Deputy Dave

Sorry to here that! Was hoping it was a yearly sale. I thought I remembered reading on here over the winter that they have that sale usually around the same time as BPS have their annual spring sale. Since that has come and gone I was just wondering about TW. As my luck usually runs, when their sale started last year I was flat broke and couldn't take advantage of 20% off anything on their site sale.

I'm thinking very seriously about ordering the 704 CB and the 703 CEF....That will give me a couple rods from 2 different technique categories and hopefully give me a pretty good evaluation of the Powell line up, Keep your opinions coming! Are Dobyns rods in a complete different class? The price is $100-$150 more than Powell and the Kistler Magnesium.

Anybody remember when TW has their 15%-20% off everything sale? And do they usually only do that once a year?

Much less of the rod is going to flex on a XF tip!

I guess I'm a little confused about how the XF tip is softer than the Fast tip. I'm my experience it should be just the opposite. Much less of the rod is going to flex on a XF tip!

Thanks guys! Dink whisperer , that is exactly they type of response I was hoping to get. Some people that have used both!

Deermaster, I asked this same question a couple years ago when I was looking for a new spinnerbait rod. Loomis list all of their Spinnerbait specific rods with Extra-Fast tips and yet several other manufactures make theirs on the complete other end of the spectrum with Moderate or Mod-Fast tips. I use Kistler rods so I bought their Spinnerbait Argon rod which was a 6'9" MH/Mod. It was a much too soft tip for me and I sold the rod. I ended up just splitting the difference and bought a 6'6' MH/Fast rod and have been happy with it's performance. If it's one of those days that I'm throwing Spinnerbaits as my primary bait for that day and I want 2 or 3 Spinnerbaits tied on and laying out on my boat deck I will just use a couple 7ft MH/F rods of which I have several.

A few years ago when I got turned on to Kistler Rods I started out buying primarily the Magnesium models. I've been extremely happy with all the Magnesium rods that I've bought since and can't think of a negative thing to really say about any of them. I had the opinion then, and still do, that it's the most rod for the money out there. Since then I've upgraded to several Helium's and even a recently purchased Z-Bone but still do have several Magnesium's. I find myself now using the Mags. less and less all the time. I think this is a combination of both having several more higher end rods now and simply that the new has worn off them. I catch myself on the Powell and Dobyns websites a couple times a month just looking around. I've wanted to try especially a Powell rod for a long time. I've never even held a rod from either of these companies so my question is this. Have any of you owned/used a Kistler Magnesium and a Powell? Talk to me about how you would compare these two rods. Obviously if there's little or no difference in these rods it wouldn't be worth the financial loss I would take in selling my used Mags. to buy some Powells. I would just love to try out 2 or 3 of the Powell rods to see for myself if I'm missing out on something really great. I know they receive rave reviews constantly on this forum. I work someplace that has right around 2000 employees most of which are men. Alot of those guys fish/hunt so finding someone looking for a good deal on some used Magnesium rods hasn't been at all a problem in the past. Like I said, I've sold a few in order to upgrade to new rods that have come out that I just couldn't live without! I have 5 or 6 Magnesium's left now and am very willing to part with them if in fact the Powell rod is an upgrade. I mentioned Dobyns earlier which is another company that intrigues me. However, based on their price points I assume that they would be more in line with the Kistler Heliums in quality and sensitivity. Unfortunately I've never seen a Powell or Dobyns rod in a store (or anywhere else) that I could handle and develop any type of opinion for myself. Surely I'm not the only guy on here that finds one of the fun parts of fishing is the constant quest for new equipment. I've made some really good decisions over the years but I've made some poor one's as well! So, any of you that have an opinion on whether or not it's even worth me taking a more serious look at the Powell line and replacing some Kistler Magnesiums with them let me hear what you think. Thanks, Dave

With the exception of a VERY VERY few (St Croix maybe ???) who else makes their own blanks, reel seats, guides etc...???? I'm pretty sure that most just assemble other manufactures parts and then put a sticker with their name on the rod and call themselves a rod company...

I'm not justifying or supporting their warranty in any way, shape or forum, I too think they could do a much much better job in that area in support of their customers. However, I said all that to say that I've been fishing for about 37 years now and can remember breaking 2 rods in my life. Both were very much my fault and not in any way the fault of the rod or the manufacture. Let me add that I'm not a guy that has 3 or 4 outfits and fish 4 or 5 times a year. I've always had 15-20 rods at any given time my entire adult life. I own a Skeeter bass boat and fish tournaments weekly throughout the entire season. I currently have 21 rods that are kept in my bass boat and used for tournament fishing. Most of which are Kistlers. I do have 5 St Croix Avids, 2 Loomis IMX's, 2 Shimano Cumaras and a couple Crucial spinning rods. So, I do have a little money invested in rods. I guess I'm just different in that when I purchase a high end rod (Kistler Z-Bone) I don't get paranoid about what I'll do if this rod breaks. I instead concentrate on the deal that I'm getting, the quality of the rod, how buying this new rod will improve my fishing and last but not least I enjoy the excitement of buying another new rod. Maybe I've just been alot luckier than most guys and not had alot of rods break on me or had any manufacturing defects in rods over the last 3.5 decades of hard fishing. I'm having a tough time trying to articulate what I'm trying to say here and I'm sure it won't read anything like I'm actually trying to explain it. When I was reading all the reviews and articles about the new Z-Bone rods that were about to hit the market I guess I just was trying to determine if I could financially justify another rod right then and if so which one I would buy and what technique it would be used for. I don't ever remember giving any thought about what would happen if I broke it 2 or 3 years from now. When my brother and I went out on the lake last Tuesday evening and I got to use my new rod for the first time all of my thoughts were about how much I liked it and how surprised I was about the sensitivity of my new rod. I didn't say to my brother " If I break this new rod I have to hurry up and do it in the first 90 days or I'm screwed" Actually, that thought hasn't even crossed my mind. I'm just enjoying my new rod!!! Like I said earlier, I guess I'm just different than most and I don't get all hung up what I'm gonna do if something bad happens. I just enjoy my stuff and use it. We're all different (if we were all the same just think about how long the lines would be!) so to each is own. One of the 2 rods that I've broken in my life was in fact a Kistler. It was last season and as mentioned earlier was my fault. It cost me $50 they sent me an upgraded model (the one I broke is no longer in production) that was 7 years newer. I can live with that! In the mean time I'll just keep on throwing my be-loved Kistlers with their very weak warranty and enjoying the crap out of the time that I'm on the water and able to fish!

The weather here in Indiana finally let us get out on the water one evening this week and I got to use my new Z-Bone rod. I bought a 7.6ft HF several weeks ago and actually got to catch a couple small fish on it. (under 3lbs.) I was absolutely blown away by the sensitivity of this rod!!! I own several Helium's and really thought they were probly at about the high end when it comes to sensitivity but this thing is amazing! Unfortunately this is not a rod your going to be able to go in your favorite tackle shop and pickup and play with but do yourself a favor and visit the Kistler website and take a look at these new rods. I'm going to just have to have a couple more of these.

I bought 2 over the winter. A 7.3ft MH/Mod Fast to throw big deep diving crankbaits (Series 6XD's) and a 6.6ft MH/Fast to use as a back-up/additional Spinnerbait/Chatterbait rod. I really didn't need another Spinnerbait rod but couldn't really pass up the price! Besides, I had another Revo SX not currently mounted on anything and they look and feel like they were made for each other. I haven't had either on the water yet but I put Revo SX's with the red/wht/blk (again, the two look like they were made to use together) Reel Grips on both and played with both outfits around the house. I have high expectations for both outfits. They may both snap in half or be no more sensitive than a broom stick once I actually have the opportunity to fish them but at their price point it won't hurt too bad. I however do feel like they will be very nice rods for what I plan to use them for.... Go for it!!!

Rooster You called your Extremes "disposable" in one of your earlier post. I couldn't agree more. I've had at least 10 of them over the last 15yrs or so and I excepted the fact that they sell for $40-$50 (on-sale) for a reason. I don't think that I've ever got more than 2 seasons out of one before they have all started showing the symptoms that your experiencing. If I've decided to stay with an Extreme reel for the rod that it's on I throw the bad one away and buy another one the next time they go on-sale. The Extremes that I have now and the one's I've had over the years are used only on cheap BPS rods and used only for farm pond and strip pit fishing when I'm in the metal John boat. (when the likelihood of breaking a rod and/or damaging other equipment is greatly increased) When I'm in the Skeeter either tournament or just out fun fishing my Extremes and BPS rods don't make the trip. Serious fishing is done exclusively with my various Shimano's and my Revo's. I would just look at them as an expendable item and accept that they will need to be replaced often or like you have already mentioned, buy some higher end reels.

I'm sure it's not the same reel as sold today (they seem to advertise an upgrade in alot of their reels every year or two) but regardless the Curado is in a whole different class IMO. I've had as many as 9 BPS reels at one time (so I do have a little experience w/them) and still have one of the blue Elite Series and 3 Extremes (just sold the last 3 chrome Signature Series reels I had a couple weeks ago) I've had really good luck with BPS reels. The PQ was the only one that gave me any problems. The BPS reels are heavy but that's really about the only negative thing I can say about them. For some other reasons I've just been phasing everything out of my arsenal and staying strictly with Shimano (Curado's E5 and E7, Citica's, Core's Mg50 and 100's) and Abu Garcia Revo's (all of the except S and the Skeet Reese) He can obviously buy whatever reel he wants to but he asked what others recommend between the BPS PQ and a Curado and as I previously stated, IMHO it's not even close! Unless I run across someone wanting to buy some cheap outfits I plan on keeping the BPS reels that I have left. I have them mounted on BPS rods and use those when I take the Jon Boat out to the farm ponds or strip pits.

Take it from someone that owns both the PQ and a few E7's. The E7's hands down!!! Let me rephrase my 1st sentence a little. Actually I used to own a PQ but it took a dump after 2 seasons and I threw it in the trash last year. Like someone already said, the PQ isn't even in the same class with either the Curado or the Citica IMHO. I have a couple Citicas as well and there's absolutely nothing wrong with them but if your anything like me at all and you would buy the Citica you'll always wonder if you made the right choice. You'll always wonder just how much better the Curado really is. If you can afford it just buy the Curado and be done with it. You won't be at all sorry! They are GREAT reels for the money!

LAO, I too am a huge Kistler fan. I currently have 18 of them. However, I understand your point and you articulated it very well. As a fan and owner/user of their products and someone that has had to use their customer service/warranty (I broke a rod) I too have wondered about the seemingly constant changes.

Well that pretty well answers that question. Just wanted to make sure before I loaded it up on outfits to be used for topwaters.... Thank You!!

About an 8000 sq ft log cabin sitting on Kentucky Lake with a 8-10 slip matching boathouse w/garage door openers on all the doors. A tackle room in the back of my boathouse that would make people laugh at Gander Mountain. A different kind of bass boat sitting in every stall. The ability to call Kistler, Loomis and St Croix and say send me 2 of everything... Oh, the day that I hit the lottery!!!! hahaha Not that I've ever dreamed about anything like this or anything!! hahaha

I just bought a 7'3 inch Vendetta to use for the same thing. I obviously haven't had a chance to use it yet living in Indiana but it sure feels good! I'm a Kistler fan (18 of them) but wanted a rod to throw just big deep diving cranks. Since I would only use this rod on a very limited basis I really didn't want to spend another $200 on a deep diving crankbait rod. The price on the Vendetta was right and I read several articles written by guys that have used it for just that and it's getting great reviews! I had a couple extra Revo SX reels laying around so I threw one of those on mine. I realize it's a 6.2:1 ratio reel but I already had it and it looks and feels great on that rod. I'm not sure yet if I'll switch out the reel once I actually start using it this season. I would look hard at the Vendetta if I were you...

I understand that the Hybrid and Ultra-Soft is Fluorocarbon coated. Does it sink like regular Fluoro line? I'm wondering if I can use this line on my crankbait rods to throw top water baits. I like using Fluoro to throw cranks because of the added sensitivity it provides and I really don't want to have to load up Mono on the rods that I will use for top waters unless I have to. I purchased my first spools of Yo-Zuri Hybrid to late in the season last year to have a chance to use any of it with top water baits. I do really like the Yo-Zuri Hybrid for everything else though! I know that there are a bunch of you guys that know alot about this line so I thought I'd just ask here if it can be used for top water applications.... (I'm including Buzzbaits as top water baits in this question) Thanks Dave

Thanks for the advise so far guys! I bought a 1lb spool of 12lb Yozuri Hybrid (3400yrds or 4800yrds) last season and really like it alot. I'm pretty sure I still have some 14lb and 17lb P-Line Floroclear (and even lots of BPS mono) that I can try on the Core as well. I have 5 Revo Premiers on my other Kistler LTA's that are all used for pitchin/flippin jigs and heavy t-rigs. I keep all of those loaded up with Power Pro and use a Floro leader on all of them. That's why I'm leaning towards some lighter Floro on the Core. I've got the "heavy" stuff pretty well covered.

I'm the proud new owner of a new Shimano Core 50MG7. I plan on mounting it on one of my existing Kistler Helium LTA 7ft MH rods or purchase a Cumara 7'2" MH X-Fast. I plan on using this setup for plastic swimbaits and/or light T-rig plastics. I know that these reels don't hold alot of line and that I probably won't need to use any filler line so my question to those of you that have a Core 50 is what line (LB.) do you have on yours? I'm still trying to decide between braid and floro...

I have 2 of mine on Kistler Helium LTA's 7.6ft H/F, 1 on a Kistler Helium LTA 7fT MH/F and 1 on a Kistler Helium LTA 6.9ft MH/F.......Great reels and super light and sensitive outfits when paired up with my LTA's....By far my favorite and most enjoyable outfits to fish with!!!

I've had several JM reels over the last 10 or 12 years. They are good solid reels and I've never experienced any problems with any that I've had. The only down side to these reels is the weight. They are very heavy. It's amazing to me that 2 ounces can make such a huge difference! I can have a JM reel and a Revo Premier on the exact same model rod and the one with the JM feels 3lbs heavier! Since so many companies are coming out with light (5oz-7oz) reels its just really hard for me to spend money on standard weight reels anymore. The down side here is that the lighter reels are much more expensive.

I have several of each. I'm lucky enough to be able to afford both the Curado E5's and E7's and have some of each of the Revo's with the exception of the STX and the S model. Like Glenn said it's kind of a Ford vs Chevy question. Both models are fantastic reels and I can't think of a negative thing to say about any of them. Take into consideration what the rod you plan to put it on will be used for. I've been blessed with enough equipment that I've become very technique specific. I caught the "Kistler Flu" 3 or 4 years ago and 18 rods later I still can't seem to shake it. So, those Kistler rods along with the several Loomis, St. Croix, Shimanos that I had before catching the "bug" have allowed me to set up specific outfits for whatever it is that I'm headed to the water to do. Prior to this season I would have recommended you buy the Premier hands down but I grew up using Curado (2 or 3 different shades of green over the years) reels and I just had to try one of the new E-series reels when they came out. Well, 6 E5 and E7's later I sit here planning on buying 3 more over this winter just to finish outfitting all of my Kistler Magnesium rods with a Curado. This reel just feels and looks PERFECT on that model rod for me. If you can only get one I would try desperately to find someone that you can borrow one of each from just to try them out before you pull the trigger on one or the other. The price on last years Premiers is almost too good to pass up. Remember that your getting a reel that alot of people (including me, x3) paid $259 for. Either way your getting one heck of a reel!!! Good Luck,