Just like years past, I’ve begun the 2007 fishing season casting plugs, plastics and poppers for stripers on Susquehanna Flats. This year, I’ve been doing it with a reel that’s smaller and lighter than I normally use. While springtime spawning striped bass on the flats get big – 50 pounds and up – the SuperCaster 240SX spinning reel tips the scales at a mere 9.8 ounces!

Lower your eyebrow and wipe that look of skepticism off your face! The SuperCaster 240SX packs the power needed to bring heavyweight fish to the net. For starters, there’s the aluminum and aircraft-grade carbon fiber construction - that’s the same type of lightweight yet reliably rugged carbon fiber used on the B2 bomber!

Four stainless steel ball bearings, and SuperCaster’s exclusive SDS drag system, provide smooth, reliable performance. When I wrote this in mid-March, I had yet to hook my season’s first monster striper on the flats (my excuse is that the water has been too cold), but I had managed a few 10- to 12-pound male fish. The reel performed flawlessly as I worked those fish to boatside for release. I have no doubt I’ll get the same outstanding results when I set the hook on my 50-pound trophy striper in April!

U.S. Reel in St. Louis produces the SuperCaster with a supersized 2.4-inch diameter spool that holds lots and lots of line, both braided and monofilament. The unique extra-wide spool significantly increases casting distance, providing the stealth I need when working the 2- to 10-foot shallows on Susquehanna Flats. I’ve been flinging plugs, poppers and plastics a long way, with great accuracy. I can reach stripers long-distance, without getting the boat too close and spooking them. Plus, this lightweight reel enables me to cast, cast, cast, without stressing out my shoulder, elbow or wrist.

The reel’s short-stroke feature wraps braided line onto the spool in a pattern that reduces line twist and those aggravating and time-consuming pigtails and bird’s nests. The SuperCaster 240SX comes with a spare aluminum spool, enabling me to conveniently keep one spooled with Sufix Performance braided line, and the other with Sufix Seige monofilament. Spools are designed for 6-pound to 30-pound braided line, and 2-pound to 16-pound test mono. One turn of the reel handle picks up a remarkable 29 inches of line.

SuperCasters are available in two different sizes and four models (they’re all lightweights primed for big-fish battles). In addition to the 240SX, there are the 240XL (10.2 ounces), the 230SX (8.9 ounces), and the 230 XL (9.5 ounces). For more information, contact U.S. Reel at (314) 962-9500, or visit www.usreel.com.