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Old 06-27-12, 11:29 PM   #1
silvermesa
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Smile Upgrade of BP Pro Qualifier Reel

Hello!

Just joined and first post here.

I purchased my first Bass outfit this spring and have had a fabulous time fishing local lakes here in Missouri.

I purchased a Bass Pro Pro Qualifier reel and have been real pleased. However, I wonder what a substantial reel upgrade could feel like. Am I missing anything?

I would appreciate suggestions for a performance upgrade model of reel that would work well for general fishing with spinner baits, buzz baits etc. at $350 or less or should i have my Pro Qualifier lubed, cleaned and tuned and just enjoy it?

Thank You!
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Old 06-27-12, 11:49 PM   #2
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the revo mgx is around that price.. welcome to the forum!!!
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Old 06-28-12, 12:41 AM   #3
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Well, I can tell you from experience, the PQ is a very good reel, but you know that. Your question is would a lot more expensive reel feel different or are you missing something? Well yes and no. A lot more expensive reel could be lighter or it could be heavier, depending on the reel. A lot of the very expensive reels are very light becuase they are built from expensive light weight materials. If 2 to 4 oz's of weight would make a big difference to you, then perhaps it would be worth the expense. Now to feel, your PQ is a solid workhorse reel, but it's not very fancy. fancy sometimes feels a lot better. Thats why cars and trucks with heated leather seats sell so well and for a lot more money than the base model. It's the same thing, reels with very comfortable handles are nice to use and cost a lot more. You might be surprised to know that there is very little difference between your PQ and a revo premier. The premier is a little lighter and has very comfortable knobs, the internal parts are nearly the same though and I believe that if I put a premier handle on a PQ, and mounted it on a light rod then mounted a premeir on a slightly heavier rod, so that both setups were of similar total weight, very few people could tell the difference in a blind casting or reeling test. Now, if you ask enough folks this question, you will invariably hear that the higher priced reels are built better or the fit and finish on the high cost reels are better, that depends greatly on which reels you compare, but you are starting with one of the highest quality generic reels there is, so I say that when comparing a PQ to any similar size and reel with similar features, you will only see a weight difference and a bling difference. Any feel difference will be minimal at best and would be due to such things as more comfortable grips etc. Casting will be identical as long as both reels are in the same condition. The fact is, there is very little difference in casting ability of reels of similar design and size. Spool weight can make a slight difference, but several other things such as tuning and performace lubes can make a much more drastic difference. The one thing not mentioned is perception of quality. For many people, perception is just as or more important than actual quality. face it, we all want to be the big dog on the block with the nicest toys. Thats a hard thing to overcome and makes many of us spend a lot more money than we need to. Thats my 2 cents, but I'm just as guilty if not more so. I know the PQ is just as good as my revos, but I bought revos anyway. TSK TSK. At least I got them on sale, but i could have had several more reels if I had bought PQ's.

Last edited by pro reel; 06-28-12 at 08:45 AM.
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Old 06-28-12, 07:49 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pro reel View Post
Well, I can tell you from experience, the PQ is a very good reel, but you know that. Your question is would a lot more expensive reel feel different or are you missing something? Well yes and no. A lot more expensive reel could be lighter or it could be heavier, depending on the reel. A lot of the very expensive reels are very light becuase they are built from expensive light weight materials. If 2 to 4 oz's of weight would make a big difference to you, then perhaps it would be worth the expense. Now to feel, your PQ is a solid workhorse reel, but it's not very fancy. fancy sometimes feels a lot better. Thats why cars and trucks with heated leather seats sell so well and for a lot more money than the base model. It's the same thing, reels with very comfortable handles are nice to use and cost a lot more. You might be surprised to know that there is very little difference between your PQ and a revo premier. The premier is a little lighter and has very comfortable knobs, the internal parts are nearly the same though and I believe that if I put a premier handle on a PQ, and mounted it on a light rod then mounted a premir on a slightly heavier rod, so that both setups were of similar total weight, very few peole could tell the difference in a blind casting or reeling test. Now, if you ask enough folks this question, you will invariably here that the higher priced reels are built better or the fit and finish on the high cost reels are better, that depends greatly on which reels you compare, but you are starting with one of the highest quality generic reels there is, so I say that when comparing a PQ to any similar size and reel with similar features, you will only see a weight difference and a bling difference. Any feel difference will be minimal at best and would be due to such things as more comfortable grips etc. Casting will be identical as long as both reels are in the same condition. The fact is, there is very little difference in casting ability of reels of similar design and size. Spool weight can make a slight difference, but several other things such as tuning and performace lubes can make a much more drastic difference. The one thing not mentioned is perception of quality. For many people, perception is just as or more important than actual quality. face it, we all want to be the big dog on the block with the nicest toys. Thats a hard thing to overcome and makes many of use spend a lot more money than we need to. Thats my 2 cents, but I;m just as guilty if not more so. I know the PQ is just as good as my revos, but I bought revos anyway. TSK TSK. At least I got them on sale, but i could have had several more reels if I had bought PQ's.
Question for pro reel. First off, welcome to the forums Silver! Make yourself at home. Your going to like it here. Not to take away from your post, but thought this question would add to your interrest. I have and use regularly, 3 PQ's. I also own 3 Revos. They all perform flawlessly. I agree, it's hard to tell the difference using them. But there is quite a difference in the drag ratings between the PQ's and Revos. The drag pound rating for the PQ's are 10 lbs while the Revos average 24lbs. Whats the reason for this, and can the PQ's be upgraded?
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Last edited by keithdog; 06-28-12 at 08:01 AM.
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Old 06-28-12, 08:37 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keithdog View Post
Question for pro reel. First off, welcome to the forums Silver! Make yourself at home. Your going to like it here. Not to take away from your post, but thought this question would add to your interrest. I have and use regularly, 3 PQ's. I also own 3 Revos. They all perform flawlessly. I agree, it's hard to tell the difference using them. But there is quite a difference in the drag ratings between the PQ's and Revos. The drag pound rating for the PQ's are 10 lbs while the Revos average 24lbs. Whats the reason for this, and can the PQ's be upgraded?
There are a few minor differences between the PQ and the Revo line. The revo uses carbon fiber drag washers, the PQ uses teflon washers. A revo S, SX or STX all say they have 24 lb drags. I have always thought that was a bit over rated as I never got those same results, but they do have more drag than most reels. The PQ uses the same drag setup, so yes, the washers can be changed and you would have the exact same set up.
The PQ is kind of a hybrid cross bewtween several different revo reels. It's line guide and worm gear are similar to a revo S, it's spool brake system is similar to an STX or Premier. The actual spool has a solid shaft, similar to the S or the old SX, where the upper level revos have the 2 part infinni shaft. I actually prefer the PQ in this area because I have not seen the infinni system to have any advantage at all and I can actually make the one piece spool shaft reels cast better.
Now, the PQ is actually available in several gear ratios. With the revo line, you have to buy a winch to get a low ratio, and thats not even as low as the lowest PQ. The winch does have a longer handle though.
There are several ways to upgrade a PQ with revo parts. First off, any ABU or Pflueger or other BPS handles, with a handle nut, are a direct swap and thats an easy upgrade. The next area would be the drag, the revo washers swap straight out with the teflon washers, so yes, you can get carbon fiber washers to have the same drag. Another area is the line guide worm gear and pawl. The PQ and the revo S both use generic metal parts there. The higher level revos have titanium coated parts and some have more bearings in that area. All of those parts can be swaped with a PQ or any revo to upgrade those reels. The rest of the differences are frame and sidecover materials, gear materials etc, mostly to control weight.
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Old 06-28-12, 09:40 AM   #6
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Now MY question - What is the cost of an upgrade? It's a total guess on my part but it would seem if you buy a PQ (retail), upgrade the handle, line guide & worm gear, drag washers and maybe add a couple quality bearings, and did the work yourself you'd be close to a REVO STX (price), closer still if you paid someone to do it for you, and still have a heavier reel. I'm not saying a PQ is a bad reel, I agree they are about the best reel at that price point, and I'm not trying to take business away from those that service them, but why buy and upgrade to make it comparable to an STX rather than just buy the STX and be done with it? I vaguely understand the point that a PQ may be in hand and the owner wants something better, but I'd sell the PQ and buy the REVO rather than do the upgrade. Guess it just boils down to personal preference, but I personally prefer to have similiar reels rather than mixing brands, it maintains a consistant feel, for me anyway, which I find important. I may be way off on the cost of an upgrade and I'm curious, which is the reason I asked. Thanks!

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Old 06-28-12, 11:40 AM   #7
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Where upgrades are concerned you're right in the assertion that it's more economical to buy the better reel (or whatever) than to upgrade parts after the fact. It's worthwhile though to keep in mind the options if and when parts wear and need to be replaced anyway, you can upgrade for little extra.
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Old 06-28-12, 11:54 AM   #8
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Thanks Mike, I wasn't being hyper-critical with the question, just curious if my thoughts on the cost of the upgrades vs buying a new reel were accurate. Your point of the cost of upgrading, should a reel need parts replaced after use, is a good one and noteworthy to anyone having a reel repaired. Thanks for the response!
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Old 06-28-12, 03:12 PM   #9
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Bassboogieman, I was not saying that I thought anyone should or should not upgrade a reel. I was just answering a question on the differences between them. There is a perception with reels that money equates to quality, pay more get more. Thats just not always true. Thats my point. Most of the time, after you reach a certain quality level, all you get for more money is lighter materials and more bling. It's up to each individual to decide what features are important to them, and what they are willing to pay to get them. As for your question, as Mike stated, if it's time to replace parts anyway, it's very affordable to do some upgrades to some reels. Also, if it's just time for a regular service, the parts are already off so that can be afordable also. Lets say you have a PQ thats 2 years old and should be serviced. Now lets say that you wanted to upgrade the drag at that time. It's going to be an extra 6 to 9 bucks to do that. Now lets say you wanted a nicer handle also. The most popular right now is the carbon handle from a carbonlite. you could order it from BPS, send it with the reel for service and get it back put together, most could change that themselves. BPS sells the handle for $25 plus shipping. Now, there would be no reason to change the line guide components until they wear out, when they do, it costs 3 more dollars to use revo premier titanium worm gears instead of the BPS part. So that upgrade could be cosidered to cost about the same as a happy meal, if you already need to replace the parts anyway. As for qualioty bearings, the PQ uses the same qual;ity of bearings as any Abu reel uses, so upgrading bearings is something that lots of people want done to any reel, not just the lower priced reels. The cost there varies from a little to a lot. Again, the best time to get better bearings is when yours need replaced. At that time, it might just be cheaper to use better bearings as stock ones can be pricey from some brands.

Last edited by pro reel; 06-28-12 at 03:19 PM.
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Old 06-28-12, 05:04 PM   #10
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Both!

With that kind of budget, you can definitely upgrade! Revo MGX or Shimano Core 100mg (don't use it in saltwater) are both 350. I'd personally opt for the Core. For a little less I think a Revo Premier is the head of its pack at 280 - 300 (gen 2 or the gen 3).

Quote:
As for qualioty bearings, the PQ uses the same qual;ity of bearings as any Abu reel uses, so upgrading bearings is something that lots of people want done to any reel, not just the lower priced reels. The cost there varies from a little to a lot. Again, the best time to get better bearings is when yours need replaced. At that time, it might just be cheaper to use better bearings as stock ones can be pricey from some brands."]As for qualioty bearings, the PQ uses the same qual;ity of bearings as any Abu reel uses, so upgrading bearings is something that lots of people want done to any reel, not just the lower priced reels. The cost there varies from a little to a lot. Again, the best time to get better bearings is when yours need replaced. At that time, it might just be cheaper to use better bearings as stock ones can be pricey from some brands.
Are they more comparable to the HPCR bearing is the SX and up, or the S and Max series Kevin? Just curious!
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Old 06-28-12, 06:55 PM   #11
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I have a PQ that I use for deep crankin. I tweaked it a little. I hated the handle so I added a PRM handle for about $38+ and some Abec 5's($30) on the spool. I also replaced the drag with smoothdrag washers($25). Not so much to increase drag pressure, But for silky smooth action.

I paid around $200 overall, Still less than the PRM which isn't available in a 5.4:1 or 4.7:1 ratio. I'm happy with it and performs very well. Would I do it again? Probably not with the gen3 winch hitting the market. Plus I probably couldn't sell it for anything near what I have in it.
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Old 06-29-12, 06:41 PM   #12
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I appreciate all of the imput! Thank You!!

You have got me thinking that buying into a family of reels would be the thing to do, because I like the thought of each reel having the same feel. They may just have different gear ratio's. Certainly sounds like their could be several good choices of brands to choose as well.

One last question for Pro Reel, does the pro qualifier respond well to different levels of tuning?

Thank You!

Last edited by silvermesa; 06-29-12 at 06:49 PM.
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Old 06-29-12, 08:44 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silvermesa View Post
I appreciate all of the imput! Thank You!!

You have got me thinking that buying into a family of reels would be the thing to do, because I like the thought of each reel having the same feel. They may just have different gear ratio's. Certainly sounds like their could be several good choices of brands to choose as well.

One last question for Pro Reel, does the pro qualifier respond well to different levels of tuning?

Thank You!
Yes. The PQ has a brake ring and a solid spool shaft. It also has quality spool shaft tension discs. Those ar all areas that get things done to them in a tune. The stock bearings spin very well after a tuning also, as long as thye are in good shape.
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Old 06-30-12, 10:03 AM   #14
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The PQ does respond very nicely to supertuning. With the spool shaft and the ID of the pinion gear polished has also improved casting distance. IMHO the best upgrade was the drag supertuning. The original drag was jerky, The cabontex, Cal's drag grease and polished washers made it smooth as silk.

Sending it off for supertuning to ProReel or DVT might be the best overall bang for the buck.
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Old 07-03-12, 04:37 PM   #15
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I have a PQ and Revo SX as well as other reels. The Revo has been demoted to my catfishing reel. The brake controls or lack thereof on the Revo has frustrated me to no end. So now I use it to chuck a chunk of liver out to sit on the bottom of a lake for catfishing. No matter what adjustments I made of the different types and sizes of line I've used on the Revo it’s just to fickle to try and get some quality bass fishing in with it. The PQ on the other hand is probably my favorite reel of all of my reels. I fine tuned the brakes pretty much one time and I've been able to tie on many different lures and go for it without having to adjust the brakes again. I too suffer from “I gotta get that new shiny toy…” syndrome. I really want to try a Shimano baitcaster but I struggle with buying one like a Curado and it being just okay for the money, or buying a Caenan and it being inferior to the PQ at around the same price point. I’m actually waiting for the PQ to go on sale like they often do so I can grab a couple of more. So needless to say, I’m recommending the PQ over just about anything.
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Old 09-13-12, 09:02 AM   #16
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I have a PQ and Revo SX as well as other reels. The Revo has been demoted to my catfishing reel. The brake controls or lack thereof on the Revo has frustrated me to no end. So now I use it to chuck a chunk of liver out to sit on the bottom of a lake for catfishing. No matter what adjustments I made of the different types and sizes of line I've used on the Revo it’s just to fickle to try and get some quality bass fishing in with it. The PQ on the other hand is probably my favorite reel of all of my reels. I fine tuned the brakes pretty much one time and I've been able to tie on many different lures and go for it without having to adjust the brakes again. I too suffer from “I gotta get that new shiny toy…” syndrome. I really want to try a Shimano baitcaster but I struggle with buying one like a Curado and it being just okay for the money, or buying a Caenan and it being inferior to the PQ at around the same price point. I’m actually waiting for the PQ to go on sale like they often do so I can grab a couple of more. So needless to say, I’m recommending the PQ over just about anything.
I still recommend the PQ but I have now bought a Caenan. All I can say is WOW. At the rate I'm going it might pass the PQ. I've caught some of the biggest bass I've ever caught with the Caenan. Of course it's not due to the fish preferring the Caenan over another reel, but I've been throwing into a stiff wind and precisely placing the lure where I think the fish are. The PQ does great in the wind as well but not quite like the Caenan. I still get the distance I would as if it was a calm day. Put this on your next reel list.
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