Micro

I'm an amateur WWII aviation historian and I collect books on the subject. A few years ago I picked up a couple of obscure books on the German/Russian airwar over the Eastern Front. Each volume cost about $32. Then volume 1 went out of print. For some reason, demand skyrocketted. And the publisher refused to reprint volume 1. Since the books are nice, but not particularly important to me, I figured I'd sell them on ebay. $350. Not a bad return on my $64 investment. ;D ;D ;D

Be fair, now, RW. The question is: is the Premier's drag as strong as the STX's, or is it only as strong as a Shimano's? That's what the issue is tantamount to. Sure, a few people have had problems, the vast majority have not. Just like with any other reel. The Premier having a weaker drag than the STX isn't a problem, it's a characterisitc.

Bandage cutting scissors you buy in a drug-store. About 5 bucks.

I don't have an S, but otherwise I have 5 Revos (2 SCs, 2 SXs, and 1 STX). IMO, the SX is the best value. It has the same number of bearings as the STX. The only other differences appear to the color and some trim. My SXs perform every bit as well as the STX, and they cost $50 less. And even though the STX has a nicer trim, it's debatable which looks better. The SX is black - and gorgeous. The SC is essentially an S model with a magnetic brake instead of the S's centrifugal brake. The SC is sold only by Cabelas and is red. They have been on sale for $79.99 and at that price were probably the best values in the reel market. But their regular price is $129.99. They are great reels and perform just as well as the SX (even though it has 2 fewer bearings). It might be one to consider.

The head of the reel department for Abu in the US is Bob Hulme. I recently had a problem with a bail roller bearing on an older Cardinal 500 and called Abu to order the part - it was an easy fix. Abu told me that wasn't a part that should have gone bad and wanted to see the reel. I sent it in to the attention of Bob Hulme on a Thursday. I never said I wanted to make a warranty claim and did not provide a receipt. Nevertheless, I received a brand new reel on Friday of the following week. Abu's service is phenominal. About the Premier, the prevailing sentiment is is that the drag has fewer carbonmatrix disks than the STX, thus lower drag weights are achievable. But that the drag weights achievable are in line with other lightweight reels from other manufacturers. I wonder if the Premier has an aluminum gear (as opposed to brass in the STX).

None. In free fall at terminal velocity its the same as being weightless. It's the Gs when you hit that are the killer.

Welcome home, brudda. We're glad you're back. And thanks for your service!

It's gonna cast way different than your C3s - so be patient ;D

It seems everyday something new comes along in this sport that is a must-have. From high tech rods and reels, to ultra realistic baits that imitiate a minnow down to the individual rays on the fins. The Japanese have pulled out all the stops in an effort to bring us the very best. Lures with individual scales and real fish skins. Baits with tight wobbles than run true. It seems there is no price too high for realism. In the quest to produce the incomparable lure, the doo-dad consistently capable of fooling bass, the irresistable deceiver of bucketmouths, all the engineers from Aomori to Kagoshima, and all the bait companies from Angler's Republic to Zip Baits have failed to produce anything really any better than... ...the Heddon Lucky 13 I just wanted to get that off my chest. Thanks for reading.

Quantum's going after Daiwa in the gaudy market.

What's the story behind that? Sorta gave me a sick feeling. :-[ Probably asking for forgiveness on his way down. Just terrible.

I've got 5 Revos and my only issue is that they came underlubricated (or less than I like) and the documentation sucks. The little booklet doesn't even tell you how to access the spool. Other than that, I've had zero problems with them. No noise, sqeals, backplay - nothing. I'm just curious about the Premier, particularly the drag. Other than SE_FL_BASS' and Bassn's problems, the drag seems to be the only complaints I've seen. Not that the drag is bad, but that it's not capable of the same force as the STX/SX/SC/S.

I've heard some Premiers are being delivered with one carbonmatrix washer (as opposed to 2 or 3 on other Revos) and that the max drag achievable is 8 lbs. Others are saying the drag equals that of the STX. I wonder if something got changed for there is a SNAFU in the production line. I'm going to be buying a new reel in the next few weeks and I looking hard at getting another Revo - possibly the Premier. That killer drag on the Revos is a big issue selling point for me.

Check out All Star. All Star's American Classic rods are fantastic. They are light, sensitive and brute strong. On top of that, they are great looking. They have very nice components - Fuji reel seats and guides. I have several Team All Star IM10s (the next grade up) and several American Classics. The American Classic are just as good and cost less. Full retail is $90 and you can find them on sale for a lot less. If you have a Guide rod, that's a Gander Mountain store brand. Gander Mountain sells All Star. My local Gander Mountain carries the full line of American Classic rods. http://www.allstarrods.com/as_amerclassic.html

The top one has more gleam. The skinned one looks way more subdued.

I know some of you have Revo Premiers and have fished them for awhile now. What's the verdict? I have 5 Revos, but none are Premiers. I love my Revos. I've noticed some people on TackleTour complaining that the drag does not measure up to other Revos. What's your experience? How is that Premier treating you?

The whole premise intrigues me. LC says the skin is applied, trimmed, dried, then coated in lacquer. THEN they say the skin will emit scent if there is a scratch through the lacquer. If the skin starts giving off an appreciable scent, it would have to be because the skin has rehydrated (at least partially) which means it's going to deteriorate rapidly. Will the lacquer start coming off over rehydrated skin? Sounds like a big mess to me. I know it's neat, Japanese, and expensive. But I think I'll pass. My LCs with normal finishes work reasonably well and cost enough.

Not only no backplay, but with all that bling they go well with a purple zoot-suit, white furry hat, and long gold coat.

I agree with RW that it makes no difference whatsoever. I have a couple of Curado 200 DHSVs. There is very little back play. It really isn't even noticable. I haven't used one yet and lamented the back play. It's simply a non-issue to me. My Curados, in the short time I've had them and limited number of times I've used them (actually have only used one of them) has performed flawlessly. The Curado D is the quintessential low-profile reel with mechanical brake. I firmly believe you can spend more, but you can't get better. (And that's from a die hard Abu man.) It's truly a fantastic reel.

I don't own any Daiwa baitcasters, but I know they are excellent reels. I'm not sure I know what the letter mean (ie.: TD-Z, TD-A ) TD = Team Daiwa? Z = Zillion? A = Advantage? Is that right? Where is the Team Daiwa Advantage made? Is it Japanese? I like the Advantage Super Tuned. I'm thinking of a new reel in the next few weeks myself.

Oh, but wait till it gets a deep scratch and starts eeping squid smell. You'll have every tuna in the lake beating a path to your door.

I like Lucky Craft as much as the next guy. But this idea of putting real squid skin over a lure then coating in laquer seems a little wierd. LC claims that over time the skin, by way of scratches, will let off scent. If the skin still has sent, won't it also deteriorate and rot? Hmmm. LC makes really nice baits. But their quest for realism seems to be increasing the fragility of their baits. My DD Pointers with scales are starting to look pretty shoddy. The squid skin things seems downright silly to me.

Seems to be more than entry level. AS's IM10 multimodulus rods (TAS IM10s) are awesome - super sensitve and super tough. This one has Alconite guides, like AS's high-end Platinum rods, and new reels seats with far more blank exposed.

If you ever get a hankerin' to try a different Abu round reel, I give a huge thumbs up to the Ambassadeur EXT reels, particularly the EXT Pro. This is their most recent incarnation of the Morrum reel. This reel is awesome. It's extremely smooth, built exceedingly well, and will actually outcast my Revos with light lures.

I don't think I could get an 8' rod in my truck ;D. I have a 7'6" All Star American Classic H/XF flippin' rod. It's not as sensitive as Redline's Steez, but mine will lift a Chevy out of the grass.