MN Fisher

The Regal and Fuego are significantly faster than the President, but in the sub $100 category I'd go with a Pflueger Supreme-30. 1) It's not much slower than the Diawas (31.8IPT vs 34.5IPT) 2) Setting a drag to max is a good way to break line - I set mine to 1/3 to 1/2 the line test...play the fish, don't horse it in 3) Fuego and Regal are carbon based bodies, the Supreme is a Magnesium body...I'll take a metal body over a 'plastic' one any day 4) Weight difference across all three reels is 0.3 oz - so it's not an issue.

Luck

After having been out and tried my new setups - 3 of my rigs are new this year - I have to say that you can find some fairly good combos for well under $200. Saying that, having more than one rig that's nearly the same is something I won't do. I don't mind swapping lures on a rig, it's not THAT much time out of my fishing. I've caught bass on everything from my Pres-25 rig (Ultra-light) to the Fuego (Heavy). It's finding where they are and what they want that makes the difference...not that you have two-dozen rigs that cost $400-$500-whatever each. My five rigs cost under $400 total, and I'm catching bass on them.

That'd give you more torque, making it easier to reel the lure in. Sounds like a reel that'd work for just about any crankbait that the rod is capable of handling.

Step it down to a 5.2 to 5.4 - at 35IPT on your Smoke you're trading power for speed. Look at the manufacturers sites to find one that's in the 25-29IPT range with the previously mentioned gear ratio. My Trion is a 5.2:1 with 25.9IPT and I have no issues with crankbaits up to 1/2 ounce...which is what my Rattlin' Rap 07s are.

Personally? I toss any crank 1/2oz to 3/4 on my President BC...anything heavier than that goes on the Fuego. BUT...if you want spinning. Then a 2500 to 3000 size reel on an MH rod - 5/8 is about the middle of an MH rod's rating, and from experience that's where you get your best cast/control.

One thing I do know - you don't have to have dozens of setups so long as you're willing to change lures. The 5 rigs I have cover everything except heavy swimbaits/topwaters and deep-diving crankbaits. Sure I have to change lures to try a new technique, but as I'm on a limited budget it's worth it.

You've got some duplication in there, but if you're tying on different lures to each it's not a bad thing. Depending on what you want to learn, there's a few options 6.?:1 baitcaster on a M to MH rod for deep-diving crankbaits 6.6:1 to 7.1:1 baitcaster on swimbait rod for those heavy lures L to ML spinning rig for finesse applications - drop-shot, Ned-rig, etc The Fury looks to be a good rod - I'd put an aluminum frame baitcaster on the new BC rig (I'm partial to Diawa and Pflueger for my BCs- so Fuego, Tatula, Supreme or Supreme-XT would be my choices) Spinning reel - Again with a Supreme or Supreme-XT, but Mitchell is my other brand for spinners...so a 300-Pro or a Mag-Pro would be my options. That's all I can think of off the top of my head - I'm sure others will have other suggestions.

Dunno why some people have issues with spinning gear...'fairy wand?'...really? I've caught plenty of bass on spinners and it's still my go-to for lighter crank/jerkbaits, wacky rigs, light/weightless T-Rigs and all my finesse applications.

Okay...most of the difference is in how the lures work. As someone who goes after trout occasionally I know. There IS going to be flex on the rod when retrieving crankbaits...it's unavoidable. Bass lures have a 'pull' because of how they move through the water. The bill on a crankbait causes resistance...much more than an inline spinner does. As long as you can retrieve the lure, I'd put up with it. All depends - I use my spinning reel for crankbaits up to an 07 and jerkbaits up to an 11 (Rapala sizes)...3/16 oz and less weight.

6:1 on a spinning reel is fast - my fastest one is a 5.4:1 and it's my finesse rig. The spinner I use for smaller crankbaits is a 5.2:1. If it's fairly new, I'd consider trading it in for a slower reel...or just putting up with it.

What's the gear ratio of your reel? The higher it is, the less torque it applies and the more force it takes to reel in lures.

Old Country Buffet is still in business...quite a few less places now, but they do business under three names Old Country Buffet Ryans Hometown Buffet http://www.oldcountrybuffet.com/locator/

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See, that makes no sense. It was their best-seller for decades. You don't think the customers (us) wouldn't pay a bit more to still have it available? The insane prices on E-Bay prove that people are willing to pay a premium. If it was cost of materials that Uncle Josh flinched at, don't you think they'd re-start production knowing that people would pay enough to recoup the costs and still make a profit?

It wasn't the prices...from the article I linked. "The issue, explained a company representative, is that Uncle Josh has been unable to get the quality fatback they need to produce durable pork baits."

Uncle Josh was the only one producing the thick pork-rind trailers. They stopped production due to supply issues from the slaughter houses...farms now producing 'lean' pigs. That was back in 2015. What's out there is it...no more new supplies. There have been a couple articles about making your own...but again the problem is finding the right type of fatty hide to do so. The era of the thick pork-rind is gone...it's nothing but flat trailers now. https://www.onthewater.com/after-93-years-uncle-josh-to-stop-producing-pork-rinds

I haven't used a swimbait rod...though I am looking to get into heavier swimbaits than my Aird-X H/F can handle. Couple other options in that price range are the Dobyn's Fury and the St Croix Bass-X - both have swimbait models.

Never had a problem with original Power Pro.

Depends on how heavy a load you're going to be towing. I've got a 2001 Chevy Silverado that I purchased used for $6k, it's a 4x4 with the towing package and is rated to haul 11,000lbs behind it. So what do I tow with it? A canoe that rigged out is about 150lbs on a 200lb trailer.

This is the combo I have for my heavier lures - H/F rod. 8.1:1 reel. Was throwing a WP-90 on it last week. The reel is smooth and easy to tune in, the rod was casting that lure with no issues and was sensitive enough that 1# bass were felt as they hit the lure.

Last Wednesday I was out in the canoe. Didn't catch anything but dinks, but two of then were on a WP-90. Topwaters work, now I just have to find where the bigger ones hide.

It hasn't...I got a 'refrigerator thermometer' on a line with a weight so I can measure temps at depth. Wednesday, the surface got to 50...but a foot down it was at 45. Now we got a cold front so I think the temps will still be low for a while.

Check the manufacturer of the F&S Blade - if it's KL Industries...it's a re-labled Sun Dolphin. Sun Dolphin is KL's 'home brand'. A lot of what F&S sells is actually Sun Dolphin products.

Another one to look at is the Mitchell 308 combo. The reel is a 2000 size and Walmart has them on 5'6" Light, 6' Medium, 6'6" Medium, or 7' Medium rods for $70. The 300 series has been around for decades and based on my old 320, is rock solid and will last a long time. If you want a bit of a step-up - they have the 300-Pro (4000 size reel) combo with a 7' Medium rod on rollback for $62.