Stasher1

I think it's North American Fisherman magazine that does that every month. They talk a pro into going fishing with them on a body of water that the pro has never been on, and then they give a play-by-play of the entire trip. Pretty entertaining, really. In general, they don't do as well as you'd expect.

I would agree - avoid the combo packs as it is low quality and you will not enjoy it. St Croix was having a closeout last year and I bought a nice fly rod and love it. We go on a trout fishing trip every year, fly fishing takes some time learning, but it feels great landing a fish on a fly rod. x3 I would also advise skipping the low-end combos, but not all combos are bad. BPS and Cabelas offer decent, functional combos for not much more than the low-end Pflueger setup you were looking at. As a matter of fact, Cabelas offers a combo with their Three Forks rod, Pflueger Medalist reel (which has hardly changed in the past 50 years, and has probably caught more fish than any other fly reel in history), line, leader, and backing for only $75. It's not listed in their catalog, but you can get it from their site... http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20431-cat604907&id=0054033320426a&navCount=3&podId=0054033&parentId=cat604907&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IA&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233 The rod definitely isn't top of the line, but it gets pretty good reviews from the people who own and use it, and the reel is the industry standard. It's a great starter reel, but you may never have a reason to upgrade. They're not flashy reels, but they're dead-nuts reliable.

x2 I have the '07, '08, and '09 seasons on DVD and will pick up the '10 season when it comes out.

I snagged two Sonora 2500's for my oldest boys out of the same clearance bin for $15 each as well. I went back later that evening and grabbed the last two Sonoras, and saw the poor little Mitchell sitting there for the same price, but it didn't really interest me. About that time a guy walked up with his little boy, looking for some inexpensive reels so he could take his boy fishing. I wound up handing him the Sonoras (it really made his day) and grabbed the little Mitchell instead. As I said before, it's not a bad reel...just not a $50 reel. I think they're less than $40 at Walmart, which is about right. FWIW, mine looks just like the pic you posted.

I have the Mitchell 308Xe on the "trunk combo" that goes everywhere with me. It's definitely not the smoothest reel on the market, but it gets the job done. I got mine out of the clearance section of my local Walmart for $15, and for that price I'm pleased. I don't know if I'd be as happy with it for $50, though. In that price range I'd definitely be looking at the President or the Shimano Sonora.

Curado has six-pin centrifugal braking as well as a spool tension knob. I don't believe one type of brake is any easier than the other. Imho, the type of braking you need on a baitcast reel is dictated by your casting style. Centrifugal braking controls the spool at the beginning of the cast, magnetic works at the end of the cast. I cast with a bullwhip-type motion and generally only backlash at the beginning of the cast, so I stick with centrifugal braking. My thumb handles the spool rotation at the end of the cast.

It's not my most expensive or "flashiest" setup, but I'd have to say my favorite combo is my spinnerbait rig. 6'10" MH/MF Quantum Tour Edition PT (PTC6106FKV) paired with a Curado 200e7, spooled with 17# XPS fluoro or 12# Sufix Elite. To be fair, this would be my favorite combo regardless which reel I use. The rod is just that good. I use this setup for all of my spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and lipless cranks.

x2 Stanley Wedge typically outperforms all of the other brands I've tried on my local waters.

That's entirely possible, but I'm not willing to try another when there are so many other quality reels out there in the same price range.

Nah, you're not the only one. I picked up a Citica and a Curado at the same time last year. The Curado was/is fantastic, but the Citica was a dud. It cast fairly well, but the drag wouldn't fully back off and the gearing was noticeably rougher than the Curado. I made a few casts in the yard, put it back in the box, and sold it on a local forum. I have no interest in ever owning another one. If I needed/wanted another reel in that price range I'd be looking at the Pro Qualifier, Revo S, Pflueger Asaro, or maybe an Okuma Cayenne.

Take up fly fishing. 4, 5, and 7 piece rods are fairly common. Any one of them should easily fit into a range bag, and you can carry an entire day's woth of tackle in your pocket.

If you're concerned injuring bass, use barbless hooks. You'll do far less damage to their mouth.

I've had good luck with Bubblegum Trick Worms all the way into late summer/early fall.

You do realize that they make braid in lighter # ratings, don't you? You can spool your spinning rig with 10# braid and enjoy all of the added sensitivity of braid without feeling like you're "cheating". You can also enjoy all of the abrasion resistance of 30# braid but use a 3-6' leader of 6-8# mono or flurocarbon line. However, if you plan on flipping and pitching into heavy cover, you'll either need a VERY large reel to handle the mono necessary (think saltwater tackle) or a line as strong but with a smaller diameter...hmm...what might that be...

X2. x3 I bought Sonora 2500s for my two oldest boys last year (10 and 6 at the time) along with 6' Abu Garcia Conolon Supreme rods and they both handle them just fine. The Omega is a great little reel as well, but it's rather heavy and makes the combo a little top-heavy.

If you can stretch that budget another $15 you could pick up a BPS Pro Qualifier reel for about $80 and a Berkely Lightning Rod for about $35.

I had to work all weekend, so the only things I bought were my meals/drinks and some gas for the company van. Apparently my mp3 player is dying, though, so I guess I'll be spending some money this week on a replacement. >

I've good luck using the remnants of whatever worms I've used that day.

FWIW, Daiwa and Shimano products are excluded from TW's Memorial Day sale. I'm a loyal TW customer, but you can easily find a better deal on a Citica 200E if you check Ebay. Their price on the Bucoo isn't bad, though. Especially after the 15% discount and free shipping.

Actually, the newer 33's are absolute crap. I picked up a pair of them for my oldest boys a couple Christmases ago as upgrade to their 202's. The 202's are nicer in every way for half the price. > I was so disappointed in the performance of their 33's that I bought them both new spinning rigs instead. The 33's were put on the rod rack and will probably sit there until they rot...which may take a while since they're made almost entirely of plastic. Junk. The 33 Platinum is much better than the "standard" 33, but if you're serious about a spincast reel for panfish, look into the Zebco Omega. It's their top of the line spincast reel, and is the only one in their lineup that I would consider using for serious fishing of any kind. However, given the choice, I'd opt for an ultralight spinning rig over a spincast rig for panfish anyday.

Absolute, 100% BS. The ONLY time you draw a weapon on another person is when you are in fear for your life or the life of another. Period, end of story. If you draw your weapon for any other reason, or "shoot to maim", you will face criminal charges for assault with a deadly weapon, or at the very least, brandishing. I find it very difficult to believe that you have had ANY firearms training at all if you believe it's ok to "wing" someone. : If you fire upon someone in self-defense, you fire until the target is no longer a threat.

I'm afraid I can't steer you towards a particular model, but I can toss a little bit of info out there that may help you. 1) Cheap kayaks aren't light and light kayaks aren't cheap. 2) Keep an eye on Craigslist. Many people buy kayaks because it looks like alot of fun on TV, but stop using them after a couple outings because...well...it's work to paddle them. 3) Look for something 10' or longer (prefer 12'-14' myself). The shorter kayaks (8' or so) are fine for rivers and stuff, but they won't track very well on flat water and you'll wear yourself out trying to paddle across a small pond. 4) Don't overlook a sit-in model. The current kayak fishing trend is the sit-on variety, but there are very few things you can do with a sit-on that you can't do with a sit-in. You're probably more likely to find a good deal on a used sit-in model, and they're typically lighter as well.

Are you sure you typed your age correctly in your profile? I don't believe I've ever heard that comment from anyone younger than 60. ;D

It's like you're screaming right into my eyeballs.

x2 Don't overlook the smaller lures. I had a good-sized bass take a little #10 Bett's "Trim Gim" popper the other day while fishing for bluegill. Unfortunately I forgot I was using 6x tippet (3.1 lb test) and lost him as soon as he jumped.