BronzeChaser

I agree it's a well performing reel. But it is a little different feeling to palm. Especially if you wrap your whole hand around the reel like I do. I have slightly large hands too.

Can we talk about the no.8 *** on here, or is it off limits? If we can how is the weight and sensitivity?

Another good tip. A lot of guys try to finesse them, me included, and sometimes it works. But I do agree that putting a bait right on their nose will trigger a bite more often.

It does bother me too see fish in the dirt or on the ground in general. Whether it hurts the fish or not, I don't know. But to me we need to do everything we can to make sure fish are put back just as healthy as they came out. If people don't take care of the fish, there won't be any more fish.

I'll fix it when I get home tonight. I loved the tip on that rod so I was pretty bummed when I saw it being crushed by the door haha

So on my way out the door this morning i broke about an inch off the tip of a 6'10 med/fast rod. Is it worth repairing or am I better off replacing it?

I know it's been brought up before, but I'm doing it again. I'm trying to setup a "utility" reaction bait rod. I want it to throw topwaters, jerks, shallow cranks, and light swim jigs, chatter baits, and spinnerbaits. It'll be a 7' med/hvy- mod/fast with a 7.1:1 and I'm thinking braid, about 30 or 40 lb. I know it's not ideal for any of these techniques, but I really like fishing chatters, swim jigs, and spinnerbaits on a mod/fast rod, and it's a perfect setup for topwaters to me. The only real concern I have is with the occasional jerkbait or crankbait.

I just fished a lake last weekend that has a regular water clarity of about 15' and it was more clear than normal this time around. There are only smallmouth in it, no largemouth. But I did encounter roaming fish swimming along the bottom in about 10' of water. I was in a kayak so I just smoothly passed by until I was out of sight. Then calmly through back with a wacky or neko rig to where the fish was, and they were on it. I think the biggest thing is to be as stealthy as possible.

Having lived in Maine my whole life, those are seriously giants haha. Wish I knew where to find ones like that. Good job figuring out the bite. I haven't been catching anything over 4 since just after ice out.

I use a medium power spinning rod right now. The jig heads are light weight, but with the added weight of the turd worm it cast perfectly fine and I can fish it fine.

So I guess my next question would be; what would you recommend for a 7'4- 7'6 medium power spinning rod for 100-200 dollars. The only one I've really seen is the vendetta. But I haven't looked much yet

Well I'm getting the itch for a new rod again, and for some reason it's for s 7'4- 7'6 spinning rod. I have no techniques in mind, I just want a long spinning rod lol. So what do you use a long spinning rod for that a more conventional length won't do?

So from what I generally see there are two rod types people like to throw jerkbaits and topwaters on. One is usually a rod around 6'6"- 6'10" medium/fast. The other is 6'10"- 7' medium/moderate or mod. fast. I've used both and think I prefer the more crankbait style rod for jerkbaits and topwaters, I like braid as well so that could have something to do with it. Anyway I was curious to hear what others like to use.

Does anyone know of any smaller rivers in Maine within 1.5 hours of Topsham/Brunswick with bass in them. I don't even really care if they're big fish. I am just looking for smaller rivers to kayak fish on windy days like today. My home lake is just about unfishable from a kayak today.

Thanks for the advice guys. I agree it is 100 percent something I have done in reassembling the reel. It's not a bearing, it is definitely gears rubbing something the wrong way. I've taken it apart 3 or 4 times now with no success. What's weird is when I pull out on the handle and turn, there is no grinding. But just turning it normally there is grinding. I'll keep messing with it tonight. I'm sure I'm just being stupid and missing something lol.

So I've got a pfluger supreme spinning reel that I've had for a few years and it started feeling sluggish, so I decided to clean it. After cleaning and reassembling the reel it is now grinding when I turn the handle. I'm no stranger to servicing/repairing reels, but I am stumped as to why this is happening. Everything is exactly the same as before, except for the copious amout of grease packed into the reel from the factory. Anyone ever come across something like this?

I had an elite tech smallmouth for a while and absolutely loved it. When it broke casting a jerkbait (no idea why) fenwick replaced it with the new elite tech bass. I got the 6'9 medium and it really is a nice rod, but given the choice I would pick the smallmouth over it. I think you'd be pretty happy with the elite tech bass though.

I felt the same way about the tatula being too big. Maybe the new compacts are better, but I haven't held one. As far as Lews reels go, I also think they are great feeling reels and I would probably own a lot if it weren't for one thing. They always seem to break on me. I understand that almost everything I read as far as reviews says they're great, and I want them to be, but for me they just aren't. When Lews was still a little fresh into they're "comeback" I bought 3 of their reels and they all broke within a year, to the point of not being fishable. I may give them another shot because I want to like them so bad haha.

I'm sure when it comes to getting a new reel we all look at pretty much the same things; value, durability, performance, and probably looks. But a big deal for me when I'm choosing a new reel is how it fits in my hand when fishing. For example, the current generation revo's are excellent reels that really impress me. That being said, I only have one that I rarely fish with. The reason being is that when I palm the reel it just doesn't fit well in my hand, and it bothers me to the point that I won't get any more. My pinky ends up getting cramped into my ring finger, because the gears are positioned so low on the reel. Is this an issue for others as well?

Ridiculous cold front here. Still caught 5 for about 82 inches give or take. I'll post pics if anyone else does lol

So when is the cut-off? Sunday?

I've already gone out on one of my days (saturday) and caught a limit. Not sure what my next day will be because it just got super cold, but I need one or two big ones. I really don't care if guys want to extend it through sunday. Whatever everyone wants to do is fine with me.

I saw the PQ Tournament when it was for sale and thought that it was the perfect creation lol. I made up my mind to buy one. So I went to the site and they were gone. Too late for me. If I knew they were limited I would've bought 2 or 3 probably. Who knows maybe they'll come back.

Years ago I bought a bps pro qualifier for my first "serious" bass fishing baitcasting reel and loved it. Since that time I have bought a lot more reels and am mostly a shimano guy now. With that being said though, the PQ still surprises me to this day. The durability, the way it handles, casts and just feels is really surprising to me compared to reels twice as much in cost. It might have a "dated" style look to it, they haven't changed since I got my first one 6 or 7 years ago, but they are workhorse reels for sure. So now onto the reason I don't buy them anymore. They're just heavy. I can get past the looks, they aren't that bad looking but they aren't exactly sexy either. But the weight is just to much for what I've grown accustom to. They are about an ounce or more heavier than most of my other reels. So am I the only one who thinks Bass Pro should redo this reel pretty much exactly the same, but just knock some weight off it? If they did that I would be all over this reel again and probably buy a few, I wouldn't mind a slight cost increase either, as they're always on sale and can be had now for $70. Either way the reel as it is now is by far a slamming deal at $70. Does anyone feel this way or am I the only one? lol

I've lived in Maine my whole life and the fishing is, like most places, pretty slow in frigid water. Just after ice out a jerkbait is a must. Experiment with your cadence and don't be afraid to let it sit up to 30 seconds of you think you're around fish. Watch your line. With water temps into the mid 40's you should be able to catch them on crankbaits and jerkbaits fished at normal speeds. The fish here get sluggish in cold water but they are used to it, much like we get used to the cold. When reaction bites aren't working a jig, shakey head, wacky rig, ned rig, and drop shot should work. Fish in areas with hard bottom that get a lot of sunlight throughout the day. Try to find steep transitions so the fish can move from shallow to deep water easily, as this is something they do alot this time of year. Good luck