21farms

i'm really not sure what you meant by the heavy tip? i have the powell 703CEF and the 703CB find them extremely light and well-balanced...love them!

i was just at fisherman's warehouse here in sacramento and saw they had the new citica E's in stock. from some of the initial photos i had seen, i thought it would be pearlescent white in color but it's actually much closer to silver to my eye. regardless, it felt awesome. i'm still waiting for mine to arrive from BPS (i was "forced" to order mine from them since someone gave me a BPS giftcard).

i switched to 8 and 10-lb vicious this spring. a little stiff compared to invisx and slightly thick diameterwise for it's rated test but i like it. sensitivity is superb and i've had only one breakoff over a couple hundred fish. i've tie a trilene knot and have not had any problems. for the price, an excellent line.

I just tried to use that for a rod but it didn't work. Maybe it doesn't qualify or I just did it wrong. you have to have $100 or more worth of stuff in your shopping cart. once you do, at the top of your cart, you'll see: Place an order with a merchandise total of $100.00 or more and receive $20.00 off of the order. Offer will not appear in checkout but will be applied after your order has been submitted. (Order total excludes Shipping & Handling)

use this link and save $20: www.basspro.com/deal20

BPS has used a few different companies to produce their reels for them, most notably silstar. the BPS extremes feature the inertial transfer braking (ITB) system which is a registered trademark of pflueger...draw your own conclusions.

as far as i can tell, the current cabela's prodigy is basically a daiwa tierra and the BPS extreme is a pflueger (because ITB is proprietary to pfluegers). i've heard good things about both.

the contestants ( top to bottom: citica/curado Ds in 100-size, curado 200E7 and revo SX) and the winner is: my reasons: the 783c is an awesome rod...super light and ultra sensitive. put the lightest and most-compact reel on that you can. the revo is an awesome reel and compact but is an ounce heavier than the curado E. and, since 6'6" is kinda short by today's standards, the E7's 7-to-1 gear ratio helps compensate for the length a little in helping to take up the slack faster before setting the hook. (note: i think a pflueger summit LP may be a good choice too...i have one arriving in a few days)

he didn't mention the solstace FL but that is their least-expensive reel so it must not come with a spare spool too...it'd be ironic if it did.

i was using that exact jig in early spring this year. i was deep jigging for bass but caught a kokanee instead and those double hooks worked exactly as advertised...one was embedded in the roof of it's mouth while the other was buried in it's snout. i dunno how they'd work on bass though. when i fished this jig with the hooks on the bottom, the hooks were constantly fouling the main line. in the BPS saltwater catalog, they show these style jigs with main line tied to the same ring as the dual hooks...i haven't tried that yet.

i think the clarus rods are the best at their price point. by the way, the 2009 clarus rods are coming out so i've been seeing a few places liquidating the old model clarus rods for $20-$30 off.

actually, two of the online stores i shop at got them in and just listed them today as in stock. [rubbing hands together] that means mine will be arriving soon

i have a revo S and a revo SX but don't have experience with either of those pfluegers (although i have a summit LP arriving later this week). between the revos, i'd recommend the SX. for whatever reason, i can't cast very far with my revo S's (i thought it was defective so i returned it and bought another one but the "problem" persists). i recently picked up a revo SX and, wow!, i can easily get at least 20% more distance on my casts over the S. don't ask me why...i checked everything. i'm not a noob either...been at it for over 30 years and i have a lot of experience with dozens of different reels.

i've had the megaforce (the regular one) and still have an exceler. the exceler is much nicer. the twitchin' bar seems like a good idea at first but found myself never using it. unfortunately, it makes the megaforce harder to palm and adds over an ounce in weight. the megaforce feels smooth when you're just spinning the handle with no line on but, once spooled, it feels rough.

the number of ball bearings is way overrated. the single most-important thing to me in this price range is a one-piece aluminum frame. the BCs with graphite frames may work and feel okay the first few times out or if you don't work 'em too hard but, after awhile, they get noisy and rough.

hey jimmy, just keep at it...it is well worth the time and effort. to me at least, the main advantages of the BC are the smoothness, the power and accuracy. on BC's, the line winds back on at the same angle the line goes out, resulting in superior smoothness and no line twist. the line is then wound onto the spool directly whereas on a spincast, it is layed down sideways via a tiny ceramic pin. after awhile, you'll see that you can use your thumb to feather your lure to exactly where you want it too. good luck.

the regular hybrid has more flourocarbon in it while the ultra soft has more nylon (mono) in it. so, in a baitcaster, either is fine but my personal preference is the regular hybrid as it will have less stretch and sink faster than the ultra soft even though it is slightly stiffer.

what's with all the canned answers spewing the same biases? everytime someone asks about gear, it turns into a ticking contest between brands? : snapper, the best advice i can give you is this. among your choices, narrow it down to the models with a one-piece aluminum frame (versus a graphite frame). i've found that makes the single biggest difference in feel and durability in this range of sub-$100 reels. then, i also recommend that you consider size and weight of the reel. i'd go for the smallest and lightest one that fits best in the palm of your hand. over time, if you fish a lot, i think you really appreciate this.

i picked up my first fiberglass crankin' rod (lamiglas XCF705R) this last spring. prior to that, i cranked with graphite rods. at first, i hated it...i thought for sure i was going to turn around sell it. however, by my third trip out with it, i became a convert. my hit-to-hookup ratio improved dramatically and, once hooked, i have not lost a single fish (something that happened too much for my liking with graphite rods). i have since ordered two more glass crankbait rods.

i have not fished one but, i must say, i find it somewhat humorous that BPS asked stacey king to design ths rod for them and he does so specifying fiberglass but BPS takes it upon themselves to tweak it by adding in graphite to the blank. it's in the BPS description. ;D

personally, i think your choice should be between the 703CB glass and the 704CB. the '2' power of the 702CB is pretty light for lipless cranks in weeds. how i'd make my choice is thus: if fishing with braided lines, i'd go with the glass rod...if with mono, i'd go for the graphite. i'm currently using the lamiglas skeet reese crankin' rod but my new 703CB glass rod should be arriving this week to complement it.

actually, the BPS/pflueger reels with 'intertia transfer braking' (ITB) are good reels...smooth and great castability. there is one design flaw, however, and that is if you turn the magnetic cast control dial past the '0' or the '10', you can possibly unhitch the magnetic assembly inside, causing the magnets to rub against the side of the spool and reducing your casting distance immediately. it's relatively easy to fix but you need a philips screwdriver and a couple of minutes but a pain nonetheless...just remember not to turn the dial past the extremes of the marked range. maxumbass, i'm sure that's what happened to you. for the price, i'd recommend looking at the daiwa exceler for $70 or the abu garcia pro max for $80.

as far as i know, the citica E's aren't even shipping until october 3rd. sorry, but i find this very hard to believe. in fact, the cynic in me says that he's on the waiting list and is trying to sweeten his position in the queue by getting people to jump ship before the reel is even available.

just one more thought as i just now remembered this. i've heard at least two pros recommend larger size spinning reels as the larger spool is less prone to line twist. since your new reel is ultra light, it must have a tiny spool. i think there's some truth in this as i've had three daiwa regals XiAsone in the 2000 size, one in the 2500 size and one in the 3000 sizeand, sure enough, i got the most line twist on the 2000 size one (the smallest).

something that threw me for a loop ha-ha with one of my new spinning reels (daiwa) was that the instructions were to spool the line on with the line coming off the bottom of the spool. back in the old days, it was either the opposite or lay the spool flat on its side. did your instructions specify a specific way to spool it?