You might think that field-testing fishing gear can be properly accomplished only when big fish are hammering the bait and there is little time in between battles. I know that's my preference and preconceived notion. But on a recent trip to evaluate Cabela's Prodigy reel, I found that with a slower bite, when you're not looking for a landing net so often, you tend to pay more attention to the equipment.

Like any fishing trip, once it's scheduled there's not much you can do about cold fronts that blow through and shut off the bite, other than work harder and hope the fishes' jaws unlock.

Such was the case for a trip to largemouth lunker land, central Florida, where an angler's fantasies can either be realized or dashed against the cypress knees. After a day on the water that was long on casting and short on catching, I paid a lot more attention to the design features of the Prodigy baitcasting reel and the XMLTi rod on which it was mounted.

What I came away with is that this reel fits very comfortably in hand, it casts extremely well, and with six high-performance stainless steel ball bearings and a roller bearing, it retrieves and handles a fight like a heavyweight.

While we were running out to our first spot, I adjusted the reel's spool tension and drag, banking on the innovative Magforce®-Z auto magnetic anti-backlash feature to do its thing. After a few casts, I was laying out the line like I had owned it for years. As the distance to shore widened, I started whaling on the casts and was impressed with the precision with which I could lay lures right on the edge of the weedline without a backlash, using only minimal thumbing.

The Prodigy has an ultralow profile that fits into the palm for optimal control and comfortable use for long hours on the water. It's built on a solid, one-piece aluminum frame and sideplate. Inside, precision-machined marine bronze gears are made to last, and to stand up to the strain of sustained fights with large fish. The seven-disc drag system uses fiber-composite washers for solid stopping power, and the drag is adjustable with a large star wheel. When spooling up the reel, I liked the free-floating, perforated, aircraft-aluminum spool. The perforations make it easy to tie on line, and also reduce overall weight; and it spins like silk. The Prodigy is also available in left-handed models. Line capacity is 120 yards of 14-pound test.

After a while the bite picked up and I got solid hooksets with the infinite anti-reverse feature. When the size of the fish picked up, fine-tuning the microclick drag adjustment was easy and quick.

This smooth-casting, low-profile reel offers anglers a high-quality casting reel at such a reasonable price you can afford to have several. With multiple rod/reel combinations you can keep them rigged with different lines, set for different weight lures and ready to change presentations quickly.

Our guide for the day tended to let his mind and the trolling motor wander, and our distance to cover along the shoreline varied greatly from moment to moment. Coming around a large point, the guide wandered back from the twilight zone and asked, "Do you need me to keep the boat closer to shore?" I looked at the distant shoreline then down at the reel, shrugged and replied, "It would be nice, but it's not mandatory. I'm casting a Prodigy."

Click here to purchase the Cabela's Prodigy Casting Reel Combo.