You guys got me a bit paranoid about the BP Pro Qual 2 I got. I probably wont get enough casts on it to know if it's a bad one or not before the return window is long gone. I decided that there was an easy solution, upgrade. Lunch break turned into a trip to Cabela's and I played with the basic SLX and the Curado K. The Curado K they had on display clearly gets a ton of abuse but has held up. The SLX not nearly as well in some ways but better in others. The deciding factor was that the Curado gives external fine adjustment of the spool braking. The SLX only has the primary internal adjustment. The feel on the Curado was also better, it felt like a high quality reel. The SLX felt like what it is, an intro tier reel for a high quality range. So the shape and general vibe was good, but it wasn't as polished. Obviously that is purely subjective and based on very beat up examples. I played with a new from the box Curado but not the SLX.

 

Now I have to decide if this means returning the Pro Qualifier 2 or keeping it and just adding a second casting rod. I was considering a second one anyway and even if I have a bad one there's the warranty... Hell, who am I kidding. This is a good excuse to get a nice worm or jig rod.

Bait monkey is getting inside your head. You'll never be the same again. (Welcome to the forums/tackle purchase support group).

Thanks.

I probably do need a support group. lol

I figure I'll keep the Pro Qual 2, the money saved would just get re-spent when I get a second rig anyway. I accept my problem. I'm just not sure I really want to be cured.

17 minutes ago, RemyL said:

I'm just not sure I really want to be cured.

   Uh-oh. I know where this leads ........    ?            jj

3 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

   Uh-oh. I know where this leads ........    ?            jj

Wish I had the ambition to take and post some pictures here.  I could show RemyL where it leads. 

Oh, I can imagine. It wouldn't be so bad if I had decided that casting reels were not happening.  On the other hand, my goal is really to keep it to a fairly small set, since I'll be shore fishing and have to carry the darn things. So a small set for trout and then a small set for bass, hopefully with a little overlap. That's one reason I am happy about the Curado. That's a high quality reel that is perfectly able to handle the whole range for bass. I got the 7.4:1 so if I need some speed I've got it but still some power.

It's definitely the nicest in the current collection. 

Only live once. The BP Pro Qualifier is a good reel. If you bought it on sale it’s makes it even better. I hold on to it. 
 

Don’t second guess yourself. Your purchase would have been fine. 

Keep the reel - I'd use it as a reaction bait reel, spinner baits, square bills, Minus 1's are good for bank fishing.

Be mindful that most likely you won't always be a bank fisherman.  Fishing out of a boat, having a few extra rigs is handy.   You can always purchase more fishing gear - fishing time is much harder to purchase.

That's pretty much my plan. The rod it's on now is more suited to single hooks and more oomph, so I'll use it for that and the Curado is going on something a bit lighter for crank baits and anything where I don't have a big heavy hook or a lot of weight. I figure the reel will be fine, but I do tend to be that 1% that gets the screwed up one when the warranty won't extend into the actual use.

 

Even if I do wind up fishing off a boat, it won't be mine or will be small/basic enough it doesn't really have room to store a bunch of rods. I'm not interested in the hassles. An occasional rental or going out with someone else, sure, but that's a different story. The exception would be a kayak, those are definitely possible, but I'd probably limit myself to one or two rods in that scenario.

this is why I bring my lunch to work.....................

*sigh* I don't even have that good an excuse. I did bring lunch. I just usually eat it on the fly and use my lunch break as a time away from the office. Cabela's is just close enough to go, browse/try things and make a purchase and make it back. It's very dangerous. About the only saving grace is that the "instant" background check and other paperwork means I can't do the same thing with firearms.