Goose52

If you're talking about the BPS Spring Classic - it's February 26 to March 14.

I'd be patient and wait a month until the BPS spring sale. Then, I'd get a BPS Pro Qualifier reel (hopefully they will be on sale for $80 then). I mention this specific reel as it is the cheapest, QUALITY reel that has dual-braking (both magnetic and centrifugal brakes - usually making it easier to learn with less backlashes than single-brake system reels). Then, use the remaining $120 to try to get the best deal you can on a 6'6" or 7', medium or medium-heavy rod (medium will do if you fish mainly open water and lighter baits, medium-heavy if you fish more around trash and timber and/or use heavier baits). Lots of good rods in the $120 range and hopefully some of the more expensive rods will be on sale. Shimano, St. Croix, and lots of others...

You guys beat me to it - mine was going to be: Have fun fishing! (take the pressure off - for most of us, this is a sport/hobby/game ... don't stress ... enjoy the time on the water...)

FWIW - BPS must have found some more - they're back on-line - 4 models: 6.4 and 7.1 in LH and RH - still $71.82. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_104020

My lakes here in TN were frozen-over for a couple weeks but we've had some warm weather lately and most of them now have open water with surface water temps of about 44 degrees. I fished yesterday for about 3 hours and it was good to get out of the house. Catching wasn't real good but that will improve as we get closer to spring

I agree - fish what you have. While there are technical, proven reasons why some rod/reel combos are "optimum" for certain techniques or presentations, I'm not sure that those optimum solutions translate into a firm "x" amount of additional fish caught compared to using "sub-optimum" equipment. Roadwarrior will be along soon I expect with his 1-rod/3-rod advice which is sound advice indeed. I fished with a limited number of rigs for a long time and as soon as I discovered this site, I started going over to the dark side, getting lots of new gear. It's fun to buy new stuff, but I'm not sure I will catch THAT many additional fish this coming year just because I now have more tackle... BUT, if one has the bucks, tackle is cool stuff and no harm in getting lots of gear. Boys and their toys kind of thing. Indeed, the tackle junkies and fishing scientists will be along soon to tell you that you REALLY need 23 rods to adequately fish for bass

Too late - sold out on-line! It was a good deal for sure...

whooaaaaaaaa I wonder why they marked them down? Was sales not what they expected, or did they an over abundance of rods produced? I think I might pick one up for this price, this could be my swimbait rod in a 7' H x-fast.....That wouldn't be a bad buy IMHO I was wondering about the same things - low sales or just overstock??? OTOH, they had a hard time keeping the Carbonlite baitcasting reel in-stock and went out-of-stock 3 or 4 times on-line until getting caught up. The rods were always in-stock all that time... I'm always a "value" shopper and IMO the higher-end BPS reels have features and price-points unmatched by the "name" brands and are a good value at regular price and a great value when on-sale. The BPS rods are often a good value when on sale...but at their regular price points there are lots of competitors. (I did stock up on the 2009 model Extreme rods when they were on clearance for $57 though 8-) A great value at that price...)

Interesting, just today BPS marked down (on-line) all of the Carbonlite Baitcasting and Spinning rods to $70 - regardless of length. Regular prices were $90-$120 - depending on length. FWIW

Strange weather you guys are having for sure. I was born in FL and lived there until I was 15 and I only remember it getting down near freezing once in all that time (Miami area). We had "ice-out" on one of my lakes yesterday and there was only one dead fish floating along about 300 yards of open shoreline - the rest are still deep - can't wait 'till spring!

You bet - I've got a reel that weighs 6.6oz - I did spend the loot - $80 for a BPS ProLite - 7 bearings and dual-braking ;D Wow thats lite and a good deal. But becareful getting off topic ,last I checked shimano didnt make it. : Well, the topic temporarily drifted to fishing a reel under 7 oz...with the implication that a weight under 7 oz would be an expensive proposition...'taint always so... : Hey Goose its all good that was not directed at you....In fact I think its just me :-X I just got your drift from above ! In any event, Shimanos are fine reels - I own several and they were good values at the time that I bought them.

You bet - I've got a reel that weighs 6.6oz - I did spend the loot - $80 for a BPS ProLite - 7 bearings and dual-braking ;D Wow thats lite and a good deal. But becareful getting off topic ,last I checked shimano didnt make it. : Well, the topic temporarily drifted to fishing a reel under 7 oz...with the implication that a weight under 7 oz would be an expensive proposition...'taint always so... :

You bet - I've got a reel that weighs 6.6oz - I did spend the loot - $80 for a BPS ProLite - 7 bearings and dual-braking ;D

After a couple of weeks of below freezing temps, we're having a warm spell here on the Cumberland plateau in Tennessee. 3 of the 11 lakes that I fish had some water open up today (although they're still mostly frozen over for now) and I fished all 3. I would toss the bait (spoons and spinners) across the open water and onto the ice, then ease the bait off the ice and let it sink deep, then retrieve. Didn't catch a thing but it was good to get out of the house !

The last two lines of the article: I still try to walk two miles every day when the weather's OK. And I go fishing. That gives me something to look forward to. I want to be him when I grow up (I'm only 57) ;D

FWIW - the Rick Clunn reel is now sold-out on-line...

Wow - great fish and a nice catch for this time of year. The last couple fish I caught here before things shut down were on a lipless crank as well. You bet on the cell phones - I usually fish alone and wish my cell phone took better photos but it's better than nothing! My avatar photo is a cell phone image...

There has been some earlier discussions on this - most people report that the store will honor an on-line or catalog price...but you may need to bring the catalog page or a print-out of the web page...and you may or may not need to talk with the department manager to get the price. From what has been said, BPS runs all 3 entities (stores, catalog, internet) as separate businesses so there is no guarantee of uniform prices.

I have 11 lakes that I fish in my area. Nine of them froze up solid about 10 days ago - but the two largest/deepest lakes had some open areas in the ice about the size of swimming pools and I fished those until they finally froze over about 5 days ago. I just bought some new baits and I wanted to "swim" them to check the action. We've had some warm weather here the past few days so I drove around this morning hoping to find a melted spot in the ice big enough to cast into .................. no such luck!

I first learned of this reel last summer. The reel has received mixed reviews...but I am intrigued by the level wind mechanism and reverse rotation spool. Kudos to them for getting outside the box. I'm rooting for this company and hope they can refine this design.

I knew - I fish his gear! Regarding bass fishing in TV - I get the shows on ESPN2 but that's about it...

Don't know for certain as I have never used the Daiwa. However, I do have a Rick Clunn and it's a solid, quality reel with an aluminum frame and dual-braking. Looking at the Procaster specs, I see that it's on a graphite frame (if I'm looking at the right model) and thus is sorta in a class below the Rick Clunn. The Procaster holds more line, is 1 oz lighter (due to the graphite frame I expect) but has a bit less drag power. Keep in mind that the Rick Clunn is a $110 reel on clearance at $71 - a pretty good deal.... Perhaps the Daiwa experts will jump on board to give some experience with the Procaster.

Norman Deep Little N

WalMart primarily - pretty good prices on some of their plastics and hard baits. There is one mom & pop shop in town - called "Mom's Tackle" - nice folks with local fishing experience but limited selection. Otherwise - I get most of my stuff on-line. When I lived in SoCal, I was in a shop getting some line put on a freshwater reel - a guy gave me the curled lip and said something about the little freshwater fish and that he was a "big game" fisherman... so I said, "oh, so you must use a harpoon then....." Curled lip went down and he walked away. Guess you had to have been there.... The saltwater guys DO catch big fish though....

Me too - I already had a Rick Clunn in 6.4 and ordered a 7.1 to go with it...it should be here by tomorrow