islandbass

There is something already made that is somewhat does what you are describing minus a smaller spool. It is called a centrepin reel. It is used up here in the pacific northwest by some anglers that target torpedo shaped fish like salmon and steelhead and companies like Loomis (I think) and Lamiglas (I know) make rods specifically meant to hold a centrepin reel. They look like a fly reel but from what I understand, you cast the rig as you would a spinning or casting reel in the sense that the weight of the lure sends the lure flying vs. the weight of the line. I hear that these babies can still backlash. You ought to be able to see videos on you tube about these reels to see if the come close to what you initially were envisioning.

Thanks! I nominate this to be a sticky or posted as a formal article.

I might be different but I like invizx for the exact reason it has that stretch for what I use it for and that is what i use drop shotting. I have not seen any loss or failure to hook up as a result, matter of fact with it I hardly ever miss. I realize that stretch isn't always a good thing, but I can say that for what the OP intends to use it for, the stretch won't hurt at all. I use 6# Invizx because my water conditions allow me to get away with that light of a line.

I spit on the line. I don't put it in my mouth. No telling what microbes are present on the line, you hands when you touched the rod or got onto your line from the water. Yuck!

I know from personal experience that I can confirm feeling feedback on semislack line with fluorocarbon. I would be inclined to agree with SoFlaBass as a best guess of how braid would behave when slack and taut.

Congrats on joining the baitcaster club!!!! For beginners, the things that can make learning bc reels is not know the things that can hinder learning outside of ensuring the reels settings are matched to the lure. The things novices usually do (and we can all relate) that can slow the learning process are: 1) using any lure less than 3/8oz. I don't know about the weight of the lure you're using but if it isn't at least 3/8oz in weight, I suggest putting it away until you are accustomed to tossing a weight at least 1/2oz. 2) using line of a very thin diameter to learn on -- luckily, you didn't fall victim to this one. 3) Not realizing that while the mechanics of making a cast are the same in principal for spinning and casting rigs, the release time is ever so slightly different. From what you described, I would guess that your are casting with your right hand andlikely making more side arm casts than any other. The lure flying toward the left is the tell tale sign of the thumb coming off of the spool too late. If you did the same thing with an over hand cast, you better put your thumb on the spool asap because the lure is going to smash into the ground right in front of you! lol The release time of your thumb off of the spool is ever so slightly earlier than the forefinger coming off of the rod to release the line on a spinning setup. Picture this for an overhand cast, a clock --- with 12 o'clock (oc from this point forward) above you and 6 oc at your feet, and 9 oc directly in front of you. The position that is ideal for your thumb to come off of the spool is ideal between 12oc and 1oc. Any earlier you get a rainbow sky high cast that goes higher than it does farther. Any later and the lures slams in front of you. Fortunately, the mechanics are the same for a side arm cast, although it is happening on a slanted plane (vs upright). Let go too late, the lure sails to the left, too early it goes to the right, and just right, you've got a baby bear cast that "just right." I learned from my experience that lures that are too light for the novice also makes them let go too late as you yourself have experienced. I haven't been able to explain that. 4) Choice of line to learn with - I second K_Mac's recommendation on line to learn. 10-12# test mono is ideal to learn with and economical. One thing I recall doing when I learned was not practicing for the sake of practicing. I'll use the analogy of a golf driving range. If you've ever been to one, you will see people so called "practicing" in the hopes of improving their golf game. But most of them are not really practicing, they're just whacking balls with little to no thought toward tweaking, refining and improving? My proof? They're not even close to being on the PGA tour. I guess what I mean to say and what I did was use what I call focused practice. When I made a mistake, I asked myself what it was that I did that caused error and then made attempts to improve and refine the process. I can tell you that given an ideal line to work with, a heavy enough weight AND more importantly, learning how to properly load the rod with the weight of the lure, you can get this down in three thrity-minute, focused practice session such that you will be ready to experiment with lures weighing less. Good luck!

Very good points so far!!! One thing I have struggled with at times and it too is a part of the problem solving is knowing when to stick with a spot or move on, or when being systematic in the lure selection process to got with a change in size first or color or both.

Stick with your 5 rods and let them laugh. I never let anyone shake my tree. It reminds me of a mtn bike outing I went on with my buddies. It was going to be a super muddy trip and so I devised make shift fenders out of plastic gatorade bottles to minimize any mud that was going to splash on me. My buddies were laughing their heads off thinking it was the dumbest thing. It turned out to be a very muddy trip. They were all covered head to tow with mud that dried up like concrete on the skin and clothes. I came out spit shine clean and I was the one laughing at the end of the day. That's their loss. I used to carry 5 rods too, but I realized that even on the longest trips, only three of the rods were used more than the other two, and they were very much along the lines of RW's 3 rod recommendation. So unless I need a 4th or 5th rod, I choose the best 3-4 that should suit the conditions I will be facing. How do you tote your rods around? Just curious.

That is pretty ! If I were to do something like this, and although not necessary at all, the anal side of me would put felt or some kind of plastic/rubber material on the screw eye. What a great way of making every day items work in the fishing realm. Thanks for sharing.

If you're looking to the cheap in price but not cheap in quality, look at Cabela's house brand. Its formula is very similar to Invizx from Sea Guar. Not only that, it is roughly about $13.00 for a 200 yard spool. Well it used to be $9.99 that last time I bought it. Inflation! lol

Welcome Pinoy Basser! Well written. I agree with you that in the end it boils down to the angler as the primary variable. Shoot... Even an ugly stick feels sensitive in my hands.

If your spools are filled to 95% capacity, you should not expect have attain manufacturer's specs. If the IPT is 30" at full spool, you ought to expect an IPT of about 28.5". Ha! just ribbin' you. But do make that video. I think it would be cool to see. On a side note, I tested this on my curado bsf, 101d and 201DHSV a while back and the IPTs for all were spot on.

I think they make cabela's or at least the last time I heard. If you look at a package of Invizx and Cabela's house fc line, they are eeriely similar.

I also heard seaguar and it is very similar in nature to Invizx. Imagine that... Invizx without the Invizx price. I can vouch for this line. It is good and quite limp (which I like) in the lower pound tests like 6#. I use it for finessing and drop shotting and yes, on a spinning reel.

They may be discontinued, but they are still available and many new. Just say one on Ebay whose current bid is $103.00 right now. However, if you're like me, you like is see and inspect it with your own hands.

Wow, that was a great read! Thanks for sharing. My greatest fear of trying flyfishing is that while I know I will truly love it, it might turn the rest of my gear into glorified dust collectors. I know I will be giving a try sooner than later.

Even if most guys ise RH reels doesn't mean you have to. I would highly recommend that you choose a bc reel with the crank on the same side you are already accustomed. I would be a floating Rapala minnow that you would be most comfortable with that. The chance of you preferring a rh over a lh reel is highly unlikely but possible, so see which feels most comfortable before you buy. There may very be some plausibility to the lack of sales of lh reels, but it might be more of a function of them selling out before we see them. I have also seen sites where righties are on sale and lefties aren't. I just chuckle. It means they lost my business or I was too late to the party. lol.

I am not good a guessing weights but my best guess is that was probably a solid 3.5lb bass. Based on the size of the tail, the trout was probably nearly in not more, 75% the length of the bass.

Caught This at a Sportsmans Show Just thought I’d share this with you. I stepped into fishing seminar already in progress at a sportsmans show and one of the fish in the tank caught my immediate attention. At first I thought I was seeing things so I walked up to the tank for a closer look. I wasn’t seeing things. One of the bass in the tank had something sticking out of its mouth. It was the tail of a fish it chowed down. From the looks of the tail, I believe it was a rainbow trout. Right after I took a few shots with my camera people took notice and broke out their camera phones!!! Sorry that the pictures weren’t better.

He's the best in the world but I don't see rods like golf clubs. I will use the rod that best suits my needs and bottom line, sometimes company A simply doesn't make the rod with the traits I want for a particular application so I have to use a rod from company B that does. I might be the odd one out, but I don't go through an adjustment period switching rods or reels regardless how their mated. This included switching from a casting rig to a spinning rig. In addition, none of my rods or reels are dedicated exclusively to each other. On one outing my curado 101D might be on my crucial and the next time out it might be on my lamiglas. That is how I roll.

This is one awesome, "all arounder" kind of rod. 4 in the Lamiglas line is Medium Power fyi. Click on this link and then on the VPR (Visual Power Rating) link to see what this bad boy was designed for: http://www.lamiglas.com/prod_indiv.php?groupid=17

Yeah, the English language has its quirks. There are so many "mistakes" we all make when speaking and writing: 1) Mixing up the use of then and than - we see with great frequency, "This rod is better then that rod." Not correct. 2) Using there, they're and their - Amazing how we screw up the use of these words. We can point to the decreasing emphasis of proper usage of grammar in the schools. To their shame, many people cannot identify the subject, predicate or both in a sentence, or worse yet, name the eight parts of speech. Grammar was one of my weakest subjects in school until I met my 7th grade English teacher. He was the best. Like I mentioned earlier, I don't expect it to see a firm grasp of the English language here, but I do from my kids and myself.

The point is we understand the OP says. While I encourage the use of proper grammar at all times personally, I would not impose such standards on a forum like this. It is apparent that your prowress and command of the English language is sound. Before you correct someone, perhaps you should check your what you wrote, because it is not correct either. For future reference, use it's and not its. Its in the context you used, is not correct. Its denotes ownership or possession. The correct word to use in this case is the contraction it's, meaning it is. Ha!! I'm suffering from cabin fever and I'm hearing the voice of my seventh grade Enlish teacher lecturing me on the correct usage of its and it's. My usage of grammar in my post is probably full of errors too. To the subject, I'm in jigfisherman's camp. May we never ever be forced by law to fish under such constraints!

That was a terrible deal. You were had. Tell you what sell it to me for that price and you'll feel better about being had. Just Kidding, of course. You got a serious deal. You have to take advantage of steals like that. Congrats.

If you used a swivel, you'd be making 3 knots. Not so hot if you hate to tie knots. That would be interesting to verify that braid sinks, as many float fisherman choose braid because it floats. I don't know one way or the other so it would be great to find out. Can anyone confirm whether or not braid truly floats or sinks unaided or in other words without external influence?