Goose52

Put a 90degree bend in the end of a paperclip, put the bent end in the little hole in the cap on the end of the knob, pull, cap comes out, screws are underneath... 8-)

The PQ is a great value for the money. If you search this forum, you will find lots of discussions about this reel over the past year with many positive reviews. I have PQs in all 4 ratios (7.1, 6.4, 5.2, & 4.7). I bought the PQ in 5.2 ratio originally to be my heavy spinnerbait and deep crankbait reel. The 5.2 (21 inch-per-turn - IPT) worked great for those purposes. However, if you have a bait that you want to "burn", you have to crank pretty fast with a 5.2. The 6.4 (26 IPT) works OK on cranks down to about 8-10 feet, but it can be tiring to use the 6.4 on cranks that run deeper - however, the 6.4 is better for faster presentations. For you, I guess the decision between the 5.2 and the 6.4 will be your own thoughts about how often you will need to crank really deep, and how often you need to burn a bait. Some folks just use a 6.4 for pretty much everything... For me, I ended up getting the 4.7 ratio reel to use for deep cranks (15' or more), use the 5.2 for heavy spinnerbaits and medium cranks, and use a 6.4 for less than 8-10 feet cranks, lighter spinnerbaits, etc., and use the 7.1 for topwater. I use either 6.4 or 7.1 for soft plastics, jigs, other bottom contact stuff. The reel I use the most? a 6.4........

I received the Seirus gloves today. Compared to the Under Armour glove liners, the Seirus glove fabric seems a bit thicker, and they have MUCH longer cuffs - a big plus. The Seirus gloves are advertised as"weatherproof" - something the Under Armours are not (for instance, line spray from your reel will soak through the UA liners). As you can see in the photo, the Seirus gloves have reinforced palms, and reinforcement pads on the index finger and thumb (thumb not visible in photo). I will have to play with these gloves to see if the reinforcement on the thumb negatively impacts feathering a BC reel. If so, I can probably cut the stiches and remove the pad from thumb. It will be cold and raining here tomorrow - a perfect time to field test the Seirus gloves...

Culprit 10" ribbontail - good action, tough (meaning # of fish per worm), good pricing and available at Wallyworld. BPS 10" Squirmin' Super Worm (ribbontail) - also good action, lots of bulk, tough. Makes a nice looking meal for the big girls

I just sorted my "catch" log - so far this year I've caught 789 fish on 5" grubs - most rigged on a 1/0 EWG. Fish caught on this hook size range from 6" bass and 7" brim up to 3lb bass.

Yep, get them when on sale. Also, keep an eye on the BPS clearance section on-line - I got an Extreme rod last winter for only $39

I've got lots of PQs and Extreme rods - good values for the money. The PQ is a great deal at it's regular price, and a killer deal when on sale. There are better rods than the Extreme at it's regular $100 price - but it's a pretty good value when on sale. You may already know but that rod and reel are on sale right now in the BPS Christmas catalog (PQ-$70, Extreme-$60). With shipping, that puts you right about at your $150 price point. The sale ends tomorrow ... If you don't have it - the Christmas catalog number is 10 022 AAAR PQ 7.1 catalog # - RH 22-352-872-00 / LH 22-352-870-00 Extreme 7'H catalog # - 22-156-752-00

i've ordered parts from them numerous times and everyone i've ever dealt with was friendly and helpful and the service, prices and shipping times are very good. however, the fact of the matter is, they don't carry spare parts for BPS reels for length of time that some of the mainline reel companies do. my most recent example is the prolite finesse reels...the only spare parts i could get are pulled off donor reels, if they have any. even the most-recent C version, they never got in parts for that version before it was discontinued. they're still struggling to get parts for the carbonlite which has been out since last december and are pulling parts they need off of returned reels. Ouch - I have that last model Prolite reel and a Carbonlite. Probably too late for the Prolite, but I would hope that they get a stable parts supply for the Carbonlite - it's been a very successful reel for them.

Those sound pretty good and if they really are water resistant, that's a plus as compared to the Under Armour glove liners that can soak through in pretty short order. I just ordered a pair of the Seirus gloves and will see how they do...

I started what ended up being a long discussion on gloves before last winter on this thread: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/10188-fishing-gloves-for-cold-weather/ After lots of recommendations, I ended up with the Under Armour glove liners - I wore them yesterday in fact (39 deg temp). Below is my summary of them in last year's thread. After wearing the Under Armor liners all last winter, and for the past few weeks, I still feel about the same - work well down to the 40s, but depending on wind and sun conditions, they are a bit thin for protection in 30s and lower temps. The good news is that they are sensitive enough to feather the spool on a BC reel. One thing I've changed since last winter is that when I do add a wool glove over the liner - I add that glove to the hand that holds the rod, not to my cranking hand. I'm finding that the fingers on the cranking hand stay a bit warmer since they're more active in grasping the handle knobs and cranking - and, that's the hand that feathers the spool on the BC reel.

Sure - from the BPS web site: (417) 873-5274 - Mon.-Fri. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (central)

I was pleased that it went so well, but was not surprised. The main reason I posted this experience is to counter the folks that continually say that you can't get parts for BPS reels, and you can't get them serviced...

Agree. I've been handloading ammunition for 35 years and have had access to loading scales for all that time. I'm always weighing fishing gear because so much of this stuff has considerable weight variance from the listed spec. And the variance is not always heavier. I ordered a bunch of "1/4oz" in-line spinners once that were actually barely more than 1/8oz - not what I wanted at all.

Yep - not worried about the lighter weights, but when I ordered some 3/4oz spinnerbaits and the actual weight was well over an ounce - it got my attention. I've got rods that take me up to 2oz so I've got the gear, it would just be nice if the actual weight (or close to it) was on the package.

Just a thumbs up for good, efficient service. I lost the cast control cap on one of my BPS PQ BC reels (the way I palm a reel, my thumb often curls over the reel and thumbs the cap loose). Got on the phone to Outdoor World Rod & Reel Repair, gave the reel model model number to the nice lady, heard the clicking of computer keys as she called up the parts listing, gave her the 3 part numbers that make up the cap assembly, told her I wanted 3 sets ('cause I will lose more probably), gave the name, address, credit card info, and was done in about 3 minutes. $3.16 for each cap assembly, $4.95 shipping; $14.43 out-the-door. This is how is should be, nothing special. But I wanted to mention that the process is slick and quick, and something different that what you usually hear about BPS reel service and parts availability. Now, will this be the case for a reel that's 10 years old? I don't know yet. But, since I have 6 PQ reels, I can always cannibalize! So, for the BPS reel fans out there, don't forget about Outdoor World Rod & Reel Repair.

Anybody know how the manufacturers designate the weights of their spinnerbaits and buzzbaits? Is the weight determined only by the weight of the bait body (or maybe body and hook), and not any blades, arms, swivels, and other hardware? As a general rule, you have to double the manufacturers stated weight to get the actual weight - "1/8oz" baits actually weigh 1/4 to 1/3oz, "3/8oz" baits are actually around 3/4oz, and 3/4oz baits are often a whopping 1 1/2oz. Sorta makes buying baits that are within your rods weight rating an iffy thing if you don't apply the "double-up fudge factor" ! Just sorta bugs me.... :-/

I don't have any backups for crankbaits - if I lose one, I'll use another of similar color/depth rating until I can order a replacement. However, I do have multiples of my two favorite colors of SK Red Eye Shad lipless cranks. I order these about 5 at a time and replenish if I get low.

I'm with K_Mac - keep it, get another reel (the BPS PQ is on sale for $69 right now), and have a nice combo. I have 7 Extremes (3 spinning, 4 casting) and get good use out of them. I do have 2 Loomis GLX rods (1 spinning, 1 casting) that I use for soft plastics, but I use the Extremes (and my 4 Bionic Blades) for pretty much everything else.

The Extemes are on sale now (until November 13) in the BPS Christmas catalog for $59. As mentioned, there are lots of good rods at the $100 price point, but at $59, the Extreme is a pretty good rod. I have 7 Extremes - all purchased for around $45 to $70 on sale...

Sounds sorta morbid, but that is indeed yet another reason for wearing a PFD. Especially since many of us (me included) aren't exactly young anymore and sudden "cardiac events" or other maladys are not as far-fetched as they were when we were younger :-?. My canoe is a one-man rig so I am always fishing alone...and I ALWAYS wear my PFD, even in the hottest part of the summer. Another thing about fishing alone that was mentioned in an earlier PFD thread was that at a certain point, one may no longer have the upper body strengh to pull yourself back in your boat if you fall overboard - so you may end up spending a lot of time in the water until help comes along.... One thing for sure, there are LOTS of GOOD reasons for ALWAYS wearing your PFD, and FEW if ANY good reasons for not wearing one!

Outstanding! Glad that it worked out!!

I can sorta relate. I have 5 PQs, with the 6th in-bound, but only paid full price for one of them - I just couldn't wait for the sale. A few weeks after getting the one at full price - they were on sale.... I wish everyone still thought these reels were junk 'cause I got two of my PQs off of eBay - one for $30, the other for $40 - both in FINE shape! Can't get those prices on eBay anymore!

I have PQs in 5.2, 6.4, and 7.1 ratios. I put the 5.2 on my deep-cranking rod and threw some DD22s with it and was thinking that I might go down to a 4.7 on that rod and put the 5.2 on a spinnerbait rod. Hmmmm - at $69, I guess I should collect the whole set and get a 4.7 myself! ;D

Here's a scan of the catalog page. You'll have to phone in an order to get this price (or get the store to honor the catalog price). The catalog "key code" is 10 022 AAAR. Order phone number is 1-800-227-7776. The PQ rod/reel combos are also at a good price (see the scan). Extreme rods are marked down to $59. Those are about the only deals in the Christmas catalog that got my attention.

For those interested in the PQ reel, they're on sale for $69.94 in the BPS Christmas catalog - this price is good until November 13. A great deal ...