Stasher1

I find 50# easier to deal with on my Curado, but my Hibdon Supercaster does very well with 30#. In general, I'd say opt for 40#, 50#, or even 65# braid do minimize the possibility of line dig.

I agree. While I generally find Shimano rods to be underpowered, I think many people tend to buy much heavier rods than necessary. I fish med/fast or med/x-fast rods 90% of the time. I'm not fishing tournaments, so I'm not concerned with getting the fish to the boat as quickly as possible so I can make another cast. I'm fishing for fun and for me, the fight is the best part. I've yet to lose a fish because my rod was underpowered.

If you expect Sears to have every Crapsman product in stock, you're setting yourself up for another letdown. I've bought thousands of dollars worth of their mediocre products, and roughly 1/4 of them had to be bought online or special ordered because the retail stores didn't stock them. You need face the fact that most large catalog/retail outlets CANNOT physically stock every item in their retail locations that they list in their catalogs or on their websites. It doesn't matter if it's sold under their brand name or not.

If I only have one day left, I'm sure as hell not going to spend it fishing by myself. I'll be somewhere with my wife and kids.

Shipping costs are the reason I don't shop at Cabela's. I have a BPS within 15 miles of the house along with four Dick's Sporting Goods stores, a couple Academy Sports, and several Walmarts. If I need something and can't find it at any of these stores, I'll hit Ebay, TW, or one of our site sponsors.

That's what happens when they base their shipping rates on the cost of the item being shipped instead of weight.

Sounds to me like you need to learn how to use the lures you already own instead of adding new ones to your collection.

I guess your "Southern Gentlemen" stay in the northern part of the South, because there are bunch of inconsiderate dirtbags around here who leave their line, empty worm tubs, hook/snell packages, broken bobbers, used plastics, empty Mt. Dew bottles, etc. everywhere. BTW, I just got back from a week on Lake Gaston (Bracey, VA area), and there was no shortage of trash there, too.

Interesting. I've owned a couple Mojos (6'8" MXF and 6'9" MLXF spinning rods) and they're the absolute LAST rod I'd select in the ~$100 range. They're tip-heavy unless you pair them with 11+ oz reels and the sensitivity is below some of the other rods in their price range. I'm glad that you've found a rod line that you like, but the reviews of the Mojo are generally fairly accurate.

In their defense, that 3 yr old Crankin Stick only had a 1 yr warranty. They're under no obligation to replace it two yrs after the warranty expired. For the most part, my dealings with BPS' customer service has been fantastic. The only exception was an incident involving the manager of the fishing dept. and a Shimano Crucial. We managed to get it all worked out (after getting a bit loud in front of the other customers), but I no longer deal with that particular Mgr.

I'd be willing to bet that the perceived increased refinement is due to it being a brand new reel, and not due to any functional improvements over the Curado 200e. According to Bantam1 (the Shimano rep on TackleTour), the only differences between the two reels are double anodizing on the spool and handle and a new color scheme. It's a black and white Curado 200e, nothing more.

That depends where you're fishing. Winter in the Atlanta area isn't all that bad.

One more thing to remember- Leave YOUR rods and reels at home. It's all about the little one having a good time. You'll be spending the majority of your time replacing worms, so you won't get to make more than a couple casts anyway. ETA: I like to use snap swivels and snelled leaders when taking the little ones out fishing. Kida that young are typically a little slow setting the hook, so a bunch of them will swallow the hook. When that happens I just snip the line and replace the leader.

I caught a bunch using red and tequila sunrise hook-tail worms a couple years ago on Watts Bar. The water was kinda cloudy and had a definite greenish tint.

If you've used a Curado 200e, then you've tested the new Chronarch. According to Bantam1, the only real difference between the two is the double anodized spool and handle on the Chronarch which was done for corrosion resistance. http://www.tackletour.net/TTForums/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=33615

Yup, me too. I'm a fulltime student and stay-at-home dad, so my schedule is pretty open.

At 15 I knew everything. At 25 I realized that just about everything I knew was wrong.

This^^^ That $30 investment also gets you a battery-powered line stripper.

True, the difference is small...but there is still a difference. Loomis chose to use one of Fuji's lowest grade guides for their new GL2, yet still place it in the same price range as the Cumara (Fuji SiC), Daiwa Zillion (Fuji SiC), Dobyns Champion (Kigen SiC), St Croix LTB (Fuji Alconite), Kistler Helium LTA (Fuji Alconite), etc. That blank better be one bad mofo, because the competition in that price range is pretty tough.

It's still an entry-level rod with lower quality components than many other rods in its price range, like the Fuji aluminum-oxide guides which are a step below the Fuji Hardloys that have been used on many ~$100 rods for the past several years...like the Shimano Compre.

Personally, I think I'd pass on both. St Croix's SCIII blank is pretty good, but I think the guides are a bit lower quality than I'd expect in that price range and I also have my doubts about the durability of the Rage's heat-shrink grip skin. The GL2 is Loomis' entry-level rod, but that's definitely not reflected in its $180-250 suggested retail price. The previous generation of GL2 rods received less than stellar reviews, with the general consensus being that there are much better options in the same price range. I highly doubt that adding a split grip and more application-specific models is going to change that.

Right now I'd have to say my favorite is a 6'8" MXF Carbonlite and Pflueger Supreme XT spooled with 30# yellow Power Pro, but I picked up a 7' medium Browning HiPower the other day that I paired with a Ryobi Zauber 1000 and 30# yellow Power Pro and I'm really liking the way the combo feels in the hand.

Right now I'd say weightless Trick Worms/floating worms over pads early in the day, poppers/floating jerkbaits in the evening, and shaky head any other time. Ask me in a couple weeks and I might say something different.

I thought this as well, but EVA isn't like the squishy foam crap on Ugly Sticks. It's much firmer and transmits vibration just fine.

I had never seen the cork on a Savvy before reading this thread, but if the example on TW is indicative of the quality of cork they use, I would've sold it too.