desmobob

I have a 7'3" Kistler Carbon Steel "All Day Power Tool" HF rod that was in your price range. I think it fishes very nicely, especially considering the cost. A "best buy" kind of rod, I believe. Tight lines, Bob

I bought a KastKing "Royale Legend" Chinese 12BB bait caster for thirty-five bucks, just to try it. I think it was pretty much a waste of money. I would recommend spending at least a hundred bucks on a name-brand reel, even if it means waiting to save up the money. I have two Daiwa Tatulas I bought new for $92 each and I honestly enjoy them as much as other reels I have costing two or three times as much. "Made in China" is not a guarantee of a sub-par product, but I don't think I'll mess with any more of those reels until one with a proven value is identified. Tight lines, Bob

My Pro170/Merc 40HP four-stroke is in its third season and I am very happy with it. The only (small) issue I've had is with the folding tongue feature of the trailer. I love the boat for its price, storage, layout and fuel economy. It's a very complete fishing package for a bargain price; just add gas, load your gear and go! The only thing I've felt needed upgrading was the fish-finder. I love fishing all day on a couple of gallons of gas. Tight lines, Bob

I love all of Glenn's videos, but this one had me doing a double-take. Glenn refers to a centrifugal brake as "the pin kind," while referring to the spool tension adjustment as "the centrifugal brake." I'm kind of surprised nobody has mentioned it... Anyway, I shouldn't be nit-picking; Glenn's videos are fun to watch and very informative. They are absolute gold for a beginning bass fisherman or a seasoned casual bass fisherman who wants to take his game to a new level. He sure comes across as a very nice, friendly, helpful guy (which I'm convinced he surely is!). Tight lines, Bob OMG... I hope I don't get banned for this! :-)

Those sure are pretty. School me a little on the old-school round reels... what kind of brakes do they have? Tight lines, Bob

I don't regret buying an SI unit for even an instant. I still think it's one of the best pieces of fishing gear I've purchased in a long time! I don't know if I could stand not having one from now on... Tight lines, Bob

Thanks very much for the recommendations, gentlemen! I appreciate it. If I put together an inshore set-up, I'll post my choices. I guess I also have the more economical alternative of just using one of my current freshwater bass rigs and making sure I spend a little extra time on flushing/cleaning/maintenance after use, right? Tight lines, Bob

One more comment on casting light baits... After watching Daiwa's video on the SV concept reels, it stood out that they recommended filling the spool only half-full. Guys spend a lot of money on expensive lightweight spools, but your overall spool weight can get lighter a lot cheaper by merely leaving off half the line you would normally spool! I can't seem to make myself do it (yet). I'm one of those guys who tends to over-fill my spools, if anything, despite never having had a bass run off more than a few feet of drag. Tight lines, Bob

My initial entry into the finesse baitcasting game was with a Daiwa PXL-R. Even at a great sale price it was expensive, but I forgot all about how much it cost when I got it in my hands. It is a wonderful reel! I recently bought a Daiwa JDM Alphas SV105 and I'm really not all that impressed with it so far. I just installed some new Hawgtech spool bearings in it this morning but didn't get a chance to get out on the water today. In my very limited experience with BFS reels, I find it seems you either have to be willing to shell out some decent money or mess around with aftermarket spools (which can also be pricey). At any rate, I think it's a whole lot of fun to be able to cast light lures on bait casting gear and my Daiwa PXL-R/Major Craft Volkey combo gets used on every fishing trip. Tight lines, Bob

I have a Magnesium from last year, and I think it's a great rod for the money. I couldn't resist the sale price from TW. I have the 6'9" MHF "All Purpose Special" and it's hard to tell it apart from my more expensive KLX of similar specs. Mine has the conventional guides, not the new Microwaves. Tight lines, Bob

Another vote for the Boomerang. I have two of them attached to the boat so they don't get lost or forgotten. Tight lines, Bob

My spinning gear has been faultless. I've been using a Daiwa Whisker Tournament SS reel on a Fenwick rod for the last several years and the rig has performed admirably spooled with braid and a fluro leader. I'm just looking to shake things up a little and do something a little different. I searched extensively for reviews of the Lew's BB1 Inshore and found nothing but rave reviews. I do own both Lew's and Abu reels and, though they are made in the same factory, they are not simply rebadged. The problems that may be an issue with the Revo Inshore don't seem to be plaguing the Lew's Inshore. Back to my OP, I now see that some rod makers offer inshore baitcasting rods. I'll start looking for some reports and reviews. Tight lines, Bob

I tried a pair if Smith Action Optics glasses this year and like them a lot. I have the brown ChromaPop+ lenses... I prefer brown because I also use them for sight fishing to stripers over the sand (saltwater) and for trout fishing. These lenses are excellent. I'm looking to pick up another pair for the brightest days on open water and will likely try a pair of Costas in blue or green mirror 580s. Tight lines, Bob

For the past 21 years, I've spent 9-14 days in the Spring fly fishing for striped bass on Cape Cod. On almost every trip, there are times when I do use spinning gear (from a boat). This year, I'd like to leave the spinning gear at home and set myself up with an inshore bass casting rig. I'm thinking of picking up a Lew's Inshore reel. I have suitable rods, but I'm concerned with the guides not being corrosion-resistant enough. I'll certainly have the opportunity to properly rinse and dry them, and I'd probably give the guides a wipe-down with Corrosion-X, but I'm wondering if that is good enough. Do you salty bass casters out there use conventional bass rods, or are there inshore models available I'm not noticing? I'd prefer not to have to buy a special rod.... Thanks for any information, Bob

I've been pulling a Tracker Pro170/40HP with my Subaru Forester going on three years now. The Forester is an older one (2009) with a conventional automatic tranny; the new ones have CV transmissions and a lot less towing capacity. My boat/motor/trailer is right around one ton. The Subie has no trouble with it. Tight lines, Bob Edit to add: I forgot to mention that my most-used launch is about three miles from my house and the furthest I trailer the boat is an occasional 11-mile run to another nearby lake.

I followed some advice I got on BR a year or two ago and put mine on a chalkline. I still do need to replace the chalkline's cotton line with some stronger dacron cord. Tight lines, Bob

My Lew's BB1L came this week and I must say I'm impressed. I picked it up for $123, shipped. I put it on a Kistler KLX 7' MHMF "Crank, Rip and Twitch" rod and spooled it up with Yo-Zuri Hybrid 8 lb. test line (>12 lb. breaking strength). I started with the Lew's recommendation of all four spring brakes activated and the two speed brakes off. I clipped on a 3/8 oz. practice plug and gave it a toss in the back yard. It ended up across the yard and in the trees. That reel likes to cast. :-) It feels every bit as smooth and solid as the Lew's Tournament Pros I'm used to using. Same strong drag, too. The only drawback I can see is the lack of an external braking adjustment, but the side cover is very easy to remove if you need to adjust the braking on a windy day. I don't have a Revo Winch, but I have two of the Orra Winch reels and I'm thinking I really prefer the Lew's BB1 over them. Tight lines, Bob PS- Darn it! I just realized I used my 1000th post for some uncompensated product endorsement! ;-)

Like most guys, I'd recommend getting the SI/DI combo unit with the biggest screen you can afford. I'm sure you will not regret it! DI is great, but SI is like looking at a photo of the bottom. It's pretty shocking when you look at the display and can plainly see exactly what you're passing over. Imagine being able to spot a tree laying in the water 25 feet to one side of your boat. And you can see which branches are on the bottom, which are upright, and where fish are holding in it. I've had mine a year and I'm still amazed by it. Tight lines, Bob

Sorry to seem to be accusing you of tearing anyone down... I guess I get tired of hearing the "made in the same factory" stuff all the time; usually by people bashing those brands. But now, someone who has been to the factory sets me straight on the production line/QC situation! Very cool, actually. Thanks for the insight. Holding a Lew's reel in one hand and an Abu in the other, I'd never guess they came off the same line and that the majority of the components come from the same supplier. Looking at the innards, I very well might guess that, but by the feel, not at all. So far, I have a big pile of reels from Shimano, Daiwa, Lew's and Abu, and I love each one of them. :-) Tight lines, Bob

I have an old South Bend bait caster that has an automatic braking system. It has a small spring-loaded wire bail in front of the level-winder that the line passes over. When there is tension on the line (like in when casting), the bail is held down and the brakes are released. When the tension is relieved and the spring pushes the bail back up, the brakes go on. I thought this was pretty darn clever and must work perfectly. I gave it a try and wasn't all that impressed. :-) Tight lines, Bob

This is all speculation, of course, unless you know for sure what the materials and specifications for both brands are. Made in the same factory does not necessarily mean produced on the same production line, built with the same tolerances, etc. I have reels from Abu and Lew's, and they do not feel even slightly close to something that rolled off the same production line. For some reason, instead of celebrating the fact that we have such a great variety of excellent reels brands to choose from, folks seem to want to pick their personal favorite and then run all the other brands down. Tight lines, Bob

I got out my old 300 (and 308 and 310) a few years ago. I figured I'd clean and lube them and put them on a couple of "extra" spinning rods I had accumulated. They felt pretty sluggish and I was thinking they were probably full of half/dried grease. Well, after a very careful cleaning, flushing, and re-lubing, they felt only very slightly less sluggish. ;-) We sure are blessed with the incredible modern reels we fish with these days! (And the incredible rods, lines, super-sharp hooks, dependable outboards, space-age electronics, etc., etc., etc.) My father's favorite fishing rig was a handline of green cord on a nice little red wooden frame. He preferred it to the steel baitcasting rod and horrible reel he had. Tight lines, Bob

I'm a catch-and-release guy, 98% of the time. I keep the occasional walleye or some yellow perch once in a while. A neighbor of mine was an avid catch-and-eat fisherman and he always said Northern Pike were his absolute favorite fish to eat. That was a big statement coming from him, so I figured I had better try one. I took one home from an ice-fishing trip and tried it. Delicious! I would say I like it as much as walleye and yellow perch, and they've always been my favorite freshwater fish to eat. Tight lines, Bob

I got to cast my Alphas SV105 a little bit today. I set the spool tension as suggested in the video [tight enough to eliminate any spool side-play, then back off a click (my spool tension knob doesn't have a clicker, so I backed it off about 1/16 turn)]. I have the reel on a Kistler 6' 9" KLX "Finesse Worm, Tube and Jig" MHF rod that's rated for lures 1/8-3/8 oz. I have the spool filled to capacity with 8 lb. test Yo-Zuri hybrid. I was throwing a Yamamoto twin-tailed Hula Grub on a 1/4 oz. swing-head jig. I started with the brake on about 7 of 10, and ended up at about 5 (estimated). Casting normal distances was effortless and the only overruns I experienced were when I hit a tree branch or when I happened to somehow move the rod quickly after the cast with my thumb off the spool and the reel not yet in gear. Short casts and pitching were as nice as I would hope for. But, when I try to get a bit of extra distance, it really feels like the brakes are choking the cast. The braking is pretty aggressive and I'm wondering how the man in the video was doing some of his casting with the brake set at 10/10. Also, the spool bearings are pretty noisy. I'll order a set of replacements from Hawgtech. I definitely like the reel and I have a feeling it will grow on me. Today, I realized just how effortless it is to make normal casts with it. It was the only bait caster I used today so I didn't get to compare it to other rigs head-to-head, which I'll certainly get to do in the future. The other rods I was casting today were light and ultralight spinning rods, so the SV105 had to be working pretty well for it to make casting feel effortless after throwing the light spinning tackle. I guess I can say I'm impressed; just not overly. So far. :-) Tight lines, Bob

I love the salt! I've been making a trip to Cape Cod to fly fish for stripers for 22 consecutive years. I've fished the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California (Dorado on the fly). My biggest saltwater fish was a small Striped Marlin off Loreto, Mexico on spinning tackle. Tight lines, Bob