Goose52

I am actually pretty good at not buying too many baits. However, for reels, I am very weak to the influences of the bait monkey..................................

Sure - the majority of my BC reels are spooled with 10 lb, and a few have either 6 or 8 lb. I do have some BC reels with 12, 14, 15, and 17 lb line but those are in the minority.

Baits that are in-use in Plano boxes. Extra baits hanging from pegboard, in drawers in the workbench, and overflowing into cardboard boxes under the workbench. I don't use tackle bags or tackle boxes any longer. For the boat, I take the plano boxes I want for that day and put them in a Cabela's tote bag that goes in the boat. When fishing from the bank, I travel light and might have some plano boxes in the trunk of the car and select baits from there that I put in a belt pack I wear when working a shoreline.

Yeah - bigbill. Also, primetime gave another, less favorable review. bigbill: My $1.40 Chinese Baitcaster Arrived Today. primetime: Chinese 11 Bearing Baitcasting Review:the One You See Everywhere:

I usually fish small Zoom Ultravibe Speed Craws in the winter. This year I also experimented with a larger craw - the Berkley Chigger Craw. Seems to work, including this 5.8 caught in 39 degree water...

Looks like you and Jeff will be the "first kids on the block" with Met DCs. We'll be expecting a report when you get them...especially a report on whether they make the DC whine !

My objection to pink line has nothing to do with what the fish see, and everything to do with what I see. I don't want to see pink line for the next 10-15 years every time I look at one of my rod racks... Plus, I'm still working on finishing my stash from a PREVIOUS YZ killer deal. I have enough 6 lb and 8 lb UltraSoft to probably last literally the rest of my life. I've finished one of the spools of 10 lb (5,800 yds) and am working through the second spool. Another two, maybe three years and I will have to finally shop for some 10-12 pound line...

I would be surprised if the retail stores have any parts. BUT, all the parts you would want for a PQ are available at the BPS parts/repair center: Outdoor World Rod and Reel Repair I've lost a PQ tension cap before myself. The good news is that you will be able to get the cap at OWR&R, the bad news is that minimum shipping is about $5...

Yeah - three "hooks". You can use a 5-arm rig but you'd have to fill two of the arms with hookless attractors. This image is copied from the TN fishing regs:

Yeah - I saw that 3-pound spool quite a while ago...but just couldn't imagine using pink line........for probably the rest of my life.............

And on an A-Rig... Well, the old record was 14lb 8oz so, as a Tennessee resident, my ultimate angling goal has become a bit harder... BTW - it's been a while but TWRA shocked up a 16lb 15oz LMB back in 2009 - if it had been caught on a rod and reel THAT would have been the state record !

She REALLY wanted some frog for dinner...

WOW - you are ON TOP of those fish! Congrats and have fun!! Up here on the Plateau - I did OK in January in water as cold as 37....but all I've caught so far in February is skunks...

I didn't name my boat (a canoe)...but other people have given it various titles: The war canoe, The attack canoe, And just a few days ago it was called a "Bass Assault Craft"...

WOW - that had to be exciting! I wonder what you were thinking on the THIRD cast...

Thanks! The "down the hatch" photos are always fun. She was a very nice fish and a good fight on the little cranking rod that I caught her on. I now call this fish Victoria - I've caught her twice and I'm looking forward to maybe meeting her again. The story was here: Got Warts? This 7.6Lb Lmb Had One! Here she is the first time I caught her (6 weeks before the 2nd catch) - she weighed 7.4 at that time and was caught on a 5" weightless grub. The photos of the 2nd catch were much better than this first catch.

The original Carbonlite is basically a PQ minus two ounces. For a used one, the primary wear areas to be concerned about are the brass brake drum and the centrifugal brake shoes. Great reels. I have two in service...and two more NIB waiting for the first two to wear out... The Carbonlites are the two reels on the left and the two on the boxes:

I only have one CumaraA - the 7'2" medium-fast in the worm & Jig series (CUC-72MA). I finally got used to the short grip behind the reel seat and I now use this rod quite a bit. However, it's likely the only CumaraA I will ever own. Ergonomics are just too funky on the casting rods and, for me, the spinning rod reel seats would be even worse... I gave a couple reports on this rod between Dec. 2012 to May 2013 here: New Cumara A Casting Rod - Initial And On-The-Water Reviews - Updated

Doesn't even have to be a big bait either. Weightless 5" grub on a 1/0 hook: Can get you a 7.4 lb LMB: Weightless t-rigged plastics seem to work OK - catch fish...

Good question! Some quick measuring with a dial-caliper (and not running the caliper jaws all the way onto the metal to avoid scratching so these dimensions could be off by a bit) show these approximate widths for the spool, and the inside dimension between the frame plates: 5000: Spool - 1.12" / Frame - 1.42" 2500: Spool - 0.91" / Frame - 1.37" 1500: Spool - 0.72" / Frame - 1.19" Looks like you might be a "2500 kinda guy"...

You should consider a 1500C or 2500C. They're on eBay all the time. I got this 1500C for $77 shipped (it was a very good deal). It had a period aftermarket handle on it which I "corrected" by putting on a 1st gen Revo S handle.

Home-made racks? Sure. This one cost about $10-$12 bucks. Whatever 2 pieces of 1" x 6" x 6' pine cost me at Lowe's. I had some 2x3 stock for the feet, the screws, and the walnut stain left-over from other projects. The casters came with a plastic storage container the wife bought and she didn't want to use the wheels. Lots of options for floor rod racks...

24" / 7.6 lb LMB... ...caught on a Wiggle Wart.

As RW linked to - there are the round racks (see the note below about the difficulty in getting full capacity if you have reels mounted on the rods). Then, there are the straight floor racks but these do take up a bit more wall space. There are corner racks in several styles. You have lots of options - check out BPS, Cabelas, etc. and search on rod racks and you will see lots of options. Shown below is a BPS round rack and a Cabelas straight rack: Sure - this BPS one holds 24 RODS....but keep in mind that if you have REELS attached to the rods...it is difficult to get full capacity. Even if you alternate spinning and casting rigs, you will usually have to leave some empty positions to have clearance for the reels.

WOW. The big girls are strutting their stuff in February ! CONGRATS