islandbass

Can't recommend that highly enough. When you find and read his article(s) you will feel like you graduated from Drop Shot University 101.

You can put practically whatever bait you want to drop shot on your hook... T-rigged, nose hooked or even wacky. There are a zillion threads on drop shotting. Just run a search using the search function and you will find a wealth of excellent information here. Also, check out the articles section.

I've used 12#. Castibility is superb and better than many others out there. However, like many other Pline products, it has memory up the ying yang. Memory doesn't bother me but if it bothers you then not many Pline lines out there will you like. Of the times I used it I've gotten skunked so I can't comment much else. It does seem to be fairly abrasion resistant. Still need more time to further evaluate.

You're in luck. The 200E actually is shorter (vertically) than the 100D and therefore actaully sits lower. It is smaller than the D by a wee bit, BUT has the capacity of a 200 shimano, hence the 200 in its name.

As one who is permanently shorebound, I also travel as light and as minimal as I can. I have a few plano boxes assigned to certain lure types and bring only those boxes I think will serve me best that day. I place them in my backpack and bring along a BASS shoulder bag to carry my soft plastics. Flambeau BackPack $14.00 @ walmart (or was) Then I bring usually 3 rods that I can carry in one hand with my homemade contraption, my rod quiver. It seems to always draw questions from anglers and non-anglers alike. It can stand upright on its own or I prop it on my BASS bag. Thankfully it eliminates the need to lay the unused rigs on the ground.

The short and easy answer is yes.

On paper, they're superior to their predecessors. I know if I had one, it would live up to mine. They could be on hard times or maybe going up to the chronarch d.

The two closet to me are going out of business. I am going to check them out tomorrow if I get the chance. I was usually ignored when I walked in.

Both are excellent lines and it will really depend on what application you want to use it for. Here is some info straight from the horse's mouth: I have used both and they both good. I use invizx for my drop shotting. I love its limpness and stretchiness, two traits that I want in my fluorocarbon line for drop shotting.

I have the 6'10" MH xfast. If you are fishing jigs and t-rigs it's a great choice. Can't imagine what an extra 2" will do. Perhaps you can ask Bantam in the Shimano Forum, perhaps slightly longer pitches with the same or less effort. My curiosity has definitely been piqued.

You can save money and let him use your smallest casting reel. If you need to get him a reel, just don't give him a reel you wouldn't use. Like us, they will learn faster on better equipment. My daughter took my curado 101D from me and claimed it as her own when she was eight (now 9). ;D She said she would like to have the wonder woman themed reel as was shown at Tackle Tour.

Man, that is terrible. I hope whoever did it gets caught and that your insurance will help you. :'(

That is awesome. Here's my testimonial on the Crucial's sensitivity from last winter. It was the first time I fished from a bassboat and put my crucial to the test. Middle of January, frosty 22 degrees, my hands were frozen to the bone despite wearing gloves and split mitts. 4.5 hours into fishing the drop shot (lamiglas), I put it down and grab my Crucial 6'10 mh rigged with a 1/2 football jig and DT grub. We were fishing in 55' of water. Even with my super numb hands that could barely feel anything, I felt the ultra subtle take of a smallie, 55' down! Let me add that I have zero experience fishing so deep, let alone from a boat in sub freezing weather. Yet, I felt the take. I'm not talking about watching the line move to the side and knowing there is a fish on. The rod told me everything. Unfortunately, my hook set was poor because I couldn't bend my fingers around the rod nor to grasp my reel's handle. I had to use the palm of my left hand to crank in the line and put the rod's butt into my gut and my wrist under the foregrip area in a feeble attempt to set the hook. I fought her for about 15 seconds before I lost her. :'( Just a testament to the crucial's sensitivity.

As one who has both, I would say yes, with about 85% bait monkey influence. ;D This doesn't put down the Compre in any way. It is a solid rod. I love my compre. I can tell you I feel a bit more sensitivity with the crucial. The compre has sufficient sensitivity for fishing applications that demand a senistive rod.

Front for me, purely from an aesthetics POV. Those rear drags stick out like a fat, swollen, bee-stung thumb.

The heavier, the better for a beginner. Just use a bass casting weight of at least 1/2 oz. Save your lures for fishing.

Yep. Ugly but cool ugly. I'm twisted. ;D

Whether you fish from the shore or boat has absolutely nothing to do what type of reel you use. The only thing that separates you from us is focused, quality practice and exeperience. The only thing that can stop you from learning how to use a casting reel is you quitting. Keep at it, don't give up and you will be there.

Just take your reel to reel mech. He could tell you what is missing right away. Have in upgrade the bearings and the drag and that thing will be better than when you first had it. He did it with my Abu G round reel and is now one bad mamma jamma of a reel now. x2 on the schematic.

That's a bit vague since there are many spinning rod models. Which are you referring to, or are interested in? I have the MH 6'6" compre. It is an excellent rod for its price and warranty.

I can, but it took some time to learn the other way. I am glad I can now. It isn't a bad thing to know how to comfortably fish both ways. Pitching is pretty much the same, but I am a little slower. For regular casts, I will sometimes have my right hand assist to lessen fatigue of my weaker left hand and to provide a little more stability. So an occassional two handed cast when left handed casting.

Maintain constant tension on your line at all times. I.E., do your best to prevent them from jumping. Since you mention jumping, this is probably the likely cause. When you allow them to jump you no longer have the proper tension on the line to keep them on. The size of the fish and the weight of the lure play a role, but bottom line, do not allow slack in the line at any time during the fight.

darnet Raul, Why did I have to click on your link. Now I want one. ;D

That might very well happen, but I think as long as the two pieces stay together, it shouldn't be a problem. I have a Clarus two piece casting rod and caught 2-5 lbs all day and it the rod never twisted as such. I have casting rods that are two piece and longer (my steelhead/salmon rods, and I reckon they're two piece for practical reasons. I have battled salmon that make big bass look like dinks but I don't think I have seen the top piece twist from center alignment during a full on battle. I will look for this next time I battle. Perhaps I am just lucky so far. The odd thing is that Loomis, Lamiglas, and other rod makers make 2 piece casting rods for other species that are longer. I wonder if having the potential for the rod to twist is something they overlook.

You just have to look a little harder. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20372_TGP&id=0053453122697a&navCount=1&podId=0053453&parentId=cat20372&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=UJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true I was considering getting a 7' MH 2 piece, their MGTC703-2 pr MGTC702-2 model when it was on sale for about $50 but unforseen expenses took precedence. Sweet looking rod fo sho!