dmac14

I am looking at buying a St Croix avid and cant decide on MH or H, I am gonna go to BPS and feel to see which one feels better to me. It sounds like mh is more an all around rod and seems to fit me well.

I would do the 7:1...you can always slow down your retrieve but you'll have a hard time speeding it up if needed.

All the california guys are to busy catching huge fish , northern guys are still waiting for ice to melt.

Wow is pretty much all i can say. Dont have any of those up here in NY :-/. O well we have ice, and lots of it, frankly too much >. Congrats tho! -Dylan

Haha nice well i guess you type a little faster

Ill Start this out, seeing how the ice is still frozen here and i haven't had much to do lately. So I will be reviewing..Quantum Tour Edition PT 1171 I will give this a two thumbs up Ill Start with the price, I had bought it around May of 2008 and Cabelas had it on sale for $130, it was my first reel over $40 so it was a huge step. Prior to this reel it was only cheap combos from Dicks such as an Ugly Stick baitcaster (Worst waste of $30). So on to the reel, i spooled it up with 20# Suffix Braid and spent the first night flipping and pitching in my basement and i loved it, smooth retrieve smooth casting great breaking system. I even tested out the backlashing by turning up the brakes all the way and loading up the rod and hitting the ground, with the breaks all the way up it did pretty well, I'm sure the best it could do given how much i tried to backlash it. So i love the breaking system easily adjustable to fit any situation. Now when i first took it out for its first real cast it was really smooth, it cast really smoothly and out preformed my previous reels by about 200%. Now when i caught my first big fish on it ~6lber the drag was great, pulled out really smooth. Had great power to reel in some logs i got caught on. Also the 7:1 ratio is another plus in my book, gives me a fast retrieve after making a cast and gets me ready for another. Also another good thing about this is how easy it was to get to the inside, a flick of a switch and the sideplate was off and you can easily put in some hot sauce to make it perform a little better. I own two of these reels and they have both preformed great for me and have not had any problems with quantum yet ;D

When you hit the petal to turn a certain direction does it look like it wants to? Like i had a problem where it wouldn't turn but it would stutter and i found a gear was completely stripped.

On my motor guide i just had to replace the gear that turns the motor, it is plastic which seems kinda flimsy seeing how it turns the whole thing. The replacement part was metal. But i cannot wait to try a minnkota not sure why i just think of them as the better trolling motor producer.

Yeah i would have the motor checked, it may look clean but looks can be deceiving. I just bought a used boat and didnt have the motor checked by a professional, but my dad knows engines pretty well and we had it running in the guys driveway and looked at the spark plugs and all looked good. Also i would check all the wiring and ask the guy how everything is connected. We did not do this and it got us stuck on the water because the electric start wasn't workng right so when i got home i labeled all the wires and found several wires that led to nothing. So look over that also. Good luck! -Dylan

x2 but the TE1171 cause its the left hand model. Own two of them and happen to love them, and you can get them new for about $120. Doesnt break the bank and offers a great reel.

I am going next week, gonna pick me up some hooks and just look at rods no need to buy. Cause ill just go buy them on TW and get a free T-Shirt and these stickers I have heard of ;D

x2 Nothing wrong quite yet I hope nothing goes wrong or I will be real mad >

Up at my cottage in ontario Canada, for the morning we were throwing senkos and went 4 for 5 on casts. Also buzzbaits work nice.

http://www.another site/articles/fishing-line-guide/ This is a very specific guide. Generally crankbait is either mono or flouro, Jerkbait flouro or braid because it has little stretch. And jigs and plastics I use braid...for flipping. But if its more finesse approach ill go with the lightest possible fluorocarbon.

What is better about making your own rod? Does it save you money? Or is it more you can have it how you want it? Just curious about this cause it would sure be fun to make my own. Also is it difficult and what do you have to do? Thanks -Dylan

I went walking again down the canal and i think i found that pond...i found a pond atleast lol along a path. It was really small maybe like 30-40 yards across but it was on like a gravel roadish

Quantum Energy, Quantum has really changed and I think they have started making dependable products.

I went on a salmon trip on lake Ontario and we were not catching too many fish, with about twenty minutes left in our 6 hours the guide said we can try one more spot. That's when i hooked into the fish you see in my avatar and took me over an hour to reel him in. He loved it and didn't mind that we went over our time slot so I'm sure he got a big tip from my friends dad.

Tube hands down, but I am almost positive any plastic bait will catch them.

Looks nice, kept it simple which makes it look better and didnt add to much weight. Can't wait to start my build this summer.

that thing looks sharp

Smelly jelly in crawfish anise

My first baitcaster was spooled with braid and i have yet to fish with a baitcast that wasn't braid. I put the mono backing on it and treat it with KVD line and lure and it works great. Also gives me more confidence since i know a fish will not break my line, unless i tie a bad knot and then its my fault.

Looks like a beauty, this summer I am fishing a Chautauqua I'm hoping to catch some ones like that. And i would giver her 6+. What did you catch her on?

Well right now BPS has the elite series on sale for $150 and signature series on sale for $120 i think. I would trust BPS more just because generally their products are built better, I have yet to really use Cabelas so not sure about that statement.