Jeff H

Wow!.... and here I thought you'd jumped completely off the Revo boat. This is quite a perception, you are a very astute guy. Now I'm wondering about this being the thing I couldn't quite put my finger on with a couple spinning reels that were new to me last summer. I guess I better pay closer attention to things. Interesting post!

I picked Shimano. There is a Shimano model for every budget and they all offer good value for the price. My favorites are the Crucial and Compre.

While you wait for responses, try the search feature. I remember seeing several threads last year about this reel.

There may be redemption in that the clown in the boat may have ended up with a ruined prop shaft seal.

A Cabela's Prodigy (made by Daiwa and basically is the TD-A 150H with an extra bearing and swept handle) is very hard to beat at $100. I am very happy with mine and would not hesitate to buy another if I needed another reel. Revo SX and Daiwa TD-A HSTA153 (I have the TD-A HST153) are slightly better and another good choice, although slightly out of your price range at $170. I think the Prodigy is a lot of reel for $100 and I expect mine will keep on ticking for years to come. It got fished hard last year and never gave me a lick of trouble.

It is either.... A) T-rig worm jig/craw C) spinnerbait I really have no idea which has accounted for the most fish but it's one of those three.

I agee with what Catt said. Brand name doesn't matter to me if the quality is there.

You can rely on GMAN's jigs. His "widegap jig" is a excellent all around jig and has become my favorite.

Mine are old, but I like them. I have 2 different Team Daiwa IM6 Powermesh rods that I got somewhere around 1996 or so. Both are 7' telescoping rods. One is rated for 3/16 to 5/8 oz lures and the other is rated for 1/2oz to 1 oz lures. The heavier rod pairs with my old (but in great shape) Team Daiwa TD1-pi (5.1:1) and the lighter rod pairs with a old Team Daiwa TD1-hi (6.3:1). I use Trilene 10lb XT on both. I don't crank a lot (or not as much as I should) so I don't have much tied up in these rigs, but even so they work well for me. Before these, I was all about glass rods, but I've come to like graphite better.

Bought a spool of Berkley 100% last year in 6lb test for my finesse rig. I don't even care enough to work at trying to make myself like this stuff. You guys can have it, I'll stick to my XT.

Rapala's Original floater size 18 (7") in black/silver. Maybe down to size 13 in smallie territory. Vary retrieve from straight to rip to jerk or whatever. Might not work well with 3 in a boat to be flinging a bait with 3- #2 trebles on it, but they are night killers on the lakes I fish.

Bingo! When I was a kid, the ONLY control option was spool tension and there were no brakes on my first few casting reels I owned. Too much blame gets put on brake performance and not enough on the errant thumb these days. Like Catt said, "educate your thumb" and everything gets easier.

Same for me. Especially the #5 shallow runner. My #1 early season smallie crank of all time, by far. I have 1 left, dating back to the 70's and it's beat up pretty bad now. Wish I could get another dozen of these.

I have 3 Crucials and 1 Compre. I think the extra $ for the Crucial is worth it for bottom bouncing lures (jigs,worms et al) as they are more sensitive. The Compre makes more sense for applications where less sensitivity is just fine, ie spinnerbaits etc. Even so, the Compre is up to any job given, as mentioned above by islandbass. Where sensitivity is concerned, my Crucials are on par or better than my Croix Avids. The Crucial is, in my opinion, very under-rated. It's a lot of rod for the price!!

I'm content where I'm at. What I have works good for me.

I can't answer this with a single item. My youngest son says (without hesitation) "***" (***). They sure made him a happy kid last summer and I gotta admit....they ARE killer!!

This is my favorite too, been a B.A.N.G. fan for many years now.

3/8 oz Chrome/Blue back Rattlin' Rap is by far my #1.

I am one who believes it makes a difference. I stick to mono.

Before you buy one of those, compare to a Shimano Compre. The Compre is about the same price and I like them better. I am picturing last years model Series One though, haven't seen this years models.

I go along with Burley here. I have one that is retired, still useable but a tad rough. It served me well for 5-6 years and my oldest son used it another 5-6 yrs. I tore it down last year, cleaned it up and relubed it and put in the box with the other functional retirees. Great real in regards to how tough it is. Kinda heavy like Micro said too.

I use a 6'6" M/XF Crucial. I tried that "slow" action approach and found because of the (often times but not always) long casts involved I lost more fish than with the rod I use now. I am almost ALWAYS around weeds with these baits so prefer firmer action.

They are probably in the same weight range as a Shimano Compre, which to me feels just a bit heavier than a Crucial. Definitely not as light as rods in the $200 class. I had been handling a comparable Avid just before I picked up that Prodigy and the weight difference was obvious. Still, not that big of a deal for the price.

I checked them out. Nice rod for the $100 price. I may get the PDS702-1 (7' Light Spinning) and pair it with a Tourney ZX 1500A for a crappie rod. I'm going to compare it to a Shimano Compre before I buy though. No doubt, these are very comfy rods in the hand and worthy of consideration for anyone within the $100 area.

I'm going to be looking at them today. They do look good for the price.