Flywatersmallie

I know others will disagree, but I say REVO!!!!!! Rock solid reel for, honestly a great price. Has features of more expensive models and is smooth as silk. Now, I never actually laid hands on a SX model but I own 3 STXs. I dont throw anything as big as swim baits either and would concur that the rod would make more of a difference there. The Revo's have dealt with everything I asked them to without blinking. Love em! I dont think you will go wrong with either reel

I did hehehe. Bought 2 of them in fact, last night. Got a pair of 6'6" MH Avids as really general purpose rods at $96 a piece.

Gander Mountain Titanium are worth a look if you have one in your area ($99). Personally, I use a Falcon Lowrider, served me well. Also its clearance time, look for deals. You might be able to get a lot more rod than that $120 would normally dictate. Actually bought 2 St Croix Avids (6'6" MH) yesterday at $96 each.

So I have a bit of extra cash and want to grab a new rod with all the deals out there. Going to get another 6'6" MH casting rod. Just for general use. Got a Revo STX to put on it. Now, suppose the following rods were all the same price, they are. Which would you pick? G Loomis GL2 St Croix Avid Fenwick HMG I've grown fond of these 3 but am open to other suggestions, just dont want to go too far over $100 (all 3 of these would be less that $100 on sale right now locally) will be buying my new stick sometime this week. Thanks for the input

I have 15 rods, 0 weight up to 10. 6 of them are 5 weights. Get a 5, in fact, shoot me a PM if you are interested. I have a decent beginner setup, complete with blank warranty card on the rod. Oh, it's a 5 weight, 4 piece Winston Ascent, also have a Ross reel with SA line to go along with it. Might be willing to make a swap otherwise too

I've just been using a baitcaster a few months as well. I can easily outcast spinning gear now with far greater accuracy. The first several weeks I had problems with backlashes but now, I have the reel well dialed in and have developed good habits with casting. Unless I just pulled out a snag (using braid now) and had the line dig in, I very rarely get a backlash anymore. And on the few times I do, its almost always because I just wasnt paying attention. Baitcasters tend to be so versitile, you owe it to yourself to give them a real chance!

I just got a Revo STX, its a sweet reel but... While mine spent its first week attached to a $70 Fenwick rod, I quickly upgraded. It seems almost wrong to put a $200 reel on a cheap rod. Kinda like going and buying a GLX spinning rod and throwing one of those Shimano FX ($15) reels on there. Kinda seems out of place. Rod_Long's advice is sound, go for the SX and stick a bit more into the rod. You will be glad you did. Rods at the $50 level (unless you find a steal on the clearance rack) tend to be heavier than their higher dollar counterparts and you may not be happy with the way it balances. I ended up with a Loomis Mossyback for the STX and put a Daiwa Capricorn on the Fenwick. Both combos balance well now. Keep an eye out for steals on sales right now, tis the season. Bought the Mossyback for $102 from a local retailer.

Straight from the local store's fishing manager.... They were made by St Croix up until a number of years ago. Now they come from a Company called ABOSS. I really am impressed with these sticks for the money though

Daiwa Tierra and use the rest to buy a rod. Sol is sound advice too though I'm not keen on the orange color (I think for that kind of coin, it should be pleasing to the eye too). Also, look at the Shimano stuff, Stradics, Sustains, Saros and the like. For the money, I really wasnt that impressed with the Stella

Its a smaller, relatively new company. Not bad stuff at all. Try it, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

If you opt for the Gander Mountain ones, you will be glad that their warranty is what it is and that it's only 15 minutes to the store... I bought one (felt nice and smooth) of the Gander Tournament series reels for like $70. Well.... 2 weeks in, the spool seized up to the point where I could get a 10-15 foot cast out and that was about it. Took it back, got another one.... 2 weeks and 2 days this time and the reel went into free spool and would not engage. I took that one back yesterday and ponied up for a Revo STX. I'm done with cheap reels! I didnt vote as I have no experience with either the Cabelas ones or BPS. I have heard good things on the Johnny Morris Elites but have never touched one. The nearest Cabelas is 2 hours, BPS is about 6. I wont buy a rod or reel unless I can play with them first. On a side note though, the Gander rods are pretty nice for the $$$

I got my first sponsor (not sponsere) a week or so ago. I haven'y yet posted who they are as I don't want to rock that boat until they give me the official go ahead. That said, spelling, grammar and the way you carry yourself is key. You would be representing their company! As was said, anyone determined to make a living in this business (that's what it is to potential sponsors and now to you, if you want to travel down this road) has the passion for fishing, you have to offer something else. Marketing yourself is key, nobody is going to do it for you. In talking to a number of area pros, 100% of them say they actually fish less now due to all the other commitments (trade shows, promotions, seminars and the like that they have going on). It's not an easy road to be sure. There is a whole lot more than just going fishing and waiting for a check.

And longer than 6'.... I learned all of the above just a few short weeks ago. I'm now fishing a 6'6" MH casting rod for jigs and plastics and let me tell you.... My hookup ratio has greatly improved and I can lift those fish out of the mess that they like to live in now. I couldnt do that before with that medium spinner with a softer tip.

Lots of people swear by power pro on spinning rods. I use fireline (3lb dia, 8 lb test) on the rod I use for smaller jigs and the like for smallies. It works pretty good.

last night, I caught a 7" smallmouth on a 5" Senko.

I just got one of those Gander Mountain Tournament series rods. Run like $60-70. Great sticks for the money. I got a 6'6" MH and have been fishing plastics with it almost exclusively. Its an extra fast action rod for those hard hook sets but the rod is sensitive enough (running braid) that you could feel the fish fart.

Just goes to show the great customer service on both the part of the shop as well as the rod company! Great to hear! Honestly, thats a lot of the reason that I buy a lot of Gander Mountain store brand rods, great rods for the money and they have a no fault warranty, no questions asked. Just bring the broken rod to a store and walk out with a new one, no charge, no hassle.

didnt hook up last night, I will be giving THAT a try in about an hour here.

I use braid on every rod I own (except fly rods of course ;D ) and my crankbait rig. I think some stretch there is a good thing.

They look cool, QC leaves something to be desired though. I got a bunch of free ones from the sales rep a couple years ago. They worked alright, like was said before, about every third one worked properly. Some the lead was molded weird so the body would naturally lean, some the plastic covering was far thicker on one side than the other. Got a few fish on them and I could see that they would work well in the right conditions (provided you got a good batch)

So Thursday, I went and got my first bait casting combo. Fooled around with it for a little bit Thursday night (got a backlash in my kitchen if you can believe that) and a little Friday afternoon. Had a few good snarls but being a glutton for punishment, I decided to hit the water with it last night and give it a go. Well, on my lawn, distance was ok but I had zero accuracy. Was on the roof, in the tree, everywhere. Once I got on the water, I was casting further than I can with a spinning rod, hitting pockets I was aiming for and had a total of one backlash. I dont know if I just psyched myself up about how difficult this would be to learn or if it just happened to come naturally to me but, man, I love fishing with a baitcaster!

My resume was it.... My fishing ability played a much smaller role than did my ability to sell my self. While I am definitely no expert, I have a little advice to offer anyway... If you want to be sponsored, work hard on building a name for yourself first. The marketing end of things seems to be far more important to companies than does ability to put lots of fish in the boat. Again, I am no expert so take that for what it's worth

Wouldnt be a bad backup on any budget!

So, the title says it all. I got my first.... Notification today and early next week it will be official as papers get signed. Looking over the terms of conditions of my new job (that's exactly what it is) and it really is remarkable what amount of effort, dollars and time is required by both parties to make the relationship truely beneficial to either. I truely respect those of you that represent several companies as one takes a lot of work, I can see this already. Is it worth it? Oh yeah! For obvious reasons, I can not yet say who this company is yet, I will surely post it as soon as I can though. I've been all smiles, all day. A company is willing to take a chance on ME! Thats what its all about. I am truely humbled by the experience thus far. I am getting a chance to work in an industry I love.

Out last night again, tried a few things I read on the main page and some tips from you guys here... Well, I didnt hook up all the times I got bit but, maybe at a 40% clip. Some of those could have been smaller fish too just grabbing at the tail. Anyway, landed 11 last night, I really dont think these fish have EVER seen a worm before. Lots of guys throwing cranks and live bait for walleyes, this is a different animal to be sure.