>>2391116Several years ago I found an Ugly Stick GX2 combo on clearance for $7.50, but it was a spincast combo. I used it for panfish until the reel shit the bed. Eventually I decided to pair the rod with an Abu Garcia Black Max, and really never used it since. The Ugly Stick requires a top facing reel, so I broke down and got the Black Max to try, and I finally tried it yesterday. I figured out the tuning idiosyncrasies, and I caught very well on it. It's really awesome for flipping into tight spaces and brush. I caught extremely well as a result, so I fished well into the evening. Well... around 10 PM, I'm doing as I usually do, casting the baitcasters with a soft plastic craw, and using my scotty rod holder to swim a crappie jig right in front of the kayak. Just as I cast the baitcaster, the jig rod started bowing, so I set the baitcaster to the side while I fought in a small pound and a half largemouth on the jig. While I was landing it, something grabbed the craw and my baitcaster leapt into the depths. I was heartbroken, because I had just started really figuring it out. I decided then and there I was not going to leave until I got that set up back. I began probing my jigging rod around where the rod went in, but could not find it. I also had my whopper plopper set up with me, so I reeled the whopper plopper to the top and started dragging as close to the bottom as I could. Around 11:30 PM, I finally hooked the line, roughly 30 feet from where the rod went in. I wasn't going back in without getting another fish on the baitcaster, so I fished until around 11:45 PM and finally landed a dink. It was a great victory personally. Baitcaster still works like new, despite an hour plus bath. Apologies for the long-winded story, but I wanted to share how my first real date with a baitcaster went. Pickerel is just after the happy reunion.
