Mike-in-WV

Any of you know anything about these rods? I bought a used one today at a garage sale for $10.00. The guy said he used it all the time and took care of it but he doesn't remember what he paid for it. he threw in a couple of old Hulla Poppers too . It looks and feels great in my hand! It's a casting rod, 6' 6" MH / fast, line weight rating is #10-#20. Mike

Good point EastTexasBassin, Most of my river fishing will be done from the shore so I think I will try #17. Strong but I can still break it if needed. Most of it is to deep to wade if I have to go after a snagg, Mike

Thanks for the info again roadwarrior, Mike

roadwarrior, I'm trying to understand the thinking on this and here is why. If fishing in an area where your likely to get snagged don't you want to use a line around #10-12 so you can break it? If you use the #20 line you will be moving your boat allot to get the snag loose or cut the line. Also the idea of such heavy line on a casting reel seems to me that it would really cut down on casting distance. This is just the thinking of a newbie when it comes to baitcasting rigs. Maybe I think to much! :-[ Mike

Yep, The Elk is a great fishing river alright. 87 miles of fast, slow and pooled water and it can be clear enough to see to the botton in 20' of water. Lots of rock and trees. I never fished up at the Dam but I do want to give it a try.Most of my fishing has been right around here in Clay and Clendenen area. I live in Valley Fork and my post office is Wallback. I'm abourt 2 mles off 79. Mike

Just about any grocery store sells "Ham Hocks" for making bean soup. You can also buy "Pickled Pigs Feet" These all have a have rine on them. Hope this helps, Mike

Yep, I like the looks of that. How much for a couple of em with a white skirt? I like BIG M's idea too but how about "Louisiana Cajun critter" ?Mike

Some of you guys may laugh at me but one of the simplest and best spinning reels ever made is the Mitchell 300 from back in the 60's and 70's. They still sell them on ebay and sometimes they sell for a small fortune due to the collectors value. I have owned and fished many spinning reels over the years and I still pick up my Mitchell 300 every now and then. Mike

Anyone on here fish the Elk River in WV? It has Bass cats, Muskies, Walleye and trout for starters but I have not fished it much and would like ti hit it this spring.Any advice or suggestions on where and bait or lures used would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike

Did that rod break while you were fighting a fish or what? Mike

As some of you already know I was given a Abu Garcia 1003LP by a family friend. It's in the box but no manual. In the mean time I also won the same reel on Ebay so I will have two of them and no manual : Yesterday I sent an email to Abu Garcia web site and today they sent me a reply and the manual in a PDF file that I printed out. No questions asked and they said if I needed anything else or had any problems with the reel to let them know. They also stated that it is one of the best lower priced casting reels they had made. When I tried to buy a manual on Ebay they wanted anywhere from $10.00 to $12.00 plus shipping. Mike

that transition red is by far the worst peice of $%it I have used to date!!! Already scratched that off my list! :)Thanks Megatron!

When you figure how many yards you get for $15.00 that really not expensive at all compared to some of the others. That price is not out of my reach at all. Most of the stuff I have bought for my spinning rods over the years have actually cost about $4.00-$7.00 for 250 yards. My Fly line is not cheap and good leader is far from cheap too Nothing is cheap today Thanks again for the info and I have added P-Line CXX to my try list. Mike

roadwarrior, I can see the headlines now.... "West Virginia wife kills hillbilly husband over his purchase of fancy fishing line" ;D Mike

You make a good point about the cost of line but my question was "does it really make a difference?" I know some guy's who will spend a fortune on the best rifle, Bow or whatever and then look for the cheapest arrow shaft or bullets they can find : Never made much sense to me either. You change your line much more than I do but if I get to go 2 or 3 days a week in the summer I'm doing good and I'm retired! :'( For me the best line would be what works best for meaning....Does it cast well, How bad is the memories, Will it land a #10 Bass or Walleye out of the rocks without breaking easily? How long it last or what it cost means little to me within reason. I am on a retired mans budget managed by my financial adviser (my wife ) so I can't just buy the best there is of everything out there. Thats the reason for my questions to begin with, so others can tell me what they have found to be the best regardless of cost. Are those Texas Bass as big as they say they are. The one your holding sure looks great! Mike

polomar or Double surgeon's loop , depending on what I'm tying for.

Thanks Wayne, Guess I can cross that one off my list. :)Mike

Thanks for all the info and help guy's. I really like the idea of a line I can see well but disappears in the water. The Elk river can run really clear most of the time and it has allot of large rocks you can see when it's clear down at about 10'. There is also allot of overhanging trees and brush on the shore line. Poppers, Crawdads, Repalas and live minnows (creek chubs) seem to work great for Bass and Walleye. I have been doing some reading and checking on the Berkley Vanish Red #12. What do you think of that? It's easy to see but disappears in the water.From what most of you have said I will need to try different lines to see what works best for my casting rod/reel setup but I'm just looking and thinking out loud as to what I may try first. Mike

Thats the kind of info and opinions I needed. Thanks guys, Mike

After reading all the post on here about the different lines and whats the best line to use it can really make a new guys head spin :-/ Is the most expensive the best or not ? One of the reasons I ask is because I just talked to a guy who is a really great fisherman and has been at it for years. He suggested I try a line called "Red Cajun" in #10 or #12 test for my Abu Garcia 1003LP for the area I will be doing most of my fishing. It's only around $6.00 or $7.00 a spool. When I told him I never heard of it he just laughed and told me to try it anyway and that I would love it. Anyone ever hear of this stuff or ever try it? Mike

vicdotcom, Thanks and that's a great picture too! That's kind of what I thought you guy's were saying but wasn't sure. Thanks again, Mike

gremlin, This sale is only on line. Not at the stores. I just checked with Cabelas and sure enough the same line is $17.99 there. Just go to Google and type in Fishing line at Walmart and it should give you a link right to it. Clearance sale for $12.00 .Hope this helps, Mike

For some crazy reason I'm not allowed to post links on here but Walmart has an on line sale on there 100 percent Fuoro for $12.00 marked down from $17.00. Mike

Although I have been fishing for most of my life I'm not very good at Baitcasting methods. Why would your hand get cramped due to the size of a fishing reel? Some of you guy's talk about palming the reel and I don't understand that with a baitcaster either. That's a term we always used when fly fishing because we would palm the bottom of the reel for a better feel of the drag when playing a fish. Sounds like you got some good deals with those reels! Congrats. Mike

Yea, I still remember the old days when Akron rubber plants were over run with people from WV who learned Reading, Writing and Rt. 21 to Akron. ;D If you offered me $100,000 to move back to Akron or Copley I would turn you down. That area is the arm pit of the nation! When I was a kid Copley was just a farm town. Now it's all high rises and Condos. Have you been to Montrose lately! That's almost scary to me now. Mike