Sheepdog

I like to compare the gear ratios of reels to that of a bicycle. When you throw a big deep diving crank, that big lip is causing all kinds of resistance to get that bait down low in the water column. This is like riding a bike up a hill. You shift your gears down to make it easier to peddle up the hill. You have to peddle faster and don't cover as much ground, but it's WAY easier to peddle. This is equivalent to a low gear ratio on a reel. When you wanna go fast, you shift up, and peddle WAY less to cover more ground but it's harder to peddle, just like a higher gear ratio in a reel. I've heard A-Mart talk about gear ratios quite a bit, and I don't think he uses any lower gear ratios due to the better technology in the newer reels. The more advanced gear systems eliminate the resistance because of the gear design. I think this is a matter of preference gained from experience for the most part, but I have to agree that you play the fish with the rod more than the reel. A higher gear ratio/higher IPT will be the most advantageous for picking up the slack in the line for the vast majority of fishing techniques. Hope this helps.

Also wanted to mention, in case a deal can still be found elsewhere, TW had the Powell Max 3D L and ML spinning rods for $99, and I think the Inferno's were around $76. Killer deal for either one of those rods. I know that sale ended like 4 days ago, but just wanted to put that out there as food for thought. I have a St. Croix Legend Tournament 7' med. spinning rod that is a DREAM, and I'd put my two Powell spinning rods right there with it. Lots of good rods out there in your price range. Find a good deal. Good luck and TIGHT LINES!

Don't want to hijack the post, but hopefully this could bring some good insight. I'm glad you mentioned this. I recently purchased a size 25 Quantum EXO spinning reel to put on a Powell light power rod for drop shotting and other light techniques. The store I bought it from actually sent me a size 15 instead by accident. I'm wanting this to be a light setup, but I initially went with the 25, giving up the oz. lighter 15 in exchange for a heavier drag. I think it was 6 lbs. of drag vs. 16 lbs. of drag. I've seen a few people here talk about the smaller reel size being just fine and a worth while compromise for the gain of less weight. I decided to just keep the 15, and I'm hoping I don't regret it. Like others have said, I'm normally a die hard Pflueger fan,(I have a supreme mg and a supreme XT that I absolutely love.) but I couldn't pass up the 1/2 price deals on the EXO going around. Just wondered WRB's and anyone else's opinion on this matter since we are talking light spinning rod/reel stuff here.

Hahaha! I got half way through your post and said to myself, "This guys sounds like he's from Utah!" Then I saw your info... had a good laugh. Spot on. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm good at. Started the bass addiction one year ago. Now I'm stuck in a winter wonderland dreaming of some spring fishin.

What will you be using this setup for? I have four casting rods I was just about to list for sale on here. I don't have any more reels, they all sold quick locally. I'm not sure what shipping would cost from here(Utah) to MO, but you'd be getting quite a bit more rod for the money buying used. I'll list the rods I have, and you can let me know if you're interested. If not, they'll probably be listed here soon. I'm happy to send photos as well. Prices will be before shipping, only because I have no idea what shipping would be.(If anyone has a clue, please chime in.) I have several rod shipping tubes from ordering rods from TW. Duckett Micro Magic 7' med. power, moderate(cranking rod) - $90 Cabela's Platinum ZX 7' med. power, fast action (2 piece) - $90 Fenwick Silverhawk 7' med. heavy power, mod. fast action - $45 Cabela's American TXS 7' med. heavy power, ex-fast action - $65 I know most of these are in a different price range, but the quality of all four of these rods is so far and away better than the ones you are looking at, I thought I'd give you something to consider. They've all been used very little, and are in excellent condition. Good luck in your search!

I would HIGHLY recommend the Megastrike jig heads. I've never seen anything come close to their design at keep you're bait standing upright. Tons of weights and hook sizes to choose from. My favorite plastics to throw on 'em, Power Team Lures(PTL) makes a great neutral buoyant worm called a Tickler, a 7"(or 5" would work) is fantastic for shakey head fishing. And you can never go wrong with a FAT roboworm straight tail. PTL also makes a few good shakey hooks, a "Tick Shake" is a football head style and would be ideal for rocky bottoms. Good luck! Hope this helps.

I was all set to buy a Dobyns Savvy rod on TW's Labor Day sale. Just before, I had a buddy tell me Powell rods are better quality. Now I'm stumped. I just happened upon another post recently with quite a few complaint's about Dobyns finish quality. I'm looking for any suggestions between these two rods, or any others you might recommend over these two. Other considerations are micro guides vs. regular, heavy vs. mag heavy. This will also serve as a flippin' and pitchin' rod for me here in Utah, but mostly frogs. I've been throwing and having success on booyah pad crashers, live target frogs, and the jackall iobee frog, just so you have an idea what I'll be using it for mostly. I'm 5'10", and I'll be fishing from a boat and from shore, so I don't know if a 7'3" would be a bit long? Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. I'm new to this site, and so far I'm very impressed! I'm also a little sad it took me so long to find! One other side note, I've been using a 7' MH Fenwick Silverhawk, mod. fast action for frogging. I know whatever I get should be quite an improvement. I'm also using a Lew's Laser Pro reel in a 7.1:1. Thanks in advance for any help!

It's definitely personal preference for the most part, but I would highly recommend keeping what you can in original bags. I've stored plastics out of bags in plano boxes, and I've done the big ziploc bag thing. Some plastics will stain your plano boxes, and/or other plastics. I've had senko's bleed and change the color of all the other senko's in the same ziploc. You also have the obvious elaztech issue. I've had elaztech melt to other plastics and warp my boxes. These are a few of the reasons I ALWAYS keep my plastics in the bags they come in. My new favorite plano box is the 3731. It's the perfect size to put two(most sizes) packages side by side and fill the box. I've found I have fewer issues with permanently bent tails on flukes, kinked worms, etc. I don't want to have to boil a bag of baits and massage them each back to normal because they were squished in a bag for to long. Again, to each his own, but I definitely go with the long term storage in 3-4 3731 plano boxes. If I can, I'll add a picture later.