islandbass

Unless fluoroclear is a true fc line (I don't think it is), then I would give the knod to Invizx. The line with the higher specific gravity ought to 'feel' more sensitive. I can say as a user of FC line that Invizx, despite its mono like feel, superbly tranmits data to your hands. With this said, the difference in specific gravity might exist between both line in question, so I am best guessing that the difference might either be minimal, slight, or non detectable by some.

I was just curious. Now the purpose of this poll is to gather thoughts about its looks. Like it, Love it, Hate it, Gotta have it. I find myself somewhat mixed with a that is kind of ugly but it just might be cool to have. Talk about being indecisive!

Where can I get a shirt like that? Here in Oregon and Washington, we're as far "left" as you can get. ;D

If I were forced to be allowed to say only one postive thing about Shimano reels, and that would be a crime, ;D it would be that they have an extremely wide margin of error to accomodate the clumsiest of anglers. What I am trying to say is that unless the difference in weight between the two lures is quite large, say going from a 1/4 crankbait to a 1 oz jig, then you will probably need to make an adjustment to the reel's settings. If you are switching from say a 5/8 oz crankbait to a 3/8 oz jig, I am confident that you will probably not have to make any adjustment. As a strating point, set the brakes to 3 off and 3 on. Then use the cast control knob to set the fall rate of the lure. I like mine to be loose but set it somewhere that is comfortable for you. From this point, you will most likely not have to change your brake settings for most scenarios you face. Most adjustments to configure the reel to the lure's weight will now be done with the cast control knob. Before long, you will gain confidence and change to 2 brakes on and 4 off for the rest of the reel's life unless you deal with seriously windy conditions. ;D

Your problem was using poof, uh.. I mean vanish. Switch to any of the recommendations here and your troubles will be over. My pick is invizx.

Who knows, with my birthday around the corner. 8-)

If you are partial to the Curado BSF, then you have nothing to worry about going "down" to a Citica E for the gear ratio you desire. It is vastly superior in every way to that curado and even the Curado D but that is MHO. The Cirica E is lighter than the Curado D or B, off the bat. It also sports the HE gearing which the B and the 100 sized D do not. I don't have a need for another 6.x:1 ratio reel, but if I did, I'd get the Citica E. Everything about it from its price to its features make it well worth the $120.00 MSRP.

Another vote for VMC. Not only are they awesome, they are among the best bang for the buck. 25 trebels for about $5. No other company comes close. With that said, I also love Mustad's triple grips. Sorry you lost fish on the DT. Rapala's cranks come stock with VMC hooks so that is puzzling.

Your pursuit of adding a swimbait setup is beginnin to rub off on me. Up until this point I have not any desire to fill this niche of my arsenal. Thanks! ;D

How about a Zillion rod ? I just took mine out for the first time on Christmas day and I'm in love with it......great look too. x2 it seems only fitting. 8-) congrats

where would you get that ? , at a craft store ??? You can get stain for wood at any Lowes or Home Depot. All you need to do is find the stain that matches the color you want to use. You probably won't need too much and you might need 3-4 coat applications. Just make sure you start with clean cork. Walnut or Spanish walnut might be the closest to black. These days, they just might have black. Lastly, you might want to use painter's tape to cover areas of the rod you don't want stain. It will eliminate any need to clean. Get a pair of latex gloves and a rag or paint brush to apply the stain.

Congrats! You will not be disappointed for certain. My first round was an Abu G which I love, but there will be a sense and feel of greater refinement with the Cardiff. What size did you settle on?

Price wise, the Symetre stepped up from $79 to $99 and the Sahara moved to the Symetre I's price point of $79.00. The best way to do what you are seeking is to go to their site and download their catalog in the PDSF format. You can then browse the specs of both reels side by side to see of the $20.00 price difference is worth it to you. They will probably both feel pretty good and the proof in the pudding will be the differences in the inside. Sahara Specs > Propulsion® Line Management System Propulsion® Spool Lip Power Roller® III Graphite Rotor Redesigned Bail Trip > Slow Oscillation > S A-RB® (Shielded A-RB® Ball Bearings) > Lightweight Graphite Sideplate > Lightweight Graphite Rotor > Cold Forged Aluminum Spool > Aluminum Frame (GR on 500 & 1000) Symetre > Propulsion® Line Management System Propulsion® Spool Lip SR® One-Piece Bail Wire Power Roller® III Redesigned Bail Trip S-Arm Cam > Slow Oscillation > SR® Concept > SR® One-Piece Bail Wire > S A-RB® (Shielded A-RB® Ball Bearings) > Aluminum Frame (GR on 500 & 1000) > Lightweight Graphite Sideplate Look like I would take the Symetre. It also appears that the Sahara is not a slouch, is better than the previous Symetre. Then the bait monkey will come in and tell you, "Hmmm...What about the Saros? What about the Stradic? And then you wind up getting a Stella. ;D

Thank you for the great research. I too have been curious about that and now the cat is out of the bag.

Congrats!! But how does a rod lose its backbone or worse yet, its sensitivity? If that is the case, I am going to need to replace all of my rods. ;D To the subject, figure what you want to cover for your arsenal first. When you have an idea of what you want, the decision for buying a rod(s) will be muich clearer. For example, if you wanted one for Trigs, Crankbaits, Drop Shot, etc.

It stands for the version or iteration of the reel in Shimano's line up. The symetre before the "J" is the Symetre FI. Remember the "old Greenie Curado? That was the Curado B. They skipped C, but next came the short lived Curado D. And as you probably know, the latest is the Curado E.

How about this Cardiff? http://www.tackletour.net/TTForums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=35281 J/J. ;D I'd narrow it down to the 300 or 400. Whichever will meet your line capacity needs and/or feels more comfortable in hand. I have a 301 and if I am not mistaken, it weighs 8.9oz. Pretty good for a round reel. The 400 is about 3 oz heavier. Another difference is that the 400 has a nondisengaging levelwind. I think this means that the levelewind will move back and forth during the cast. For a reel that big, this is probably a good thing to aid casting.

Dang, that is beyond excellent there! I think Bantam1 needs to see your work. Good nerve too! To perform an operation like that on a Crucial.

I would like to know how to safely and correctly remove the bearings from a Curado BSF/D reel. First Bearing I noticed in the side plate of my D: How do I remove the little wire thing-of-a-jig looks that like some kind of retaining clip that keeps the bearing in the sideplate in place in a way that would prevent or greatly reduce the potential for it flying off into the nether world? Tweezer's? Is it a Pain in the Phanny to put the clip back? Also, I don't know where the other bearings are located. I think there is one in the hole opposite of the side plate and maybe somewhere in the spool, but that only accounts for 3 and there are supposed to be total five. I'm downloading the schematic later this evening to locate them. I am going to do this one step at a time. I guess I reached the point of being sick and tired of being too chicken to do this myself. Sink or swim and if I sink, I'll drown in a blaze of glory. ;D -ib

Like I had anything better to do, I thought I'd give the scoop on braid. The reason I chose PPro over Sufix was because of the cheaper price. But it got me thinking was it really cheaper? So I took a took between those two and others: BPS Braid - $28.00 or $0.090/yard Sufix Braid - $33.00 or $0.110/yard Power Pro Braid - $28.00 or $0.090/yard Cabela Ripcord Braid - $60.00 fro 1K yds. or $0.060/yard Stren Braid - $32.00 or $0.107/yard Spiderwire Stealth Braid - $30.00 or $0.100/yard Berkley Fireline - $30.00 or $0.100/yard So PPro is only 2 cents cheaper and I thought I was a bit puzzled until I realizede that although $28.00 is the standard price for PPro, it is only $21.00 at a local shop. Which means that it costs only $0.070/yard. Now this 4 cent difference adds up in the long run. Just thought I'd share this with fellow braid users. Note: Based on prices as charged by a major online retailer for a spool of 300 yards of braid, with the exception of Rip Cord. -ib

I'm reading and I come across some things like this: "this line will absorb water like a sponge,tangle, and make a huge mess" Braid does not absorb water like mono does. "it kept digging in my reel i tink i will stay with spiderwire." "it digged in my reel i think i will stick with spiderwire stealth and ultracast." Line Dig is a trait in any braid, and it is more prevalent the thinner diameter of braid you use. However, if you know how and why the line digs into itself, it can be greatly reduced. Heck I know I don't experience it anymore. "i pulled to set the hook and the line broke. i think i will stick with spiderwire stealth." Like this has never happened with any other line they've used. : "good for long cast and very strong but coat comes off on my reel and starts to fray" "The line coating comes off and than the line frays" Braid will eventually lose its color, but provided there is not wear on the line it is still in good shape for fishing. "This line is slighlty more coarse than suffix and less limp; therefore it does not cast as well as the silky soft suffix and does not flow through the guides quite as well." I have not and don't plan to try Sufix braid as good as it sounds. It is too pricey relative to the cost of PPro. I use Sufix Mono and love it. I reckon it should follow that it is a good braid. Do any of you get this from Power pro too, and should I use spider wire or suffix instead? I have used PPro and Spiderwire Stealth, but not Spiderwire Braid, Original or otherwise. IMHO Stealth seems flatter (less round than PPro) but other than that performance wise, I find them equal and very good. I only give a super slight edge to PPro because it is "rounder" and I wouldn't hesistate to use Stealth if PPro were not available.

The wacky rig is very effective on the drop shot. Enjoy!

Listen to Jig Man and do not let the poor experiences of people who do not know how to greatly reduce line twist with spinning reels scare you. The two main reasons for line twist is the use of a lesser reel and the angler's failure to manage the line. Better spinning reels from the Symetre class and on up are going to usually do a better job at laying line onto the spool than your $10.00 Walmart Special Spinning reel. Some things you can do to greatly reduce line twist. 1) Close the bail of the spinning reel manually 2) And even more importantly, do not start the retrieve wth slack on your side of the bail. Always start the retrieve being conscious that there is no slack in the line. 3) Do not attempt to crank line onto the spool when the drag is so light that you are unable to put line back onto the spool Liken this to a car's wheel spinning on an icy road and the car is not going anywhere. The other thing I do is after every few casts, I let the line "rest" if I start to notice twist. It only takes about 5 seconds. I don't fish from a boat so this is what I do if I have to to alleviate line twist. I drop shot with both casting and spinning reels, and I definitely prefer the latter if only for the reason that with a spinning reel, you can have an effortless vertical drop. With a casting reel you have to actually strip line off to get the lure to fall vertically. Not a big deal and maybe I'm lazy. I am also a proud owner of a symetre. You will not go wrong with this reel. Casting reels are much better than before, but the main crux of their performance is the angler. I could ride the lightest carbon fiber bicycle in the world and Lance Armstrong would still kick my phanny if he rode a Huffy.

Welcome brother! I was born in the PI myself. Even had your name as a nick name for a while too as a kid.