Falkus

I’m browsing Black Friday deals and thinking about upgrading one or two of my backup spinning reels. For those who own them, how does the Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Signature Series Spinning Reel compare to the Platinum Signature model? What are the pros and cons of each, and which one do most anglers prefer? If you only bought one of the two, which did you choose and why?

Oh yeah, those are awesome !!!!! I guess you all managed to convince me to stick with my current setup after all. There is nothing wrong with it, Just was looking for a reason to get the monkey bait off my back, I guess I will turn into 16 GB 5060 TI video card instead

The majority of my setups use 3.5" tubes with a 3/16 oz Stupid Tube jig head. I pair that with 10 lb braid and a 10 ft section of 8 lb Yo-Zuri leader.

I’ve been running a St. Croix Mojo 7'0" M/F spinning rod that is designed for tubes ( MBS70MF • Tubes & Grubs) that I bought about ten years ago (pretty sure it’s older than half the lures in my box). Been having an absolute blast with it lately! Figured I’d ask what your tube setups are—spinning or casting—just to see if I should finally grab a casting setup and reel. If I go that route, I’m thinking something around a 7:1 ratio. Or maybe I should just stick with the old spinning rod and beat the hell out of it.

Just finished cleaning my rods with a Magic Eraser, added glue and cork grubs, then sanded the cork with 320-grit paper and applied U-40. Turned out way better than I expected — looks and feels great!

Cal's Universal Reel & Star Drag Grease is what I have been using last few years. It just works ...

I’ve used it several times—it only holds three 3600-size bins. So, I just decided creative to bring the core stuff I really need. Instead of overloading it, I can fit a few smaller boxes as long as I stick to the essentials. Here’s my current setup: (2) Flambeau Zerust® MAX Tuff Tainer® 3003 – for natural and dark-colored Senkos (4) Plano Pro Latch Utility Box 3500 for everything else like jigs, chatterbaits, jerkbaits, etc. (1) Pill Organizer that fold and small - perfect for weights and bobber stoppers. (1) Plano Double Side StowAway Utility Box - 3449 for hooks only. If I were to do it all over again, 6 Flambeau Zerust instead. I already had the Pro Lanuch utility box. Works great and can just fish as hard as I can if I know that lake by heart.

That moment under your kayak? That’s the BASS BUG bite. Warning: it causes obsessive replaying of the fish, sleepless nights, and spontaneous Ike quotes. 😂

Thanks folks, this helps me to narrow down what the starting point I should start at.

I'm considering selling my Daiwa Ballistic T3 100HS (6.3:1) reel, which I've owned for some time. It's been used only twice and has remained out of my regular rotation, stored safely in its case. The reel is in excellent to good condition, with the exception of a minor nick at the top; otherwise, it shows minimal signs of wear. Why did I get it, cuz it's so different and thought it would look cool but realized that I need some more high ratio gears in 7/8 ratio. I understand that pricing can vary, and I've noticed listings on eBay with a wide range of prices. Some new or like-new models are listed as I saw one on ebay for $200 and I know people are not going to pay that much. Since I never had the original box, I anticipate price reduction, I would appreciate any insights or recent sales data to help determine a fair asking price or starting bid price before I post this on some other fishing forum or ebay.

based on that -- its better just order parts reel from ebay. Ill keep that in mind. Thanks again .

I lost over 11 jigs in a day during my first year of bass tournaments. I was tying them on straight braid in rocky structure — let’s just say I learned my rookie lesson pretty fast.

Where do you get your rubber skirts? I’m looking for something like that. My Google-Fu hasn’t been strong lately—or maybe it’s been right in front of me the whole time.

Welcome… and as you read, you’ll gain a little insight from each of us.

Learned a bit today. I have always left in the bag that it came with after learning my lesson ...when it tried to become "the blob".

I remember making my first purchase on the Fishing Flea Market ages was the Daiwa Zillion 100SHA. It’s still my favorite reel of all time for moving baits — it just launches my rattletraps to the moon and back.

I’ve been trying to call the Bass Pro Shops reel and rod service department to see if they have a gear set that would let me upgrade my new Rick Clunn RCX10HB (6.3:1) to a 7.1:1. I’ve made five different attempts, but all I ever get is the answering machine. I know I could leave a message and have them call me back, but because of the nature of my job, I don’t have a way to take incoming calls. I was hoping to find out if they have the gear set and pinion in stock so I can pick them up and do the swap myself when things slow down this winter. Has anyone had any luck actually reaching someone there lately, or found a better way to get in touch with them?

@FloridaFishinFool Not yet — I haven’t taken it apart yet, but from my observation, it feels really smooth with no grinding noise. I’m just waiting for a day when the house is empty so I can take everything apart and grease it up to perfection.

Thanks, that is helpful to narrow down the choices to tackle this "problem" I have 'eh.

Picked up a Rick Clunn reel.. why not? Only $25 and change total with shipping on eBay

Just got my Rick Clunn reel in and she’s a beauty! Works great—came spooled with braid, but it feels a bit too thick, so I’ll probably strip it off and save it for something else. Overall, an absolute STEAL! for something else. Overall, an absolute STEAL!

Thanks, guys. I’m thinking of grabbing a few of each style in 1/4 oz, plus some heavier 1 oz ones for those fat cows in the thick grass. I’ll reach out to him before pulling the trigger.

Love the PQ2 as I think it's the best bang of the buck, I'm trying to buy one on ebay at 7.1.1 but most are in the 6.4.1 ratio right now.

I’ve told myself that I’m dedicating the 2026 season to fishing jigs since they’ve always been my nemesis—I really suck at them. So I’m checking out the tackle-making section on Siebert Outdoors (https://siebertoutdoors.com/products/ols/categories/tackle-making) to pick out some jigs to build. The lake I fish has mostly grass during the summer and late fall, with a few logs, and since I’m fishing from shore, I can’t really tell if there are many rocks. Which jig style would work best in these conditions? I’m drawn to the Dredge Dock Rocker Jig Head, but since I like the deep hook, I’m also looking at the Dredge Brush Jig Head. Should I be considering something else instead? For weights, should I go with 1/4 oz or 3/8 oz for general use? And for the heavy grass sections, would 3/4 oz or 1 oz be the better choice? and the big question is: When is the sale so that way I can hide this from the wife while I get to the mailbox.

Speedy Recovery to the missus