21farms

I saw that too. On Bass Pro Shop's website they list the reel at 9.4 oz., but in the new catalog it's say's 6.6. Wonder which one is right because 9.4 sounds way to heavy and 6.6 sounds a little too lite to be possible for a reel with an aluminum frame at that price. the older "B" version of the prolite finesse is 7.9 oz. so, with the substitution of the stamped handle w/foam grips for the heavier forged handle with the rubber grips, it would have to be lighter. the drag star isn't as meaty either. i also noticed they did something to the drag system too...the B version had 10lbs. max drag while this C version only has 8lbs. i have both the A and B versions of the prolite finesse...great reels! but i don't like the changes to for this C version. it's like BPS is "decontenting" these reels while raising the price $20 but disguising everything as upgrades.

micro, thanks for the photos. i looked at both of mine and they both look like the first one with the shielded bearings. i'm inclined to believe now that there have been at least three iterations of the SX: the original, one with the x-craftic frame but SS bearings, and one with the x-craftic frame and HPCR bearings. what i find frustrating about this is that ABU garcia doesn't designate them any differently. other manufacturers have attached a "b", "c", etc. to the end of the model number to denote slight changes.

i've seen studies that show the presence of a mail-in rebate is often a major influencer in a purchase decision but, after the purchase, far fewer than half of all buyers actually send in for the rebate. on top of that, many rebate requests can be rejected if the sender did not follow all the instructions to the "T". that's why manufacturers love mail-in rebates.

i have two revo SX reels, a new one with the x-craftic frame and an older one with the aluminum frame. i was comparing the boxes for both last night and both list the bearings as stainless steel with no mention of HPCR anywhere. in fact, other than the x-craftic frame, everything else is identical right down to the SKU. however, the ABU website says that all the revos have HPCR bearings now...what gives?

these are being clearanced in the bargain cave at half-price ($90) so i'm sure they're discontinued. as for the new 2009 reels, i noticed that many of the cabelas and bass pro shops reels now feature swept handles and more bling. too bad half the new prodigy rods come in 2-piece models...that, to me, is a bad sign.

the ABU soron has two gripper bands on the spool that prevents braid line from slipping.

the additional 6" should give you added distance on the cast. some people are even moving to 8-footers for this reason. however, in some cases as in the lamiglas skeet reese rods, the 7'6" model has a softer tip than the the 7'0" model. i have the both (well, i have the lamiglas XCF705R which is identical to the SR705R except for the color of the blank and shape of the handle) and like the 7'6" but i love the 7'0", especially for ripping lipless cranks. for DD cranks and hollow belly swimbaits, i prefer the 7'5" powell 754CB.

excel isn't bad line at all. about as strong as trilene XL but handles more like XT but not nearly as stiff as regular stren mono. overall, i'd say it's good line, especially at the price. i have no worries using it...unfortunately, i hardly ever use mono any more.

good stuff, micro...thanks for posting. that zillion sure is a looker. i'm anxiously awaiting my daiwa fuego. between the two, which feels better in your hands? i noticed the swept handle on the zillion isn't as swept as some of the other daiwas...do you think it makes any difference? except for the revo winch, i think the revo handles are a little too short...the zillion's looks nice and long. can you comment?

i have no experience with the nitro rod other than shaking one a few times at the manteca BPS store. i do, however, have the 6'10" XMLti and use that as my standard worm/jig/pitchin' rod. i'd rate the tip closer to very fast than fast but it does a good job with every lure i've used with it and find it to be fairly versatile. i like the low-profile of the recoil guides as i have less wrapping problems when using braid with them. some people speculate that the XMLti blank is made by loomis but it looks and feels nothing like my loomis IMX rods. if you go with a 6'10", note that you get more handle with the nitro and more blank with the XMLti. btw, the XMLti went on sale at least 3 times last year for $109.99. good luck.

this is getting ridiculous. i've bought 20 or so new reels this year and i've kept the original boxes for every one of them. i can't seem to bring myself to throw them away and they're taking up precious room in my "fishing closet". i don't plan on selling any of my reels so can anyone think of a good reason for me to keep the boxes? i store all my reels in a couple of padded reel cases.

wahoooo! i got the last one. thanks, micro and ghoti

cart7t, i cannot verify your claim. i have pfluegers and revos and they are very different inside, especially the centrifrugal brake setup and the magnetic systems. micro, that johnny morris limited gold reel was featured in an after-thanksgiving store flyer this year. the tourney special reel is also current but a regular stock item.

the sideplate latch looks like a pflueger cue to me.

since you're getting the medium-heavy okuma, sounds like you're throwing the smaller swimbaits. therefore, i'd suggest the cardiff 300A. if you're interested, i have a couple that i'm selling (one is brand new, the other has been used once but i can't which is which, both in boxes with papers) ($70 shipped, each).

like ghost said, ripcord is slightly thicker than powerpro. it is also noisier go through the guides. however, given the price difference, i like it ($60 for 1,000 yards) and i've been using it exclusively this fall...i've had no line failures at all. i have both ripcord si and si+ and, although si+ is even noisier and rougher, it has more body and casts slightly better.

senile1, i was a city planner for over a decade and was a redevelopment specialist. i thnk the part of TIF financing is that it is only available in areas where development would not otherwise occur (distressed, underdeveloped areas). smaller businesses move into good locations so they can have a steady client base to sustain their business. because cabelas is a regional draw, they can locate in an underdeveloped area...in fact, they are targeted by redevelopment agencies because they attract othe businesses to follow them to where they are because of the increase in potential customers in the area. now, back on track, i never shopped at cabelas until this year but i too am sold on their customer service. if you have to send something back, just slap on the USP label included in your order.

cabela's has the daiwas strikeforce paired with a 7' daiwa megaforce rod on clearance for $35: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0059717123627a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCHFEAT_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntk=Products&QueryText=strikeforce&sort=all&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

yeah, i saw that. i picked up only one 50MG this year because i was waiting to see what shimano would do about updating this reel. since this appears to be the end of the line for the 50MG, i think i may now pick up a couple more while i still can. awesome reels.

just a word of warning for those who have ordered from basspro.com using a promotion to check your credit card statements to make sure you got the discount. i recently got an email from BPS to "come back", with an offer of $20 off a $100 purchase. so, i clicked on the link, placed well over $100 worth of merchandise in my shopping cart and checked out. the order summary showed the $20 discount was being subtracted and that my order total was $147.77. when i checked my credit card statement, BPS charged me the full $167.77! i was fortunate that i had printed my order summary showing the discount and the correct total because the order summary that BPS emails you and makes available to you online does NOT show your order totals. i sent the BPS customer service rep a copy of my order summary and she had the $20 refunded to my credit card but it took about 4 days. i understand that mistakes happen but this appears to be a programming error in their software. therefore, i highly recommend printing out and keeping your order summary and then checking it against your credit card statement.

can you be a little more specific....ty bassbrat is being facetious ;D uni to uni works for me.

as long as there are no sharp rocks nearby, sounds like the perfect application for braid to me! when pulled taut, braid cuts through weeds nicely.

raul, you beat me to it. islandbass, yes, it is "only" 3 inches...but that is 3 inches PER TURN OF THE HANDLE. over the course of a typical cast, that is significant. cravin, to answer your question, i chose one of each. i have a number of 6-to-1 reels (including the citica E6) but it is nice indeed to have a 7-to-1 for topwater and lures that i work with my rod and to have a 5-to-1 for crankin' and swimbaits.

the new one is 0.9 ounces lighter, sits lower on the rod (much easier to palm) at the expense of 23% less line capacity (actually a plus for some people, me included). personally, i'd spring for the newer one.

j francho, the symetre FJ doesn't come with a spare spool but i do agree with using braid btech, i'd be much more comfortable with a medium-heavy rod than a medium rod, particularly for fishing plastics if you texas-rig them. as for the BBZ-1 shad, there are much cheaper ways to start out that would be just as or more effective.