FishTank

I have one and have used it for several applications. I found it worked best for crankbaits. I also liked it for spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and weightless soft plastic. I really didn't find a technique that I didn't like with this reel. It still amazes me at how well it handles those difficult conditions we face out on the water, wind especially.

I have used them in the past but they are hard to find on sale sometimes. I tend to use the Strike King version more often but Reaction Strikes are better quality. The link above are the best bang for the buck though. I placed an order a few years ago, it took awhile to get but they really good. Unfortunately I tend to go through a lot throughout the year.

I had heard of this but I thought the label was odd in that it actually said "Pure Fishing". Not many shoppers would recognize that as a name brand. I purchased a Revo Winch last year and the display model tag read Abu Garcia. I remember it since I wanted them to match Amazon's price.

From the same ftc.gov page..... Buy American Act — Requires that a product be manufactured in the U.S. of more than 50 percent U.S. parts to be considered Made in USA for government procurement purposes. For more information, review the Buy American Act at 41 U.S.C. §§ 10a-10c, the Federal Acquisition Regulations at 48 C.F.R. Part 25, and the Trade Agreements Act at 19 U.S.C. §§ 2501-2582. I hate to say it but I work for a company that uses both US and foreign components in their machines and we note it. All of the manufactures and suppliers of parts I deal with are this way. All claim "Made in the USA".

I got a Fin Noor dry bag for Christmas and it had a Pure Fishing inspection tag inside it. Go figure. I also noticed at my local Cabelas> Abu Garcia reels were labeled "Pure Fishing - Berkley".

I am curious as well. I would guess like most made in the USA items, only the legal limit of the item in question is used (50%). I would also guess that the components are all made overseas and assembled here. I could be wrong but that is the way most of the things I have seen in manufacturing are these days.

Megabass Slide. I have several Megabass baits but this one is so cool looking, it just sits in the box.

I have the old version this guy. I think I have had it about 15 years. Still works great. Another way I use to do it was to take a twig or pencil, like mentioned above, and put it in a cordless drill.

Went to Cabelas over the weekend to redeem a gift card and saw several spooled Pro Qualifiers sitting behind the customer service desk. This was the same a few weeks after the spring sale. I am not sure what the deal is with this reel but based on what I have seen of this year's (2019) model I would get the Lew's even though it's pretty much the same reel. Another thought would be the Shimano SLX at that price point but to each their own.

I have several and each has it's purpose.... for outdoor activity (hiking, jogging, etc.) I like the Patagonia Capilene, for a light layer I use the Ibex Woolies or an Icebreaker base layer 175, for cold days on the water I use a Smart Wool 250, and for extreme cold a Patagonia R1 (new style is awful by the way). I have tried Under Armor's stuff but I didn't like the way it held moister if I did sweat. It didn't wick it away like wool. If you want to go extreme with the layering, take a look at Icebreakers mid layers. You can put down $200-300 pretty easy on a zip up. I have looked but I have yet to cross that bridge due to the price. The quality is outstanding though.

St. Croix Mojo Bass 7'4'' Heavy Fast. You can also find the KVD Tour Rods cheap on ebay. I have the 7'4'' heavy and it's not to bad for the money.

Wow.... I totally missed the $150 part. I should have read a little more of the thread.... Getting old sucks...

Depending on your budget...... St. Croix G. Loomis Fenwick In general, the St. Croix Avid 7' M Fast will do just about anything.

If you can find it, there is one from Megabass. It's the baby griffon with holographic eyes (Insect Matte Black, I think) and there is also one color called Shibukin tiger. Both are amazing but they only go done about a foot.

I have backing my reels for years with Yo-Zuri Hybrid 6lb, all of them. I picked up a ton of it years ago for $2.00 1/4lb spool. So far I have had no issues. I usually fill a reel about a 1/3 to a 1/2 full. I have also backed reels with whatever small amount of line I have left from a regular filler spool. I have found that as long as I don't go smaller than the 6lb, I'm good. Also, I don't care for the line counters.

I can admire how they brought a new generation to the fun of fishing but I often wonder, like most in this type of marketing machine, when will the send their followers astray just to make a buck.

Most reels I buy, I will take them apart and re-lube them from the get go> Some have too much grease and others not enough. It is rare in my experience to have a reel that is absolutely perfect out of the box.

I hope this isn't the beginning of a trend.

Megabass Deep-X Leviathan caught several big bass for this year. I dread the day I loose one of these things.

The Strike King Rage Tail Menace or the Caffeine Shad. I also like the small Keitech minnows with jigs with smaller skirts.

I haven't had any issues yet but I have been chucking mostly big crankbaits with it. I found, for me, that a setting of 3, 4 or 5 works best.

I was in the same boat but I sort of went all in with the Quantum reels several years ago, 2 Energy Baitercasters, 2 Energy Spinning Reels, 2 Tour PT Baitcasters, and two others I can't remember. All of them were dead after a year or earlier. I also was not a fan of the Hot Sauce. We will see how this round goes. Out of all of them, I think the Smoke is a no brainer and Quantum actually got this one right.

The last review I did was for Lew's. So Quantum is up next...... This journey with Quantum started with a conversation I struck with a guy in May of this year when I was out fishing in my kayak. He saw that I had two rigs with me, a Shimano Curado G and a Shimano Core. Short version, he was convinced that Quantum was the best reels ever and was willing to make me a bet. At first I thought he was just crazy and an overzealous fan but ended up being a nice guy. So the bet.... he gave me a brand new Accurist with his info and said to fish it as long as I like and give him my honest opinion. If I didn't love it, I would return the reel to him and he would give me $40 but if I did like it, I gave him $40 and kept the reel. I thought well why not. Needless to say, the Accurist was not a good reel for me. It started out pretty well. But after a few hours of use, it started to make a grinding noise and would cast inconsistently (backlashing and the thumb bar was not engaging). The receipt to Tackle Warehouse was in the box so I called them and they sent me a new reel. The same thing occurred. I then called the guy that gave me the reel and told him the story. He was not the least happy but was still trying to convince me to try another Quantum. So for a day (about 6 hours), I fished his Quantum Smoke HD with a Smoke rod. This was a nice setup and did change my mind about Quantum. I then took his $40 and invested it in a Quantum Icon I got new off of eBay for the $40. Which leads me to the following....... Icon > Simple, easy to use, definitely a step above the Accurist, not the smoothest nor does it cast the farthest but it gets the job done. I have fished this reel hard for about 40-50 hours and no complaints at all. It's a keeper. The Vapor PT > Ebay again.... This reel kind of feels cheap and plasticky in hand but is as smooth as any reel I have fished. It's light weight, casts well and has enough power to bring in some nice fish. One thing on this reel... I had to get 3 different side plates and another reel from Quantum (great service by the way) to get this reel to function correctly. The first and second plates did not fit the reel properly and one was the totally wrong part with the same part number. The Smoke and Smoke HD > way different from anything I have seen from Quantum. Great reels. Both solid, strong, smooth, and cast well. If you are looking for a reel outside of Daiwa and Shimano this would be a good one to look at. I guess in the end, I think Quantum has come a long way from my past experience serval years ago, which was real bad, but there still remains a few quality issues with these guys. I got the sense when talking to their customer service, many times, that they care immensely about their customers and want to make things right but are subject to what their factory does and have little control of what comes out, both good and bad. I do think they have great customer service and engineering departments though. I hope that one day they can put it all together. I think the Icon, Vapor and Smoke have made great additions to my fishing arsenal. On a side note, Quantum's customer service was a breath of fresh air compared to my past experiences with Shimano and Daiwa. I always felt like Shimano and Daiwa were overwhelmed and that I was just another number.

Curado K or Daiwa Tatula SV TWS

Try this page....... http://www.doyofishing.co.kr/goods/catalog?page=1&code=0006 A lot of the reels (if not all) share parts, features and the same design as many popular Lew's, BPS and Abu Garcia reels. I believe Banax works on Quantum's stuff but I'm not for sure on this one.