QuietJourney Forums

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Posted by: HighnDry
Posted on: Apr 21^st, 2016 at 1:41am

I'm going to try to add something here in terms of a photo or two. I just haven't had the time. I ignored everyone's sage advice to go with only a good lure or two and decided to load up. Who will carry and actually use the various poppers, twitchers and prop-driven wheely-gigs I don't know. Still working those details out. More to come soon....and thanks all for the great advice and input. More thoughts are always welcome as the bronzeback season approaches..

Posted by: TomT Posted on: Apr 14^th, 2016 at 10:26pm	Quote
HighnDry wrote on Apr 13^th, 2016 at 12:54am: I still hope to cross paths with for that September Q trip to see your setup and how it works. Yeah, we'll talk later on. I'm a go for 9/4 from PP.

Posted by: HighnDry Posted on: Apr 13^th, 2016 at 12:54am	Quote
I've dumped the mono for spiderwire and fireline. My 'new' setup only set me back 60 and was a much needed upgrade over my old kit. I still hope to cross paths with for that September Q trip to see your setup and how it works.

Posted by: TomT Posted on: Apr 13^th, 2016 at 12:28am	Quote
Nothing like a new rod and reel to put a smile on our face. So Nanda, are you going with braided or mono or maybe fireline?

Posted by: HighnDry
Posted on: Apr 12^th, 2016 at 2:42am

PhantomJug wrote on Apr 11^th, 2016 at 11:15pm:

With reels it's about bearings; the more the better. At least 6 + a roller bearing for the rigors of Quetico. I like rear drag as well but that's just me. 40 IPC is also nice when fishing all day. The Shimano Stradic is a nice reel. It's about $160 but it will last forever.

Yes, I like the Stradic however I had to keep myself within budget so I just picked up a Spirex 4000FG. I figure that I can use it now and in the future for salmon and steelhead where a backreel function will keep me from tearing the guts out of the reel! I also landed a Shimano Convergence Spinning rod, 7ft., medium-fast in graphite. I wanted a Compre but there was that price thing again to consider. I found a couple Rebel Pop-Rs and an X-rap PopR or two which more or less sets me up for the topwater action for my May ice-out trip into the Q.

I'm still "lure-hunting" though

and I prefer to call them "dressed trebles" rather than skirts.

Posted by: Old Salt Posted on: Apr 12^th, 2016 at 12:14am	Quote
There's another thread about skirts somewhere...lures that have them generally do better than skirtless ones. Those bass are skirt chasers. That may explain PJs choice of a plaid skirt um kilt.

Posted by: PhantomJug Posted on: Apr 11^th, 2016 at 11:15pm	Quote
With reels it's about bearings; the more the better. At least 6 + a roller bearing for the rigors of Quetico. I like rear drag as well but that's just me. 40 IPC is also nice when fishing all day. The Shimano Stradic is a nice reel. It's about $160 but it will last forever.

Posted by: jaximus
Posted on: Apr 9^th, 2016 at 6:17am

Quote

pflueger presidents are what i own and use. gander mt brand reels are made my pflueger, but not quite as smooth. i have the size 35 president also. love it. i feel its the best performance for the money. they are smooth and drag is silky. i use the 'backreel' feature (the toggle switch) quite a bit when big fish make runs but i leave it turned to the 'lock' position until i know its a good fish. as for the spirex you speak of, shimano makes GREAT reels also, but for my use, i think its lacking a very important feature. the reel only stops backreeling when the bail is in the 'up' position(when the line is closest to the rod for casting). some people like that, i dont. i like the reels that are 'instant lock' on the backreel for trolling and one handed rod usage. the spirex is not instant stop

Posted by: HighnDry
Posted on: Apr 8^th, 2016 at 11:52pm

jaximus wrote on Apr 7^th, 2016 at 5:22am:

as far as i know, gander mountain labled rods are still built on fenwick blanks. i have a large collection of gander brand rods as well as st croix and fenwick.

based on my setups, most of my topwater fishing is done on my baitcaster which is a 6'6" gander 'vortex' rod ($19.99 on sale quite often and VERY much worth it) with sufix 832 braid. (832, IMO is thr best braid and ive used/use them all)

the gander vortex rods are currently on sale now. the baitcaster version is 6'6" medium heavy action with a fast tip, one piece. great crank/spinnerbait rod. (i like a bit longer for trolling) the spinning version is 6'6" medium action fast tip, again one piece. great jigging rod and excellent for live bait and slip floats (not in the Q!) i own and love BOTH versions.

as for carrying them on portages, i have golf club tubes (thin walled plastic pipes) built into brackets made of cedar that have velcro on them. they weigh only ounces. they velcro inside my canoe and hold the rods inside. they act as a holster of sorts. i find taking my 2 piece rods apart for portaging a hastle, so if you own a canoe and dont mind sticking a little velcro on the inside of the hull, i would use 1 piece rods. leftover velcro can be used to secure your plano trays to the front and rear deck lids as well Wink

Thanks Jaximus. Interesting setup in your photos. I kind of straddle the two worlds in terms of rods. I have a Shimano 6'6" 2 piece graphite spinning rod that I really like and a 7ft shakespeare ugly stick that feels like I'm waving a fencepost-- but I love it especially for trolling. The issue of where and how to stow the rods has always vexed me. It seems I'll eventually break them if left out of a case but breaking down a 2pc-er is a hassle. I like the 2pc rods though for tucking away in a tube and your golf tube idea with the velcro would be a great fix. I'm going to look at the Gander Mt. rods as an option.

I'm also trying to weigh the advantages of a couple of reels. I have a Pfleuger President 6935 that I really like but only because I have never fished anything on the 'higher end'. I'm eyeing a Shimano Spirex 2500 but I couldn't say what the advantage might be except that I can probably load more braid onto it and it has a higher drag range whatever that means Grin

. Anyway I would love to hear your and Tom T's reel setups even though I'm sure it probably comes to personal preferences for how, when and where to fish!

Posted by: TomT Posted on: Apr 8^th, 2016 at 11:23am	Quote
That's a nice set up. Thanks.

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