Joe Boss

My Dad has the Trion spinning reel and he loves it. The reel is smooth and casts far. I have the President spinning reel and the Intensity Baitcaster (a Dick's exclusive aka a renamed Purist) Both are great reels and they have made me a Plueger fan. My only complaint on both of them is the paint jobs. Both reels have minor imperfections in the paint that over time I can see becoming chips.

I have caught Smallmouth and Largemouth with this setup.

I always open a new reel to check if its lubed properly. It could be a problem with that Quantum hot sauce, I hear its not all its cracked up to be.

I have to agree on the Sedona. It was a real bummer for me because I have other Shimano rods and reels I love that cost less. My worst tackle investment had to be the Helicoptor lure that I ordered from Roland Martin's infomercial. The only thing I caught with that junk was an empty wallet. Still love Roland, just won't buy anything he endorses.

There is a great deal going on at Dick's this week. Buy any Field & Stream IM6 or IM7 rod and get a FREE Daiwa Megaforce plus 2500 spinning reel. Thats a $29 reel. It is always on sale at Dick's for $14.99 I have one because I love all things Daiwa. Its a great back up reel for me. The IM6 rod will run you anywhere from $23 to $29 depending if its on sale or not. I would doubt its on sale though because of the free reel. The IM7 is $39 Go to Dick's website and look at the weekly circular.

I still cast 2 handed with my baitcaster. I won't buy the baitcasting rods with the pistol grip handles because of that.

I thought "Speck" was another name for a Crappie. It looks like a Crappie to me. Nice Peacock Bass!

I was afraid this was going to happen when I read your original thread, here: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1215902096/0#0 You wrote about casting into trees with a spinning setup and then you were looking for a baitcasting rig. I thought if you are having a problem with spinning stuff getting a baitcaster is not the solution. I feel for you since you have to learn baitcasting from reading about them. I was the same way my father used spinning reels exclusively so when I wanted to learn baitcasting there was no one around to show me. I read everything I could but experience is the best teacher so I took my baitcaster to the backyard and practiced and practiced. From my experiences I can tell you that when new to baitcasting it is better to have too much brake than to little and try casting short distances till you are comfortable then try casting father away.

Scratches bother me and depending where they are makes a big difference. A scratch on the paint job is a mild annoyance but a scratch on the spool where the line comes off is enough to make me retire the reel from my fishing collection. My dad on the other hand doesn't get scratches. His stuff still looks like the day it came out of the box

I would get the Sahara. The Spirex has the Quickfire 1 hand cast control on the bail like my Solstice and Syncopate. They are nice to have but become loose after a time. If you are looking for a reel that is going to last awhile stay away from anything with a Quickfire it will be the first thing that goes on the reel.

I saw that Quest pole at Dick's it looked pretty nice. I went with the Northeast Outfitters clearwater IM6 baitcasting rod instead for $14 bucks on clearance. Its a great rod for the money.

Two posts above yours, The Reel Mechanic says it all. A day or two at 200+ degrees sounds like a bad idea.

I fish for bass all the time from shore. Over time I have come to realize that you have to build up an arsenal of techniques because what works today to catch bass might not work tomorrow. For example what worked for me last year in the heat of summer was light line (6lb) and a heavy egg sinker to get the bait as far out there as I could. This year we had an explosion of underwater growth and my rigs get snagged a lot so I switched to a slip bobber rig. With the slip bobber I can keep the bait right above the weedline and I have been very sucessful so far. The key is don't be afraid to try new techniques if what you are using at the moment isn't working.

Don't ever leave a rod bent or even lean it against a wall for any length of time it could damage it. I would fold down the rear seat. My little econo-box car has a rear seat that folds down in 2 places. Even with my son's car seat in the back I can fold one half of the seat down and fit my one piece rods through the trunk.

My favorite baitcasting rod is an All Star. I was surprised at the quality of the rod considering the relatively low cost.

Bass Pro Shops has customer reviews on the Cherrywood.

I had some bizarre stuff happen to me this week while purchasing fishing equipment. My Dad and I went to a local dealer this week because he knew they sold St. Croix rods. He was looking for a St. Croix Legend Tournament baitcasting rod for his Revo. They only had one in the store and it was priced at $220 My Dad and I are completely different shoppers, I would be like Wow I am so lucky they only had one left and leave a trail of fire in the isle for the cash register to make my purchase. My dad on the other hand examines the merchandise with a microscope before he makes a purchase. He looks for the smallest scratch which could be a dealbreaker for him. While he was doing his trademark inspection of the rod he came across some writing on the rod that said: "Crafted for Demo on 3/24/08" He asked me what that meant. I told him I guess this rod is a demonstration model and not for sale. He said it has a pricetag on it so it must be for sale. We asked the storeowner what the crafted for demo meant and he said the company must have sent him a demo model that he accidentely placed on the for sale rack. He also said that if my dad wanted it he would sell it for 30% ($60) off but keep in mind its not under warrenty. My Dad said thanks but he wasn't interested and plans to order the rod from a catalog. A valuble lesson was learned though, check the merchandise before buying!

After what happened to me this week at a large chain sporting goods store I have sworn off buying combos. I purchased a Pflueger reel and All Star rod combo this week. After getting it home and putting some line on the spool I went out to the backyard to try casting and I noticed the brake didn't work at all. I tightened it to the max and the spool would still spin freely. I know that on my Abu Garcia reel the brake knob fully tightened will stop the reel from spinning. I also noticed the spool was a little loose on the sides so I unscrewed the brake knob and it seemed to me something was missing. I checked the parts list and there was indeed some washers or something missing from under the brake knob. I returned it and when I went to make the exchange with the salesperson we noticed the brake knob for the only other combo like it in the store was missing! Someone was messing with the combos in that store. Rather than try my luck with a possible tapered with combo I upgraded to a seperate reel (In a box) and rod purchase. I feel bad for someone that might have purchased that combo and swore off baitcasting because they didn't realize the brake was not working.

For $20 and under your best bet is the Berkley Cherrywood. I have a few that I keep around as loaner poles when I have guests go fishing with me. They are light and tough, can't beat them for the price.

I went to my local Dicks Sporting Goods to see if I could land the same deal on the Capricorn baitcaster/Triumph combo. They only had the spinning model combo left and that was still $119 I picked up a Pflueger Criterion/Allstar Select combo, mostly because I like the rod but I think I am going to return it. The brake knob seems to be broken. I tighten it all the way and it doesn't slow the spool down at all. I opened it up at set the centrifugal brakes to 8 and still nothing. I know when I tighten the brake knob on my low profile ambasseduer reel the spool doesn't spin much.

That Capricorn/Triumph combo for $75 is a good deal. They normally sell that combo for $119 individually the reel sells for $79 and the rod for $70. I have the spinning Capricorn/Triumph combo and I couldn't be happier with it.

I like Stren original in clear blue fluorescent and low vis green.

I have a Normark, 10lb digital scale I "borrowed" from my dad's tackle box. I "replaced" it with a Rapala 25lb mechanical scale.

I caught my biggest Pickeral jigging a weedless silver spoon from a canoe straight down into some weeds.

For the last two weeks I have been fishing a 4" Kinami black with blue flake worm on a slip bobber rig. I adjust the knot on the main line so the worm floats just above the rocks and weedline where I am fishing. This is a deadly combo for Smallmouth and I caught my first Largemouth of this season with it.