MarauderYak

FYI... I hear Berkley is coming out with a new line in a few weeks that will be high-vis above the water & clear under water. I belive it is a mono.

I'm quite sure that sometimes when you have a bad experience with line it's not exactly the fault of the line. It's how old it is & how it was stored before it was sold. It's quite possible that line you (Muddy) bought may have been sitting in a warehouse for over a year. And if it happened to be in an area that had hot air blowing on it, or maybe even sunlight, that would have a dramatic effect on the line. I'm not saying they did or didn't change anything because I don't know. I'm just saying it's just as likely they sold line that's been sitting around too long.

Flippin' & pitchin' are used by different anglers in different situations. They are basically a way of delivering a shorter, more accurate cast. Can this be done with spinning gear? Yes. What type? Depends what your doing. For bass, if your talking about being around medium cover & some docks in clear to stained water (for example); I'd say you could use a 30 size reel with a 6'6" to 7' MH or H rod. A baitcast reel is considered to be better in these situations because: A) They allow you to more easily control the lure during the cast. They typically have a stronger drag than FW spinning reels. C) The "drive train" gives you more torque than similar size spinning reels.

[quote author=477C7E4C5F7A74747A7D130 link=1240610982/4#4 date=1240728000 It's only noticable when jigging or twitching on the retrieve, when there the line slack tight, slack tight. I have the 3500 size. Some may disagree, but I prefer the larger spool for fluoro or hybrid, since those lines are known for their memory. The smaller spools inherently produce tighter coils. There is play/slop in the reel when you move the handle back and forth a bit on the BPS reel. There is none in the Shimano.

I don't know about "stocking up". G Loomis has only been producing minimal quantities of rods/blanks for the last 6 months. They were having serious QA issues that they are trying to work through.

My guess would be they're working on the prototype for next year, but I don't know. Personally I prefer the Elite to the Avid, but I'd prefer the Legend Tourn over the JM Elite (I haven't actually fished with a Legend, but really like the way they feel). I've never been impressed with All Star; I have one, but I don't even remember what series because I don't ever use it. If I'm out on a boat bass fishing all my rods are either Loomis or BPS.

The warranty is based on when it is purchased, not when it's made, so I don't know what the date code has to do with it. Did you try talking to the internet customer service since that's how you bought it? I know the one time I took a BPS rod back it was over 2 years old, and they at least gave me the clearance price value towards a new rod.

I have a couple of JM rods, and really like them. They have really fast actions, and for casting light(ish) lures you have to get used to that. But they're very sensitive & well ballanced. On a side note, I know someone who regularly tests rods/reels for BPS, and he just got a brand new prototype rod from them. I got to cast around with it yesterday & it's unbelievable. I can't say any details because I don't want to get this guy in trouble, but the rod was unlike anything I've ever seen from BPS. I wonder if BPS could get him another test rod if his gets stolen. :

I've thrown a practice plug with one, but that's about it. I had some real concerns about how it would handle a fish, but I can't say for sure. As far as casting... it cast as far, or farther than any baitcaster I've used.

On Arent reels you do not have to remove the spool to change the breaks. They adjust just like a Shimano. Bud Symantics. You can adjust the Ardent brakes by opening the left side cover, but you can't adjust them with your finger. You'll need to use something like a straightened paper clip to make the adjustment. I don't own an Ardent, but I've used their baitcasters. Their first version was... I'll say sketchy. I have noticed improvements as they've evolved though. I have fished a current XS1000 & I thought it was OK. For me, there are a few other reels I'd spend the same money on before choosing the Ardent. If Ardent were to hire a Japanese engineer to help them, I think they could crank out an excellent reel.

That rod is most similar to the BPS Tourney Special rods, but the handle isn't quite as nice on the Browning rod. The Tourney Special rods are $49.99 every day, but go on sale for $39 quite often (they're on sale right now). http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_44528_100002006_100000000_100002000_100-2-6

Since the first guide is so far away from the rod it won't cast as well, and will increase backlashes. It will also make the rod want to twist. And since the spine of the rod will be on the wrong side, the action won't be anything like it's designed to be.

I do/have owned every reel mentioned so far in this thread except the Supreme. My three favorite spinning reels are the BPS Pro Qualifier, Shimano Symetre, and Pflueger President.

I have the black one.

I never used the old BB reels, but I do have a Fritts reel. It will cast a 1/2 oz or larger crankbait a mile. The deep/heavy spool will spin for days.

I have a Medallion 6' light 2-pc that I use as one of my kayak river rods. It's my favorite rod for that purpose, but it's also the most expensive (I believe I paid $50). Those rods get taken apart alot, and go through some pretty rough treatment sometimes. It still stays together well & has held up to the abuse.

The problem with most of these "comparison" posts is that many of the people who give advice haven't really fished with a lot of the items they give advice about. Maybe they had a bad experience with a poorly maintained Quantum reel 10 years ago, so now all Quantum reels suck. Maybe they don't sell BPS reels, so they suck compared to Garcia, even though many actually come out of the same factory & the components come from the same line. I have several BPS reels that I have fished with quite a bit. I can tell you that my absolute favorite reel to fish with (both bc & spinning) is not a BPS. However, I do like most of my BPS reels quite a bit, and consider most of them to be among my best dollars spent on fishing gear. But that's just my opinion.

That's simply not true. It's been covered many times before... a percentage of the pro's use custom rods (with the factory decals and thread colors) built to match the factory rod. I can build a factory duplicate... good enough that you couldn't tell them apart if I mixed them up. Just about any rod can duplicated easily if the builder knows what he's doing. Some reels are "super tuned" before being shipped to them. Others are upgraded to the max internally. The list goes on and on. Unquestionably, some guys use the exact product that we can buy but quite often, the looks are the only things that are the same. That's the danger of using words like "always" or "every". Have there been "upper level" pros that are known to have done these things? Do you have any links? I'm not doubting it's happened, but I don't remember seeing it anywhere. For the pros I know.... they will often use prototypes & sometimes have their sponser change a rod handle (or something similar) for them, but there's no way they would take a completely different product & put their sponser's logo on it.

Have you actually had a rod with Batson Aluminum Oxide guides and had them fail? If so, was it with braid or mono? Yep, a St. Croix Premier. I was using monofilament. I love the rod except for the guides. Thanks for the reply. When I reread my question I realized I shouldn't have used the word "actually" since it "actually" might have made my question sound rude. I hope you didn't take it that way. I was just trying to find out if it was something you heard, or something you experienced.

I would say every pro uses the rod/reel brand they are sponsered by. Edwin is sponsered by BPS for both rods & reels, so that's what he'll always use in any tournament. Rick Clunn on the other hand actually has his own line of both rods & reels that BPS makes. He is involved in every detail of their design from specifications down to cosmetics.

Have you actually had a rod with Batson Aluminum Oxide guides and had them fail? If so, was it with braid or mono? I have several rods with Aluminum Oxide guides, but I don't know if any of them are Batson. I have had one insert pop out, but I know for sure that is was a Fuji guide.

I don't think I'd consider the Extreme reels to be "high end", but I have a couple, and I do like them. I picked up on of the new Pro Qualifier reels about a month ago, and I like it a lot. I need to use it a few more times before I can say where I'd rate it versus some other reels.

My personal vote for best bang for the buck is the BPS Pro Qualifier. Next would be the Pflueger President, and then the Shimano Symetre.

Contact their rod & reel repair shop... http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPage?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&appID=40&option=2

Under "normal" freshwater fishing conditions I would agree, but I think it can be helpfull in certain circumstances. For example, I sometimes like to take my crappie rig (UL rod & 4lb line) & fish for carp out of a kayak. It can take 15 to 30 minutes to land a large carp. I start with my drag very light, and by the end of the fight I'll have the drag all the way down (right at 4 lbs). By that time they aren't making any moves the rod can't absorb. I'm not saying adjusting the drag (in this case) is absolutely necessary, but I do think it's a usefull tool.