Boogey Man

Agree with others who said they're good to go out of the box. Are you worried because it only has 4 bearings it may not be "smooth" and cast well? I know before I bought my first one I thought the same thing but if you tried one not knowing how many bearings it actually has you could never tell it was only a "four bearing reel".

X2. But as far as a magazine, mine would be Bassin'.

Split shot for me. I use the lightest weight I can get maintain bottom contact with depending on the wind. I usually position the weight about 12" from the lure. I use Zoom finesse worms, Meatheads, and Lucky Strike Razor worms. In super clear water the best color I've found is cotton candy, but don't tell anybody ;D. For line I use 8# Stren Original, the rod I was using was an old Berkley but this year it will be a 6'6" Compre x-fast medium. I'm not real crazy about fishing slow but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Was line still on the reel when he brought it to you? The reason I'm asking is because whatever damaged the spool would have to have damaged his line first. Which to me rules out "worm burn" (which I think has already been ruled out), unless he was fishing with only about half a spool of line and then hooked his lure on his reel.

I've been using one for a couple of years now. It's a good reel, but not what I'd call a great reel. It requires a little more TLC as far as cleaning and lubing to keep it smooth and casting well. As far as the dual braking, I just set the centrifugal brakes with 2 on and the mag break at 0. It is fairly light and palms well. To me, this reel should not have priced at $160-$170, maybe around $120, that's about what I payed for mine new.

F-11 Original Rapala and Rogues.

I like them for fishing over shallow weeds. They're a little lighter than similar length lipless cranks so I can fish them a little slower than I would a heavier bait. They're good baits but you don't hear much about them. Which is fine by me

I do well on Rapalas and Rogues (floating and suspending) but I've only caught a few fish on the X-Raps. Is there any trick to these vs. other jerkbaits? They look great and I know other people have good luck with them. I've tried similar colors as the other jerkbaits I use and have fished them in the same locations but no luck.

Rapala F11, inline spinners, and Strike King Mini-King spinnerbaits are some I have good luck with pond fishing. Also try crankbaits in a bluegill pattern.

Shallow to medium cranks, lipless cranks, hard jerkbaits, Pop R's, Torpedos, just about any treble hook lures except maybe deep diving cranks.

Citica.

Summer time, early morning, sun just coming up, fog on the water, running a buzzbait down a laydown or stump.

I saw one of these in a tackle shop today, seemed like a heckava nice rod for $50 bucks. They had a 6'6" medium and a 6'6" medium heavy. The medium heavy seemed a little tip-heavy but the medium was really lightweight and seemed well balanced. It actually felt lighter in weight than the Vendetta. Anybody bought one yet?

I had one like that only it was black. It had 2 bearings, 5.? to 1 gear ratio, magnetic braking, no instant anti reverse, graphite frame. Not sure about the weight but I'm pretty sure it was under 8oz. The one I had cost $35 new when I bought it in '94 or '95.

Ok, I'll be the oddball, the size I use most is 3/16

Is there a thumb screw on the handle side that runs across the reel above the spool? Loosen it then rotate the cover on the other side.

Obviously you got a hold of a bad one, but I wouldn't quit so easily on a real that has the same basic components and make up of it's well established brothers. bet a dollar he got a shimano : Yep, then a Daiwa, then a Quantum. And they all funtioned perfectly right out of the box

Like ol' Bill himself says, any given lure on any given day under the right conditions if presented properly will catch fish at one point or another ;D Seriously though, give it a try and see. I've bought my fair share of lures that I've never caught a fish on. Good luck!

That's a great deal. I have one of those, it's a good reel.

I bought one of these when they first came out. It would cast a good distance but it sounded like it was going to fly into a million pieces on the cast. The thumbar wouldn't re-engage every time when I started reeling. Took the line off and returned it for a refund.

Bass Pro says they use the trade-ins for youth fishing. Now, I know this sounds far fetched, but since they own their own reel repair center, wonder where they get all their parts? I was there Friday and saw the big box of traded in reels and for some reason, this just popped into my head.

If you do a Google search for Browning Fishing you will eventually be re-directed to Bass Pro Shops. As far as I know, only BPS sells Browing fishing gear. As far as who makes it, it's The Great Mystery of Fishing Tackle, who makes Bass Pro, Pflueger, Abu, and Browning gear.

I use spinning gear mostly for plastics like shakey head, drop shotting, light T-rigs, and split shot rigs. I also use it for some lighter jerkbaits like smaller Rapalas and smaller fluke-type lures. Baitcasting for everthing else.

One of mine applied to my fishing skills: "Name applied to a common average guy. Someone mediocre in influence and potential. Someone who hasn't gotten far in the years they have been living on this Earth."

Sorry about your job. At least you have some notice so you can start job hunting (trying to look on the bright side, if there is one). Hope everthing turns out ok.