catchnm

Had some surplus tackle and and a rod that was cracked so off to Academy I went. After handling several brands, all of which were 7' MH I grabbed the LF-5-17 MH 12-20 lb. line 1/4-3/4 lure weight. Their website lists this as a crank rod but I'll use it as a general purpose rod and I believe it will be great for that. Doesn't feel like a cranking rod to me. Anybody else using one for plastics? T-rigs, jigs, senkos, light c-rigs.....within the weight recommendations of course. That's what will be rigged on it the most.

Those jigs are great......but I'd rather be getting some of that rain. Article on heat and drought in Tex. and OKla. I live right on the Texas border in southeastern OKla. My regular honey hole is about 8-9 feet low. Our Lake here, Texoma, is right at nine feet low. A record set in 1994 is soon to be broken if it goes any lower.

Me too.......me too man. I also waited for the markdowns and WOW what a reel bargain those Curados. I have 2 E7 and plan to have more before I'm done.

ANY Rage Tail Plastic.....period. Next up would be Zoom Baby Brush Hogs. with senko types, Trick Worms, and Flukes after that.

I've "donkey rigged" Flukes, Slug-gos, senkos, trick worms, baby brush hogs, Rage Anacondas, and even tried a crank on bottom with a sassy shad on top one time. All were successful in catching fish with the exception of the crank rig..... need to fine tune that one a bit.

Tie one of these on in your choice of color, but rig it just like this.......you'll put some serious hurt on your partner's Beaver. This rig glides through the grass like none I've fished before. Swim it, pause, swim it, pause, hop it......SET THE HOOK! (Thanks Mattstone)

Original Rage Craw / T-rigged / un-pegged 1/8 oz. worm weight / 4/0 Gammy EWG / Watermelon Red, Bama Craw, or Summer Craw colors in that order. Always have at least one tied on and sometimes two.

I have several also. Don't throw them much......great pond baits though.

My first "higher end" baitcasters were the Citica D models. Loved them......until I got a Citica 200E. Wasn't long before the Malaysia made D models were sold off and replaced with 200E models. I now have 5 200E model Citicas. That being said, I have been eyeballing the Curado 200E's since they were first introduced in 2008. Like many others here, the price caused me to shy away from purchasing more than one, and since I always have to have more than one I just bit the bullet and continued to watch them. Then my partner got one off Ebay for like $145 so I casted it a few times and the bullet went off. I have recently purchased one from Ebay at a fantastic closeout price and will order another this afternoon. Why the sudden change of heart? Because this model Curado, the 200E 5&7 will no longer be offered as a Curado. So for the price of a new 2012 Citca I can now own the equivalent of a 2012 Chronarch. I figure that until the line-up changes again that these reels will be highly sought after. I guess you might say that I'm a bit disappointed with the new offerings from my favorite reel manufacturer as well. Not a "posse" member but I have been quite Shimano loyal. I will wait until the 2012 reels get marked down for close-out (probably next year, again I refer to the "D" reels) and then maybe purchase one or two, but until then, I'll be enjoying all my "E" models. BTW, I'll also be enjoying my Pflueger Trions, BPS reels, and ---> H20 Xpress Mettle reels.<---.....best $50 reels offered anywhere.

Another vote for the Citica 200 E.

But while the name brands don't hold up to many fish usually, these seem to hold up to less.

Uhhhh......Hellbender, gets down deep quick.

I've landed fish up to five pounds on a Shakespeare Synergy Titanium 10 spooled with 6 lb. Yo-Zuri Hybrid Ultra Soft. That's from the bank too, BTW. I use a 5'6" pistol grip rod rated Med. action but it's pretty stiff, more like a M/H. Anyway the Synergy Titanium has the double line pick up and is constructed of metal, has three bearings, and is very affordable. Also check the "Ultimate" series of the Synergy reels. They have four bearings and are also quite affordable. Both reels have double-paddle handles, fit well in my hand, are smooth on the retrieve, have decent drag, and can handle good size fish.

The current models of the Curados, Citicas, and Stradic FI are all now listed as "dicontinued items" on another site. I do believe it will be just as it was when the "D'" models were replaced with the "E" models though......not the loss of the reel itself, just the current configuration. I personally am a BIG fan of the current Citica E models and will hate to see them go.

All I can say on this topic is this.....I have a Craw bait of some sort tied on at least one of my rods every time I go fishing. Most of time it's a Rage Craw.

I notice the Citica E is on sale now sevral places as well as the Curado E's.

Actually many rod manufacturers state the "power" of their rods as "action"......moot point here tho. If I were you I'd stay away from the pistol grip rod you're referring to in the 6' length. 6'6" is an all around length for the type fishing you're doing and there are many rods out there that fit your price range for this that have varying lengths of handles to choose from. If you have an Academy Sports and Outdoors store near you they are running some heck of a deals on rods this week. The Castaway CTX and the All Star Classics are always $49.99 at Academy though. I just handled one of the CTX 6'6" MH last week there. Amazingly light rod! If I hadn't been shopping for a 7' I probably would have bought it.

You don't repair where it was leaking on the first place?

Striper and hybrids like them. Can be twitched, but a steady slow retrieve works best for me.....no bass as of yet though.

Never mind.....think I'll just get a Vendetta.

Thinking about purchasing one or the other of these. Tour Edition new for $100 total. I understand it's a 2003 model. I was wondering if anyone has this particular rod and could offer opinions. I specifically am getting this because it's 6'6" and MH action and it's a one-piece. Not many spinning rods out there in this configuration in this price range. Im also looking at the Quantum Alliance ALS662MH. Fine price at $29.95 but it's a two-piece. Doesn't matter that much whether it's one or two-piece really, just thought the Tour Edition might be a far better rod. I would get two of the Alliance for the price though if it's a quality enough rod for a weekend fisherman like me.....Tex-Rigs, Sworming Hornet Heads, weightless plastics is what I usually throw on spinning gear. Any other suggestions would be welcome as well. i don't want to go over the $100 price though and would prefer to even stay under that. Thanks in advance.

Sounds like the handle wasn't tightened down all the way. Next time hold the spool with one hand and turn the handle with your other. If it is loose this will tighten it up.

You should try it on a 3/16 oz. sworming hornet head. The 3 1/2" works best on the fish head swimmer. Roadwarrior had convinced several membdrs here to give it a toss, no complaints.

Gimick bait in the beginning, catches a few nowadays but there are much better baits out there to spend your money on.

Strike King Rage Craw is the best soft craw bait as far as I'm concerned. Just got a package from BTD today with several packs of three new colors.....for me that is. Falcon Lake Craw, Big Tex, and California Craw. They all look great and can't hardly wait to give them a toss and see how big o' bass I'll hook up with.