Good reel for my new rod

[shorefisher]

Could use a little help with picking out a good reel to go with a new 7 foot ulta-lite rod I just picked up. I am looking for a reel that will work best with 4# line. And light tackle. I have always had problems with line twist and short cast. You guys gave me the idea to try a longer rod (done) now what type of real should I add to it. I would like to keep price to under $50. Thanks much for your help.

[Deitz Dittrich]

If it were me, I would take a real hard look at the new Shimano Sedona 750 size. It has a larger spool which will give you the longer casts and is designed to handle 4 lb test. I have been using one all winter for the ice season and cant wait to trasfer it to my UL for open water!

[delmuts]

shore. i'll leave the reel qeustion alone. but the line twist problem; be sure you close your bail with your hand.( not by turning the handle) also, throwing small jigs and lures will put twists in your line. to help get rid of some of it i will cut the lure off and let/pull the line out on a grassy area. then drag it for a short ways. then reel it back on keeping tension on the line using your fingers.i will do this once a week or more if i'm doing alot of fishing. in a boat you can just pull the loose line behind the boat for a ways.( you can do this on a river too by letting it float down current)you will get line twist. this just helps.

[CrappieJohn]

Ditto what Deitz says. You may want to size up and go with the 1500 to help counter the weight of the long rod. You'll get a slighly larger spool that way and with 4 pound you'll be able to cast a mile.

Del has mentioned a couple ways to help maintain your lines health, as I call it. The only thing I would add to doing the twist removal using either method is to pinch the line between a couple layers of wet paper towel when you rewind it. This will remove surface contaminats picked up in the water while fishing. To help get moremileage out of a reel full of line that has seen a month or so of hard use is to tie the tag end to a branch hanging over the water and motor away slowly until all the line is off the reel. Then circle back to that branch and retie the line to your reel and refill it. Any coiling will be eliminated by retrieving the line thru the water and you now have fresh line to work with.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I almost hate to admit this.. but Del brings up a very good point. All, I repeat, ALL spinning reels do this. IF you close the bail by reeling the handle, you put a 1/2 twist in your line.. EACH AND EVERY CAST~ Sometimes more than a 1/2 twist. Think of the number of casts a person makes in a day. If you close the bail by hand.. no twist! Its something my dad taught me when I was first learning, its second nature for me now.

[Dan Thiem]

Closing the bail by hand....

Good point! My youngest boy learned to fish with a reel that had a busted spring. So he had to close his bail by hand. Well that habit stuck with him and now that's how he does it all the time.

[SteveWilson]

Tica Cetus SS500. My wife and I both use these on our ultralight setups and they're great. We have one spool rigged with 4 lb test, the other with 2 lb. The 750 class Shimano's would be fine too but I find the Tica to be very, very smooth.

[P.DONA]

another Great tip!!!! I"ll have to remember that

anyone ever try the california tackle m7 ??

M-7 Micro Spinning Reel

7 Ball Bearings

Instant Anti-reverse

Extra Graphite Spool

Lbs./Yds. 2/220, 4/170, 6/110

I have this one on my ultra light rod, and love it for the ice rod, too.

[shorefisher]

Hey, Thanks for all the info. and ideas. I will check out the Shimano's Thursday at the bait shop here in chisago (He is getting me some fat heads for the cool cats Saturday) I will try the close the bail by hand thing for sure. What type of line have you been using on these reels? Has any one ever used that Cajun red line for crappies? Just trying to get the best long cast set up for shorefishing as I do more walking shore and river bank fishing then from my boat. Thanks again for the help. Hope to see some of you at Saturdays cool cat's.

[delmuts]

soooo deitz . does this mean i actually posted something worth reading ?