rubba bubba

Dude - this an internet message board; get some thicker skin as none of this really matters. If the words are too small on your, try reducing your screen resolution so you can see them.

Aside from the all-caps shoutfest, this is a good reel to learn on. It's much more forgiving than the $39 Tourney plus model. Unfortunately all of the lefty 6.4:1 have been taken so you are left with the high and low speed models. Even at $59 for the '09's, it's a great reel to learn on for the price. I still use mine even though I have 4 Revo's.

You can get twist locks separate and put them on whatever hook you like. That should save you some dough and give you greater flexibility.

While the $130 price is true for the S, that is list price. They can be had, new and shipped for $85-95 on ebay. For the KVD reels, I believe those are only available in right hand last I checked but that was a year or so ago.

When you spool a reel, pull the line through a cloth that has the line conditioner soaked on it. After that, apply to the spool as needed.

Working the rod for action and playing the fish is far more important and requires more dexterity than turning a crank handle. I've fished spinning reels lefty and I've only fished lefty baitcasters. The only time I ever have a desire to fish a righty baitcaster is when I've been fishing for 4 or so days and I want to give my right arm a break.

I picked up one and have fished with it. It's smooth and casts far but you have to have a skilled thumb as it's not forgiving otherwise. I like it for that reason - makes you actually need talent for a baitcaster as in the old days.

You can get the S for about $97 shipped on ebay. However you can get it for $99+ shipping at Pure Fishing and they appear to have pretty awesome follow-up service - check this thread: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1239825227 Someone also posted a link to a place selling refurb Revo S's for $79 + shipping.

What line are you using as they are not all created equal. I switched to the Palomar ages ago as it's by far the easiest knot of all time to tie; and it works. I'm testing the Eugene not for fluoro to see how that works. Always test your knot before you throw with it.

I have the following: XPS fluoro - has worked great Bionic Blade rod - excellent rod but very heavy so I'd give it an overall "good Extreme baitcaster - just before they switched to the green model. Solid with no problems. Outstanding for the money. BPS Tournament extreme baitcaster - the one that was on sale at the Fling for $39. Very smooth but not a set it and forget it baitcaster; you have to have an advanced thumb for this baitcaster. Not for the beginner. All in all I have had 0 problems and they've all performed very well. Are the baitcasters as good as the Revos I have? No. But they were less than half price and they are 75-80% as good.

While I would agree you can perform any cast, to some extent, with a spinning reel that you can with a baitcaster, the idea that you can perform them as well is silly. The control you have over the spool is simply unmatched compared to working the line itself on a spinning reel. The key here is "to some extent".

They give you much more flexibility in casting - you can cast your normal sidearm or overhead and then control the distance exactly as mentioned. However you can also backhand cast it (like a sidearm pitch), you can pitch it, and you can flip it. When you start getting good with one, the versatility is so much greater over spinning it is amazing.

1. Revo S 2. Energy PT 3. Revo STX 4. Curado

I've always used the Palomar but tested the knot after tying each time. I recently read how Gary Klein switched from the Palomar to the Eugene knot for fluoro as he had occasional problems. Shaw Grigsby was the one who directed him to the Eugene knot as apparently he switched much earlier for the same reasons. I'll be giving that a try the next time I'm out so I can only relay what I've read having no personal experience.

Why not just tie a 3' fluoro leader so you can have the best of both worlds?

The key is practice, practice, practice. Even if it's just a 1/2 hour a day (don't go too long if you are frustrated). You'll find your biggest improvement is in-between days; i.e. the start of the next practice you'll be noticeably better than when you ended the previous practice. Once you get a basic feel down, switch to lighter weights to make your practice harder. I've always taught that if you can do it when it's abnormally difficult, regular conditions will be a breeze. You'll develop an initial proficiency very quickly, particularly if you start with a good baitcaster; if you switch to a low end baitcaster, it'll be harder but you'll be better with both after practicing with it. After that it's on to practicing pitching. Oh, and I would recommend starting with a low-profile, not a round baitcaster.

This is my point - throw price out the window completely: what baitcasters outperform the S and why? I'm sure there must be some, so then one would need to quantify the amount of improvement and then compare that to the price delta. I've tried a few other high end casters and I haven't found any that outperform the S; they perform as well, just not better. I think if the price had come out as much higher, people then would compare it head to head to the pricier reels. You'll notice people only compare reels that are similar in price.... A Patriarch for $125 sounds like a smoking deal and close enough to the S to get one for variety. If you come across another deal like that, PM me instantly.

Yes, but then the main gripe against the STX was the lack of a centrifugal break. My point is, if that's so important than why isn't anyone comparing the S to the Patriarch? My guess is since the cost isn't the same, it thus must not be in the same class. And it's not just this thread I am noticing this in. Note, I'd recommend variety just for the fun of it. The OP had a few STX's, why not try something different? Myself, I couldn't justify the cost of baitcasters pricier than the S due it's stellar performance - it isn't weak in anything to warrant spending up. If the Patriarch were in the same price range, I'd have one just to compare and the fun of it being different.

If the centrifugal brake is so important, why don't people compare the Revo S to the Patriarch? Is it not "blingy" enough? I have 4 Revo S's and am not sure why someone would want an STX - I don't ever have to adjust anything to cast it without problems, regardless of the conditions. I even have the tension set very light so that the bait drops much faster than you would traditionally want. So I'm curious what does the Patriarch offer over the S? What does the STX offer over the S?

Same here - factory preset was 2 and it worked ridiculously well. I've been meaning to switch it 1 or 0 to see if I can get even further distance but keep forgetting.

If the Columbia you have is supposed to be water proof instead of water resistant or weather resistant, than I would contact Columbia. They'll send you a new one no problem; their customer service is outstanding.

Ok it does appear to be the Vanish. The Vanish leader was 12lbs fluoro; I just tied a 10lbs XPS fluoro leader on and I couldn't break it. What are the preferred fluoros to use, that are reasonably priced? I liked the Vanish because it was more supple and had much less memory than the Bpro XPS fluoro. And the Vanish was easier on the wallet as fluoros go.

Out of curiousity, why is Vanish junk? I do have some 10lbs Bpro XPS fluoro that I'll give it a try in a minute. Not sure if that's any better, though. I just tied a bunch more and the Crystal holds better than the Spiderwire, but it still breaks. It appears that it's not the fluoro knot cutting itself but either the fusion knot cuts the fluoro knot or the fusion knot cuts the line itself just. The evidence from the lines after the break occurs appear to be conflicting: - the fluoro leader end (below the uni to uni knot) is straight - i.e. there's no crinkles that you would expect if it broke inside the fluoro knot. It's like a normal piece of cut line. - the fluro knot itself is somewhat unraveled, looking like it did break within the fluoro knot. i.e. it looks like the knot cut itself

Yes, I definitely moisten the line. One reel has some of the old Spiderwire fusion but the others I use Berkely Fireline Crystal; however it's the fluoro uni knot that fails each time. The fluoro I use is Berkely's Vanish. I have literally tied close to 100 uni to uni's with similar results - it holds but just not anywhere close to the line strength.

Hello, I use fusions on several of my reels and have been tying fluoro leaders to them, however whenever I test the strength of the connection, it breaks on the fluoro knot. i.e. like the fluoro is cutting itself. I've tried the Uni to Uni knot as well as the Surgeons knot with results the same - the knots don't hold up to anywhere close to 95% of the line strength. I am using 12 lbs fusion line (sometimes 10, sometimes 14) and 12 lbs fluoro for the leader. Any help for me on this would be immensely appreciated.