Grug

I have used both extensively in last say 4 years, sold off all the Premier's and have 4 Compre's....by far the better and lighter/better quality choice IMHO.. Enjoy whatever you pick!

I have alot of luck this week and previous late winters slow crawling 3" baits such as black Road Runner, Brewer Grub and a Storm Wildeye in say perch or bluegill color. Throw out from bank in deepest water and just painfully slowly reel back in..got 5 today and 2/3 of this pond is still ice!

Here in NW NJ too much ics and I am going stir-crazy not fishing. Caught my last bass on Christmas Day and just dying here reading bass threads... Anyway, the minute my local ponds shed some ice in the northwest corners will use: -1/8 black road runner -3" brewer grub on 1/16 or 1/8 brewer jig head -keep Pointer78's and some lipless cranks handy if above dont work Slow crawl along bottom/weedlines in sunny portions of water....fish on!!! God I need a life!

Absolutely agree! All these reels will work and work a long time with simple maintenance..no doubt..I too find it amazing what we all think is best..I would pass on all the Shimano models except the Symetre, so what is it about one model for me vs. the others when the differences are so slight? Who knows, my .02 for what its worth...

Interesting, tried a President last year and quite disappointed as well. Not smooth at all IMHO..Daiwa's really disappointed me over the last 2 years .All these reels are perfectly good performers BTW, I just prefer not to feel my reel while fishing in cold water, rather feel the light take of a big bass.. I must be a very, very picky shopper...but then again thats the fun of experimenting and finding what works for you...

I will chime in here as I have been buying/returning/selling all the reel models you have mentioned and there is only 1 model IMHO that is truely smooth and well worth more than you pay for it: Shimano Symetre hands down.. Supreme stinks, not smooth and you feel the gears on retrieving vibrating baits like spinnerbaits.. Stradic is nice but Symetre is smoother. All the other Daiwa models (I just returned a Tierra to get a Symetre) are not smooth like the Symetre... Spent alot of money and time to learn this over the last year and a half, but plain and simple, get a Symetre (1500 or 2500, no difference but the spool) and never have to look again. Have fun shopping, I did...

All I do is small pond fish and its my best time of year to catch decent ones! I work the bank that has the deepest drop to the deepest water, preferably if it also meets a "corner" of the pond in question. Bass will move from right up on the bank edge to hanging in the deeper parts of the water colume.. Work a suspending jerkbait like a LC Pointer 78 and X-Rap (I like the 1/4oz. for shallower ponds). Work it slow with 5-10 sec. pauses between jerks..watch that line for the slightest tick, thats the take.. Also use a grub, 3-4" on a 1/8oz. jig head, cast out and let fall to bottom. then just steady and SLOW retrieve, cover bottom thoroughly. I also will try that with a 104 oz. trap in case some "noise" is needed for the sluggish bass to find the lure... Go fish till the water is totally covered with ice, then reconnect with family till ice starts to melt..plenty of bass to be caught from shore this time of year... (got 3 keepers yesterday, iced up guides was a pain). Tight Lines!!

Hawg Caller is 100% Right! It is more a matter of where and when then What...I like others here focus on "What" alot cause for me at least, its something I can play with at home while waiting for the next trip... But take today, 45 deg. water and nothing around the deepest sections of one of my ponds, tried everything..Move to east side of it and BAM, good action for 45 min. on 1/4 oz. x-raps fished slow with long pauses..nailed 7 total from 1-2.5 lbs..they were shallow over dying weeds, maybe 3ft. deep. Action, slows down, head back to other side to see if things picked up, nothing on a brewer grub so I run back to the hot side, first cast with grub and get my best of the day.. So it was really where in my case, which when you think about it is all that really matters..find 'em and something in your bag of tricks should get some action most of the time.. Fun fun figuring them fish out... Tight Lines!

I just got back from fishing a little muck pond up the street from me, work out of my house so I have that luxury..Post cold front, gusts to 40 mph + at my back and caught 1 - 12"er on a 3" worm worked on a 1/16oz. slider jib head. Man my hands are cold but water temp was a sizzling 46 deg!! Now back to work, that sucks...

First off, NEVER STOP FISHING! If the water is not TOTALLY ice covered, there is a chance (slight though it may be) of catching a nice big bass.. I fish local ponds from shore only and my best success is from now till ice up with 1 lure - 3" Brewer Grub..I hit the deepest part of whatever water I am fishing, deep water that is right at the shore and if its in a corner of the body of water, that is best... 6lb. line, 1/16oz. Slider jig head and work that sucker slow, slow, slow and steady..no hopping or jerking, minnows dont do that especially in cold water. Cast methodically from the shore line on your left all around to your right, you find bass will be right up against the bank..I am not joking, they will hang there sometimes in dead of winter..I have pix to prove. Dress warm cause at best I can do this for maybe 3 hours before the cold runs me off..but I have alway caught my biggest bass of the year right now thru New Years.. See-------

I just picked up last Friday my first Avid, a AVS60MLF, nice rod for my late fall/winter fishing. Highest priced spin rod I ever bought, nice sensitivity I must say and casts well. Has the IPC label on it but I noticed they are not promoting it yet on their website.. nice parabolic curve while fighting fish and you really feel everything with this stick...

Tendonitus took me 3 years to heal, still feel "something" in my right elbow every now and then, but its in great shape vs. 3 years ago... You need to heal, rest and condition the elbow. Use both heat and ice for at leat 10 min. 2 or 3 times a day. Stretch the lower arm by extending out your arm and bending your wrist down for 10 sec., then up for 10 sec. and repeat 3 time..stretchs the lower arm muscles. Use 2 lb weights and look up elbow exercises on the internet..You will see what I mean... An elbow brace while fishing helps too. Plenty of stuff on internet to help guide you on how to take better care of it.... Good luck, tight lines.

Work the water that your at thoroughly, top to bottom with faster moving type lures such as a spinnerbait to see if you get any action. If yes, what depth and speed? Keep that in mind as you should now concentrate any lures in that general range till its goes dead. If no takers after say 15 min. or so move a bit and try another style lure (i.e. crankbait type say, suspendeding). If nothing after that thing low and slow such as a jig/plastic or similar. And no matter what hit any cover with a plastic and work that cover thoroughly. Of course if crack of dawn or sundown, work a topwater to see if that bite is on. If you impatient use a buzzer, if slow is good use a popper till they till you how they like it. My banks/wading waters are coverless so I work alot of weedlines/depth changes from shore... Dont know if I will ever get a boat, just not a big deal to me..I fish almost every day so life is good. Oh, have fun too...but thats assumed anyway. Tight Lines..

All I do is bank fish, never owned a boat nor have any desire to get one. I hit the local ponds within say 30 min. drive of my home (many waters to choose from) and bass fish 12 months a year. 1-2 hours is average and I try to get a 4 hour weekend timeslot between family activities. I use one outfit solely, a med. power fast action rod, 6.6ft where I am now toying and committed to using baitcast gear. I throw following: -1/4 & 3/8 spinnerbaits (best bass lure out there) -3/8 buzzbait -Topwaters (spittn image worked great yesterday morning!) -LC Pointers (78's), 1/4 oz. Rattle Traps -5" Senko bag, 4" Super Fluke Bag -Some bottom bouncers-T-Rigged (pig your favorite plastic) The hardbaits fit in one plano box, the soft baits with hooks/wts. fit in another, and all this fits very nicely in a Plano Hip "fanny" pack I wrap around my waist. Perfect setup for "power fishing" from the bank, and now that its warm time to wade out into the water and be "one with the bass." Been doing this 30 years, catch tons of bass (120+ so far in 2007) and 4-4lb+ plus this year. Work the water efficiently, start shallow and cast out to deeper water, slow to fast retrieves till you find them and their preference that day. Any laydowns/cover (my waters have few) hit hard with a t-rigged plastic as those are very reliable targets. Maybe when I retire will get a boat but for me, being knee deep in muck and bass is most fun.. Enjoy and tight lines...