Goose52

Best goal on this thread!

Unfortunately, the grass carp have been placed in the lakes specifically for aquatic weed control (a controversial measure). We aren't supposed to target them. I occasionally snag them with lipless cranks and it's a great rush to hook up with a 40 pound class fish. Usually, the hook-up is only a few seconds. In some cases, the hooks hold and then I have to play the fish to get my lure back. I've landed three but then they go back in the water....

Hayden - NOW I know how you got started, and "hooked," on jigs so early! Great story!

I wonder if that means that we will all be hammered in January...

It's all good! I'm just blown away that many of us still have soft water - it's GREAT !

I understand - that's cool! I enjoy reading about higher-end tackle and have some myself (if Loomis GLX is still considered sorta high-end). I've even visited Japantackle a number of times and someday could consider getting an uber-expensive JDM reel just for grins. BUT, I also appreciate value for money. Hence my efforts to present other cost-conscious shoppers with what I think are viable options. I'm guess I'm just wired different with an appreciation for value (and not having to keep up with the Jones's). That could be why I'm retired and fishing everyday and my former co-workers are still slaving away at work, making their Beemer or Mercedes payments....

Sorry to the OP for drifting a bit on your thread. Sure, everyone has opinions. I'm not sure mine are "narrow" but they are different than many on this board. My opinions are based on several premises: That the automatic answer isn't Shimano, or Daiwa, or whatever. That you don't need to spend a lot of money to catch fish. That tackle has to not appreciably limit angling success (within limits established by the angler), be reliable enough to provide a cost-effective lifespan given the intended usage levels, and meet the angler's budget. And that there are reels that offer adequate service for most anglers at medium-price points. Those premises often put me at odds with some on this board. And that's OK. If you are a tackle enthusiast, great, have fun and enjoy your equipment. However, if you are just looking for equipment that will provide you with the means to catch fish, there are reliable alternatives out there that will service that need.

I mentioned the "fleet" of Pflueger Supremes reels since the OP posed the question of owning several moderately priced spinning reels as opposed to only one higher-priced spinning reel. I didn't see the OP ask for a tackle inventory... Back to the OP's query. You haven't stated whether you are trying to set up several combos to be used for multiple techniques...or whether you are only trying to make a value judgment about whether you need to pay a higher price for a single reel, or whether a more modestly priced single reel would provide adequate service. As has been mentioned on this board before, you should get equipment high enough in quality that it doesn't appreciably limit your angling success. Higher quality equipment may be necessary to handle severe service. Any higher quality mostly just provides enjoyment to the tackle junkies out there and doesn't deliver increased angling success commensurate with the higher cost. Look at your degree of use. Terms like "season" have no standard meaning. If you fish the same rod/reel combo for 4 hours a day, every day for a year, that's one "season". If you fish that rod/reel combo for an hour, every Saturday, for the 7 months you have soft water, that's another "season." Something like a Pflueger President will last most anglers for many years of use. Perhaps if you use it every day for 4 hours it will wear out in a couple of years. Only you know how much you fish and how high of quality of tackle will meet your needs...

I'm a fan of the PQ baitcasting reel, and it has good reviews from many sources, however, I've heard very little about the PQ spinning reel. Were you thinking of the BC reel or were you looking at reviews for the spinning reel? While I appreciate the value that the PQ BC reel provides, I never considered purchasing any of the PQ spinning reels. As DVT mentioned, IMO opinion the value vs. performance champs in the under $100 market are the Pfluegers. If you want to stay in that $60 range - look for a President - it will give years of service. Anyway, there's no comparison between the reels you mentioned. It comes back to the question that you posed yourself - do you want, or need, several value-priced reels that will provide adquate service, or do you appreciate using more expensive tackle and get one higher-end reel and just get enjoyment from that. I asked and answered that question myself - which is why I have a fleet of Pflueger Supremes, instead of just 1 or 2 say, Shimano CI4s. EDIT - while I was typing, K_Mac done said the same thing except shorter!

Thanks for the comment and welcome to BR! Yeah - at times there's a lot of grass in the water, I guess some could have been cut loose by coots, but in the case of my lakes, most of it is cut by 40 pound grass carp. It never collects into mats though - just a buch of crud in the water that fouls the hooks of my trusty lipless cranks...

A good system. Nothing toothy in my lakes so even though I keep the gripper in my canoe - I never use it. I do have the space for a net though and bring anything big into the boat in that...

Hey Marty - I do perform test pulls periodically - so far so good!

Those are quality fish for sure - congrats! Man - 60 deg water temps....ENJOY !

Ha - I did indeed! These cotton-pickin' carp just keep getting between the bass and my lipless crank and get snagged. Amazing that the RES didn't pull free from the dorsal during the 15 minutes that it took to land that one. I actually had to use forceps to remove the hook from the fin!

Too bad - guess you got a bad one. Mine has weighed literally hundreds of fish over the last two years and the only problem is that the 9V battery connector will have to be replaced soon. Not a bad idea. I have that exact same tool that I keep in the boat. However, when fishing from the bank, I have to limit my gear to what fits into a fanny pack. As I just mentioned, I've weighed literally hundreds of fish and have had no problems with just using the hook through the gill slit with only a couple of exceptions - catfish and big carp. For instance, the carp in the photo below I had to puncture a hole in the jaw.

Good deal indeed - sounds great!

And another one - one cove over from the first two. They're getting smaller but at least I'm not pulling them through a hole in the ice... 20" - 3.81 pounds. Why am I jazzed about fish that aren't that big compared to what many folks catch? Because the photo below shows what that cove looked like last year at about this time... I caught today's fish standing at the spot marked by the red X

Everyone has had great stories so far...but I gotta say that I REALLY enjoyed Randall's and WRB's - you guys are 'da man! (da men... )

Culprit is my usual choice (in 7.5" and 10") - they have the same action as a Zoom but seem to be more durable. Sometimes, Plan B is the Yum (7.5") - because you can often get them marked down at Lurenet.com.

And you do it very well...I've seen your videos! Someday, if I practice enough, and if I get my aging arthritic fingers working well enough, I might learn to pitch half as good as you do...

Well Sam, we're not learning much yet! My own observations are that I've caught bass when there are a limited number of mallards around. When there's a duck convention going on, my perception is that the area goes cold for a period of time. When I get large flocks of canadian geese in the area, I usually just pick another place to fish so I don't know the effect the geese have on the bass. What prompted my query is that right now we have the wnter coot migration going on and it's not unusual to pull up to one of my favorite coves and have up to a couple hundred (or more) coots completely covering the cove. They are skittish birds and will start to leave the area when I come up on the bank. I've gone ahead and fished behind them but I'm not getting much bass action. However, there's not enough of a bite going on at this time of year to know whether it's slow because of the coots...or it's just slow. Was hoping that I'd get a number of observations from other anglers that would perhaps say - if the coots are there, skip that cove since the bass will be hunkered down for a while..............or no effect - keep fishing...

Anyone have any observations on bass behavior when there are a lot of ducks and/or geese in the area. Do the bass get tired of all the webbed feet splashing around above them and take off? Do the bass hunker down and perhaps not be in a mood to bite? Is there no effect and the proper course of action is just to put a well-aimed cast between Daffy and Donald and keep fishing as usual?

I have 5' and 5'6" spinning rods in UL and L powers. I have a 5'6" pistol-grip casting rod that is gathering dust - just can't get back into pistol grips. I keep thinking that I'm going to see about getting a 5' trigger-grip BC rod to keep in the front of the canoe for quick follow-up casts with a different bait when you miss a fish with your primary bait. This rod would also be good for some close-quarters work as well....

We had a similar thread last year so I looked that up to see what I said my goals were for 2011: Well, I made my 2010 goals - get off the bank and on the water (got a canoe) and to catch 1,000 bass (I'm at 1052 as of today). For 2011 - I guess my goals would be to wean myself from my confidence baits and to learn new baits/techniques, to better understand and exploit underwater structure, to better understand and use my sonar, and to improve the quality of the fish caught (larger average size). Not as quantifiable as the 2010 goals, but goals nonetheless! So - how did I do on my 2011 goals? --Wean from confidence baits and learn new baits/techniques: Some progress. Still need to learn JIGS! --Better understand and exploit underwater structure: Some progress - limited by the fact that I didn't fish from the canoe much this year. --Better understand and use my sonar: Not much progress, wasn't in the canoe much this year. BUT, I have a hankering to upgrade to SI for next season and will have a new learning curve --To improve the quality of the fish caught: SUCCESS! I caught quite a few larger fish in 2011 than in 2010. Part of the improvement was from bait selection and use, part from better knowledge of my lakes and eliminating non-productive water. Other accomplishments for 2011: --Beat last year's bass numbers - 1054 last year, I'm at 1069 right now and still catching. --Bumped my LMB PB from 7.75 to 9.06. --Caught two 40-pound class carp this year - (GREAT fun!). --An accomplishment, but a negative one - bought too much tackle this year Now - goals for 2012.....about the same as 2011: --Continue to learn new baits - espescially jigs. --Continue to improve quality of fish. --Get in the canoe more (an imperative if I pop the coin for SI). --Continue to learn to use the sonar for more than just depth and bottom contour. --Lower my goal from 1,000 bass to 750 (need to clear some time for other interests). --And MOST importantly, have FUN....and NOT be burdened by the pressure of the goals.........................

Well, there is certainly some BR in general, and RW in particular, influence on my selections - like the YZ line! I do have the Avid BC rod now, and consider it a good value with, for me, most of the performance of the MBR842C...but at a sensible cost. I don't have the Avid spinning rod right now...but I am fishing another brand 6'8" mxf so whenever upgrade time comes, I'll get the Avid. I ain't gonna change my reel selections though! (I actually have a Curado 50E on the Avid BC rod right now but for the purposes of this thread - selecting the components for an all-purpose combo - I would select the Carbonlite reel )