fish-fighting-illini

If you are going to buy a typical reel for you. What price range would it be in? For me it is prob $50 to $80 before tax / ship

!st things first if you bought the reel last spring ( pardon the pun) then there is a good chance that it might be under warranty. If you have the receipt then go that route first, might as well have a brand new reel. Even if you don't have it and you like the reel buy another and take it back on the new respt in a couple of months. Worst case you come out with an extra reel and have a receipt. 2nd the reel is made to close the bail so 1yrs use shouldn't cause it to fail so soon IMO. 3rd all that being said you can "prolong" the life of your reel buy flipping the bail just my .02 worth let us know how you come out

Avid if you're buying I'm trying but right now that rod is about 4 rod increments up from where I'm currently at LOL. I do appreciate the advice very much though. re "Yep, you need some more expensive stuff and you need it RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! " you aren't the baitmonkey's evil twin are you?

Not sure what section this fits but I'm trying to learn some new techniques. I'm mainly a swimbait and spinnerbait guy. The last time out I tried some t-rigged plastics and I had some success it was kind of fun. You really get a chance to set a hook vs some of the other styles. I didn't think I had the patience for this type of fishing it might come in handy in colder weather and warm around trees and stuff The only bi problem now I want more sensitive aka expensive rods Hang on gotta run, gotta go slap the baitmonkey around, it is rearing its ugly head!

I got to thinking I have a birthday coming up. I hinted to my wife a Gander Mountain gift certificate would be awesome. Better yet I asked her to get a bigger box put a Las Vegas show girl in the box holding the certificate now there's a present! Man my arm hurts! LOL She has a sense of humor just not quite that much!

MOcity, The gift certificate to a Bass proshops or Cabelas or Gander mountain is a great idea. It will show you were paying attention because it is for his hobbie ( and an easy way out to boot!). If you do decide to actualy pick something out, price range and whether he uses baitcasting or spinning gear would be a great start. Like someone said if you know what brands he likes then that would help big time. Some of the major brands of reels are Shimano, Pflueger, Daiwa, Okuma, Abu Garcia etc. With this information a whole bunch of people here will help you out with rec's. RW that pretty much takes care of me and the mall as well! LOL

Sorry, I thought I was pretty clear. I was looking for specific models and their prices. Was just courious on what people thought was a good value. The question is to you and what is your opinion. I already stated in the post that it would be different for different people. Some it is high end some middle, some low.

Sorry, I thought I was pretty clear. I was looking for specific models and their prices. Was just courious on what people thought was a good value. The questionn is to you and what is your opinion. I already stated in the post that it would be different for different people. Some it is high end some middle, some low.

What do you think is the best rod value for the money? This will mean different things to different people. To some it's the high end Loomis to others it is an ugly stick. What's your opinion?

What do you think is the best spinning reel value for the money? This will mean different things to different people. To some the $500 and its features will be it. For some a $20 throw it away in a year reel is the ticket What's your opinion?

What do you think is the best baitcaster value for the money? This will mean different things to different people. To some the $500 and its features will be it. For some a $20 throw it away in a year reel is the ticket What's your opinion?

Ditto on hating the wind too. Just as much or more so in a boat, lots of work. Russ I've been watching your posts on wind socks for some time. Eventualy I will get around to trying some.

As of todays's sale add Dick's has St Croix Triumphs and Premiers on sale for $59.99 check it out for youself as I'm not sure if it is all models or not.

It was my first reel of any kind 3 years ago in my most recent entry into the fishing hobbie. This after a 20yr layoff. This was my first & only baitcaster. It has served my purpose well and I have caught a lot of fish on it. Have never cleaned or serviced it in 3 years. Revo is made by Abu Garcia, all manufacturers have their low end and nicer stuff. I've got an Abu total piece of junk to prove it. Thanks for the tip though Ford I will definately consider a Revo on my next purchase.

Thanks for the feeback. Jas, I did start to have some bearing noise late last year. I took it apart , cleaned and oiled the brgs ans so far so good.

I bought a Quantum Mantra MT500CX Baitcaster a couple of years ago. It is my one an only BC and I seemed to spend decent money on it ( $80 + ). I kind of like it but I don't have anything to compare it to. Here is a link to the reel's spec's www.quantumfishing.com/fwreels/mantra_baitcast.html Does anyone else own one? What do you think of the reel and where would you put it on the quality scale? Just trying to find out when I buy my next BC what I should expect . Be honest, no problem if its junk its junk.

Another example of Bassresource.com at its finest.

PS Harshman way to go your post was funny. What was with the guy did he think his Skeeter's stuff didn't stink or what? What did he oficially have to say about cutting in line? This we gotta hear!

I probably should have asked to be safe but I pulled up in the lot and 2 boats were getting their boats ready before heading down to the ramp. I took my time getting ready and they still weren't ready to launch so I went ahead and pulled up and launched. They didn't seem to care plus both launches were open so I fig'd no big deal. I just felt awkward even though I was gone before they were ready. On the outgoing end of things everyone did a nice job either tied up or waiting out in the open. I felt bad as I was by myself and the wind was fierce so it took a while. Someone earlier or orig post ( I think) that if they launch single that people would jeer. That's BS nobody has the right to hassle someone for fishing by themselves they are not the launch police. If they have a problem with quickness they can always offer to pitch in.

Careful Mud they will have tht rope around your neck faster than you can say Bonzai tree! LOL

I can't comment on their higher end stuff but I bought some of their lower end Abu and Cardinal stuff ( fairly long time ago) and they were junk. They were really low end but it kind of made me nervous to "invest" in ABU for the higher end stuff. I've heard a lot of good stuff about some of the older (C3's?) and the newer Revo's come with praise. I believe (not positive) that Reel Mechanic based on his repair experiences posted once that Abu's, Quantums and some others (?) quality had faded some in recent years .

Like they said trailers can be different. I've only owned one boat and it is a flat bottom jon boat so take it for what it is worth. Even so the biggest problem I've run into is the ramp not being steep enough to get deep enough w/o backing the van into the water. I have to regularly push my boat most of the way off just to get it off the trailer at one particular lake. I've had trouble when putting the boat on the trailer just from not backing down deep enough with the trailer. Most often a little too deep is not as big of a deal as too shallow. If you have the trailer too deep you can have the driver inch the vehicle forwad a little and often the boat will pick up right where it belongs. If I'm off a little I just winch it the rest of the way. Their have been times when I swore that the trailer was square only to find out that it wasn't.

There was another young person who posted a similar dilema. As with all things in life balance is probably a good thing. Obsession is when something gets in the way of the things that you really should be doing and don't because of the obsession. Passion however is what drives people and can make them really good at what they enjoy. IE Bill Gates, Walter Payton, Tiger Woods etc. just my .02 worth

If you had the opportunity to fish as a pro and could make a living at it etc; Would you? or do you think it would take the fun out of it eventualy and make it like too much like a job? Maybe while you were young would be different then after having a family. Before family I might have, after prob not. I'd be afraid that it would take the fun out of something that I love.

Turned out to be a coincidence. The motor had a fouled spark splug. Must have just been a freak deal. The guy only charged $25 for test and new plugs. Just got the motor back today ( waited to after winter). Should have checked them but just didn't make sense figured I had messed something up. As soon as weather cooperates I will take it out and try it.