islandbass

It is a good reel, but I do not think it is worth its $99 price anymore. If it matters, it does not fare well with lighter weights, such as 1/4 oz for a beginner. The reel has never failed me and I'd put it on par with a Curado BSF (the old greenie), but I'd rather spend the extra $20 for a Citica E. Now if you can find one for $70, then that is a deal.

FC line can spring off of spinning reels, as you have now discovered. That is the nature of the beast with fc line and spinning reels. With certain reels, you can actually adjust the line lay on the spool to compensate for such springiness in the line. Second biggie. Lose that line. If your cover allows step down to 8 or better yet 6 as others have recommended. 8-)

I used to think that too, but out of curiosity, I read a book about it and while I will tell you that it would not be my first choice, there is a lot to learn about trolling. It is a different skill set from what you or I are accustomed to. So I must disagree with you that it takes no skill. If trolling were such a shoe in (take catch fish to keep and eat), everyone would be doing it. There are a myriad of setups that you can rig and methods, eg, down rigging, flat lining, hovering. The speed of the boat comes into play. You have to determine what depths you are going to target. Got wind and current? That is going to influence the amount of weight you might use on your downrigger to get the lure(s) to your desired depth. Get ready to do some math. 8-) People with no skills aren't going to have the math skills to make such calculations. Also, if you're goal is to catch fish, especially to take home, with trolling, you can attack many levels in the water column at the same time; the top, 10, 25, 75 and 120 ft at the same time. If the line at 75 ft gets the hit, guess what? You now know what depth the fish are. There are definitely skills involved as I was pleasantly surprised to learn. Granted, we're probably in the same boat, pardon the pun, about trolling not being a first choice, because it isn't the same as the way we prefer to fish. It would seem on the surface as boring, but its effectiveness at catching fish is undeniable if that indeed, is the goal.

Braid is opaque. Chances are they probably see it, but I think for many cases, they could care less. If the want the lure bad enough, they'll strike, braid or not. Use it. If you noticed a reduction in hits and strikes, add an FC leader. Case closed. ;D

That is great! Congrats on a job well done. 8-) Shame on your teammates. :-[

I just leave it white.

Cabelas online perhaps. My local cabelas doesn't carry ul soft! >

Yep, I heard that too. You can even change a citica 200 to have a 5.x ratio. However, since there is no left hand version of the gearing, no way to do it with a Citica 201E.

Alright, fellow left hand retrieve reel users, I would like to know and I think some of you would also like to know if there is or is not a market or great enough of a demand for a Curado or Citica 201E5. The answer for me is YES!

Being that you have a few Ugly Sitcks, you might want to reconsider and continue using braid. Give yourself a fighting chance at increasing sensitivity. Many people claim Ugly Sticks lacking in the sensitivity department but that is subjective and hopefully you aren't in that boat. Power Pro is a viable option for braid.

What's the issue with your symetre? There is a shimano support forum here to help you out. Congrats on your latest acquisitions.

If you guys really want to maximize sensitivty, put away your rods (well, just try it at least once) and fish just with the line. I tried it a few times and was simply amazed and downright surprised at the picture I was getting. I could feel the pulse of every passing wave to boot. We're talking about maximizing sensivity, right? The first signal goes through the line to the guides to the blank, then to your hands. Perhaps there could be signal/vibration lost along the way so why not take parts of that equation out and go directly from line to hand? Come on, now. You will have saved a ton of money and if maximum sensitivity is the goal, then it doesn't get more direct than line straight to hand. You will be in awe of how sensitive our hands really are and it is better than any rod out there. God knew what He was doing when he gave us our senses. I know, we aren't going to give up our rods but give it a try. It's a lot of fun. As for line, I believe braid certainly does transmit feedback to me quite well. Throw in a rod of GLX caliber and using W (Tungsten) could really be a killer set up in the sensitivity department. With that said, I only used braid for certain applications, and for economic reasons I use lead over tungsten. These items are great to have be not necessary. Shoot, my daughter used to outfish me in her sleep with her Barbie pole when she was younger. Curado schahmado/Loomis rig and I get outfished by a Barbie pole. ;D I believe all this does is increase our odds at feeling the subtlest of bites and not necessarily guarantee the catch of more fish. That part has always been angler dependent, regardless of the set up used.

very true, but I will qualify it by saying it takes focused practice. Practice does not make perfect because if you practice the wrong way you will not not improve. Just look at a golf driving ranges. Thousands of ball striking and hits but much of it is unfocused or with no direction, which is why many golfers show little improvement.

The bazooka or other like product from the competition (I have the Plano One that goes up to 88") is your best bet. I have one and have taken it with me out of country. You are right about the potential for rods banging around, but with some careful thought that lil' old islandbass can be noted to have on occassion however rare, you can separate your rods and keep each one safe and sound by using pipe insulation that you can by at any home depot or lowes. They are already split and can accomodate rod blanks and guides. The insulation doesn't even have to cover the entire rod. Just the spots where they might bang upon other rods. I am guessing you could safely store 4-5 rods with the insulation. Good luck! I am a bit shocked at the price. I bought mine a couple years ago and it was about $35.00.

I was so green when I first started fishing (initially self-taught) that if you asked me what a bail was, I would have told you it was what you had to pay to avoid jail. 20 degree weather, frozen and numb hands, despite wearing bulky gloves that had to be removed to tie knots. Hands so stiff it took what felt like 30 seconds to tie a freakin' Palomar knot, a palomar knot!!! Come on! Nobody takes 30 seconds to tie a Palomar not! Well, maybe those who first make the loop of a Palomar knot and then try to inesert it into the hook's eye, but even I am not that stupid. ) but that's not it... I grab my scissors to cut the excess tag end of the line and wind up cutting the main line instead. Yeah, that's dumb but I wound up doing two more times, back to back to back. Ooohhhh sometimes I feel (and act) like an idiot. :-[ Made a double-bladed experimental inline spinner that I was dying to try out so I rushed out of the house and to the pond. I cast it out and it flies into the next zip code; Awesome!!! On the retrieve, I get a hit and set the hook and miss. Another hit, miss. Another cast, hit, and miss. I'm begining to think, "What in the world is going on? I can't possibly miss that many times!" A repeat of the same again. This time I finally look at the lure to see if anything is wrong. Yup!! I forgot to add the hook. No split ring, no split ring pliers, no extra treble hook or other hook, no other lures since I was "field testing" after all. It's just God's irony and sense of humor; Biting fish and no way to catch them. I know He was laughing all the way to the bank. It just makes me oooohhhhhh Yosemite Sam mad! ;D Now further stories because it's just too painful. ;D

Absolutely! 8-)

Not if you value your lures. My ponds are "open" with a little structure and very little cover. I still manage to lose a few jigs and/or soft plastics on every outing! Lures that run shallow or float are (usually) fine, but anything with depth may be lost. In a boat, lure retrievers are useful, but not so from the bank. If you fish from the shore, be prepared to lose your stuff. Note: In my opinion, if you're not getting hung-up occasionally, you're not fishing in the right spots. So, plan your lure selection accordingly. 8-) I agree with you and I know full well about the risk of losing lures and accept that as part of the game and I did think to mention that initially. My point was that the same techniques fished from a boat can also work from the shore. The potential for loss of lures is most likely higher, no doubt, but on the other side of the coin, nothing ventured, nothing gained as you said with other words. I can and have lost 10 ds weights and hooks and lures in less than an hour's time. I most certainly dislike such losses but it comes with the territory. When I fish from the shore I have to be willing to risk those losses. Techiques I have successfully employed from the shore: Cranks, Jerks, Senkos, Drop Shot, Inline Spinners, Spoons, Topwaters, and T-rigs. Shamefully I concede that I am a spinnerbait, buzzbait and jig virgin. I just haven't had the chance to give those lures some quality learning time yet. ;D

I fish from the shore 100% of the time. All techniques that work on a boat can work from the shore. You have to kick out of your mind that because you're on the shore the fishing will be different technique wise. The fish won't know if your fishing from the shore or a boat. It can take some extra effort to search and reach certain spots, but it can be done. Good luck! 8-)

x2 I also itch with a spinning rod any day of the week for sure. Pitching is just a type of cast. I pitch cast my Drop Shot rig most of the time. For heavier cover, a casting set up might be the better choice as Trav mentioned, but it can be done with a spinning reel.

I've used both, Siege at 10, 12, and 20# and Elite in 8#. I have never ever seen a mono line resist memory as well as either. IMHO, Siege seems to be more abrasion resistant and Elite seems to be Sufix's answer to Trilene XL. If I am not mistaken, I think both Elite and Siege share the same diameter at the same strength so I am not certain why Siege seems "tougher" or durable (not tough or wirey like CXX - CXX is ornery tough and springy). Both are excellent in terms of value and performance. I spooled 10# Siege onto my curado 101D late last summer and there it stayed until about 3 weeks ago or so. After the first cast in the Cul de Sac, I was shocked to see that there was no memory in the line. NONE! I am certainly leaning toward making this my goto mono. If you're going to face heavier cover, I'd recommend Siege, and for open water, Siege or Elite.

If you don't mind a round reel, the Shimano Cardiff has a 5.x:1 ratio. I have a 301A that I use when I target salmon, but I have used it for cranking in the off season and it just "feels" easier and better with the lesser IPT. It also use the centrifugal brakes many Shimano casting reel users are familiar with and it doesn't cost an arm and leg. The reel is about $100.00 give or take and even has the Dartanium drag. Depending on the size you choose, it would probably make a a good swim bait reel.

There is a subset of treble hook lures that are topwater. FC line sinks and as a result, it might make FC a line not to choose. Since you mention all treble hook lures, it would include poppers, propeller baits, and walk the dog lures, that might not fare well with fc. FC might be useful for cranks and jerks and mono for the topwater trebles but mono is practical for all treble hook lures.

I'd just go with a 2500 saros and save my $$$, but the decision is 100% yours, bottom line. For my purposes, symetres/saros are sufficient and going above that is sweet but not necessary and certainly an option. I chose stradic of your two choices. I guess I didn't help.

I assume that there is a mjor difference that you can notice between the Sahara and the Symetre, yes? Best, Paul With the previous models, I could feel a difference from a smoothness POV. Can't address a comparison of the innards. The symetre was superior in smoothness alone. I can't speak about the newer models. The newer sahara might be (and better be) on par with the previous symetre on smoothness since it took that price point.

x2. The Sahara and Sedona are alright, but sweetness starts at the Symetre. 8-)