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Back in the early 80's, I used to use a Berkley Avenger pistol grip rod with Diawa baitcaster (the one described in the first post). I used that a lot. After awhile, I learned that it wasn't a good set up becouse as the rod would flex, the line would ride along the rod blank causing issues. At the time I blamed it on the fact it was a substandard system. I mothballed the setup in favor of spinning setups that do not do that. I have since bought better rods and have found the guide placement has much to do with the issue. A couple more guides, in the correct spots, help keep the line off the rod better. So, the rod I use for pan fishing, I will also try as a baitcaster too. If it is again something I don't like, I can just sell off the reel, and be a few $$$ out, then I will know. Otherwise, I will have a dual setup rod.

I was really interested in the 100d one until I realized...it was RH. I can't find anyone with a 101d.

I looked at the Citica, but at 9.9oz's, that's quite a hunk of weight to hold.

I just found the BPS website and saw they have a Bionic plus one 38-350-602-00 with good weight and good reveiws. Is that a good one?

I have decided to get another baitcaster. I am a spinning reel person, but I have decided to buy another baitcaster, and give it a try. I do have an older Diawa that has more dust on it than line, but I don't like the way it works...it's old. Here is what I have found. Diawa Advantage Super Tuned. Retail: 139.95 marked down to 79.95. TD-A153HSTL Cabela's Prodigy. Retail 99.99 marked down to 79.95. PRC201 My criteria is, it MUST be LEFT handed, and must be on the lighter side. Both reels are listed at 8.6 oz. That is about as heavy as I care to go. If anyone knows of a good baitcaster that is lefthanded, lite, and in the same price range, I'll look into those too. I don't shop BPS, so if they have a tried and true reel, I'll look at it. I don't have anything against BPS, I just are not familular with them. I mostly shop local with a few odd things from Cabela's. BTW, I'm looking at low profile ones. The reel is going on a CR721C Loomis rod.

Seaguar Carbon pro is the ONLY line I will use as a leader, but it might have too much memory for a main line. I haven't ventured into the high dollar world of floro line, and not sure if I will. As long as Carbon Pro works as a good leader, I don't see the need to fill a whole spool with floro. BTW, does anyone back their floro with cheap mono to keep the costs down???

It's a florocarbon coated mono.

The "new and improved" Trilene XT is the ONLY line I have ever had consistant line wrapping around the tip issues. I had the problem the first couple outings with PowerPro, but since it "broke in", I have not had the issue.

I have 2 setup's with braid, and the rest are mono. The brands of lines may change as I find something I like better, but the type of line on the setup's most likely won't change. Braid has it's place, but it's no doubt not a one size fit's all line. My 2 braid setup's are for vertical jigging/dropshotting with a flouro leader, and direct tie on for casting topwaters and worms. I don't do some of these "new" techniques like flipping, so maybe there are other uses for braid too, but for me it's just 2.

2 Saturday's before X-Mas I was down in the twin cities shopping and I stopped by the Rogers, Cabela store. They had a Loomis 721 casting rod on close out from $210 marked down to $110. I was what I was looking for in a Sunfish rod. As I was walking around with it, an announcement came over the PA. "25% off all fishing rods and reels, excluding Shimano...til noon". Needless to say, I beelined right for the register to get my rod for $86 and change. What a bargain. 8-)

Original Stren is pretty good. Trilene XL is great for casting, but is not all that tough for weeds/cover. The "new" Trilene XT is still tough, but it is less manageable than it used to be. I can't stand the new Trilene MAXX. Too thick, too much memory, too hard to work with. I have not had good luck with P-line floroclear, poor knot strength. IF you want Mono for dropshot, jigging, or slip bobber, then get the Stren original, the Trilene XL will work too. If your looking for casting mono into cover, then Stren DuraTuf or Trilene XT will be needed. These are the only lines I have tried, I have heard good things about Sufix, Silver thread, and Yo-zuri, but I have not tried them ...yet. All these lines are on Pflueger Supreme spinning reels with Loomis IMX or GLX rods.

I've tested quite few lines this year. Things I have learned is: I won't ever buy Power pro again. Fray's too easy. Color is poor. "Coating" wears off too easy. Too much memory. I need to try Suffix and Tuf line (heard good things about it) to make my testing complete. So far I like Stren superbraid the best, with Spider wire Stealth still being a reasonable option. I used Spider wire braids for years, but some of the other lines coming out are as good, if not better.

IMO, it depends on what you will be using it for. Jigging, dropshot, worms/plastics, and various other finesse fishing situations, it is a must have. I don't see a need for them throwing cranks, spinners and buzzbaits. Bass are not going to nibble or light bite a crank or buzzbait, they are going to inhale them. As long as the rod and operator are capable of setting the hook correctly, you'll catch the fish. If the bite is tough, and the fish are under a lot of pressure, and you need to finesse them, then nothing will compare to a high end rod. Period.

I have the Pflueger Supremes. Won't even consider another reel anymore. I took back a Stradic that had bail issues and decided to wait for the Supreme. I have 3 now.

I have now used PP, Spiderwire Stealth, and Stren Superbraid. I really don't find much difference in any of them except for something with the Stren that makes it capture less water. When reeling in, it doesn't have as much water spray. At any rate, I have alway's used the same knots, and have always wetted the knot, whether I need to or not, and have never had issue with PP or Stealth. I hear of some who claim the Stealth doesn't have good knot strength, but I have not had this issue. In the end, it mostly boils down to personal preference. For me, I am willing to buy a spool of something and try it so I can say I like it or don't. PP is popular for a reason, and Spiderwire is still around for a reason, neither are "gimmicks", they both work.

Yes, in 1996 Cabela's bought the catalog portion of Gander, as an attempt on Ganders part, to raise cash in order to "stay afloat". It didn't work. In 1997 they started to sell out to Holiday. As far as I know, nothing has changed and Holiday still owns Gander. So the salesman was right, but it was only the catalog.

It is normal. It has to do with the action of the rod, and the taper of the blank, among other things. It's one of the subtle differences between a $50 rod, and a $250 rod. If you look closely, you might find other guides looking like they are out of alignment too, depending on the rod blank.

Not sure where you got that misinformation from, but it's far from the truth. Gander is it's own company expanded through the take over of Burger brothers and the restructuring/mergering of Holiday sporting goods. The parent company is Holiday, the same Holiday that has a large chain of gas stations in the northwest/uppermidwest.

I'll second that. We have a couple 11's for sunfish. Very nice reels for the price.

I'll let RoLo borrow my equipmet anytime, he knows how to use it. dsaavedra, Set up the combo your most comfortable with. I use spinning reels almost exclusively (I don't fish live bait much, but I do have a baitcaster still, just for that). I feel the balance of the spinning combo is far superior to over rod setups. I also find that with the over rod setups, the line rubbing on the blank as the rod is flexing, hinders the overall effectiveness of the rod. Both baitcasters and spinning reels take practice to use effectively, and a lot more practice to master. It all depends on what setup your willing to commit to in order to use effectively and/or master. As far as the baitcaster goes, proper set up is sooooo critical to proper operation, it is, IMO, the most important thing to master in using baitcasters. "Birdnesting" should never happen when using a baitcaster in the proper situation, when set up properly. Baitcasters do not work well with light lures, and are not a good choice for that type of fishing. 3/4 oz is pretty much the lightest lure I will use with a baitcaster. Lighter lures open up a large can of worms. Too many factors can effect the set up and operation of the reel, and cause issues, like "birdnesting". In the end, nothing is more important than going with the set up your most comfortable with. Your first post seems to show your most comfortable with the spinning set up, and that may be the best set up for you.

IMO, the line to use to measure a set-ups true "castability" is Trilene XL in the 8-12lb range. While I have not used every line on the market, I have found that of the ones I have used, the XL is the easiest/smoothest/farthest casting.

I was wondering if anyone has, or has seen, worm hooks with floating heads??? I know I could tie on an inline float like the ones used for Lindy rigs, but I would prefer to use a floating head hook. TIA.

Braided line...a crutch for those who can't hook fish. ;D

Bought the Shimano, eh.

I would stay away from the "new" XT line. I respooled my topwater/worm spinning rod with 10lb XT, as I alway's did, and it was a nightmare. The line would shake violently through the guides which caused about 30% loss in casting distance. It would also wrap around the end of the rod if you had to unhook from a weed or something, then end up with slack after freeing it. It seems to have a lot more "memory" than it used to. That put my confidence fishing, down the tubes. I respooled with XL, for now, and everything is working as it should. Time to look for a new mono, I guess. Maybe it still works good with BC reels, but it doesn't work for spinning reels/rods anymore.