The_Natural

Very nice!

Just to clarify, I wasn't trying to prove you wrong, just share information. How light a rod feels is directly related to how well it balances. Tackle Tour always uses the mbr783c glx as a benchmark, and I haven't read where a rod balances better, other than a Megabass. I bet the GLX is the lightest blank out there...as said the Kistler doesn't have a foregrip and has less guides, so it isn't apples to apples.

Regardless of how light or how tough a graphite rod is... making a habit of airborning 4lb fish is a broken rod waiting to happen... no matter the brand. (the exception being an XH, maybe) Not to mention that the landing is hard on the fish. Kistler is no more brittle than whatever you are using right now. No, we don't.... no one has been willing to weigh the kistlers vs. other like models on the same scale. Been down that road a few times already in PM's and out of courtesy, I never posted the results. The argument is always the same... "kistler is as light as GLX..." and then no one will post actual weights on the forum....... why? because they are not lighter... they just have a longer handle and balance a shade better. Lengthen a handle on an ugly stick and it will balance out nicely. > I'm so tired of the BS. It will serve you well. (but just don't expect it to be GLX) Sorry kw, it's past debates that bring up this hostility, nothing in your post. You have it backwards...the Kistlers are indeed a little lighter, but don't balance as well so the loomis actually feels lighter (hence the tip-heavy feel). Per Tackle tour: Kistler: 6-6 Medium-Heavy 3.5ozs balance point +8.5" from the reel seat Loomis: 6-6 Medium-Heavy 4.1ozs balance point +6.25" from the reel seat The Loomis have 2 more guides versus the Kistler, and a foregrip, so blank weight is probably the same. Just clearing that up...

+1. If you are getting 2 fish per craw, I think that is acceptable. That's only like .25 cents a bass...I'll pay that all day long!

8, 10, and 12lb CXX for me. I'll even move up to 15lb CXX for crashing B2's into shallow wood. Toughest line I have ever used by quite a margin...and I love to try new lines.

Sorry for being late on the chime in, but I own the cbr843 and cbr845. I throw shallow cranks every outing (my favorite bait), and find myself grabbing the 845 90% of the time. It is very versatile, being soft enough up top to sling 1/4oz cranks, but is also powerful enough to throw Bagley B2's. I can't speak enough about the 845...it's one of my favorite rods.

I use a 4/0 Superline EWG. I think some of you are thinking the 6.5" Kut Tail is just like a 4" or 5" Kut Tail, only longer, but the 6.5" Kut Tail is huge! They have the diameter of a 5" Senko.

I flipped a Paca Toad yesterday, and was using a 7mm magnum tube rattle. The Paca Toad has two rattle chambers that run nearly the length of the bait, and you can squeeze a massive rattle in there. The Paca Toad looks like a massive crawfish to me, and when I purchased them last week, I immediately thought "Flippin' Bait!". I was flipping it with a 5/0 EWG and a 1/4oz pegged bullet sinker. You get 5 toads for $3, and can pick either 4.5" or 5.5". I was using the 4.5", which looks a lot bigger in person (it's huge!). The 5.5"er looks like a lobster! I caught this toad yesterday flipping the Paca Toad...she went 7.4lbs. Big bait=big fish isn't a theory; it's a fact.

I don't like Trey because he bashed Loomis in an IMX vs. Helium thread over on the Bass Pro forums a few years ago when the Helium was new. He didn't say why you should buy his rod and defend his warranty (which was the issue), he chose to discredit his competition. He pulled his post soon after, but I lost all respect from that point on, so I wouldn't ever buy a Kistler

Oh No! Look what Dan started ;D! I love and respect ol' Dan, so this is somewhat light hearted, but my opinion is implying that a rod is great because it can reel in a big fish and not break will give the ugly stick/zebco 33 guys a field day! They could post pics of shark-sized catfish and carp they catch daily on those spin casters! I just feel most any rod can reel in a big fish...they caught a 200+lb Tiger Shark with the pocket fisherman...I saw the infomercial (seriously...they did!).

I've only held the Prolite finesse rods, but they do feel nice...especially for the cash. With BPS backing their rods, I wouldn't hesitate to snag one. I bet they would take it back just because you didn't like the performance (if that was the case).

If you get an IMX; get the 784. The 803 is equivalent in power to the 784, and I just feel the 783 is a little too light.

Please let us know how old the rod is, how you broke it, and report on your experience with getting a replacement. This will be helpful info for future threads... The first year of the Helium, in '04, Kistler used a Rainshadow blank. It was a good blank, and several custom rod builders also used the Rainshadow blanks. In '05, Kistler struck up a deal with Batson, and started using their components exclusively...blanks, guides, and reel seats. I've read quite a few posts about fitament issues with the Batson reel seats over the past 2 years, but I read that Kistler recently made the switch to Fuji. I owned two of the graphite plus series for a week, and have held and played around with the Helium and LTX II several times, but have not fished with them. I didn't like one thing about my graphite plus series, which I thought were tip-heavy and had the look and feel of a $60 or $70 rod, but the Helium users are a pretty loyal following. I'd just weigh all your options before you decide.

I'm not sure if you are saying if you didn't have any plastics, what would you do with $100, or if you are just saying based on what we already have, what would each of us buy. In the latter case, it's fairly easy, because I was just at sportsman's warehouse, and saw some plastics I would like to own. I'm going to do this right...some folks are just throwing out some plastics they like, versus if they were actually going to place an order this second. I could use some new and exciting summer flipping baits, and the Reaction Innovations double wide beaver looked awesome when I checked it out today, so I'll start with.. Reaction Innovations Double Wide Beaver...6 packs...2 Bloody Mary, 1 Black/Red Flade, 1 California 420, 1 Magic Craw Swirl, and 1 Infection. ($4.59 a pack x 6 = $27.54) Post-spawn is starting around here, so I could use more of my favorite tubes, which are ISG's. ISG Willy's Intimidator tube...4 packs in green squash ($3.50 x 4 = $12) If you haven't seen Berkley's new hand poured finesse worms, you will be amazed. Imagine Berkley's Power Bait formula in a plastic that is softer and has better triple poured colors than Roboworm does...no joke. Just saw them today; they were simply amazing. Berkley hand poured finesse worms...8 packs...2 triple margarita, 2 watermelon magic/red glitter, 2 red crawler, 2 purple greenie christmas. ($4 x 8 = $32) I'd finish off with some Yamamoto grubs that are on clearance...I love the 8" grubs, and they have a few colors in the 10" grub on clearance, so I would spend the rest of my cheese on... Gary Yamamoto 10" grubs...14 packs...7 orange pumpkin and 7 plum (on clearance for $2 a bag) ($2 x 14 = $28) There you have it...$99.46

I fished a worm with a 6' spinning rod for years in middle school, graduating to a 6'6" casting rig for my high school days, and fishing the past several years with 7' rods mostly before I purchased my 803 about 2 years ago. I always felt a 6'-6'6" rod would give more action to my bait, but liked the leverage and hooksetting power that a 7' provided. The bcr803 is the perfect compromise. This do-it-all worm rod is at home working open water ledges or humps, or pitching to laydowns. The 803 is quite a bit more powerful than a 783, and every bit as powerful as an 844. I grabbed it tonight because I was hitting a pond close to my house, and knew I would be casting and pitching. If I'll be casting at all...I'll grab my 803. If I'm strictly going to pitch...I'll grab a 7'+ rod.

The Academy's here in OKC have started carrying spot removers and a few other premium stand-up jigheads. I think spot removers, jiggy heads, etc. would all work well.

I throw quite a few, and my favorites are: RC 1.5 BDS 1 and 2 Moonsault CB50 and CB100 Bandit 100 Bagley B2 WEC Wobbler I'm probably forgetting a couple, but I routinely throw those. I've been hammering them on the BDS1 lately...

I bought the 'breen' color, which looks awesome in person. It's like a brown or green pumpkin with a green shimmer. Can't wait to try them out now!

I don't buy very many new soft baits that hit the market; I have quite a backstock of old standby's that I just replenish with. However, when I saw the Sabertail Bug in Academy, I just knew it would be totally bad-arse finesse jig trailer, and I was confident enough just by looking at it that I bought 8 packs. Thanks for the video...that just solidifies my instincts.

I use the black Tru-Tungstens 95% of the time. I have some red and green pumpkin in a few sizes as well, but the stained water around here has me throwing dark colors most of the time.

Definitely Tru-Tungsten...there really isn't any competition for them right now. They are sleeveless and have a totally indestructable finish. That's all I use...

My uncle is a Stren Series Pro, and he gave me several 3:16 baits for my birthday, including a bluegill bait. The 3:16 bluegill is 5" and weighs 1.8ozs. It also only runs $11.99... www.316lurecompany.com

Are you using the small glass rattles? Trickworms are skinny, and you should be using a small glass rattle. I shove them up past their entrance hole, and melt the plastic with a lighter. Works every time, and most anglers don't bother to put a rattle in their bait. In the stained water I fish, the small details can make a big difference.

I generally use Daiitchi 4x trebles, but will spend the money on Gammy ewg's on some of my shallow runners; ewg's are more weedless.

I tore 'em up yesterday on a Yamamoto 8" grub...it's been really producing for me lately.