SWMIBASSER

shop around for a deal on the Supreme. Otherwise the President. Ignore the fan club. Pflueger makes excellent reels.

So I'm not the only one who notices that?

But wait. Red hooks attract more bites. So it can't be invisible. ;D

Value conscious or not the Supreme is the best spinning reel out there. I won't buy Shimano as years back a shimano lasted 3 fishing trips. Went in the trash and from that moment forward decided against buying their junk. Now they build quality reels, and I still won't buy because of the rediculas fan club following.

Agree. This just proves to me that the red line is a gimmick. By coloring Flouro red or even green for that matter, you are adding visibility to an invisible line. That just makes no sense to me.

The two reels I would try if I could just throw away money would be the high end Ardent.... And the Steez.

That's an excellent deal. Even at the regular price of $99 they are a great value. Wouldn't trade mine for any other spinning reel.

This winter I've switched over all my round reels to low profiles. Most LP's are lighter, smoother and more refined than most round reels. Less fatigue in the hands. That is one of the biggest reasons for switching IMO. For the longest time the round reels felt fine to me. I actually preferred the feel. But for some reason I've come around to the feel of the LP's. I will say a really low/wide reel feels terrible to me and I prefer a round reel to those. My favorite LP is a TDS/TDX Daiwa because of the slightly larger diameter teamed with narrow width.

I'll have to follow this one. I want to switch over to Flouro but I've been 100% happy with Yo-Zuri. And to read reviews on Bass Pro's site, and Cabela's site, I honestly don't know what to think...... I think in this case I'm going to go on my brothers advice and experience and go with 100% Flourocarbon from Berkley OR P Lines Flourocarbon.

I remember it down to the reel, lure, the appearance of the rod lake who I was fishing with etc. My dad, brother and I was on a small local lake.....I had been fishing awhile but honestly it wasn't my thing. I couldn't get into because I always had to be doing something and setting there waiting for a bite was boring (Ironically that's the kind of fishing most of us think we need to do w/our kids) I had been asking about fishing artificials but dad thought it would be better to stick to worms. Plus my rod, a pistol grip rod with rubber handle gray in color, and reel a Daiwa spincast reel, wasn't up to throwing big artificials. He finally caved. I was casting a small soft plastic perch colored minnow thing with a shaft mounted willow blade very similar to a rooster tail blade. Caught a 12" or so bass while moving down the south east shoreline..........I've been hooked on reel fishing ever since.

The handle that simply screws on is the one I'm referring to.

As far as my SHR 821 is concerned I DO think there are equivalents for a cheaper price. The rod isnt a $220 rod. Part of that $220 is paying for the warranty.

Loomis and st croix warranties cover that...ship the borken rod to them +$50 and they'll send you a new one I'm aware of that. But the IMO the shakey head rod is at least $50 overpriced.....So they cover their butt from the initial purchase. Don't get me wrong. I love the rod. But at $150 I can buy a similar Rogue rod that is as light or lighter and as sensitive or more. And has a lifetime warranty. Loomis has everyone beat in that they offer way more technique specific actions/lengths. I do still want the 7-1/2ft Bronzeback spinning rod.

It's obviosly going to affect boat sales. I worked for a boat company for 10 years and then lost my job in October. At least in non-fishing related boat companies many are being lost alltogether. This had been a huge issue for a couple years leading up to it. First the gas prices, then everyone's fear of losing their job.....Now people who think their job's will weather the storm can't buy because they can't get financing. There aren't many places willing to loan 80,000 for a BOAT.

I was all gung ho on Loomis because of the warranty. I've broken ONE rod stretching back all the way to when I was a kid......I was loading it into my dads Suburban and the door slipped out of my hand...... I can't imagine many warranties would cover that anyhow.

What are the lure and line weights..... For me a drop shot rod needs to handle a little heavier weight than the other finesse baits A Shakey/finesse rod and then a dropshot/tube rod is a good way to go IMO..... I've got a Loomis SHR and it uses the same blank as the drop shot rod. I find it to soft for D/S. I want to pick up the 7'6 Loomis Bronzeback rod for dropshotting and tube fishing.....It's only rated to 3/8oz but with a fast to XF tip it and 7'6 long it should have plenty of power. With all that said, up to a 3/8 lure rating should serve you for both. I don't use lighter than a 3/8 weight for DSing in smaller lakes, and a rod like that should handle the lighter stuff too..... If it's rated higher than that it may be stiff for the lighter lures/line.

If by search lures you mean cranks, I think you'll find a glass crank rod will help to bomb lures a long way. My Tim Horton Pflueger cranking rod helps me to cover alot of water, and/or get the lure down to it's max depth for the maximum amount of time. A heavy spool reel IMO will outcast a similar reel with a small light spool. I want to try the BPS David Fritts reel on my crankin rods as it's purposely designed with a heavier spool.

BPS has the Extreme on clearance right now for $50. Just picked up one today. Just hope my order gets processed before they are sold out.

I've never used them, but IMO the BPS rods are a good value. Especially if you can get them on sale. They usually run a little heavy, and a little stiff....So keep that in mind. (OTOH The Elite is as light as anything cept' maybe a Carrot Stix) The Johnny Morris, and Johnny Morris Elite are both great rods for the $$. They are the only ones I've looked at....and recently picked up a JM Elite.

It's hitting the big guys for sure.......And while I don't know the specifics it seems like when I reviewed the contingencies for NBAA they were much less than in the past. With that said, for me, the economy is driving me to focus on my fishing more. I've sold off things from my other hobby as I just can't afford to do it now. Bass fishing can be cheap. Gas money and that's it. And in MI you only have to drive 30 minutes or less in any direction to be on the water.

First, "No wind". How are you going to fish the windblown side? Second, you said that wasn't a point, now you're going to fish parallel to the point? Is it a point or isn't it? No wind or current? Like I said IMO that isn't a point. I thought I was clear.....? My mistake I guess.

Just a couple quick ideas. I would start with the windblown side. And to cover the area more quickly I would fish parralell to the point. Pick up a few fish on cranks and in the process feel out the bottom for changes in bottom and/or weed growth (pockets, points in weeds) and then throw something a little slower to clean out the area. Hit another point, and then come back a bit later.

I'm not trying to argue or say anyone is wrong.....Just giving my 2cents. From the picture at first glance there does seem to be a small underwater point. However if you look closer that is really just a flat that continues to the left. A land based point will protect either up or down side shorelines (depending on wind position) but otherwise won't have any bearing on fish location.......When they do it's because of other factors.....Cover, (not structure because there isn't any) and the presence of forage. To me, a land based point is simply a shoreline irregularity. An underwater point on the other hand.........

IMO people use the term point wrong. If what you are showing is an overhead satelite view, by my terminology that isn't a point at all. Because land/shoreline forms a point doesn't mean there is an underwater point there that fish are relating to. Sometimes there is, sometimes there isn't. But just because the shoreline forms a point doesn't mean there is an underwater point.

If there is some lakes or places to put in on the Grand near G/R that your willing to tell me about I'd like to hear it. I have an oppurtunity to fish that area more since I could just stay with my Wife's Parents who live in Comstock Park.