The_Natural

Booyah bought McGuinness and dissolved the company (I guess they just wanted the leverage hook design). The Leverage hooks are now used on the Booyah HD spinnerbaits. I loved the Leverage baits, and won a tournament back in '05 on the little 3/16oz spinner in 'naked shad'. Great post-spawn bait. I have a handful of the Leverage baits I'm trying to use sparingly.

A Loomis medium is about the equivalent of a Croix medium-light. The 782c IMX is definitely too light for general worming. 783c (6'6" MH) would be better for an all-arounder, or 844c for a dedicated jig and worm rod. The BCR series is definitely the pinnacle of jig and worm rods, but they aren't versatile...they are ultra-fast action rods that are underrated on power. I recommend heading to a retailer that carries loomis so you can play around with a few of the different rods and check out each ones action.

Black EVA with brushed aluminum winding checks would sure be sweet....

I ran into an unforeseen problem last night. I finally went to walmart and bought a couple of minnow nets to create a scale pattern on a few cranks. However, when I put it around the bait and shot it...the paint would smear when I pulled off the netting. Do you hold it and let it dry for a minute before you take it off or what?

If you are going to keep making baits, you should get yourself an airbrush. Nice baits...

Here are the Kistler Crankbait Composites I owned... I wasn't fond of the components; i.e. the Batson reel seat and guides. It bugged me that Kistler would charge $150 for a rod and try to pinch pennies on components. I didn't like the action of the blank either, but that is just a personal preference thing.

They are very comparable. The heavy action 7' Powell feels slightly heavier than my 7' Zillion...but not by much. Once you get down into the mid 3oz range with rods...you are splitting hairs. The Zillions balance verrry nicely, which is equally important. I'm ready for someone else to buy one already...I'd love a second opinion.

Oh, I still love my Loomy's, but you can't drink red wine every night. Sometimes it's nice to have a glass of chardonnay. I still say all will be right in the world when Loomis introduces a glx with black foam split grips, aluminum trim, and a proprietary reel seat. But until then, I will have to score some strange from someone else

Yes...

That is what I had on my 6'9" the past two nights; I 105H. Sure was sweet...

I am indeed throwing Citica's on them, but plan to order 8...I've still got a few Zillions rods I want. I am selling my Carrots and maybe my Powells....I really want to simplify things and just run GLX's and Zillions. I already have the VXB Abec 5 ceramics I'm going to throw on my Citicas (I thought the Citicas would be out by now). They were the cheapest abec 5 ceramics I've found; a 10-pack was $49 and should make it a sound caster. I'm actually VERY excited about the Citica...the black spool and accents contrasting with the light silver will look shweet on the Zillions, and we all know that bass prefer to eat baits thrown on good-looking combo's 8-). I think the Citica looks a lot hotter than the Curado, and the casting distance should be verbatim also...the Citica and Curado share the same spool (Curado's spool is actually 7075 aluminum, while the Citica is 6061, but these aluminums weigh the same...actually the 6061 is slightly lighter)

They are extra fast and load accordingly (hence the bcr803 comparison). I guess I highlighted the points I find most important to a rod; I don't think I've owned a rod that didn't pull in a fish ok. I will generally comment if the rod is surprisingly light or heavy for its power rating, and if it is slower or faster than the stated action. This rod is rated properly. Sensitivity is paramount to me, and the reason I upgraded to Loomis years ago. My C-rigging and just general deep water fishing improved dramatically with the increase in sensitivity. As far as buying 5...I was purchasing these as my workhorse rods, and figured they would at least meet standard middle rod market performance. I wouldn't buy more than one rod if they were $300+...because they will inevitably be judged next to my GLX's.

Well, I've fished the 6'9" MH X-Fast the past two nights, and have been thoroughly impressed. The first thing that got my nod of approval is this particular models power and action. I like X-Fast rods for my jig and worm fishing; The extra power offered by the X-Fast action coupled with the fact it squeezes more sensitivity out of the blank is a big benefit IMHO. The 6'9" model is VERY reminiscent of my bcr803 GLX in terms of power and action. It is surprisingly powerful, and the action borders on ultra-ridiculously fast. The senisitivity was the biggest surprise. It far surpassed my expectations...so much so I had to fish it a second night (last night) to make sure I wasn't being unrealistic, being I was excited about my new rods. As far as rods close to the Zillion in price...it is the most sensitive I have fished with (I own Avids, Carrots, Powells and Legend Tournaments). The closest thing I have in terms of middle market rods is the Powell, but the Zillion edges it out, and encroaches on IMX sensitivity (seriously). I want to fish a hard bottom to get a final opinion, but fish strikes and brush/limb detection is just outstanding. Every fish that hit my bait felt like they clobbered it. Discerning different bottom mediums and just how large of a 'thud' I get when my jig hits a rocky bottom will determine if it can hang with an IMX. Is the X-Fast action helping quite a bit? Is the new reel seat and reel seat material offering less blank dampening? Those are thoughts I have had. Not to mention the new reel seat is VERY open...I can get three fingers on the blank...no joke.

I use the bullfrog color most of the time, but the baby bass is also a standard.

The ugly stick lite is on par with the Lightning rod (both are IM6 blanks). The Ugly stick lite is significantly better than the regular ugly stick. He didn't do too bad if his budget was only $30.

X2... But can you hold back the drool some..... That write up is almost as good as the TT write up, maybe you can try harder next time... Now go out and break one or two even...... I got an 'A' in Freshman Composition . I guess I forgot to add my works sited page

Yes, but it is called the 'Fuego' and has red winding checks instead of brushed aluminum. Same line really...casting rods are the Zillions/Spinning are dubbed Fuegos. I'm eyeing them as well. They also have the airfoam grips, Fuji SiC's, and carry the same price tag. Should be good...

No...Simmons Sporting Goods (they have an ebay store). They are good people and made me a 'deal' on the 5, plus gave me free shipping 8-). Simmons just got 12 Limited Edition Zillions in as well, and it took a huge deal of restraint not to order two of those. I still may...haven't decided.

After pacing around my apartment for hours...the UPS man finally knocked on my door with the familar PVC packaging in his hands. There wasn't any doubt my new Zillion rods had arrived, and I was visibly excited. I honestly can't remember when I was this excited to get a rod in the mail. I have more expensive rods, but the Zillion has intrigued me since spy photo's appeared on Tackle Tour. I love the new contemporary split grips. The black foam, polished aluminum winding checks, and just overall high-tech appearance of the 'JDM inspired' rods that are infiltrating the US have reached a deep, inner-baitmonkey that apparently has been stewing for a while. I have owned Steez rods, and I loved the craftsmanship, components, and overall feel of the rods, but I didn't think the actually blank performance justified the $500 price tag. What if there was a rod that was nearly a mirror of the Steez in terms of craftsmanship, components, and looks for only $199? That's what you get with the Zillion. The moment I picked it up I couldn't believe how wispy light they are. I think tests will show they are as light as the steez rods (I honestly couldn't tell a difference). Next thing is the Zaion reel seat. The curved design of this seat is just in harmony with where your fingers want to go when you grip the rod and palm the reel. Love it. As I went up and down the rod I was impressed with the detail that Daiwa puts into their rods. They seemed to go the extra mile and add features not found on rods such as the Cumara (aluminum winding checks, two-color decorative guide wraps, etc.). There is no way you would guess this rod is under $300...it just looks and feels expensive. Tonight will tell if they fish expensive, but this is a middle rod market rod yall! It just has to compete with the likes of my Avids, Powells, and Legend Tournaments. I'm very excited about them, and think they will make a huge splash...especially considering their price point. Just wait until you hold one... Here are the 5 I ordered; The 6'9" MH XF, 7' M XF, 7' MH F, 7' H F (x2) Quality and attention to detail is high... The new reel seat is money... Don't forget the sweet butt cap...

How can you not go with this bad boy?!

I've got mine on a bcr852 Loomis. The only limitations of your setup will be the line you spool and the rod you place it on. I've used my pixy for pitchin' spooled with 17lb fluoro and it worked great.

That's crazy! I've got some of the ball busters and Ike's spike it's...hope that doesn't happen to any of mine.

Yeah...I got that email last night >. I'm going to call them and bich...it says nothing about 'pre-order' or anything else. Why would you put it up on your website for sale if you won't have the item for 2 months?!

Pline CXX...

Now that's just down right good lookin'...no?