Goose52

One thing that doesn't get mentioned too often in these type of conversations is how OFTEN does one fish. For instance, I fish every day that the water is soft. I miss a day here and there due to other commitments but last year I probably fished around 275-300 days. I might wear out some of the lower priced gear in only one season and thus wouldn't consider this type of equipment as my primary gear. However, other folks might only be able to fish once or twice a month. For them, some of the lower priced gear might last many years and end up being an excellent value. Another scenario is those who already have some higher quality gear, but are looking to put together a "niche" combo - something that won't get used often. Or, perhaps one wants to have a "guest rig" on-hand. More examples of where perhaps the lower-price gear might have a place. As long as the equipment in question works well enough to not limit fishing success, and the quality/durability of the gear meets the users intended use level - then there's nothing wrong with getting the lower priced gear.

BPS Crankin' Stick. I have 4 of them - a good rod at the regular price...and a GREAT rod at the $59 sale price.

You didn't mention your price range, but at the lower end, a lot of us like the BPS Crankin' Sticks - there are 7'6" rods in M and MH...I have them both...

My heart was pounding for sure...but I was sure it was a cat from the start. I was fishing from the bank and saw what I thought was a log in the water...then I saw it move and saw it was a cat cruising along the bank. I cast that Roostertail ahead of the direction he was going then twitched it back..................and BAM! Now, a month after the cat, I was also fishing a Roostertail and got a BIG bite and didn't know what it was for a while...turned out to be a 7.75 LMB...

I was fishing a Roostertail on a 5'6" light-power spinning rod with 6lb test line and got bit by a 33" channel cat. It took 17 minutes to land it. At the time, I was carrying a scale that went only to 8lbs so I don't know the weight - 16 to 20 pounds perhaps. Only have a very poor quality cell phone photo of this catch. It was a great fish fight though!

It's the combination of the rod, line, and reel. You need a rod that will load with the weight of the bait you want to use, line appropriate to rod and bait, then a reel that can handle the line. When the weight of the crankbait gets down to about 1/4oz, I've got several light or medium-light power BC rods that I use. I've got a couple of BPS Crankin'Sticks in ML that work great in this case. I go down as low as 6lb line on the ML rods and use a bc reel that can handle the 6lb line (BPS Prolite). Get much below 1/4 or 3/16 and I'd probably switch to spinning gear with 6lb (perhaps 4lb) line.

I've got 6 PQs but have only stripped a couple of them down. The AR bearing on those could be pressed out with thumb pressure. They are indeed nice reels for the price!

WOW - I had never seen those Special Mate boxes before - VERY cool. Having said that, they are obviously an evil device invented by the bait monkey...

I forgot I had a photo of a stripped PQ - here's a cropped portion:

Here on the Cumberland plateau in Tennessee (elevation about 2,000ft) I just started seeing fresh spawning beds about 4-5 days ago and saw the first bass on a bed yesterday. No actual spawning yet...but we should be getting close. We had a short spell of surface water temps in the low 60s in early-mid March during a warm spell, then water temps went back into the 50s as a series of cold fronts came through. Just this past week, water temps have reached and stayed in the 60s and we are now having warmer nights so the water temp should start rising pretty fast now.

Both. Depends on the size of the buzzbait, whether I'm fishing from the bank or the boat, and what direction the wind is coming from. If I gotta go directly into the wind, I'll use spinning and a side-arm roll cast to keep the bait low to the water to minimize the wind effect. I've got a 7'6" m-xf spinning rod that I particulary like in this case.

Depending on water temp and where the fish are in the water column - I like lipless cranks in the wind. Just as much for "castability" as for "catchability". In the event that I have to cast directly into a strong wind, I usually have an M or MH spinning rod ready to take over from the BC rod. Another thing I'll try in the wind (depending on wave height) is a buzzbait of all things - doesn't matter what time of day. Sometimes the fish come up in the water column when there's a surface wind and I'll have some luck with the buzzer.

That locking pin comes off with the (handle) side cover. Once the side cover is off, you can get to the clip.

Hey A-Jay - I'm trying! I got that 9.06 (62.48 score) back in February but it was before the start of this contest. Just to have an entry - here's the biggest bass I've got since the contest officially started. This fish hit a lipless crank on April 5. Weight - 5.42 pounds (22"), Tennessee state record - 14.5 pounds. 5.42/14.5x100 = 37.38. Not a winning entry...but at least an entry!

I don't own an MBR844 but lots of folks here do so you should get some feedback. I can say that you might not want to assume that the Avid 7' MHF is too heavy and that the GLX MBR844C HF would be lighter. Avids are pretty light and I would bet that the MH Avid will be lighter than the H GLX. The MH Avid might even be lighter than the GLX MBR843C MHF. For example, I have both an Avid 7' MF and the GLX MBR842C 7' MF - the Avid is actually 2.7 grams lighter than the GLX - not enough lighter to feel...but it's lighter...

Line diameter is different among brands but let's assume that the 12lb line used by the manufacturer was nylon mono and .013" diameter. 120 x .013 = 1.56 Divide that 1.56 number by the diameter of the other line that you plan to use. For instance - if you wanted to use 6lb nylon mono with a diameter of .009 you would have: 1.56 / .009 = 173.3 yards of 6lb. If you know the diameter of your braid - you should be able to use this formula...

I bought one of those at WalMart but have never fished it...I'll have to get it wet !

The BPS Prolite reel handles light line and throws light baits very well. I just fished one today with 6lb Yo-Zuri on a BPS 6' ml Crankin'Stick. The Prolite was discontinued in 2009 but is still occasionally found on eBay. The Prolite that I'm talking about is gold in color - not the special-run silver color reels that are currently showing up on eBay.

I ordered one of their bluegill hard swimbaits and also found some good stuff on clearance and placed an order. Caution - the shipping charge is STEEP. I got enough savings on the clearance stuff to compensate - but it's still spendy. However, the shipping charge was still less than the gas would cost to drive to the closest Academy in Knoxville TN...

Hmmmm - that makes it a bit more interesting but I think it would be three nines for me. My PB is currently at 9.06 and I'd love to get three more nines. I'd certainly like to improve my PB with a 10-pounder but I think I would enjoy the three nines more at this point. For ME, the arbitrary "double digit" number is not as important as where the weight stands in proportion to my state record. The Tennessee state record LMB is 14.5lbs. A 9.06 is about 62.5% of the record...a good achievement. To obtain the same percentage in California, for instance, you'd need to catch about a 13.6lb LMB. So, for my location, my 9.06 represents a higher achievement that a 10-pounder in some other states.

x4 to all that was advised above. I've bought new and used reels from eBay with no problems so far. On the new reels, I've bought from established "e-tailers" that have both web sites and eBay sales. There are some really good deals on Curados in particular on eBay - no reason to buy one at full retail...

I watched that video a few weeks ago. The whole hour video is pretty good. The key tips on pitching start at 24:30.

Don't have a go-to for shallow - but for mid-depths it's the Wiggle Wart, deeper it's the Luhr-Jensen Hot Lips Express.

WOW - great photos Roger - thanks very much for posting! Two days ago I was watching a bald eagle working for his dinner at the lake I was fishing - it was too far away for photos though. I got skunked but seeing the eagle made my day - I don't see them too often here.

MarauderYak weighed one at 7.6oz and both eBay sellers are quoting 7.6oz as well.