uicdent11

Great choice in St. Croix. I would have more Elite's, but I hate the ACS reel seats they put on their casting rods. I have a 7" MLF brown blank and a 6'8 MXF green blank spinning rod that I love to drop shotting and shakeyheads. You'll love you new rods!

6'6 MH/F

I am a big believer in crankbait rods. If you already have your all purpose rods then I would recommend adding a cb rod. I think you could get away with a fast action rod for shallow cranks, but anything from say 8' and deeper I would have a dedicated rod.

I believe the Mojo has a 5yr warranty. You can look on St. Croix's website for the details. If breakage/warranty is an issue then I would recommend a Shimano rod. Great warranty program! If you want to keep it around $100 then get a MH Compre. If you want to get the next best option then look at a Crucial. Forget about Shimano if you want a split grip rod. I would go with the Mojo or Powell based solely off of reviews and not personal experience. If the rod snaps it is probably not because of low quality, but from user error. All of the above mentioned companies will stand behind their rods. * Most of these rods can be found for 20-30% retail, in like new or new condition, if you look around online and in the flea market on here.

Any MH rod in your price range. I would personally go with a 7'0 rod since you mentioned pitching. It would still be able to throw big buzzbaits and spooks well. $75: Shimano Clarus $100's: Shimano Compre, St. Croix Mojo, Falcon Bucoo $150's: Powell, Shimano Crucial, St. Croix Avid, Falcon Cara. Anything more than that and you open up a bigger can of worms. Everyone has their preference, but these are the names you will see thrown around here the most. Find a place and try a few out in store before making a purchase.

What is your favorite fast food place? I know some probably have local places that are really good, but lets keep it to national chains. Mc Donalds, Burger King, Wendys, Taco Bell, and Dairy Queen for example. If you want to add what you usually order at your favorite that would be great too. Wendys: 5pc. nugget, Bacon cheesburger, Crispy chicken, Value fry, and an ice water. I will add a Frosty if I am really craving one. * I've never calculated the calories or grams of fat, but it would be interesting to know.

I never took any of it personal. Actually haven't used "murse" in awhile and got a good laugh from it. Even my wife chuckled. Has the word precious ever shown up anywhere on the forum?

HAHA, pretty limited to what you can get here in Chicago. Plus, my dad is allergic to most anyways. She does wear most bigger dogs out I will say.

The pic makes her look small. She is actually about 4.5 lbs.

I picked up some Falcon boxes to help organize my tackle. While I was putting some away I looked over to our dog taking a nap on them. I took a pic so that I could show my wife, but figured I'd share it with you guys as well.

MH and I guess 6'6 if that is your preference. You can do most everything with a MH.

Dmac's reel and find a Shimano Clarus. It would make a fine combo. A BPS extreme combo is another that comes to mind.

I would agree and would add that sometimes fish prefer a "simple" profile. Senko's don't have all the extra appendages such as a brush hog, craw, or tube. One day it may be the senko and another it may be the brush hog. That's what makes fishing fun and frustrating all at the same time!

Depends on how much braid you want on your spool. I would think 80-100 yards of braid would be plenty. Put the different on in mono. If you want a full spool of braid, it is still important that you put a layer or two of mono on to prevent slipping of the braid. You could always have a tackle shop put it on for you that way you will know how many yards of each is on the spool.

The BPS here is $2-10 more on everyone product I've researched compared to Cabelas. I shop both, but will probably stick to Cabelas from here on out because of CS and they seem to have what I want. I have also utilized their ship to store free when making big orders so that I do not have to pick it all out in store. Much easier and they have a lot of products online that they do not have in store. Ex. U-40 cork sealer

Crankin sticks will sometimes be as low as $39.99 so keep your eyes peeled.

I have never used a Kistler so I can not help you there. I have owned both Dobyns and Falcon, but only fished the Dobyns. It was extremely light for a 4 power rod. I would say that the power rating is about a 1/2 overrated from my experience. I used it a few times then sold it to someone on here bc I just couldn't get used to split grips. I had a falcon head turner and weightless worm special that seemed like great rods, but I found out I hate ACS reel seats before even hitting the water. Passed them onto someone as well. If you like split grips then I would suggest the Dobyns. Very well balanced and doesn't have that tip heavy affect most split grips have. * Another model in that price range is the Legend Tournament Bass from St. Croix.

I've also had a great experience with Cabelas CS. Just today I took back a rod I had for almost 4 months that I never used. No questions asked and they refunded directly to my credit card. Next, took a trip over to BPS to exchange a rod I got for my dad. They said that since it had been over 30 days that they would have to give me in store credit even though I had a receipt for the product. Once I used up that gift card, I will only be purchasing from Cabelas from now on. * I did see a new return policy notice at Cabelas that is starting 9/1/09, but I forgot to read through it.

If you are personally going to buy a $50 baitcaster in the near future then I would spend the extra and get dmac's curado. If you want to spend $80 then I would look for a Revo S or Citica on that bid and wait site.

I second the extreme reel and crankin stick from BPS. If you can wait, you will probably be able to find them both on sale in the near future. They seem to go on sale about 4x a year. I would suggest the M power for anything down to 6-8ft. and the MH if you want a good mid depth crankbait rod.

What is the price range?

Got a pic of how you store all your reels? I need something else to show my wife. She thinks I spend too much on fishing stuff. I might have to look into those racks. I am already heading to Cabelas tomorrow.

How does the action compare to the Dancin' Eel? Looks like a great carolina bait. Adding them to my list right now.

Try a RT shad on a carolina rig. I've only fished it once this way, but it put two fish in the boat.

I will second the XF. The 2 and 3 power jig and worm rods are XF. If you want a 7 ft rod I would suggest the 853 as a good start. It would cover most bottom contact applications. The extra fast is great for single hook baits as it loads up quicker and helps drive the hook home.