Fish-Hawk.Net

Hello Fish hawk Family,

As a recent newbie to baitcasting , I still get a lot of birds nests , but It is a learning curve & we still have fun with Junior .

What was your first baicasting rod & reel?
Do you still use it or did you sell it/trade up? Have you taken it to another province or country to fish? Would you advise this?

Post a picture if you still have it!

Azabache & Junior.

Browning Stalker combo 7ft

It was ok. Broken now from years of abuse.

RIP

Shimano Callisto combo was my first setup, In a week I went through more money replacing braided line from birdnests then the combo was worth used it for a few months and then took the leap up to a Curado, and that's when it all changed...

Hard to think that I now have lures that are the same price my orginal baitcaste for combo sold for..

Another FH'er lent me an Okuma Citrix and I don't know what for a rod. Loved it.

Two days later I went out and bought a St. Croix Avid Pearl. I'll admit, the pretty purply-pink colour and Abalone shell detail on the handle made me pick it up, but once in my hand, she snuggled in against my forearm like she was meant to be there. Fantastic starter rod and she's still my baby. I paired it up with a Daiwa Laguna. I wanted a basic reel, that was small in size and didn't break the budget. I had heard good things about this company Daiwa and thought I'd try it.
Aside from a very annoying issue with the break engaging ( that I must get fixed! ) I love this reel and now own two.

Abu Garcia pro max. Loved it then swapped out the rod for a veritad and ended up catching my biggest fish on it.. Rod is still in use but the reel has taken a turn for the worse.

Oh Lord!

I kind of went the opposite way from the other post. I was told to spend what you can afford and at the time, I had a good amount saved up so I went pretty big.

I bought a Pflueger Patriarch XT with I think a 6.4:1 gear ratio and paired it with a Dobyns Champion 734c full handle. The combo was great and that reel was a dream to learn on with the dual braking system. I birdsnested it a few times but not too bad. I was going to buy a Curado 200e7 but one of Eds pro staffers talked me into the Pflueger. I ended up getting a Curado for my second reel.

The Patriarch XT is now in the hands of a fellow fish hawker. I kept it for 3 or 4 years and it was still in great shape when I sold it. The only reason I got rid of it was I sold off all of my non Shimano reels and bought some new ones. The rod is still used every outing. It is the rod that got me hooked on Dobyns and is still a great and versatile rod.

I'd have no problems bringing the reel out of the country but all of my rods are one piece which could get expensive to transport. I would most likely buy a cheap 2 piece rod for international trips.

Shimano Curado 300E 6:4:1

St Croix Medium Heavy fast tip.

Spent about $550. Had buyers remorse for the amount I spent. Then I used it. No remorse, you get what you pay for.

It's funny how that remourse melts away when you start using the combo!

The wife thought I was nuts for buying the CQ100 until I tightened the exterior brakes and let her make a few casts. She was in love. Considering this was her first time casting a baitcaster into water (I let her try the metanium DC I bought in the yard), she did pretty darn good with no back lashes at all!

Abu Garcia Orra SX paired with an Abu Garcia Veritas MH rod. First time ever using a baitcaster and I'm still using it to this day. I recently picked up an Abu Garcia ProMax 7.1:1 reel for flipping because of my experience with the Orra and it's been even better than I expected!

Bass Pro Shops Graphite 96 Gold 6ft 3in M/H action pistol grip rod
Ambassadeur 4600C (red thumb bar) reel

After no less than 33yrs of constant use the 4600C is currently on my 734C spinnerebait rod and is still a great reel.

The BPS rod has had a Zebco 33 on it for quite some time and is used as a kids combo when required.

Hi Fish-hawk team,

Wow ! Some amazing combos , I have had a chance to look them up & some older rods, reels that are very impressive & in some cases are in use non stop.
I just gave my Caius a quick clean & a drop of reel grease, so I hope it will last a very long time.
The travel question is because I will be traveling soon to see friends in Florida & want to try salt water fishing , inshore & if we get on a boat off shore .
The Caius is rated for both fresh & salt water, fishing so we will see how this works out. I have been told to get it ready to re spool with a different line , but I still think that 12 lb abraxz would suffice from shore any way?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Azabache & Junior.

Any reel that has a coating on it is better than nothing but note that your few drops of oil are not going to be enough to protect the o get also if using it for saltwater.

I've seen some saltwater reels caked with grease that still had rust on the internal parts. My recommendation is to clean it with warm water after every time you use it in salt. I have never saltwater fished but depending on what you go for, I doubt 12lb flouro would be the best thing out there. Maybe wait and see what species you are going after and check if the 10 pound drag is going to be enough.

If I remember correctly, this reel was not designed for Braided lines so keep that in mind when you re spoil it (if needed).

And when you do get back, make sure to take whatever line is on there off as I would imagine salt with get stuck in there. Also, if you want this reel to last a long time, do a full tear down and wash/degrease all of the internals. Then re apply the grease and oils of your choice.

If I have scared you off, you might be better off buying a secondary one to bring with you are just rent some equipment down there.

Mines kinda a humorous story but a learning curve

I worked my butt off delivering papers and saved up over $200 for one..

I ended up buying an Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Anti Backlash reel. I soon learned it was a gimmick and it actually took away 50-60% of your distance when casting. I was a kid with no cash and I worked for months and months to save $200 and got screwed. I never bought an Abu Garcia product again.. This reel hit the market and left fast, goes to show you that investing in quality is important dont give into marketing gimmicks like I did.

Especially the "more ball bearings myth" you only need 4-5 in a single reel for it to be a good reel. When you see 10-12 bearings they jam them everywhere they can to make the consumer think hes getting more for his money!

Mine was an Abu Garcia Silver Max on a Berkley Lighting 6.6 rod. My parents got it for me for Christmas one year and in a Pro Am we came across some really windy rough water and it bounced out of the boat. It's sank to the bottom of the Ottawa river pretty quick.

Alex

Most of my decisions, good or bad, typically expensive, have been after visiting this forum... Jerks!

Anyhow, shortly after first signing up here, and gleaning through the topics, I stumbled upon bait casting. Hmm what is that? Hmm do Ireally need it? Hmm I guess I must!

So made a deal on a Abu Garcia Veritas Rod, with a daiwa Megaforce something with a 'Twitching Bar'. Well, I stumble a bit with it, and the twitchin Bar barfed, so buyers remorse set in, in a big way! Yet, when it worked it was like a whinch!

So, undeterred, I went seeking a new reel, and landed on a pflueger Echelon, that paired with the Veritas, really felt great. That was, until last spring, when I made the move and bought a G Loomis/Curado 300e set up. Game changer.

I still have the Veritas/pflueger set up, the reel is tired, needs some fresh line and a tune up (this weeks to do list), yet, it will still get used, even though, I have Purchased new 3 Set ups.

Again, as I mentioned in my opening statement, it was a chat with ZippyFX and Cyber last winter, that convinced me a higher end Rod is where it is at. Well, Cyber (whom my wife, I believe has a hit on, currently) was right!

I never had these fishing issues, before this forum.