islandbass

Wow, that was awesome. Thanks for sharing. I might be the only guy in that section of walmart, but I'm heading in. ;D

Just don't tell me it's proprionate.

When your lure slams into the ground in front of you, that is a clear sign that you are letting go too late. If you release to early, you would get a rainbow arched shaped cast. If you are coming from a spinning reel background, you are going to find out that the release time of the thumb is ever so slightly earlier on a casting setup than the forefinger on a spinning setup. Picture yourself inside a large imaginary clock with 12 o'clock directly above you and 9 o'clock directly in front and 3 o'clock directly to your backside. The release time of your thumb coming off of the spool is somewhere between 12 and 1 o'clock. This is going to seem too early because of your spinning background, so you're probably going to have to convince AND make yourself to let go in that time frame. I don't know about the line, but I would guess it would be easier to learn with the line with the thicker diameter. Here is the best tip for you to minimize nests: Before the lure hits anything; the ground, the water's surface, or a shrub, make your thumb stop the spool from spinning. Whether you stop the spool cold or feather it to a stop is irrelevant. Just make sure your thumb stops the spool from spinning. Assuming the reel is set to the lure's weight and the wind isn't a problem, this will help minimize any nests. As for distance, you should focus more on making casts that don't end in a bird's nest first. Distance will come later. Kind of like learning piano. Better to play the piece slowly but correctly than to play it fast but full of mistakes. Sitck with at least 1/2 oz of weight for learning purposes. Good luck!

The Avenger, unless prices changed is about a $34-35 reel out the chute. They sure look good, but there are smoother reels (on the retrieve) at this price point. My neighbor loves this particular model. 20# PPro ought to cast like a dream and a 30 sized reel is going to hold a lot of that line.

Now come on folks. You can start another post instead of highjacking this one. :-[ :-? :

It feels "thinner" in my hands and I really like that. My hands are fit those medium gloves that you see nurses and doctors use. It feels very comfortable to me, but that unfortunately is too subjective a trait of this or any rod. I went the handle and my hands to find out myself and found that it is no worse or better than cork when wielding the rod. One thing that I learned was this... For lack of a better term, the "grain" of the graphite provided superior grip and traction even when wet than the way it is oriented now. In its current position it is no worse or better than graphite. I think that they should have placed the handle in the opposite direction.

Not necessarily. Bearing count is not necessarily an indicator of how well a casting reel is going to cast. Generally speaking (please don't interject about pixies and 50/51mgs), the lighter the lure, the greater the potential for difficulty a bc reel might have to cast that lure, with all things being equal. Also, even lures that weigh the same might not cast the same. Aerdynamics could play a role and dictate adjustments made to the reel so that the lure could be tossed. For example, a 1/4 oz spoon (spoons cast well off the bat) will probably cast better than a tandem blade spinnerbait of the same weight on a windy day where its blades might spin during the cast and get caught up in the wind. However, not all baitcast reels are the same when it comes to tossing lighter things. The best thing is to make sure that you have the reel set to each lure you plan to use.

Muddy, They have been putting certain models at 50% off. Just wait until the model you want is half off and if you live by a cabelas, have them ship it there. You will avoid shipping charges. It's a deal at its $99 price, a steal at $49.99, and highway robbery for less than $30. ;D Go for it.

I appreciate the heads up. Fortunately for me, I seem to be a dink magnet as you can see in the pic. I don't imagine the reel coming loose with the dinks I hook into. ;D

Muddy, Perhaps the best analogy I can think of is a snake's skin. Because of its shine we would think that they are slick and slimy. However, when we touch a snake's skin, we realize that it is actually dry, and not slippery at all. I wonder how this rod will handle in the winter. ;D Natch, I'll call this a poor man's lami. Being that I live in the land of Lamiglas (and Loomis) you'd think I'd have an XMG or two. Someday. BTW, I wound up getting the Mag Touch for less than $30 new, which is why I made the exception to make this purchase site unseen. It is definitely worth its $99 msrp just for the alconites alone, but for about $30, I am not complaining one bit.

I decided to hit Lake Washington from the shore on my short lunch break to give my new Mag-Touch (from Cabelas) casting rod its first test and trial with bottom fishing. I wanted to see how well or poorly the rod would transmit feedback to me. My reel was spooled with 10# mono. I chose mono because I wanted to see how it would fare without the benefits that braid and fluorocarbon lines spoil us with. Although it is a bit too early to give a full review, I will say that the rod possesses very good sensitivity. The first place I worked was loaded with a lot of grass and the Mag-Touch did a good job of painting the grassy picture. Whew!!!! The Mag-Touch is the first rod I ever bought site unseen without holding it and I was initially nervous. On my second pitch, I felt some nibbling that never got quite to the hook. Darn. The next cast yielded the same result so I moved to another area with a rocky bottom. The Mag Touch once again painted a great image as I worked my drop shot rig. I placed what was probably the fourth or fifth cast next to some surface piercing wooden poles amidst the riprap and then, thwupp It was not a nibble, but a complete engulfing of the bait, as my rod bent slightly toward the water and my line got tugged straight down. No Iaconelli'ing today from me. I brought the smallie in quickly and when I brought it close to me, I noticed that my bait was gone and the smallie spat out a beat up 3 senko type bait. I also saw that it might have been recently caught with the drop shot. There was a hole in its palette that was about the size of a hook's point, right next to where my hook was. I released him and headed back to work. What a Cutie Smallie. You can see the worn out senko in the background. I wonder how long it has been in his gullet. I think I made a decent acquisition in purchasing this rod. It is an additional all around trunk rod. Conditions: Overcast, about 70 degrees Rod/Reel: 7' Mag-Touch casting Rod/Curado 101D with 10# Sufix Siege Technique: Drop Shot, 3/16 oz pencil weight Lure; 3 gray senko in the grass, 2 brown French fry worm in the rocks 08-05-09

Congrats. You will not be disappointed. You might want to have 4 of your centrifugal brakes in the "on" position and the other two "off." -ib

Did you use envirotex?

you also mention in your post upgrading. In reality you are not upgrading. You are adding to your arsenal. ;D No get the citica and be done with it.

I second the use of epoxy. I use Dev Con 2-ton 30 min. There is a 5 min. version. Make sure you don't get that one.

yeah, that would be a stretch. I think their mouths are practically symmetric so I would have to respectfully disagree that their is more "lip" in the lower half. I don't see any advantage of having the hook face down, and I have tried it. If there is one disadvantage I have noticed, it's that if you let the bait touch the bottom, the hook's point grab the bottom, increasing the potential for snags or dulling the hook. In addition, the upside down hook looks ugly. Hook up for me fo sho.'

Then there's no question for me, the symetre. For 30 bucks off the msrp, that is a sweet deal.

I like the color pink. Maybe not that shade of pink on a reel too much, but I've seen a pink reel over at TT that I think was a high end Daiwa that would be a sweet addition to my or anyone else's arsenal.

That is a great shot! I have a 5501 that Reel Mech upgraded the bearings for and he turned from a Kmart special into a reel that casts about on par with my curados, if not better.

Those are cool! Anyway you could zoom in a bit on the future pics?

Carving tools are good and dremels are awesome. However, you do not need to even have these things. I put together a low-tech approach that works. The only things you need if you don't have those items mentioned above are some sand paper and some elbow grease. The piece I wrote is at the link below: http://www.americananglersfishing.com/index.php?page=37

It would depend on the model for me. I think I would take the newer sahara or sedona, whichever one took the symetre's old $79 price point over the old symetre.

When drop shotting, I dislike that I have to pull line off the spool with a casting reel. More a peeve than anything else, but with a spinning reel, you get an effortless (on your part) vertical drop when you need it. The point is moot drop shotting with heavier weights. As Raul already mentioned, you can get a lot of reel for your money with a spinning reel. Also, if you need a burner reel, go with a spinning reel. A casting burner reel with a gear ratio of 7.x:1 typically brings in 30" of line or so. A bass sized spinning reel (2500-4000) with a lower gear ratio, like 6.x:1 or even lower will bring in about 34" of line. Maybe burner casting reels ought to be called back burner reels compared to the their spinning counterparts. ;D

Since you need the durability and the Volteaous seems to be Shimano's answer to the Ugly Stick, the voltaeous looks like it will suit your needs and hers. The other rods recommended are fine I believe, but they might not have the durability that you are also seeking. "This one would be for primarily the GF, she has already broken 4 rods this yr alone due to misuse." Ouch! ;D

I have the 301A. Definitely an awesome reel for its price. Its size might be a bit overkill for bass fishing applications, except maybe swimbaits. I use mine for salmon fishing and on occasion as a reel for my cranks because of its gear ratio. There isn't anything I dislike about it is only having one.