Stasher1

x2 I just sold a 6'6" MH Avid for $100 shipped.

Not to be rude, but how is coloring it with a marker going to make it less visible to the fish? If they can see green braid, I'm willing to bet they can see black braid just as well...if not better. I tend to use a leader with slow-moving baits (shaky head, t-rigs, dropshot, etc.) and finesse jigs in clear water. For moving baits like spinnerbaits and cranks, or in cloudy/dirty water, I think it's less of an issue.

Is that the ultimate diaper bag?

Xpeditor service, NOT Warranty http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1282142840

It goes thru the coil on the spinning models, but not on the casting models. The "rod" is actually very stiff, so the coil is the only flex point.

What he said. That sure is one peculiar little booger. There's just something weird about checking the mail and finding a complete rod/reel package in the mailbox...with the door closed. ;D Hopefull I'll get a chance to try it out tomorrow afternoon. I took a few practice casts in the front yard with mixed results. When I get it right, it casts like a full-length rod. When I get it wrong, it casts like...well...one of those 2' Snoopy rods. ;D Gotta work on my timing a bit .

I have a Pflueger Patriarch, Arbor 7430, Supreme 8035, and a couple Medalist fly reels (1492 and 1494). I've also owned a couple Trion GX-7s and an Asaro. Not a single problem with any of them. As a matter of fact, they're slowly but surely pushing my Shimanos to the back of the pack. When I get the urge to buy a new reel, I look to see what Pflueger has to offer before I look at any other brands.

You're getting up too early. If the bass aren't biting between 5 and 7:30, sleep in.

Mojo. Better guides, better warranty, cork grip, and the ability to trade up to a higher-end rod at a later date thru St. Croix.

If you're going to go to Walmart, you really need to go in the middle of the night. That's when the true "People of Walmart" are out shopping. You never know what you're going to see.

In general, independent family-owned pizza joints have better pizza but we typically order from Papa Johns due to the ability to order and pay online. I rarely carry cash and hate writing checks.

Lol. Looks like a giant Rice Krispies treat. ;D

I smell something...but I'm not so sure I'd call it perfume. Smells more like a dead horse to me. ;D

There are still bunches of NIB discontinued Shimano reels out there waiting to be snatched up at ridiculously low prices. The Symetre 2500FI is a great discontinued reel in the OP's price range, and can still be found NIB if you look around a bit. The Pflueger President retails for about $60 and has earned itself a loyal following. They're not sexy, but they'll get the job done and last a good while. That's not a bad option either. The outfit in my avatar is a 6'8" ML BPS Extreme "Woo Daves" dropshot model and a Shimano Sahara 2500FB. I think I paid about $60 for the rod on sale and about $45 for the reel. The rod was actually really nice for the money. Fairly light, sensitive, and MUCH stronger than I had anticipated. It had a nice soft tip for casting light lures, but plenty of backbone to haul decent-sized fish out of the weeds. I sold mine quite a while ago and have been kicking myself ever since. It had the absolute best tip for floating worms and Trick Worms of all the rods I've owned.

Beautiful Benton, KY. I'm sure they write a bunch of tickets in that stretch. It's a four-lane divided highway with nothing to look at and extremely smooth pavement. I was doing 74 (according to the Trooper) and it still felt like I was crawling. My fault for not checking the speedometer.

Where did I say that I didn't deserve the ticket? The Trooper was actually pretty cool about it and wrote the ticket for 70/55 when I was actually going a bit faster than that, and didn't cite me for no proof of insurance or registration in the car, which didn't belong to me.

I bought one of these on my recent trip to Kentucky Lake... They must be running a sale because it was only $173. :

I'm with RW on this one. Wait for a deal on an Avid or post a WTB ad in the Flea Market. I've owned the Crucial, Premier, and Triumph (all good rods in their price ranges) and the Avid beats them all, imho. Something to consider when looking at the Premier and Triumph: They're built on the same blank so there is no difference in sensitivity from one to the other. The Premier is built in the US and typically has better fit/finish than the Mexican-made Triumph, but there isn't $.05 worth of difference in performance between the two. One rod that I've purchased recently that you really ought to look into is the Quantum Energy PT. They retail for about $100 but can be found for quite a bit less online if you shop around. They're light, well balanced, and come equipped with Fuji Hardloy guides and a lifetime warranty. I picked up a 6'6" M/F spinning model about a month ago and I have really been impressed by its performance.

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I think any manufacture making a sweeping change to their warranty should start by marking their current production models somehow and grandfathering the older rods. Something as simple as an "a" added to the model number would suffice. Old model - old warranty terms New model - new warranty terms Seems pretty simple to me, and probably far less likely to alienate customers.

I use mine for light t-rigs, shaky head, and small finesse jigs in light cover.

I've seen several videos and read a bunch of reviews, and the majority of folks that try the Emmrods seem to like them. I don't know how much I'll actually use it, but it was intriguing enough that I just had to try it. They break down easily, and the coil on the "rod" fits down over the forend to make a pretty compact package. Not my pic:

Emmrod Packer http://www.emmrod.com/index.cfm?page=products.cfm&cat=byModel&model=Packer# Pflueger Supreme 8035MG 6'9" ML/XF Mojo spinning rod. I don't like split-grip rods, but I bought the Mojo and the Supreme for the price of the 6'9" MLXF Avid, and it's not like I need the sensitivity for fishing floating worms. I let my wallet do the thinking this time...hope it was right. :-/

IMO, it really depends on your budget. If you have the $$ to drop on it, I'm sure you'll love it. However, if you have to skimp on the rod in order to be able to afford the CI4, I think you're making the wrong decision. Spend the majority of your rod/reel budget on a quality rod and then find a decent reel that will balance well with the rod. If I had $300 to put into a spinning combo, for example, I'd be looking at $150-$200 rods and and $100-$150 reels. Of the rods you mentioned (Clarus an Avid), I'd definitely go with the Avid. I'd probably pair it with a Shimano Symetre, Shimano Saros, or Pflueger Supreme.

The Trick Worm. It can be used for pretty much every technique and works year-round for me.

I know this probably won't help you much, but it really varies from one manufacturer to another. A M/F from St. Croix, for example, will typically be a bit "heavier" (power, not weight) than a similar model from Shimano.