SWMIBASSER

It's got a larger diameter, heavier spool for more inertia on the cast. I suspect the thing will BOMB crankbaits much further than other reels.....The big diameter heavy spool is the reason the Ambasadeurs are able to hang with much more refined reels.

This is a reel that you need to pick up, and/or take apart. It is a stout reel. And it's much smoother than the specs on paper that it has.....Not that many bearings.....A spool shaft bearing in the mechanical brake area, and a lower gear set on the instant anti-reverse reel would make a killer reel..... Hard for me to justify buying "upgrades" for such a cheap reel though. No matter how well they are put together.

E21 original Carrot stix.....Pick up a baitcasting reel from BPS when on Sale. Or Mojo St Croix rod, with BPS Extreme reel currently on sale for $49. Not a thing wrong with that reel. I recently picked up an extreme. Put a power handle on it and mounted that on my J/M Elite......$200 rod (that compares to rods costing $300 or more) with a reel that cost me $50

If someone can win over 3 million $$, and switch hands........Yeah I'm OK with switching hands and doing what feels comfortable.

And? :

I used 8lb regular hybrid all last year, and had absolutely ZERO prolems with memory. No line conditioner. Nothing. On Pflueger 8030 Supremes. Which have a pretty small spool. Click the bail manually like you should be.

If you pick up an extra pawl, and drag washers you'll be able to own that reel virtually forever....That should be about the only thing you would have to replace. People think because BPS can sell their reels cheaper they aren't any good.....Just a matter of volume. Same reason wal-mart can sell so cheap. Buying power. Anyone who has had one of their reels apart would realize they are built well. Last years ProLite is the same way. Equals reels costing $200, and I got it on sale for $69

Based on reviews of people I know have used it, plus based on the reviews on BPS site, and Cabelas site, I'm going to try P-Line Flourocarbon. It gets consistently better reviews than everything else out there.

I have little experience with Flouro. Take this for what it's worth.... I tested a 2.5 foot piece of 8lb Vicious Flouro.....Palomar knot was tied at both ends to a couple of jigs.....I made a special point to wet the knot more than usual. I connected a Rapala digiatal scale to one jig, and the other jig to a large camera gear bag.....It weighed 7lbs. The line held fine for longer than I cared to stand there and hold it. After bouncing the bag a couple times in a feeble attempt to simulate a hook set it broke immediately. I tried it a couple more times same issue result....It was breaking at a little more than 8lbs.....Unfortuneatly that doesn't leave much cusion for hook setting. One jig was a 1/2 oz Strike King Premeir jig. It has an extra large hook eye. Especially compared to the other jig which was a 3/16 oz finisse jig. EVERY time the line broke it was at the smaller jig.....Every break I shortened the line and left the bigger jig on. NEVER re-tieing and never having a problem with breaking at that knot. The final test I tied an old fashioned Trilene knot to the small finesse jig.....This seemed to work better.....I was able to bounce the bag up and down and register close to 9lbs.....Finally a big bounce broke the line....... I did the same test with a little over 12lbs, using regular 12lb Trilene XT Mono. Similar results as with the flouro but with more stretch before breaking..... The vicious seems like it might have a bit of memory. But I'm comparing to mono and not other flouro's...... This is what I found last night.....Take that for what it's worth....

You will have a hard time getting a rod that performs like the Johnny Morris Elite, for $200.

I think they are excellent...My 6'6" Rogue spinning rod is more sensative and lighter than my Loomis SHR..... I don't think you would be giving up ANYthing when using a Rogue blank.....Cept' maybe to a GLX Loomis blank...Otherwise Rogue all the way.

I disagree that it takes any kind of fancy reel. I learned when I was a kid on a 25 year old technology reel (at the time-even more old school now). There is one key point to remember and/or feel when starting out....And that is to keep the rod loaded. Spinning only guys get used to whipping it out there....A baitcaster will backlash every time with that tactic. Practice with a heavy lure/weight, and a slower action rod...

When I was a kid I learned to use baitcasting reels on an Abu Garcia 5500C3. We musky fished back in those days.... Where are you located? If your close by I have a 4600 C3 Abu you can borrow to practice with. Just take care of it....

Baitcasting is usually more durable. They require less effort to retrieve certain lure types. More accurate by a long shot. More lure/line control. To name a few. Spinning gets the nod when using light weights, 1/8-3/16 or less, or no weight. They also get the nod when a slack line fall on entry is preferred....Shakey, wacky worms, tubes, and drop shotting.

Just an FYI, since we are kinda talking about rod blanks... The best value out there that I've seen is at Johnny's Pond....An online company. They sell Rogue rod blanks for an excellent price. You would have a hard time finding a lighter, more sensitive blank than Rogue. Made in USA, lifetime warranty, and started up by one of the Loomis gang. My factory Rogue rod is excellent.

Does the KVD line conditioner have any kind of scent?

Falcon rods are the best value in fishing rods IMO. It does seem like the prices have gone up this year though. I would stick to a quality spinning rod, reel for the wacky/shakey fishing. Carrot Stix, Rogue, Loomis are my favorites. The ability to cast light or no weight, AND the vertical fall on entry gives the nod to spinning everytime.......For me.

Are you fishing from shore? If so I would go 6'6" max. 6' min

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The kid is 8..... A zebco 33 will be perfect!!!!!!!!!!!

Pflueger Supreme.......Best combination of sizes, light weight, features, and price of anything out there.....

Sorry, don't mean to jack the thread but do you like the recoil guides? I have been interested in some rods that have them but I've heard mixed reviews about them being noisy. Have you had any problems with them? I haven't noticed any more noise vs hardloy, alconite etc. But I wasn't using braid.......I suspect that increased noise is with braid.

Maybe a dumb question but I was wondering if there is a 7.1 gear set for the Daiwa TDS/TDX reels? Or anyone have a source or link to a shop selling upgrades for these reels?

Odd. I've never had trouble with those having lots of memory. Even on Pflueger 8030's, which have smaller diameter spools and should create more memory in the line.

When I checked out the David Fritts reels at BPS I was impressed with how tight/smooth it felt....Which is odd because on paper it isn't that impressive.....I ordered one awhile back and it should be here any day... Interestingly Fritts says that a reel without instant anti-reverse lets you feel the crankbait more.....So the two slower models of this reel don't have I/A/R. The 6.3.1 reel does.