Hot n Tot

There wasn't any bearing rusted out, trust me. Nothing is perfect in life, and you just got one with a bad bearing. These thing do happen. I bought 3 of these reels, and couldn't be happier. Wish I had bought 5 of them. But, I went shopping for two more reels and found a Sol and a Fuego both on sale for $200, so I still got 5 new reels, just not all TDZs.

I personally don't like a 7' rod for spinnerbaiting. I prefer using a 6' or 6-1/2' rod, with 6' being the optimum. If money is an issue, the GL3 makes a nice spinnerbait rod, I'd look at the CR723 or St. Croix Avid AC60MF. If money is not much of an issue, the GLX 722 is awesome, and the Croix EC60MF is great as well. See, we all have our preferences, which is why you need to compare them and choose the one that best fits YOU.

I've found it to be true in both spinning and casting bass rods. St. Croix has Medium-Light powers in some rods, and these are very close to Loomis mediums as far as recommended line and lure weights.

There is a difference in the Avid and Legend Elite...significant to me might not be to you. You really have to compare them side by side to determine if the price difference is worth it to you. It is to me, when I have the $$ I honestly believe the Legend Elite compares more closely to the GLX than it does the IMX, but as you can see by this thread, opinions vary. I think it's just too much money, and too important a purchase not to closely compare them and pick the one that has the action and power best suited to what you want to use it for.

The IMX is a fine upper mid-range rod, but it's unfair to compare it to a Legend Elite. Better compare it to the Legend Tournament rods, and compare the GLX to the Legend Elite. I have several of each, and the Legend Elites will spoil you in a hurry, the IMX just cannot compare well to the Legend Elite.

The problem with 'smoothness' is that it is all subjective. The reel one person thinks is buttery smooth, another finds faults. For example, most people laud the Stradic as a great spinning reel. Mine is disappointing to me because I can 'feel' or 'hear' the gears in it. This is not the case with my Sustain, so I'm perhaps unfairly comparing the Stradic to the Sustain which costs almost twice as much. I even took my Stradic back to the Gander Mtn store and compared it to another one, they seemed to be identical. When I compare the Stradics to the Symetres, I prefered the cheaper Symetre because my expectations were lower. When you get above the Curado in Shimano reels, the increase in smoothness should be slight, but detectable to you. If not, you may just have a 'bad' one, that someone else with a less educated feel would think is a wonderful reel :-/

7' St. Croix MLF Legend Elite Shimano Sustain 2500 6# Yozuri Hybrid #1 octopus hook or 1/0 EWG 1/8 oz bullet sinker Zoom finesse worm or 4" lizard

I purchased the Sol for $239, and within a week Cabelas was selling the TDZs for $200! I ordered three of the TDZ's and was able to return the Sol. I never got the chance to use the Sol, but it seemed like a very nice reel.

First of all make sure that the lure weight you are casting is within what the rod is rated for. Don't try to cast 3/16 or 1/4 oz lures on a rod rated for 3/8 - 1 oz, for example. Usually rods cast the best with lures in the mid-range of what they are rated for. Also, make sure the line you are using is within the recommended ranges. Is your casting reel properly adjusted? hope this helps.

Ditto what Roadwarrior said

I prefer 6' rods for worming. I just think they are better for finesse fishing, as you don't move as much line when you twitch your rod. The shorter rod I believe helps me slow down. True, I don't cast as far as the longer rods, but I feel I'm more accurate. I usually fish a St. Croix Legend Elite (EC60MF) or a Loomi GLX (CR722). I usually use 50# power pro, or at times 12# P-Line or Yozuri Hybrid. At times, if I want more distance for some reason I'll use a 7' IMX Loomis rod.

Darn, I waited too long as well..

Ever fished a St. Croix medium power rod? My medium/fast St. Croix LE (EC66MF) has more backbone than my MH Loomis MBR783..granted it's only a GL3 and the graphite in the Croix is higher modulus, but the terms MH or M are misleading at times. For accurate casts, I think a rod around 6' with a fast or ex-fast action is the ticket. For distance casting, a fast action rod in either 6'-6" or 7' fast action is better. I think you need both. BTW, Loomis spinnerbait specific rods are ex-fast action. I'm not a believer in moderate action rods for anything other than treble hook lures. If I used a moderate rod, I think I'd definately use braid to help with the hooksets. But, it all comes down to what works for you and what you like.

Muddy, that's great! ;D

They sell a lot of them. It makes you realize the power of advertising. Other low quality rods only sell a fraction of the number of ugly sticks sold by Shakespeare. It's all in the advertising.

fast or extra fast

Avid, Super Braid was the first braid I tried and I had good results with it. When I bought new braid I purchased power pro since I heard so much about it, and wanted to give it a shot. I'll say I haven't noticed much if any difference in the two braids. But I don't use braid on all my rigs, usually just in very heavy cover. Hope this helps.

Man, I don 't even know why you are asking, BM sez: SPRING MY MAN ! SPRING ! That 's what he said. I sprung, I ordered the 103P to go with the two 105H reels I bought last week ;D, just couldn't pass it up, especially when the BM sez 'spring'!

St. Croix Avid and Stradic, but the 7' rod is too long. Get the 6'-6" ML model AS66MLF

darn, I got two of the 105H models, should I spring for the 103 now?

I noticed that as well, other than that it looks like a sweet setup. congrats!

I used 10# power pro on a couple of spinnning rigs once about two years ago and quickly took it off. I may have to try it again and give it more time :-/

Wrong company and wrong reel style ; these are baitcasting reels, whereas the S-Concept pertains to Shimano's line of spinning reels . Well then, are the "S-concept" reels the Shimbindos? :