Ya, I can totally see where a conventional reel would really tighten up that angle and make reeling smoother, that's a great idea. I like having a shorter rod for bait fishing cause it's so easy to just swing that little stick into the kayak with a fish or two. I've always hated all the tangles and BS associated with jigging up bait fish, just tried to eliminate anything that added to the clutter. Nothing's worse than getting two or three nice Macks and then fumble-f&@$ing around trying to unhook 'me while they flop wildly and tangle that thing into a ball of mess!
I know some of the guys limit their rods and just use their big rods to make bait, but for me I try to eliminate any excessive tackle changes so I can just focus on time spent fishing. I do realize that if I happen to hook a yellowtail while making bait I'll probably be donating some line to the ocean...possibly the whole thing, but for now this easy to build, cheap little rod just seems to work.
Cheers
