Big-Bass

Haha...sorry man! If you were closer I'd let you in on the deals!

I just got an Old Town Predator MX for $799 (was $1,299 and was on closeout) at Sierra Trading Post. They have some seriously good deals on kayaks at a much better cost. You might want to check them out.

Sweet! I may have to see if they have any more and get them! I also got Shakespeare Micro Lite Blue combos (spincast and spinning) for my children (4'6" each) for $5 an $9 each for the combo. If they break them, no problem plus the spinning rod will be a nice native brook trout rod for this area!

Fuego CT!

Well good luck with whatever you pick! Steelhead fishing is a lot of fun. Be safe on the water and catch some chrome!

Ask them to scan them...mine were priced at $39 but rang up as $9!

The PQ2 will be on sale for $79 in no time. And it will stay there almost all the time. The Chinese and/or Korean factories that make this reel and all of the Lew's, Abu, etc. reels have almost all the same specs in all those reels based on price point. Companies just add their touch to the base reel and sell it for what they want as a brand name reel. Shimano and Daiwa produce their own products without outsourcing to secondary companies. Those factories that produce Shimano and Daiwa in any of the countries they use are owned by Shimano and Daiwa...not like Doyo, Dawon, etc.

Not sure...Cabela's rods tend to be a little heavy for their size/action. Have you looked into Fenwick rods?

PA.

Wal-Mart was closing out Lightning Rod Shocks today and I got both a 6' and 7' medium spinning rod for $9 a piece! I could not not buy these! How do these rods fair? Most of my tackle is higher end stuff but thought the price was too good to pass up on. Will these be good backup rods? Thanks and best wishes on the water!

Get the new Tatula Signature Elite series! They look awesome.

Riversider rods are nice for $39.99. To be honest and you may think I am crazy, but the Berkley C-Series (Crappie Pro) rods in 10' are legit and can be used for chrome no problem! I plan on using mine for American Shad on the Delaware. Soft mouths on crappie and shad and it will be perfect. Plus for steelhead, this rod has a great action that would suit many different applications. Hope this helps! Best wishes on the water!

15 years ago, Zebco/Quantum owned Lew's and now they are owned by a company that manufacturers them in the same place as Abu and BPS. Yes, now they are different animals.

The BB25SS was not part of the original Lew's models. It was that intermittent time from about 10-15 years ago (aright around 2002) where they tried to copy the classics and Lew's was owned by Quantum. They also had a BB19 at the time. You don't have a classic in that reel and that may be why it feels the way it does.

I have an original Shimano Lew's BB1 that I still use. It's an awesome little reel. Lew Childre parted ways with Shimano in about 1977 (and he would die soon thereafter) after they starting producing their Bantam 100 series. The company worked with Ryobi from that point (BB-1N and BB-1NG) until the late 1980s/early 1990s when it was picked up by Browning/Quantum (still making the classic reels). When Lew Childre died, his son Casey took over and my dad met him at a place called Zambor's in PA (used to be a pretty big store for it's day). After some time off as a brand, they (Zebco/Quantum) reintroduced (or tried) to re-market the BB-1 models and even included a saltwater model. In about 2007, one of the folks at BPS bought out and again reintroduced the brand making the reels in the same factory that they make Abu, BPS, and a few others and now have a TON of models. I hope this helps.

I have an HG on the way...I figure 7.1:1 for a versatile reel in the most versatile ratio. Hopefully it's a really nice reel. It's going on a Jackall Poison Adrena 7' medium rod.

I picked up a few of the Jawbone Sunfish today...bluegill, pumpkinseed, and bream. They are nice looking baits and aside from the better hook on the Koppers, I will take these for $2 any day!

Looks like a closeout but also the yen prices are much lower so you get the same reel for much less than you would pay in the U.S. JDM reels are currently priced better than U.S. equivalent models.

Too bad they still don't offer a Calais style reel in that price range. I love my 100A reel and it casts beautifully.

Brass gears in a Chronarch MGL may be more durable than the aluminum. There are many over on another forum (TT) that have held this discussion and there is even a pretty good review on the Chronarch MGL that may sway a vote or two. The best reel is what works for you...not what others tell you is the best. These are just suggestions and wish you all the best with the new reel! http://www.tackletour.com/reviewshimchronmgl.html

A true Ned Rig (1/16oz. head with the bait) would be tough unless you are using a Daiwa SV spool and/or a specific BFS rod and reel. Spinning tackle is much easier overall unless you want to spend extra money on a very specific light line/presentation bait caster. If you choose a heavier mushroom head, you defeat the purpose of the Ned Rig. I hope this helps.

We got 30" today...yes I said that right 30 INCHES! We are expected another 6-8" tonight and the wind is howling so my two trips outside with the snowblower today are definitely moot points with all the drifting. I was fishing from a boat though on 2/27 so who knows what is going on with weather. I have never been in a boat in February and this year marked the first for that and I have never seen March snow (or any snow in one day) like this before. Stay warm everyone! Best wishes on the water!

Enjoy both of those reels...they are both awesome!

I started collecting reels and off the top of my head here are some of the NIB or close to reels I can think of that I have: Abu Revo SC - Excellent w/box Abu Revo MGX - NIB Abu Morrum ZX NIB Abu Ambassadeur 6500 (1959-1961 model) - like NIB with aged leather case, etc. Abu Ambassadeur 4600C Don Iovino Custom - BRAND NEW - custom reel Abu Ambassadeur 2500C Don Iovino Custom - BRAND NEW - custom reel Lew's - Shimano - BB1 (Original model) - Excellent condition Daiwa TD-Z 103H Type R NIB Daiwa/Megabass TD-Z 103 Ito NIB Daiwa Air Metal JDM TD-X 105H - Excellent w/box Daiwa Air Metal JDM TD-Z 103H - Excellent Shimano Chronarch 100SF - Like NIB Shimano Metanium XT (JDM 100SF) - Like NIB w/ updated bearings and Chronarch B handle Shimano Calais 100A - Like NIB Shimano Calcutta TE 100GT - Like NIB Shimano Citica 200E - NIB These are not my fishing reels...these are the reels I have to collect. My reels that I fish are not included. Good luck with your collecting!

The TD-Z line of reels is perhaps (arguably of course) the finest reel that Daiwa has ever put out. Yes, the OG Zillion frame is more durable and I will agree that it, and the SV103 are truly spectacular reels, but for innovation at the time (1998), the TD-Z reels were awesome. The Steez reels were improvements but I don't know if they ever truly met the mark the the TD-Z created and left to the fishing world. It was unheard of in 1998 to see a reel retail for $349.95. I remember being afraid of them being made of magnesium because I was only used to aluminum reels but they are gorgeous. I have a NIB TD-Z Type R (limited 2002 only model), a NIB TD-Ito (2003), and I have both an excellent condition with box/paperwork/oil TD-X Air Metal 105H (rare) and a bearing upgraded TD-X Air Metal 103H (no box). The TD-X Air Metal reels were simply a TD-Z with a slightly more gold frame (which was beautiful), aluminum ported spool (instead of ceramic Gigas) and no bearings in the handle knobs. All are easily converted and any TD-Z spool/upgrades will fit in those reels...plus the options of the TD-Z and TD-X Air Metal are endless... Best wishes on the water...