northern basser

Well, had the reel out a couple more times and I'm more impressed each time I use it. It casts extremely well, feels smooth and sturdy. I'm still planning on doing a review in the r/r section in the future. The only thing in question is the durability and I won't be able to judge that till I use it for a period of time & land a good number of fish with it. At this point I would definitely recommend them to anyone. Especially since Amazon has some good prices on them.

I like the fully exposed(skeleton) or whatever they call them reel seats.

The bait monkey has a special place on my back Just when I think I have all the rods and reels I need I find an application for another one. As for lures, you can never have enough.

Agree with MM, also I would consider getting a 6'6" or 6'9" bc set-up for close range precision casting.

Mostly bc, but spinning gear definitely has its place. Light baits, tight spots(shore fishing with thick trees and brush on shore), skipping under docks and drop shot rigs would be some of the situations were spinning gear excells.

Was able to get my new optimus xlt out once so far and I'm impressed. It casted great and was very smooth on the retrieve. I'll probably do a review in the rod/reel section after I'm able to get it out a few more times.

Of the options mentioned already, I'd go with the pflueger president on a cabelas prodigy rod. Both are a good "bang for your buck" items.

I actually went ahead and ordered the xlt before seeing your post p1. Oh well. Like I posted earlier though, the hs xt was $147 and I got the xlt for $133 shipped. Matching colors on rods and reels isn't my top priority anyway. p1, do you have any idea what the ipt is on the 7.3 to 1 and the 6.4 to 1 reels? I was just curious. I'm excited to get the reel!

I'm going to get a optimus xt or xlt, but can't figure out what is different about the 2 except color. I found some good prices on both and the xt would look better on my duckett rod, but I can get the xlt cheaper. The slower xt's are cheaper than the xlt, but I want a hs and the hs xt is $147 while the hs xlt is $132.

Thats a nice fish! I thought I caught a nice smallie today at a local river. I'd be lucky if mine weighed half of that one.

The other thing to take into consideration is the difference in drag pressure.

The stream I've been fishing lately is pretty jungle like. You have to get to the shore and find a rock or tree to stand on. I've been using a 6'6" med. light spinning setup. IMO its perfect, not too long, not too short. A longer rod would be a hassle in the thick branches that surround the stream and a shorter rod would hinder the ability fight the fish around obstacles.

I was fishing smallies in a local river several years ago and caught the ugliest smallie I've ever seen. It was like 18", solid dark(mud) brown, red eyes and its fins and tail were beat up terribly. I don't know if it mattered, but the river was extremely low at the time.

Don't get green if you are a line watcher. Very hard to see. Get a brighter color and do the sharpie thing.

A lot of times the lure or presentation causes the bite off. My experience is that spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and crankbaits get bit off way less. Topwaters and plastics are ripped off regularly from me.

I'll stop at Cabelas on the way home from work today and see if they have it. Thanks.

I've been hitting a small river very close to my house lately when I don't have time to get out the boat. The river has an abundance of smallies and I've been having a good time with them. Mostly, I've used skitter pops and inline spinners. What I've found out is the river has a abundance of northerns in it too (like most any fish holding water in MN). They've bit off about $70 worth of skitter pops in the last couple weeks. I continue to use them because the smallies love them too. So finally I broke down and went looking for some different tackle today. Recently, the river has come down and got clearer so I decided to find some sort of plastic. I ended up with some YUM crawbugs. Knowing that the river is full of crayfish I figured they'd work and they did. I was putting them on a 1/4oz. standup shakey head. First cast a nice pike(approx. 6-8lber.) rolled it and bit me off. Then I proceeded to catch 2 pike(a 3# and 7# approx.), one largemouth and a smallie. Also had a 20 + inch LM follow it right to shore. Oh ya, and I got bit off two more times. Since I'm mainly trying for smallies I won't use a steel leader. I'm using 10# suffix 832 on a spinning reel. I've found that if your not going to use a steel leader it doesn't pay to use heavier line because the pike will bite through 65# braid or 20# mono just as fast and easy as 4# test. I've been having so much fun that sacrificing lures doesn't bother me too much. Sorry, no pics

Hate to sound like a broken record, but the cayenne is a solid little reel with a smooth 11lb. drag, aluminum frame and handle side plate, abec 5 spool bearings and it casts light lures well. Its 7.2 oz. and palms easily. I got one at the beginning of the year then another shortly after. I also have a curado e7, pflueger pat. xt & a cabelas prodigy. Of all those reels IMO the cayenne is the most veratile. My others reels each excell in different areas while the okuma is like the jack of all trades. Believe it or not, if I had to choose to keep only one of my reels, it would probably be the cayenne or the patriarch xt (which is considerably more $). The e7 is right up there too, but I like the way the pat. and the cayenne palm better. Also their gear ratios are usefull for more presentations.

The Okuma cayenne is on sale at monster fishing tackle for $69.99.

Matching colors and brands is nice, but I'm usually more worried about performance. Some people would never do what you did though.

I'm currently using both and like both. The 832 color does fade a little faster, but I don't think it makes that much of a difference. The 832 is smoother and casts a little better IMO. Either one is a good choice though. On a baitcaster I would use 40 or 50 and no less. To me 50 is a better choice because through time braid wears a little and obviously 50 has more to wear. 50's line diameter is very acceptable too.

A lot of people around here will smoke them(in a smoker, not in a blunt) . I've tried it a few times and it isn't too bad. As far as smoked fish go, I like it well-done(dry) as opposed to greasy less smoked meat.

The endurance line of powell rods have a stiffer tip (when compared to a max of the same power rating). I have a max and a endurance. The endurance seems to have a faster tip, for sure stiffer. Like stated earlier, everyones preferences and techniques differ from one another. The rod you are using might not go well with your style.

I like shimano too, but there is nothing wrong with the cayennes. I have a couple of them and like them. You'll like the citica also. IMO if they made a high speed citica I'd pick up one instead of paying the extra $ for the curado. I know the curado might be a little better, but not that much.

Funny, I still have my 5'6" pistol grip lightning rod that I used in highschool(20+ years ago). I was thinking about buying a inexpensive reel to put on it.