[BassyiusMaximus]

The reels are good. They are, I would say, mid-low priced reels. As one may already know, there are reels that go $39.99 all the way up to $500-600. I walked into the local B&T, not knowing anything about the smaller reels or rods and told my guy what I was looking for and what I had. I wanted a lighter, more flexible rod/fast tip and a short butt, and a nice smooth reel. The 6500 was and is big, it is a super tough reel for the boat and anything else really. It reminds me of a big Chevy 302/350 engine, it gets the job done, is reliable but isn't all that refined. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a reel so anything in the $100-150 range was good by me. The tackle guy pulled out the reel that he said I needed. As soon as the reel came out of the box he put his finger against the bail and pushed, the bail wire flexed and bent but didn't break. He asked, "Now how many times have you broken your bail?, and how much do they cost?" and I said I had broken some bails, not many, but they cost $25, and with the bail on the Boca, and on the Cabo, they were warrented for life and they shouldn't break in the first place. So for the money, around $120 new, and it comes with a reel tool, reel bag and one gets points from Quantum to get a free shirt or other gear online, I got two long sleeve t-shirts from buying two set-ups, plus the lifetime warranty on the bail along with the lifetime warranty on blank breakage on the rods, I thought it was and is a good deal.

I think about getting a Cabo in the 40-size, the idea of the drilled out handle and spool along with some more ball bearings to smoothen things out some more is very appealing for about $50-60 more, and I'd get a 7'6" rod, medium-medium-light for more sporting action, but I'm happy with what I have now. The perspective for me is that when I started fishing, my dad, notoriously cheap, or should I say, thrifty, would buy those cheap Caldor/Bradlees/Zayre/Ames (remember those stores?) combos, and while fishing, you would be reeling up a fish and the reel would seize, or something would go and the reel wouldn't cast or something, always something, would bust on the things. His rationale, and I'm sure we all know or have a father/mother who thinks the same way, is that, when it breaks, you just buy a new one. My thinking is this, 'Who wants to be out fishing, trying to have a good time or having a good time and then the reel conks out, even worse, when one has a fish on the line.' What good is that?, and it happened many times until I decided to get good reels and rods once and for all.

So I'd keep my eyes open, looking at all the boats that had their reels/rods out on display in the rodholders/rocketlaunchers and I'd see the gold Penn's all over the place, so I decided on getting a set of Penn's, the 6500SS', then I got another set with lighter rods, and another set with even lighter rods. Then it seemed that almost overnight, the manufacturers all got on the inshore tackle scene and now have reels that are made for big fish and can handle saltwater much better than before, so I'm happy with the relatively cheap Boca's. My buddy got a saltwater Stradic, about $160-180 or so and he likes it, it is a nice reel with a faster retrieve, something like 5.7 vs the 5.2 of the Boca. I'd like to someday get a reel that is the best, upwards of $500 or so, but for the money, I get a good reel and save the money for other things. And with the weight question, coming from lead-heavy 6500SS', the Boca 40's are like half the weight so I can't compare.

And thanks for the replies guys, this site is fantastic, it has been for as long as I've been checking out striped bass sites. Just to be given the chance to air out my thoughts I think is a privilege. It feels good to contribute and entertain.