NBR

It is what you do after the cast that makes the difference. I cast right and reel right but after the cast I palm the reel with my left hand. Now if I was going to palm the reel with a left handed crank I would need to hold the rod in my left hand and move my casting hand to the palming position. Then grasp the crank. More efficient to cast right and move the reel to my left palm. As Raul does sometimes I move the reel to my left palm before the cast is completed. Buzz baits are a good example. If there is no great reason for a very accurate cast I might cast with the reel palmed in my left hand then crank right. But I always retreive a baitcaster with the reel palmed in my left hand. When I started baitcasting there were no left handed cranks and I was and am more accurate casting with my right hand. With left handed crank reels it doesn't make a tinkers d**n which way you do it. What ever works for you is the way to go.

Virgil Ward, Jerry McKinis and Joe Fosse(sp) all pioneers. I heard Fosse speak one time. He claimed to be a 5 time US Army fighter pilot and a 1 time Japanese ace. As I recall he shot down 25 Jap planes in WWII which made him the 5 times US ace. He crashed 3 US planes and was shot down 2 times which made him a Japanese ace. I also recall him saying it took 5 days to produce enough footage for a 30 minute show.

If I was starting my son again I'd go after pan fish with either worms or minnows depending on what fish were available.. A small hook and a slip bobber and an appropriate split shot. With youngsters the thing is action.

Chances are your big motors alternator won't put out enough amps to help much unless you do a lot more running than fishing.

I would use a limp line for easy casting. All the line companies make them with Berkleys XL being a possibility. So much depends on the water you fish. The water I fish is very clear so I haven't used braid although I plan on using it this year on my C-Rig outfit. Another thing you should think about is line cost. Starting out sooner or later you will get a backlash that has to be cut out. A pricey thing with braid or flourocarbon.

Albany, Any of the combos offered by the likes of BPS and Cabelas will suffice with practice but with out practice none will work well even those costing several hundred dollars. Look at Reelmechanics tutorial on baitcasting.

I twitch them on the surface, pull them under and use as a shallow crank bait, add a sinker to the line to fish deep and use on a CRig. An effective lure anywhere in the water column.

If you don't have the patience to learn to use the baitcaster stick with spinning. I prefer baitcasting but always have a spining outfit on the deck. Now my buddy, who at one time was 100% spinning, is now 100% baitcasting.

I went to school in Terre Haute just north of many pits and fished them a fair amount, This was a long time ago so what I say is based on that old experience modified with what I would do today. First I'd search the bottom for structure and cover. I'd place some cover on any significant structure. If I didn't find good looking structure, i.e. points, humps etc I'd probably try to create some over time. Dropping a few trees in the water creates shore line cover and sinking brush etc. can create deeper holding ares for bait fish I'd probably fish with Crigs, drop shots and jigs more but I wouldn't rule out spinner baits, cranks and surface baits. As I recall the waters were very clear so I'd use fluorocarbon or light line in the 6# area on my spinning outfits and fluorocarbon on my baitcasters except for surface lures.

Three heavy batteries, a 101 TM, a fisherman or two and tackle could put a 12' vhull over its weight limit. While I usually go with as much TM as you can afford this is not a usual case. You don't mention if you have an outboard motor but if you do I'd bet you would be over weight for the boat. Which can nullify insurance and result in tickets depending on your location

Unless you spend a lot of time running the big motor at higher speeds you will need to charge the battery along with the TM batteries. When I got my first bass boat battery state of charge was always an issue. Then I got smart and bought an on board 3 bank charger so one plug in did the total job - no more issues.

Read Reelmechanics item on baitcasting!

I pulled a 19' fiberglass with a 150 for thousands of miles with an Olds 98. Check your vehicules towing capacity, never pull in overdrive and have a trailer with at least surge brakes.

In my opinion Ray Scott was the single most driving factor. By establishing tournaments that grew to significant money. A few could work full time honing their skills has led to all or most of the advancements in every thing from boats to hooks to information transfer. I have bass fished for over 65 years and there has been more advancement of equipment and knowledge in the past 10 years than in the previous 50. I believe this was financed by tourneys. I have a circa 1953 Pflueger Supreme that I bought for $35. The Supreme and the Shakespeare President were the leaders at the time and they didn't match up to the lowliest in any catalog of today's reels. The same can be said about any other of the equipment we use. I don't fish T's but I sure thank those that do for driving the technology and Ray Scott for his vision.

These prices are getting ridiculous. I take that back. The prices are ridiculous.

Increase power a bit by the ratio of the distance from the center of the crank to the finger grip. With the same finger speed you will crank a bit slower since your fingers will travel farther to make a revolution.

I prefer baitcasters soI bought a BPS Prolitefinesse combo that works well for me. I fish down to a 1/8 oz jig with a small twister tail grub on 12# XL. I will respool this year with either 8 or 10#. Below the 1/8 oz I use a spinning outfit.

I hope you didn't use "tranny" fluid in your lower unit.

I would think 4# line with a 5'6" rod in stumps would result in many break offs. I'd try 6 or even 8# line. See if your number of bites drops off significantly and if not try for awhile to evaluate the breakoffs.

For years Kenmore brand washers and dryers were made by Whirlpool specs. Lok at a Kenmore and you see a Whirlpool. While I haven't reviewed the 2009 BPS catalog for features and appearance but my guess is that BPS reels bear a striking resemblance to Pflueger. This doesn't mean they are necessarily Pfluegers but it would be likely that they are made by the same people. I have a Prolitefinesse that is about 3 years old and it has served me very well. I cast 1/8 ounce jigs with a small curly tail grub on 12# mono easily.

My post above was pretty stupid. Should have said I cast down to 1/8 ounce with a bait caster then go to a spining outfit.

I cast below 1/8 ounce with a baitcaster then go to a spnning outfit.

No better place to practice. You won't be distracted by losing fishing time and when you get on the water your skills will be much better for it. I've bait casted for many years but I still practice in the drive in that time frame where I can get out but the water is still hard!

I have 2 older quantum reels with the only problem was me dropping a part and losing it. I called Quantum and they sent no charge parts out within a day or so.

I have never been but if I was I'd get their picture and a picture of their car if possible.