Question for the anglers

[GoinAllTheWay]

So during my xmas shopping, I rolled through Whole Sale Sports down near Costco.

LOVE fishing. I had two rods that my fishin chums were good enough to break so I bought a new rod (Ugly Stick) but realized my reels are geting older.

I use the spincasting type for pretty much everything atm. My best reel at the moment is an older reel that has a casting trigger on it, a HUGE must IMO yet almost all the reels I was looking at didn't have a trigger on it.

Am I missing something here? Why don't they all have that? I would hate the idea of having to manually open the spool before casting.

So I guess my question is, is having a trigger non-desireable? If so, why? And seeing that the selection kinda blew at Wholesale, anyone see a decent lineup of reels with triggers at Bass Pro Shop up at Malzac?

[Displaced Flames fan]

Why are you using warm water fish set ups for cold water fishing in the first place?

Where do you fish and what are you fishing for? I actually loathe the reels you are talkiing about. They are designed for short, precisions casts from a boat toward the shore.

[vanisleflamesfan]

Moving from a trigger spinning reel to a non trigger reel just adds one simple motion, flipping open the bail with your other hand. It is really quite easy to get used to it.

You can still find trigger reels around, but sadly I can't give you any advice on where to find them in town. I mostly fly fish nowadays.

Shimano trigger reel.

*EDIT

Bass Pro shops should sell some with triggers:

Bass Pro

[GreenLantern]

Talking of fishing makes me sad.. I love getting new lures for Christmas, but I hate stareing at them for 5 months wondering how they will look in the water.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

Why are you using warm water fish set ups for cold water fishing in the first place?

Where do you fish and what are you fishing for? I actually loathe the reels you are talkiing about. They are designed for short, precisions casts from a boat toward the shore.

Ya, sorry, should have mentioned I don't do much ice fishing. Just had fishing on the brain.

That's pretty much exactly how I use my setup, attacking the shoreline from the boat. They work just fine for trolling as well for the most part.

That reminds me of another question, there is a reel designed just for trolling, isn't there? If so, what is the advantage to using one over a regular spin caster?

Wow, didn't even think about looking online, thanks for the link vanisleflamesfan.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

Ya, sorry, should have mentioned I don't do much ice fishing. Just had fishing on the brain.

That's pretty much exactly how I use my setup, attacking the shoreline from the boat. They work just fine for trolling as well for the most part.

That reminds me of another question, there is a reel designed just for trolling, isn't there? If so, what is the advantage to using one over a regular spin caster?

Wow, didn't even think about looking online, thanks for the link vanisleflamesfan.

Yeah, I don't ice fish either. What species are you after? Maybe Alberta is chock full of warm water species and I was just unaware.

[Redliner]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

That reminds me of another question, there is a reel designed just for trolling, isn't there? If so, what is the advantage to using one over a regular spin caster?

You mean like this?


These are marketed as baitcasting reels and are ideal for trolling with a downrigger. If you're just trolling casually and not using a downrigger, your spinning reel should be just fine.

[Mad Mel]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

That reminds me of another question, there is a reel designed just for trolling, isn't there? If so, what is the advantage to using one over a regular spin caster?

Two things that I can think of. Trolling reels are levelwinds, so they don't twist the line up at all. The second thing is a bit subjective, but IMO most trolling reels are a lot heavier-duty than the average spinning reel. A good Pflueger or Penn will last your lifetime, and probably your kid's too.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Redliner

You mean like this?


These are marketed as baitcasting reels and are ideal for trolling with a downrigger. If you're just trolling casually and not using a downrigger, your spinning reel should be just fine.

Very similar, yes. Good to know. There seems to be a few different types of reels out there not related to flyfishing, just curious what the differences are.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

Yeah, I don't ice fish either. What species are you after? Maybe Alberta is chock full of warm water species and I was just unaware.

I fish for Pike and trout mostly, I had no idea different rod setups were meant for different water temperatures unless I am totally misunderstanding what you mean.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

Talking of fishing makes me sad.. I love getting new lures for Christmas, but I hate stareing at them for 5 months wondering how they will look in the water.

I hear that. I usually get lures for my birthday (september) just as the season is starting to wind down. At least I have a better chance of getting a line in the water in September

[J pold]

My suggestion: give fly-fishing a try.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

I fish for Pike and trout mostly, I had no idea different rod setups were meant for different water temperatures unless I am totally misunderstanding what you mean.

Has nothing to do with water temps but how the species behave. Warm water fish tend to like shorelines and cover where a reel like that comes in handy, though pike fit the bill here too.

Cold water fish tend to like deep water. If you're fishing from shore these reels are useless. If you're jigging for Mackinaw, like on Flathead Lake, they are fine. I'm no expert on the Alberta fishery either so this could very well be the case though I would hope Alberta's fish and game hasn't ruined the trout/salmon fishery like Montana's did.

One reason I haven't done much fishing here in Kansas is my hatred for those reels. I'm terrible with them.

I prefer stream fishing, overall, and fly fishing to narrow it down even more. Never been much of a lake guy, but a bad day of lake fishing beats just about anything else one can spend a day doing!

[Mike Oxlong]

Why don't you just figure out how to flip open the bale like everyone else and then you get your choice of reels? I am fairly sure you are the last person out there who uses a trigger on a spin cast reel.

Your bullwhip like casts scare the crap out of me. Maybe this will at least slow you down a bit.

If you insist of getting your gay trigger casting reel there was one at Canadian Tire I saw today for about $44.

Speaking of fishing, what do you think about doing some ice fishing even down at Auburn Bay this week?

[GoinAllTheWay]

Hey man, my skill speaks for itself. I have what, 2 championships to your none? And my casting is awesome, that's what allows me to fire my line to places you can't reach. Remember that awesome trout I caught on that tubing trip? Yep, got that line in there via trigger cast.

Ice Fishing would be an awesome idea, sometime over the weekend maybe?

[bcb]

On a related note, has anyone ice fished at Carburn park (in Riverbend)?

[troutman]

Originally Posted by J pold

My suggestion: give fly-fishing a try.

Sssshhhhh - it's a secret.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by J pold

My suggestion: give fly-fishing a try.

I tried, to much occupational hazard

Actually, I do intened to learn, even bought a rod and reel. Fist attempt didn't go well (man, that hook was buzzing past my head) and it was kinda windy but there are some beautiful lakes on Vancouver Island that are screaming to by fly fished. Just have to learn.

That said, nothing beats trolling the shores of an isolated lake on a warm summer afternoon with the fishing buddies having a few drinks and roping a few fish.

Good times.......

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

Has nothing to do with water temps but how the species behave. Warm water fish tend to like shorelines and cover where a reel like that comes in handy, though pike fit the bill here too.

Cold water fish tend to like deep water. If you're fishing from shore these reels are useless. If you're jigging for Mackinaw, like on Flathead Lake, they are fine. I'm no expert on the Alberta fishery either so this could very well be the case though I would hope Alberta's fish and game hasn't ruined the trout/salmon fishery like Montana's did.

One reason I haven't done much fishing here in Kansas is my hatred for those reels. I'm terrible with them.

I prefer stream fishing, overall, and fly fishing to narrow it down even more. Never been much of a lake guy, but a bad day of lake fishing beats just about anything else one can spend a day doing!

Ah, gotcha.

I'm certainly not as thorough as I could be with my equipment. On our outings, we try to both troll shallow and deep. Pike are pretty easy to catch as they do swim near shore like you said but the deepwater trout are a ton of fun to go for as well and way more bang for your buck. Even a spincaster like I use is fine for trolling like that, I've hauled up some pretty big trout from pretty deep using it with no problems and that's using dipsey divers as well, they produce a fair amount of drag. Maybe if I was fishing in the ocean more I would certainly consider getting a true trolling reel.

Man, I REALLY want to go fishing now.