The_Natural

They apparently didn't, but I wonder if they couldn't for some reason. The swept handle really is a nice improvement that is becoming standard on a lot of other brands.

No fishing stuff yet; I really didn't ask for any. However, I've only done my wife's side of the family which is done on Christmas Eve, and my family does our deal Christmas morning. My uncle is a Skeeter Pro-Staffer that fishes the Stren Series, and he always gives me a box full of baits from his sponsors. So far I have received: A North Face Parka 3 pairs of True Religion jeans (the wife got them for me, and I did need some jeans) 3lbs of Seas Candy (is there any other?!) A Meucci pool cue from my bro (I used to shoot pool daily years ago, but not anymore. I can still muster a strong 5 speed I imagine). A couple of random things like a Leathermer and some cobalt tools as well. I still have my side of the family tomorrow, but that is pretty much going to be it for the 'big' gifts. We exchange smaller gifts on my side of the fam...$50 and under (except for the parentals, which will give me money). So post up what you got....I'll put some picks up tomorrow of my crap. Everyone is excited about their presents, so no shame in telling us all about what you scored. Let's see it!

I grew up in Tulsa, and moved to Norman in '99. As far as the OKC area....I'd stay away. It's just not that nice....quite a few dirty areas with crime. I would live in Norman. You can shoot right down Sooner road to Tinker in about 15min.

Is a frog's *** watertight?

It does indeed, but I actually like the looks of the Dimiki better. Their attention to detail is impressing me on all of their baits. I will be ordering a variety of them soon....

Flashy may be a strong word; I'd consider the Ito 103m 'flashy', but the red and black Core is mean. Great looking reel. I guess the old gold spool that has been standard for 30yrs is what makes me frown. The new Citica looks awesome, and I guess the only difference is the black anodized spool and black handle/dragstar. I'm only nitpicking because excellent performance is a given with a $300 reel.

Not me. I'd pick the Honda s2000 over the Honda Accord; I just like agressive looking things I guess.

Yeah, I read about it on TT. Too boring...it's 2009! It looks very uninspiring. Even anodizing the spool black instead of gold would be a major improvement. I know I'm being petty, but we are talking about a $300 fishing reel. I'd pay the extra $50 for the Core without question.

I think the 'Dandy' jigs have the best color selections, and are $2.89. The Lunker Lure original Rattle Back is a bargain at $2.19; they use the pricier Gammy hooks which a lot of more expensive jigs don't use.

Gene Larew's 8" hooktail worm in Tomato was my #1 bait back in the day (late 80's/early 90's). It was hand poured and totally different than the injected version Gene Larew makes today :-[. Luck E Strike's Salty Sensation was also a bait I used a lot. We used to call them 'Chicken Foots'.

I'm going to order a couple; I like the compact design. That wire looks really thin as well.

I do think a line manufacturer cutting back when times are hard isn't 'throwing someone under the bus'. He probably should have taken the high road, and compromised his integrity a little when he admitted a product he has been promoting the last 5 years was 'exceptionally overpriced'.

Handle bearings, and a few extra holes drilled in the spool. The regular Zillion is so smooth, the 4 handle bearings don't make a huge difference. I haven't casted them yet, so I'm not sure if the casting will be noticeably better or not. I bought it because I wanted another zillion, and the red looked nice

Gamma Fluorocarbon was already 'called out' when Tackle Tour did its fluorocarbon shootout; lines costing a fraction of Gamma performed better.

I wonder if everyone is raising their prices, or just Tackle Warehouse. Tackle Warehouse already raised all their Daiwa products to the 'new price' about 2 months ago, and they went back to normal very quickly (I imagine nobody bought any of them). That is why the normal daiwa reel prices were in the 'sale' section for a while, because they lowered them back down. Most everything went up $20-$30. I'm not sure what $100 increase they are talking about. Basically, the Zillions were $269, Fuego was $249.99, Sol $249.99, etc. To be honest, even with free shipping; I think you are a fool to buy a reel from a major retailer. You can buy any reel from a reputable ebay seller for much less than retail. I bought both of my Anniversary Zillions for $260 shipped, and you can buy regular zillions on ebay for $199 all day long.

Bahh.....Reel Mech probably just needed some scotch on the rocks. Batson guides only recently started flanging their inserts, and that is why the old Helium's were prone to the inserts popping out.

Just pick a medium-heavy powered rod of your choice.

I haven't seen those skirts since the early '90s. That flat rubber is pretty much nonexistent these days. All the classic spinners used them...Lunker Lure, H&H, Blue Fox, and the original Okie Bug.

I don't know anything as a rod builder... 8-)Yea and your another expert here huh.. : Thats why the St.Croix website shows this for the premier series rods # Premium-quality SCII graphite. # Outstanding strength, sensitivity and hook-setting power. # Finely tuned actions and tapers for superior performance. # Batson Forecast® hard aluminum-oxide guides with double-plated black chrome frames. # Flanged SiC top on musky models. # Fuji® ECS or TCS reel seat/frosted silver hood. # Premium-grade cork handle. 8-) Didn't claim to be an expert....just sharing my experience. My point was that inserts pop out....Fuji or Batson. I wasn't aware Croix used Batson at all....my Avid has Alconites. Maybe it's worse with the Batson rings, but the problem doesn't seem to descriminate with me.

I've got three rods right now missing inserts. One is a Lamiglas XMG 50, one is a Daiwa, and one is a Superlite. Guide inserts popping out happens....St. Croix uses the same fuji guides as any other company.

I really like the looks of Damiki's Spinnerbaits (now available at Tackle Warehouse). They are only $6.99

For $5.99, I'd give it a shot.

The Zillion is noticeably smoother than the Fuego or Sol, not that Fuego or Sol isn't smooth, but the Zillion is butter. The Zillion is a better caster than the fuego, and will outcast the Sol with baits over 3/8oz, but the Sol will cast lightweight baits better than the Zillion.

I'm just saying I will believe it when I see it. I like the Rage Tail stuff. But SK guys dont always tell the truth -Cochran on G'ville winning with a "Wild Shiner" which was really a Pointer -Cochran on the 3 Rivers getting a top 5 finish in the Classic with a Strike King Series 1 and 4s which were LC's -KVD on Wissota with a 3x Zero when you can clearly see a Yamamoto bag laying the front deck These are just 3 example that jump into my head. It isn't limited to the strike king guys. Terry Scroggins has his own line of rods, the Castaway 'Big Show' series (expensive rods, too) and the camera clearly showed him using a Daiwa Steez Compile-X rod when he fished Falcon.

You don't think a 7.1 reel is too fast for wake/swimbaits (hard swimbaits)? I know it's not a whole lot faster than the 6.3:1 but I'm wondering why you like it better for than the 6.3 for that techniche? I don't throw a lot of hard swimbaits, so you could be right. I do like it for jerkbaits though.