Bronzefly

I know a set of ABEC 9's and some cleaning and polishing expand the low end of the capabilities of both the Core and Aldebaran. I think that 1/8oz with a trick worm - which is a decent sized bait - would be the lower limit in stock form. Pairing with the right rod and line will make a substantial difference as well. I prefer the Presso and Pixzilla when I drop down to 1/16oz shakey heads and smaller plastics on casting gear.

It's definitely NOT impossible to effectively throw 1/16 oz and 1/8 oz baits on a casting reel. I do it regularly with both a Daiwa Presso and a supertuned Daiwa Pixy (Pixzilla). Depending on the weight of the bait I'm tossing, I like a BCR 802 or BCR 852 GLX when casting shakey heads. I use a SHR 822 GLX most often when fishing a shakey head, but sometimes opt for casting gear.

YES. You DO want this rod for small cranks, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits. Another bonus is that it is an outstanding jerkbait rod as well - not to mention a super sweet topwater rod! I have the exact same setup - except with a Chronarch 50MG - and use it for all those things. I like the feel of the GLX better as it's a bit softer than the IMX version which comes in handy for me especially since I crank/jerkbait most often with this rod. You'll be happy you went with the GLX

Megabass rods aren't made by Daiwa - they're made by Megabass. The founder, Yuki Ito has collaborated with Daiwa over the years on some projects - including the beautiful TD-ito from 2003. Recently, their relationship has become closer and a few of the new JDM reel introductions feature this collaboration. I own a few Megabass rods. Many of them are works of art - their attention to detail and fit and finish are stellar and they are a joy to fish with.

I know a few guys who use the Curado 300E for carolina rigs... I use mine for swimbaits or musky fishing. I'd go with the Citica or a Curado. Good luck!

Both are fine reels. More than anything it comes down to whether or not you would rather have the 7:1 or 5:1 gears of the Curado or the 6.3:1 gears in the Citica. Either way, you'll enjoy using the reel you select.

The Shimano Crucial Swimbait rods are really good rods for the $$ as well. Hollow body swimbaits like the Basstrix and Money Minnows can be fished effectively on a good heavy action jig and worm rod. Baits like the 6" huddleston are best used on a true swimbait rod - the 7'11"MH Crucial swimbait rod makes a great 6" hudd rod and will chunk a 3:16 Baby Wake - a must have for anyone getting into swimbaiting - very well also 8-)

The 17lb Trilene 100% FC has proven itself to me time and again in some NASTY wood cover. I've used the 20 in extreme circumstances and its never let me down. It may have a bit more memory than some lines (SUNLINE), but I've never used anything less than a 1/2oz. bait in heavy cover at close range with such heavy line which has made up for any memory issues that may be present.

Tough call - some of your techniques (depending on the baits) call for a M/F but others call for a MH/XF. I agree with DVT - a quality MH/F rod like a Loomis MBR 843 IMX would do a fine job. And NO, a MH rod does NOT make for a bad topwater rod in many circumstances. 8-)

I'm looking at water temps approaching or even passing the 70's so most of my prime jerkbait fishing has passed for the spring. I do most of my jerkbait fishing with a Stella spinning reel or a few baitcasters - TD-Z's mostly, but will also use Pixzillas, Curado E7, Chronarch D7, 50MG or an IZE Light depending on the conditions.

I'd definitely spend the coin and buy a Cumara. First off, the two look beautiful together. I would definitely go with a MH rod in the Cumara series - the choice would be whether to go extra fast or fast and 6'8" or 7'2". A Core 50 with any of those rods is a great match. The CUCX72MH is a pretty beefy stick and would make a great pitching stick, big jigs, football jigs, etc. Lots of choices, but if you go with the original series Cumara rod, consider your techniques other than senkos as contact presentations - jigs, worms, etc. as that is where the original series does best. Congrats on the purchase of an AWESOME little reel 8-)

That's kinda like asking which rod feels more sensitive. ;D I think it's a very subjective issue, but if I had a fish in some nasty stuff, I'd rather have the Core in my hands. To me it feels more powerful than the Steez. I'm by no means bashing the Steez - it's a phenomonal reel. 8-)

With a 1/8 oz bullet weight and a 6" worm, the Steez is going to do beautifully. Stock vs. stock, I like the Core 51MG7 better for the lighter stuff, but the Steez is a heck of a nice reel and will handle that type of bait. Weightless worms and smaller flukes I like the Core better however.

I have both reels - I'd take the Curado simply because it costs $100 less. These are both outstanding reels, but the Curado is more comfortable in my hands and I don't think there is really a justifiable $100 difference between these two for what you're going to be doing.

I've never owned a BM Abu, but I do have a Citica E and it's an outstanding reel at its price point. It's most definitely worth a try.

Yes. Given the right rod and correct line it does shine. I consider the Core 50/51MG7 a "finesse power" reel - I use mine for pitching 1/8 to 3/8 oz jigs and plastics most often. It really shines with the lighter stuff, and can handle the 1/2 oz stuff - but most any reel can do that.

I've heard about the "blended" blanks, but honestly, I don't know exactly what the blank material consists of on that particular rod. I do know that I used that rod regularly until I picked up the new GLX version - and was very pleased with its performance.

I'm curious - are you throwing 1oz Carolina Rigs on a 6'6"MH Loomis with 10/12lb line? The Core 50 has plenty of power, but doesn't have the line capacity I would look for in such an all purpose reel - 1oz carolina rigs included. You may want to consider the Curado or Citica E... you'd still have enough $$ left over to buy a longer, heavier rod for your C-rigs

I've put the 17lb through some pretty tough battles and it hasn't let me down. The 8lb has been working out very well for me as well. I'd definitely buy more.

The SHR 822 is not built on an IMX blank - it's a very nice, very sensitive rod that's awesome with a shakey head. It should do everything you've listed just fine.

I'm not sold on it just yet. I do like it better for moving bait presentations than bottom contact baits - but I still prefer the ECS reel seat overall. Something about the way I palm my reels when fishing bottom baits doesn't seem to feel right with the ACS reel seat. It seems like quite a few companies are moving in that direction however. :-/

It's had a nice run - I've enjoyed the show over the years. Watched Taken this weekend - heck of a movie for sure!

I accidentally snagged a 20+ pound carp on Guntersville a couple weeks ago with the TWFR 935 and a small swimbait. It gave me a great idea of how the rod would perform under a load - outstanding! I'm impressed with it so far - it loads up and launches those hollow body frogs and feels like it has the right mix of tip and backbone for the technique. That little SMR 702 is a fun rod too - great for little poppers, walkers, etc. 8-)

While not the "sexiest" rods in the bunch, the Shimano Clarus rods are very nice rods for the price. They also have an outstanding warranty!

I use mine most often for jerkbaits and crankbaits - however, in the winter, i'll use it for silver buddies and 1/4 oz. jigs. I can shakey head with it, throw smaller spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, smaller topwaters. It's one of those rods that will have a place (or two ) in my aresnal for a long time to come.