SWMIBASSER

Sorry to be brash but that is flat out irresponsible. "Sportsmen" need to take management issues more seriously and not just view them as an inconvenience. Many management problems could have been prevented by responsible actions or sportsmen. Sure smallmouth are getting big eating them. But what about the population of other fish, and other forage. Great Lakes Salmon are a great example of the necessity to have a variety of forage. After years of gorging on Alewives biologists are finding the single protein diet is sterilizing salmon.

You can't get greedy and grossly over price, and expect to succeed.

Agreed. For a smaller profile thread on trailer. Even if it's a chunk type trailer I'll thread it on...sometimes. Threaded chunks seem to foul the hook point less also.

Problem is, if the wife spent $350 on shoes or purse or something 'I' think is a dumb waste of money I'd be ticked off..... She thinks walmart fishing rods are good enough......So.....ya you see. ;D

This would be a pretty good rod for that use I would think. I love the action of the SHR's and the 822 would be perfect for up here. Only reason I can't justify the GLX is I don't have anything I would call my 'go to' technique. When and if I ever do, I wanna get one....

I'm surprised I don't hear more of this.....And I'm with you 1,000% ESPN "advanced" bass fishing, but it has also created poorer fishing.......I have to believe in more areas than just mine. Bass fishing in the last 10 years or so has increased in popularity by magnitudes I would have never thought possible. With all of that said, it's important to get in on the hot new techniques, so that you are utilizing something new, for as long as you can before everyone and his brother catches onto it too. And finally with all that said, that's one of the hardest parts for me. Adapting to new, weird, unusual or unorthadox ways of catching bass, WAY to late. By the time I bought a dedicated shakey head rod/reel combo, shakey heads were pretty played out around here....Still catch fish, but not like they did one or two years before that. FWIW I think the location I'm in causes alot of this too. Good populations of large and smallmouth bass, but LOTS of lakes....Usually an access site to a new lake is no more than 10 minutes away, no matter where you live. On top of that, lakes are small. The lake I'm on is one of the biggest around at a hair under 900 acres with most being 400 acres or less. I gotta drive to the great lakes or north a good 4 hours before I hit anything over a couple thousand acres.

This probably seems dumb. After all I know how long it is. But if you own a 4" shellcracker could you snap a picture of it sitting next to some other point of reference....Maybe lay it next to a well known lure, or fishing reel or something. I know it's 4" but before I order one I'm curious about the size or profile of them.

Extreme, Pro Qualifier, and David Fritts crankin' reel are all under your budget. Not sure if BPS still sells the Fritts reels or not though. They cast a MILE, and have plenty of power, nice long handle, etc. I just don't care for how they fit in my hand. They are a little larger diameter than I liked. You could also pick up a revo S on e-bay, and swap a 5.4 gear set into it and probably still come in under your budget. The funny thing is, the most success by FAR I've had cranking was with an older Quantum Iron round reel. Makes me wonder if Fritts is onto something in liking the pawl anti reverse. Or it just had the right speed....Something. I'd sell that to you for cheap too if you want it.

Flouro gives you a more direct contact with really light baits. This must be due to it's sinking rate vs mono. It helps to eliminate the bow in in your line that even a tiny wind can produce when fishing light stuff. Thing is this is usually a spinning application and flouro is a PITA on spinning gear. Again IMO. Y/Z Hybrid is a nice middle ground.

Liquid ultra dish detergent, and a baby bottle nipple brush.

Has only an 8 pound drag too, where the Pro Qualifier has a 10 pound drag. I just put the stock Abu Garcia carbon matrix drag washers in a Pro Lite, and in a Pro Qualifier recently....HUGE difference in strength and in how smooth the drag is. Maybe not worth doing out of the box, but eventually it's a good idea to replace the drag washers. When that happens go for the carbon drag washers.

I like a MH casting rod for jigging. I'm sure that's already been covered though. If going with a MH casting rod, it'll be a little stiff for shakey heads. I NEVER go over 1/8oz shakey heads, and the worms are pretty light too. That's really too light for casting equipment. A 1/8oz jig head, and worm could be thrown with casting equipment, but you better know the reel, and there can't be much wind. I like the slack line fall you get with spinning gear, when fishing shakey heads too.

These aren't the smoothest reel made but the mag spool design has a very noticeable effect on casting distance, and line management. This is a GREAT buy. The upper end reels are probably just smoother, and still have the same design. My brother has used the extreme for a couple years now with good success. EDIT:The Extreme spinning reel is the one I was referring to as not being all that smooth but performs well.

I honestly think the Pro Qualifier is worth the extra money. They are very similar in construction, with almost all parts interchanging. The PQ comes with better bearings, and IMO better ergonomics. It's just a little smaller. You could always pick up a used Revo S, and swap BPS Extreme gears in 5.4.1 into it for a centrifugal Revo for crankbaiting....Much cheaper than the Winch.

You didn't really ask, but thought I would share. I've been quite happy with the Abec 5 Ceramics from Boca. They are quality bearings and the shields are easily removed and replaced as they are the normal stainless shields. I've installed them in a few reels now with good results. They are a little cheaper too.

I think I might buy one so I'll let you know My brother uses the BPS reels with mag spool and it is legit. Eliminates line management issues entirely. Longer casts too.

I think if you have used, and do use several rods from one brand, you get a feel for their power and action ratings. If you are all over the board with brands, or haven't looked at several of one brand before it can be a real crapshoot IMO.

Without a doubt, your best bet is to buy used. If you do buy new, your going to be looking for a BPS reel, that is on clearance. I wouldn't go lower than there Extreme. But they can go on sale cheap when a new model comes out (no new models this year) Or buy a used 4600 c3 or c4, used Revo S, used BPS reel, or used Daiwa. I know a few folks who have used the Daiwa Megaforce or whatever it's called for a few years now with no problems.

I think the President is a safe bet. Just read reviews at BPS. Most people have good luck with them. Smooth, well built reel, and cheap. The trade off is they are heavy, but any reel in that price range will be.

What hook do I need to look for to get a nice wide gap hook but short shank enough to TX rig beavers?

You need to invest in a more fuel efficient daily driver.

One of the things that makes shorter folks feel like they need a shorter rod.....Handle length. For me, a long handle is more cumbersome than a long rod. Tip down action presentations (hard and soft jerk baits, or topwaters) require about a 6'6 or shorter rod, and everything else I'm fine with 7' or more. As long as the handle isn't overly long.

The advantage a spinning outfit has over casting, that can be very important for some presentations is a slack line fall. Spinning takes more practice to get close to the accuracy possible with casting, but it's worth the work.

I have a Bass Pro Shop only about 8 miles from where I live and I go there a lot but I do try and throw some business to a local shop. They carry some tackle lines from smaller companies that BPS doesn't carry and I can get shiners in the AM when I take my grandkids out fishing. I might pay a little more there but I'd like to see them stay in business I've got a cabelas and bps both about 20 min. away but still go to my local bait store 10.min.away one reason the little bait shops will last around here is Lake Michigan, I'm not sure which BPS Outdoor World you go to but I found the Gurney Mills store, while nice, to be to shopping mall esque for my liking. The Portage IN store is OK, but they don't carry alot of inventory that you can get in the catalog. And some of the staff.....I wonder if they have ever fished with anything except a zebco 33 and a can of worms. But it's still nice to get away to such a big place. Maybe stop at the Quaker steak and grill for some wings. ;D