro Max reel lays down the line in a broad "X" pattern, which the company refers to as its Triple Cross gear system. A Strong Alloy The technique keeps the line from "digging into itself" as it is brought in, and then catching or snagging during the next cast. The reel's line guide, which directs the fishing line into its crosshatch pattern, is made of titanium. Guy Eaker of Cherryville, N.C., a professional fisherman who is testing the reel on behalf of ABU Garcia, said that the reel was versatile and nearly indestructible. "It means that you can use it for the rest of your life," he said. ---------------------------------------------------------- Here's the link I found it at, check it out for the full article. There was no mention of gear ratio but that's easy enough to figure out by marking the spool with a piece of tape and then count the revolutions while turning the handle one complete time. Being an ABU, I'd guess it's ratio at 5.3:1 or 6.3:1. Somewhere in there. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/19/news/a-big-reel-for-those-big-fish.html

It's not often that I get to promote a BPS baitcast reel in a thread that specifically asked about a BPS baitcast reel instead of some other brand. I love the Extreme reels I bought. I honesly could have seen them being priced at $100 each, even though they actually sold for less and I got them on sale even less than that. But mine are the ones with the older ITB braking system. New Extremes only have a magnetic system. Probably still a very good reel but somewhat different with the braking now. I've always thought of the Pro Finesse as just a "golden Extreme" with the way it is built. Very similar in design. Never personally used one of the PF reels but if the Extreme is as good as it is and is on the lower end of the BPS lineup with aluminum frames, how can any reel they make that is supposed to be higher in the lineup be any worse?? I guess a lot of people here already know I do a lot of shopping always looking for the "get more than what you pay for value", if such a thing exists. I have not found this yet in spinning reels, but for baitcasters I believe the BPS reels are as close to this as one will ever come to finding. Additionally, I have taken my Extremes apart for cleaning in the past and found them to be constructed solidly with brass gearing, slick bearings, metal parts where needed, and only plastics in places where other reels use plastics as well such as on the levelwind gear for the wormgear (all my previous Abu Garcia Ambassadeurs even had plastics for levelwind gears). I'm no expert but I do believe that you are getting the same quality reel you would pay for with many big name brands, but simply paying less for the amount of reel you are getting......making them the "get more than what you pay for value" mentioned earlier.

What does the air bail do? Near as I can tell, it's just another way to beef up a part on the reel so it doesn't feel as weak otherwise. I'd imagine it would be quite nice, though I have yet to fish a reel that has this.

Well it might be a bit OCD on my part but I do have to say I look at every minute detail in any product I buy, and can usually get a bit more for my money that way. Not just with fishing gear either. But as an example, with baitcast reels I feel like I hit a home run with a quality reel for a more than affordable price. Got 5 of the BPS Extreme reels, and they're solid for the money and when on sale it's like finding them. With spinning reels though I still have yet to get one that seems to be worth it's price. I'm looking around and exploring the products available. Not trying to be dramatic about it (though I did get frustrated a while back that everyone else seems to get quality President reels and I can't seem to find one that doesn't grind. A week ago at a tackle shop I was looking at different reels and asked to see yet another President just to see if it would grind too, and sure enough it did just like all the rest have before it).

Thanks a lot guys. I was mostly wondering if they are up on the level or not. I'm still not sure if I want one of those or not cause I was also looking at the Soron STX made by Abu Garcia, that reel has everything I could ever want in a spinning reel, including the oversized bail wire. They seem solidly built. I've never seen so much aluminum in one place, there's virtually nothing on that reel that's not metal. But at twice the price of the Cabela's Tournament ZX too ($70 vs. $130). I guess it comes down to what I really need the reel to do and how much I want to pay for it. Lately I've been thinking if the whole thing were made of metal then it would have to last a lot longer than previous reels I have had. Then I also saw the Cabela's Prodigy has that airbail as well. So there's several to think about. Thanks again, you guys were so much help.

First bass caught on a lure, I was using a 1/4 oz. chartreuse Strike King spinnnerbait, the one they called the Spindance (Bill Dance endorsed it, circa mid 90's). Caught many bass on it that first season and it seemed whenever I went out I always had one tied on. Other lures I use with "extra confidence" would be a texas rigged 7" Berkley Power Worm, black color with 3/16 or 1/4 oz. bullet weight. Cannot count the numbers of fish caught on this. Keeper bass love it. Then virtually any color of Bandit 100 or 200 series crankbaits, but especially the 100 in the color they call "Taco Salad". That little bait showing in my avatar is the one, caught my largest bass to date on it, as well as many others, several of which are nice quality keepers. Cannot say enough about this little lure. Now that it puts fish in the boat I seem to throw it more often than the others, but that may be partially why it seems to catch so many more as well. All I know is when I use it I catch the fish. Rapala X-raps are starting to building quite a reputation with me as well. I think the company could make this bait ONLY and would still make millions on it, it's that good. And lastly, cannot forget the almighty Worden's Roostertail, especially the black/chartreuse color. Lots of people overlook these as being only panfish or trout lures, but I catch lots of quality bass on them year round. Sure they drag in the dinks as well, but equally as often they land keeper bass too. Have done so many times. Those are a few, I'm sure I'll think of more later. 8-)

In looking at the Daiwa Exceler spinning reel, and comparing it to the Cabela's Tournament ZX, they appear to be identical with the Cabela's reel having just one extra bearing only. Otherwise the same EVERYTHING, including price. Daiwa makes both of these reels. The crank on the Cabela's branded Tournament ZX even bears the name Daiwa on it. What I want to know is when you see something like this, is there a significant difference between the two reels such as machining tolerances in how well parts fit together, gear meshing, or other things such as quality of bearings, or otherwise inferior parts on the **not** Daiwa reel?? I'm just wondering if Daiwa cuts corners making the reel for Cabela's since it competes with their own Daiwa branded reel.

If a person were to keep records for more than one lake, I suppose it would be easy enough to keep a separate notebook for each lake, or place of fishing, say maybe a single subject spiral bound notebook for each lake?? That way any data you get will only apply to the one place, and any similar data on a different lake with different results won't conflict with the first, but could be easily compared so you see if one lake is similar to another or if the same conditions in a different place create similar or different results. Just an idea, but I've never kept records on fishing. Think I'll start now though.

I always thought of it in terms of a drag sticking from pressure rather than wearing them down. The softer drag discs sticking to the metal discs in the system and not slipping as easily when needed.

Revo S is out of stock online at Walmart.com right now.