The Rooster

I loosen drags on every reel, baitcast or spinning. As much as I love my baitcast reels, I will always have a place for at least one spinning rod on my boat, many times two spinning rods.

You're still safe for a while. Takes at least 5 trip for them to blow up in your hands.

I loosen my drag up after every trip. Prevents drag lock from happening where the drag washers stick together from the pressure and don't slip as easily.

First my disclaimer.....I don't plan to purchase one of these reels, this question is purely for educational purposes only. Now, here we have two reels..... 1. Bass Pro Shops Extreme, 2009 model with magnetic brakes only, weighs 8.6 oz.....$80 retail 2. Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier, 2009 model with dual magnetic/centrifugal brakes, weighs 8.8 oz.....$100 retail Not much price difference at all, not much differences in terms of features either, same number of ball bearings and all, but I believe the PQ is supposed to be a higher end reel than the EX is with the braking differences. Actual mechanical differences between them (as they are virtually the same reel otherwise) would be that one has dual brakes and weighs 0.2 ounces more than the one with only magnetic brakes (if I haven't missed anything). I'm assuming the extra 0.2 oz. comes from having the centrifugal apparatus on the spool and the drum for the brakes to ride in. Now....let's assume that all centrifugal brakes on the PQ reel are turned off, or locked down so they don't move when the spool spins. So both reels are operating on only magnetic brakes. Same rod, length and all, same line, same line capacity, and all other parameters are equal as well, except that the PQ has the heavier spool due to the extra braking equipment it's carrying. Both reels are being asked to cast a light weight lure, 1/4 oz. or less. Will the cheaper Extreme reel outcast the more expensive Pro Qualifier due to being unencumbered by the extra weight of parts riding on the spool and therefore get a quicker start up speed of the spool?? And if so, then why would a person pay more for a reel that would not cast as well, what use would you use a reel with dual brakes for then?? Heavier lures??

You know I could see age taking a toll on items over time with wear and fatigue of materials and small cracks in the materials forming unknown to us as time goes by. But considering how well he packed it, bubble wrap and heavy towel, plus being in the heavy walled PVC tubing.....that's the kind of pipe that is schedule 80 and should withstand being buried in the ground under driveways where cars can drive over it without doing damage.....then it shows up at the destination BENT in the MIDDLE?? There's just no excuse for that to have happened and I completely disagree that he should have expected it. Now if you're saying it should have been expected due to UPS's poor service then I will agree with you there.

I doubt you'll be able to set it and forget it for everything you throw. Typically I have to readjust the brakes and tension knob everytime I change baits.

Well I'd say the Clarus would be your rod for $70 but it's not black. It is a brownish color instead.

I gotta say the bold text makes it hard to read. Sorry man. :-[

Can't see how this even comes close to mattering. : :

There's another one out now that comes in above the Max line but below the Revo line. It's Abu Garcia's Orra SX, just like a Revo but does not have the aluminum side plate, only just an aluminum frame with graphite side plates. 9 bearings, centrifugal brakes, sells for $100 at Cabela's.

Well I'll probably get slammed for this but I happen to think the Bass Pro Shops reels are good ones for their prices. I have several of the 08 Extremes and love them, got a 5.4:1 for cranking. The Extreme sells for $80 new, on sale can be had for $60 (no sale currently that I know of though). The Rick Clunn model is also available in a 5.4:1 ratio for cranking as well. It sells for $110 retail but is actually on sale now for $90. I think they're solid reels, aluminum frames, brass gearing, multiple drag discs inside, Rick Clunn even has dual brakes, magnetic and centrifugal.

Wow, this sucks. I was watching this thread and just enjoying reading about what each person put in and took out for themselves, thinking it would be fun to get involved with. I hate that this happened. Junior if you're reading this you should take responsibility for this mess if it truly was unintentional. You're not a kid anymore, be a man and clear the air and explain what happened. Everybody makes mistakes, but letting this go on all this time now that you must know what people are thinking is just wrong. Ship the box and post the tracking number. You don't even have to go public with it, just send the tracking number to Clark and put this to rest. If something happened with the lures being damaged and you're afraid to say it, don't be. Man up and come clean. If it were me in that position I'd rather they think I was immature and irresponsible than for them to think I was a thief instead. You should realize there's something else at stake here as well. Not just a box of lures. The entire idea that this sort of thing can work is dying among people who previously believed in it, and is just proof that it won't to those who thought it would fail from the beginning, they now think that even more than they did before. What these guys tried to do here was a great thing, and you brought it to its knees the very first time out and made a lot of people lose faith. You're responsible for that. Not just for taking a box of lures that wasn't yours. I'm appealing to your conscience. You know what you should do. Whether you do it or not........we'll see.

I love fishing clearance when it's fresh, you can get good deals like that. I usually stumble onto it when there's nothing left except stuff nobody wanted.

Haven't used them but I heard they compare to the ugly stik only lighter in weight. Makes me want one or two for fishing for carp and catfish. It's hard to find a durable rod that's quality built and not expensive and is still light weight.

No offense meant to craiger12 but I would agree with the quoted statement above cause if there's one person here who would know what upgrades you could do to that reel, it's Bantam1. He's the guy to ask for sure.

A friend of mine done this. He used super glue and it's held together now for years since. Only thing he did wrong was get the line guides misaligned when he done it so the top half is off compared to the bottom, but he doesn't care and it does work so he still uses it. If you do it and use super glue, I'd recommend the super glue gel instead of just regular super glue. It's a little slower to cure, you have a few seconds of working time so you get the line guides lined up. Regular super glue runs like water and dries nearly instantly once the two pieces are touched together though. That could be messy. Krazy glue gel would be even better than super glue gel. Personally though, all of my two piece rods never come apart on me, I have had them together for years now to the point that sometimes I forget they are two piece rods. I jamb them together so tight that on occasion when I have had to take one apart I was unable to do it alone, had to play tug of war with my wife to get it apart, and sent her flying backwards when it finally popped.

What about bearings under the spool of a spinning reel to help with drag payout?? Any advantage such as a more freely spinning spool, less friction maybe so the spool is allowed to turn more easily?? I have no experience but I could see that being a plus when it comes to fishing for species that are known for long runs once hooked, maybe in saltwater fishing.

The heavier reel weight is not always the case. Recently I've been looking at a lot of different reels and see that some having as many as twice the bearings will weigh in the same as or even less than some other reels with less bearings, even made by the same manufacturer. Take for example, the Abu Garcia Soron STX20 spinning reel and Abu Garcia Cardinal 702LX spinning reel. Both are a comparable size in terms of line capacity (same amount each). Both have an aluminum frame, sideplate, rotor, and bail arm (there's a lot of aluminum in them!), but the Soron has 11 bearings vs. the Cardinal only has 7. The weights are the same though at 9.6 oz. each. Then compare both of those reels to the Shimano Symetre having only 5 bearings total but weighs in at 10.1 oz. for the 2500 size, which by line capacity is a comparable size to both of the Abu reels listed above. The Shimano reel actually weighs more than either of the Abu reels, even though it has the least amount of bearings of the three, and also has a lot more graphite in the build (sideplate and rotor) compared to the Abu's being nearly solid aluminum all over. The way I see this is that by removing a bearing they have to fill that space with something else, either more metal in the places they would have had the bearing such as where a spool either rides on a bearing or rides closely against the shaft (more metal in spool or hollowed out for bearings to fit instead)..........or they put a bushing in place of the bearing instead. Either way, whatever replaces where a bearing would go also has weight to it as well. Depending on what that replacement is, it might actually weigh more than the bearing would, or be made of some material that won't hold up under wear such as a nylon bushing in order to reduce weight. In that case you sacrifice longevity of reel life for less weight.

Daiwa Exceler seems like an awful lot of reel for the money with aluminum frame and 9 bearings for $80. No experience though.

Was outside in back yard practicing just a bit ago. I'm still using the 6'6" rod I already have here so far but it seems to be working. I had several targets laid out anywhere from 15 feet out to about 30. I was surprised to see that I can actually hit these targets or fall within only inches from them with as little practice as I've had. I just started last Saturday and today was only the second time I attempted it, the first with a target. I quoted the above comment though cause I wanted to talk about which hand I use for what. I'm right handed naturally but I'm all messed up apparently when it comes to casting and retrieving. I cast a baitcaster mostly right handed (but am at least 2/3 as good left handed as well), then switch hands to retrieve right handed with rod in left hand. That's how a lot do it as I understand it. But for spinning rods I cast left handed, not right, and I retrieve them using my right hand. That's backwards compared to most. Well, when it comes to pitching and flipping, I thought being a baitcaster that I would have to do it right handed. I do for flipping, otherwise the line gets hung up on the crank as I let it come back to the rod, so for flipping I'm a right handed flipper. But as with spinning gear, for some reason when it comes to pitching so far I seem to be much better at it when doing it left handed. That's a good thing from what I hear since I already have right handed retrieve reels, I can pitch left handed, not have to switch hands to crank so I'll be ready to crank and set a hook in a second's time. All I have to do is learn to be good at it, use the stuff I already have (except get a new longer rod), and all is good. So it seems to me when it comes to how I cast and retrieve, I'm sort of all over the place, no hard set rules. I'd like to get good at doing all techniques with both hands though cause depending on how the boat is facing when I fish from the back, sometimes it's easier to cast with one hand as opposed to the other so I don't hit the boat motor. The only one hard set rule I seem to have is I retrieve with my right hand always. I tried left handed cranking for spinning reels once and didn't like it at all. Never tried it with a baitcaster but I'm sure it would be the same, but I don't necessarily want to buy a reel to find out that I wouldn't like it. So I may never get good at pitching right handed, or flipping left handed either, but at least it seems I'll be able to learn to do these two techniques in time for next season, one way or the other.

I remember from high school science class that magnesium was the metal that bursted into a blazing inferno when combined with water. So how do they use magnesium to make fishing reel frames?? Is it not the same thing?? Apparently not, but what is it then?? Of course there's always the chance that when they told what kind of metal it really was they were putting water on to do that experiment way back in school.....I was asleep!

I'm lookin, I'm lookin. That Shimano Stradic is lookin' pretty nice too though.

The Tierra claims to also have CRBB bearings. Thanks for the post though.

I think Bass Pro Shops baitcasters are pretty good. Good enough I bought 5 of the Extremes. I am well pleased with their performance. For what I paid for them I don't think it's possible I could have gotten another reel for the same money that had all that they do, aluminum frame and all. Get them on sale for $60 or $65 and they're about the best value going. The castability of them compares to reels costing a whole lot more.

As much as I love my baitcasters I know I will always have a use for at least one spinning reel/rod on my boat. But recently I have become disillusioned with my Pflueger spinning reels. After having 2 President reels, both of which grind like a coffee maker, and the 2nd one getting worse all the time, I am now afraid to trust getting another one, or going higher and more money such as with the Medalist or Supreme. So I am switching brands. I want to hold the price to $100 or less if I can. I'm looking at Shimano of course (Symetre), and also at Daiwa, of which I have no experience with that brand at all but they "look" solid. While looking at them, several models actually, I see some of them have 7 bearings, and some have 8. I'm wondering where the bearings are placed at in the reels, and also where the extra one is at with the 8 bearing reels compared to the 7 bearing ones. Anyone have any experience with these reels to know?? Daiwa Exceler - 7 bearings, $70 Tierra - 8 bearings, $125 normally but on sale at Cabela's for $95 puts it in my price range Cabela's Prodigy - 8 bearings, $100 (made by Daiwa) Cabela's Tournament ZX - 8 bearings, $70 (made by Daiwa) Bass Pro Shops TD-Pro - 7 bearings, $120 but on sale for $80 (made by Daiwa) Any other info on these would be useful as well. How smooth they are, how durable. Anything you know about them would help.