Goose52

I'm a fan of the last version of the discontinued ProLite...but this new reel sorta has me stumped. The old ProLite was a 7-bearing, aluminum frame, dual-braking reel, at a regular price of $110. I'm having a hard time seeing how they're adding 3 more bearings (probably 2 more in the handle and 1 on the wormshaft) and selling it for $50... Of course, we haven't seen any other specs on this, like weight, and can't tell if it has similar quality/components to the original ProLite. Externally, there's hardly anything in common - see photo of an original below.

x2 I'm fishing from the bank too (water still too cold to put the canoe in the water). After ice-out here I fished deep water within casting distance of the bank with jigs and soft plastics and got a few. Then, we had a couple of warm days and water temp came up so I started checking out small shallow coves that would warm up faster than the main lake and have been doing very well with spinnerbaits and lipless cranks. Got an 18"/2.91lb fish in 43 degree water just 90 minutes ago in fact! One catch was pretty good: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1297129408 Good luck!

Sure. While fishing for bass, I've caught bluegill, redear/shellcracker, crappie, warmouth, catfish, etc. Notable "off-target" catches were a 37.1lb grass carp and a 20lb channel cat. As far as panfish, I occasionally catch bluegill or redears in the 10" class but haven't got anything bigger. This little guy sorta surprised me last year - I thought I had a 2 or 2.5lb bass on the line and it turned out to be this scrappy 10", 1.2lb bluegill. The world record bluegill is over 4lbs - that would be a good fight! It's all fun!

Apologies to Fat-G for going OT...but this is a weird coincidence - 3.76 was the weight of my first bass for THIS year - caught on Jan. 1 ( http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1293920134 ) Is there something that says that 3.76lb fish have to volunteer to be the "first catch"... ;D Fat-G - did your fish happen to weigh 3.76?

I think this reel is an exciting development. It's always interesting to see the new gear come out - pretty cool stuff. It's also cool that there are folks that appreciate such fine equipment and if they choose to invest in this kind of gear that's great. It's also cool that there are folks that concentrate on putting their dollars in "value-based" equipment that catches fish...but may not be the smoothest, latest, or greatest. I think there is room on this board for both types of anglers and both camps should probably "cool-it" on the catty remarks. Up to a certain point, your equipment can be a limiting factor in your fishing success. However, when you go above a certain price point (which IMO is about $100-$120 for a reel - perhaps as much as $150-$180 for a rod), there is a diminishing return in improvement in angling success - but the pleasure in using the equipment continues to increase and that's cool too. What gets me is when new anglers post for advice about equipment selections, when they say they're on a limited budget, and they are just looking for good, serviceable gear........and they get recommendations for rods and reels costing $200 on up. Do you really need to spend $400 to catch a bass. No. In these cases, the "equipment junkies" do a dis-service in their recommendation. Someone might say, wow, $400 to get started fishing...I'm 'outa' here. Just saying...

Great catch. Looks like the Cordell Super Spot strikes again! BTW - if where you fish is all sand - you might think about putting a small towel in your kit to lay your rod/reel on...

That's a great start...now go get some more!

Some of the TN licenses:

If you're new to BC reels - a good basic starting set-up is to set 4 of the centrifugal brakes. Then, tie on the bait or practice plug that you intend to throw; hold your rod tip at about a 45 degree angle up and adjust your cast control knob so that when in free-spool, your bait falls somewhat slowly and when it hits the ground, the spool only turns about another 1/2 to 1 turn. This is a nice conservative starting point. As you gain experience, you can start experimenting with reducing the number of centrifugal brakes from 4 to 3 to 2. Set the brakes so that they are balanced (opposed to each other). With four brakes it would be 2 on, 1 off, 2 on, 1 off. Three brakes is every other one. Two brakes are directly opposite from each other. The number of brakes that you finally end up with will be determined by your experience, the weight of the bait, and the force you use in your cast. Many people just set 2 brakes and never touch them again. Also with experience, you can start reducing the tension on your cast control knob - some people reduce to the point where the spool is basically free and you keep just enough tension to eliminate any side-play on the spool. The amount that you can reduce is determined by how educated your thumb gets... In GENERAL, if you backlash at the beginning to middle of the cast - you might not have enough centrifugal braking. If you backlash at the end of the cast, you might not have enough spool tension from the cast control knob. At all parts of the cast, you should be learning to ride the spool with light thumb pressure to control the cast and of course you must use your thumb to stop the spool when the bait hits the water. While you're learning, try to keep your casting effort constant. If you adjust your brakes while using a moderate force cast, and then try to heave the bait out there with a max force cast, you may exceed the braking of the centrifugal brake set-up and backlash. Lastly, keep in mind that even with a good brake and cast control set-up, there are still other factors that will influence your cast and how much "thumb" you will need to apply. Casting into the wind, casting a bait that may lose velocity quickly (like a spinnerbait that starts to "helicopter" or a SB with a big fluffy skirt), anything that can cause the bait to lose velocity quickly needs more attention to avoid backlash. (a tip, if casting a spinnerbait, before the first cast, wet the skirt in the water!). I'm sure other folks will be along with more advice and their own favorite initial set-up... Good luck !

Good show! Seems like it's especially fun when you first start catchin' after being cooped up all winter!

This new reel is calling for you David......

Yep - hard water is a fact of life that will take some getting used to... Hang in there!

I voted baitcasting but I use both. I have BC rods in L, ML, M, MH, and H. I have spinning rods in UL, L, ML, M, and MH. All are tools and have different strengths and weaknesses. I tend to use BC gear the most, but with lighter baits, in heavy wind, and at night, I tend to use spinning gear.

Revo LTX/MGX 7.9:1 32" High speed gear ratio and only 5.4oz WOW !

X3 on the Thin Fin - you don't hear much about them anymore. I have one tied on right now, caught a bass on it just before the water got hard. Will be fishing it again starting in a couple weeks... Only downside is the old expression about these - casting them is like trying to cast a potato chip!

That's the ballpark I would think. FWIW - I've been fortunate enough to catch three 22" fish so far this year and they were 4.60, 4.87, and 5.31lbs for an average of 4.93. The fish in my lakes run skinny, and your fish has more girth, so the 6-7 range sounds about right. On having a scale - put together a fanny pack with some basic gear and keep it with your rod. I keep the fanny pack in the photo in the trunk of my car so I always have it... BTW - what did you catch this fish on?

10"/10.5" ribbontail worm (Zoom, Culprit, BPS) - red shad 7.5" ribbontail worm (Culprit, Yum) - red shad, black neon 5" single-tail grub - Zoom Salty Fat Albert - watermelon-green/orange flake

I'm tryin' but it's hard right now...literally...the cove that I caught those fish in froze-over last night! ;D I drove to 7 of my 11 lakes today - ice in 4 of them. 3 had some open water near the dams so I fished them a bit...no one home. I'll be driving to the other 4 lakes tomorrow to see if if I have any open water in them...

Outstanding! That one has a nice belly!!

So are you saying that you got the flyer?

Not surprising to those here that know me...but I also voted 1b. I'm fishin' my old gear 'till it dies...but will also get new stuff if I perceive value & performance (fish in the boat...not just bling) in the new stuff... ;D

Very cool! I hope you buy line in bulk.... ;D

They are at home.. haha.. I'm stuck at school til friday! In addition to rods...you probably need some soft water too - huh? ;D

I've never heard of anything like that. It seems like there would be too many variables for that to work - not only bill length, but width and the angle that it's attached to the bait. Then, you have baits like the Luhr-Jensen Hot Lips Express that have a flared bill that would not fit into a formula. Then, in addition to variations in the baits, you have line diameter variances - the smaller the diameter of the line, the deeper the bait will dive. Then, there's the length of your cast. Some baits take a long time to get to their maximum depth so there's another variable to a somewhat lesser degree. If you can still identify the baits, you can look at the manufacturers web site to determine what the "book" diving depth is as a starting point. That gets you somewhat close but you would still need to verify that depth with your rod and line combo. I actually write the book depth on my cranks, then verify the actual depth when in the boat using the sonar and seeing if the bait hits bottom at the rated depth.

Hmmm - would that be something like.... stronger, smoother, silenter, reliabler.... That sounds familiar for some reason..... ;D Just sayin'.....