MarauderYak

And they have a replacement for the rods as well... http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10205012____SearchResults

It's a question of inertia. The lighter the spool, and the closer the weight is to the axis, the less inertia the spool will have. So when you cast, a spool with less inertia will take less energy away from the lure when it starts to rotate. However, with less inertia the spool will also DECELERATE more quickly, and may take additional energy from the lure later in the cast. With very light lures I'm sure the Extreme should outcast the PQ. With heavier lures (3/8 oz & over) I'm sure the PQ should outcast the Extreme.

The Pinnacle info is a little outdated. There used to be a factory that made both Pinnacle & BPS reels, but that was quite a few years ago. If you wanted to know the name of the factory you'd just need to look on a case of higher end reels from BPS or Pure Fishing.

Those two would not have the same blank. There are a couple of very large factories that make rods for multiple companies, but if they develop a blank for Shimano, they won't use that exact same blank for another company. If say, BPS comes to that factory requesting similar specs in a rod they would still develop the rod from scratch so it wouldn't be identical. Now if you were talking about two different rod series from the same company (or parent company) it would be possible that they would have the same blanks. Falcon Bucoo & Falcon Originals share the same blanks for example.

Yeah, I think the violent reaction you saw in chemistry was likely sodium. The typical demonstration with magnesium is taking magnesium permanganate & adding glycerin. It will start to smoke & eventually catch fire. It creates a thermite reaction that burn very brightly (and very hot).

If the reel is only a couple of months old just take it back to BPS. If it has an issue you should be able to replace it for free.

I have a 6'6 ML MicroLite that I've used for kayak fishing rivers for 5 years now. It has the screw-down type reel seat & I haven't had any problems with it coming loose. I'd recomend the MicroLite, especially since it's on clearance for $40.

That reel was made by Quantum/Zebco when they had the rights to Browning Fishing. BPS took over the rights in '03. BPS would be responsible for any warranty work, but they won't have schematics on that reel. Their rod & reel repair service (Reel Mech mentioned) would be able to take care of the reel for you though.

Have you fished with a DC reel? I wouldn't use the word ease myself. If you get it dialed in for just what you're doing it's great, but when I fished with one we were going in & out of the wind, as well as making some short & some long casts. I had to spend more time dialing in the reel than fishing with it. If you were casting the same way, with the same lure & same wind direction all day they'd be awesome. Otherwise I find the thumb to be a much easier cast control.

Unfortunately it's just not possible to manufacture a competatively priced freshwater reel here in the States. Ardent wouldn't have been able to start without major subsidies and grants. It's also extremely difficult for a US based company to own a production facility over seas, so the only other option is to contract a foriegn based factory to build your product. If the healthcare bill & "energy" bill both pass you'll see a good portion of the remaining US manufacturing come to an end. And China is actually passing so many new regulations that they are losing factories to other countries now.

As Flechero said, it may look like his store rods but it could be something much more custom made to look similar. We don't know for sure. KVD has a spinning rod to match his new cranking rods but to my knowledge it's not available to the public When a pro is fully being utilized (KVD is) they are constantly giving feedback & suggestions for new product & changes to current product. The manufacturer will take their suggestions & make prototypes for them to test. These prototypes aren't "souped up" versions of regular productions, they are just different sizes, powers, handles, etc. This means they aren't coming off a production line, but in the case of rods, they would be made with the same graphite & other components. The only time I've ever known for sure a pro was using a rod that was radically different than production rods (of the same name) was Boyd & the other very early E21 pros. That wasn't even intentional. They made all their early prototypes by hand with a certain process that they were unable to reproduce for mass production.

BP PQ2000B on a Loomis SHR822S. On my first trip out with that combo the boater somehow hit the rod as he shut a rod locker, bringing the lid down on the top 8". He then stepped on the lid & I swear you could hear the rod break. But when he opened the lid I couldn't see any damage. I've been using it for a couple of year since & caught plenty of fish without a problem.

To my first point... I do know for a fact that there have been many errors in the ESPN/BassMaster articles about the gear being used. The article may sound like they are just repeating what the pro told them, but most of the time they are getting the list of gear from the sponsors or even the pro's manager. Second, I know most all of the pros use tackle other than what they talk about, but they are getting paid to promote specific product. In some cases they may use that rod/reel exclusively, and some may only use it occasionally. A lot of that has to do with how they fish. Some pros tend to stick to just a couple of fishing methods, and others are extremely diverse. And of course there are times where a pro just flat out lies about how, where, or with what he caught a fish, but hell, amatures do that all the time for free! ;D

Sorry, I haven't/can't see any clips right now. Did you see a clip of him specifically saying what he used? I read a blog, but that doesn't mean he actually said it. I've noticed ESPN quite regularly mis-identifies the equipment that was used in a specific tournament. I know for a fact in past instances where the fault lies because I've tracked the chain of info to the source of the problem. Unless you specifically heard Ike say he was using "X" rod, I'd say the issue is not with him.

RW, I know that is a great rod, but did you notice he said 1/8 oz? That rod is rated down to 1/4 oz, so I can't imagine it loading well with a lure half that weight. Esox, I don't think there's a definative answer to your question. Just last week I was testing two sets of light action spinning rods. Each length/power of rod was made in two different actions. For these particular rods I found the more moderate action normally cast a further distance, but on a couple, the faster action made for longer casts.

Very price-point conscious? The Stradic FI is $159.99 - 179.99, the old MgFB was $229.99, most of the Cardiffs are $109.99. In fact a good number of their items aren't priced at a price point. There's no question that they determined more customers would prefer to pay less & not get a spare spool, but I wouldn't call them price-point conscious.

Shimano bringing Carey Graves back was an excellent move. If ANYONE is reading "the sky is falling" or similar from any of my posts, that is not the intent, nor the way I feel. I'm just saying I see the possible changes on the horizon. Not like the moving of production, or elimination of IMX. But perhaps some pricing changes & maybe an increase in new product introductions.

The NSM at Loomis is stepping down & being taken over by the Shimano NSM.

I'm looking at it in a relative sense. Compared to the product changes made at all of the major rod or reel companies over the last 15 years... Loomis has had the fewest changes (IMO). In particular I was talking in relation to Shimano. How many rod or reel series from Shimano are the same as they were 15 years ago? Look at the changes made to their flagship (Curado) over that time frame. I don't think there's any way Loomis rods will undergo that dramatic of a change, but with a much different management philosophy comes change.

Bantam1, when I said we'll see what changes I was primarily addressing pricing. And I was speaking of 2011 and beyond. I already know about all the re-training, and the management changes there, and think they'll have positive results for both the consumer & for Shimano. But with Shimano now completely taking charge, there is no way that the next 15 years will be as static (pricing and product developement) as the last 15 at Loomis. I know Shimano understands the importance of maintaining the consistancy of GL product, but I'm willing to bet that over the next 3 years you'll see a larger change to the GL line than you've seen over the last 15. I'm not insinuating it will be bad for us consumers, I'm just predicting change.

Flechero, G Loomis rods have gotten cheaper (relatively speaking) over the years, but you may be overestimating how much. $225 in 1994 should be worth $327 today (strictly due to inflation), and that rod actually sells for $270. It's hard to compare that to what has happened with other company's fishing equipment because there's not many of the exact same items being made today that were made in 1994. The real question is, will that continue to be the case as Loomis is completely incorporated into the Shimano company next year? While they've been owned by Shimano for a while, they've still had their own management, and operated as a seperate entity. J Francho, until this year (actually started last year) Loomis hadn't made any signifcant changes to their rod production procedures since the day they started. But they've grown so much that their procedures were actually creating HUGE problems for them. They've now finished re-training all their rod builders & incorporated new procedures that should be a huge cost savings for them.

baitcast or spinning? The biggest difference will be less line retrieved per handle turn.

http://www.***.com/descpageRLCSHIMANO-SHCDC.html Have you used one Flechero? I've fished with a Calais DC a couple of times. Very smooth, but I'm not a fan of the DC. If you continually cast the same way with the same wind & get it set properly its awesome. The problem is I'm constantly casting in different directions, different distances, and maybe even different casting methods (roll cast, flip, etc). I spent more time adjusting the reel than fishing. I'll stick with the other "self adjusting" sysem you recomended... the good ole thumb.

Not intending to bash you 420, but I don't think your gears slipped in that reel. I'd say it was the drag that slipped, and that is what the drag is supposed to do. If the gears has slipped, it would have made a very ugly sound and wouldn't be working after that. If you're using 10 lb test you should have your drag set at about 3.5 lbs. With a 24" bass and 3.5 lbs of drag your likely going to have the drag kicking in several times. That's not a situation where you just crank it in. With the exact same reel in a higher gear ratio, you would feel even more resistance when trying to reel the fish in.

I'm not telling anyone how well it works because (as mentioned), I haven't tried it. But I have taken one of these reels apart, and I can tell you that it is NOT anything like the Shimano DC system. It is a 9-arm centrifugally based system that is configured a little differently than any other I'd seen before. It looked like the arms are intended to move more dramatically based on the acceleration/decelleration of the spool. I thought, "Hmmm, interesting". I was told (by someone I believe) that KVD has been using a reel with this system for a while and he likes it better than the Tour Edition he had been using. I'm not trying to sell anyone on it. Just passing on what I know/heard. I don't plan on getting one for myself.