ghost

Hey guys, the 6'8" Ike rod is $140, the 7'6" is $10 more. The store manager gave me the option of getting the same one or if they didn't have one I would have to send it to Daiwa. Since the 7'6" model was available in the Ike spinning rod, I took that. I didn't feel like packing up the broken rod & sending it to Daiwa. The Daiwa rep was the one that told me to take it back to the store first, see if they would exchange it. The manager was kind enough to give me the 7'6" since there were no more 6'8" ones. He didn't give me the option of getting a different rod model or store credit. I already have 2 other 7'6" spinning rods, really don't need another one. Don't get me wrong, I really wanted the Ike rod in the length I wanted. I think it would have been a very good rod, I really like how it looked. I think that it was damaged in store or when shipped. I've never had a rod bust like that.

Bought the 6'8" medium Iaconelli spinning rod last night. Brought it out today to "break" it in....well it BROKE! On the 3rd cast, I get a hit on my jig & I set the hook. The rod snapped on the upper third of the rod when I set the hook. The bass took off & it snapped a couple more times...& I lost the bass, it came off the jig. So I was shocked, I've never had a rod snap like that before. I'm think I just lost $120 for a new spinning rod. When I got home I called Daiwa & told them what happened & since it has a 5 year warranty, would they honor it. Daiwa said yes, but to first take it to where I bought the rod; see if they'll take it back for another. So I was at the fishing store this evening & showed them the rod & told them what happened. The manager asked to see the receipt & saw that I did buy it the night before. He said if the store has another like it, he'll do the exchange. Well, they didn't have the exact rod, but a 7'6" m/h Iaconelli spinning rod. I took that for the exchange since it's all they had left. The 7'6" model was $10 more, but the store did an even exhange. It wasn't what I wanted, but then again I don't think I really wanted another 6'8" Iaconelli spinning rod. At least I didn't lose my money, but it's not the rod I want. The 7'6" m/h is in my fishing room w/ all the tags & plastic on it. I'm thinking of selling it....I don't know....

I did some searching for an 8 lb line to use. Basser913 I took your advice & bought Sufix mono, but I went w/ the Elite in 8 lbs. I gotta say I am quite impressed w/ the Sufix Elite line. It casted SO much better than P-line 8 lbs. I got much better distance & the stretch wasn't that bad. I normally use braid so I can have better feel when using worms. But w/ the Carrot Stix chrome guides, braid didn't cast that well & I didn't like how braid felt coming through the chrome guides. Sufix Elite Seemed like the best choice. I was looking to getting Seige, but I was thinking that it would be as stiff as P-line CXXX or Trilene XT. Now I'm thinking of spooling 8 lb Elite on my spare spining spools over 2500 size. Thanks for the recommendation for Sufix! I didn't see your reply to which Sufix mono you were using, I figured it was Elite.

Which Sufix line you using, Elite or Siege?

I have been using my 7' Carrot Stix w/ a 2500 size Saros w/ 8 lb P-line. It seems that it doesn't cast all that well, I don't know if its due to the size of line or the guids on the Carrot Stix. If I go to a smaller sized spool reel like a 1500 size, would that help cast better, or go do a smaller dia line like 6 lbs? Those who own the Carrot Stix spinning rod, what size reel & line are you using? And are you getting good casting distance? I'm thinking of getting the chrome guides changed out to Fuji Alconites. The ring size of the guides on the Carrot stix seems smaller than on an Alconite. I wonder if the guides are the main reason for lose of casting distance.

Just trying to find a spinning reel to match the 7' Spinning Carrot Stix rod I have. I've looked at the Daiwa Sol as the best match, but I'm not wanting to spend $200 for a reel right now. So, I found the new Shimano Sonora as the next best choice to match w/ the Carrot Stix. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0060371123666a&navCount=7&podId=0060371&parentId=cat20333&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20166-cat20333&catalogCode=XJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20333&hasJS=true It's much cheaper in price & it's a graphite bodied spinning reel. I think it should do well for freshwater fishing, mostly bass & panfish. I'm thinking of getting the 2500 sized Sonora. Any pros or cons about the Sonora??? Also I've been looking at Dick's Sporting Goods version of the Daiwa Capricorn in 2500. That's $10 more & it comes w/ a spare spool. But I don't know how good this reel is....or how good the new Sonora is.

Not much biting at the local pond today...well nothing was biting. Till it was my last couple casts & saw this little grass pickerel jumped out of the weeds close to shore & hit the Swimmin' Image. Okay it was much of a fight, well no fight at all w/ a medium spinning outfit, but it was pretty cool anyway. I catch a couple of these a year when the waters start cooling off at this little pond. I've been wanting to get a 55-75 gallon fish tank & put in some game fish; small ones like this little guy in there & see what they do. How they react when fed, etc, etc. Any of you guys have a fish tank w/ game fish in it??? Great coloring on this little grass pickerel....

What's the gear ratio? I would think it would be a very good swimbait /jig/spinnerbait reel.

I have the Calcutta 51 for 3 years now. I use it every so often but have been wondering what the reel is intended for. I've used it for crankbaits & worm/jigs, but found the speed & 16" of line taken in a bit slow & short for this job. I've just started using it for drop shotting w/ 8 lb P-line spooled. I bought this reel cuz it was small & thought it would be a nice addition to my other Shimano's. But it has an identity problem that I'm just not sure what it's intended for. I've heard before buying the Calcutta 51 a year before that guys were using this reel for flipping & pitching. They would spool heavy line, since they don't need alot of line for this technique & it's small & powerful. But I don't flip or pitch that often, so the identity crises for the Calcutta 51. For those that own this reel, how are you mostly using it???

Just a little bit of super glue on the knot should work, not alot that it seeps onto your hook or lure; just a real small dab. I add just a little on the knot on my knots using braid. I did notice that the coating on Power Pro is quite slick & the reason for the knot problems.

You guys tried the Quantum Code, if so how good of a b/c reel is it? I'm looking to possibly getting the 6.3:1 gear ratio...but just not sure if I should buy this reel. Wanted to get some opinions. Thanks

The local Walmart carried them last year, I'll see if they still do.

Renegade worms have anise oil on them. That's the reason for the sweet smell. It hides human scents good when you handle the Renegade worms. Anise oil has been around for a long time & have been used since I started fishing in the late 80's.

Daiwa Zillion 7.1:1 b/c reel(left hand), Cabelas XML 6'10" MH split grip b/c rod, 40 lb red (first 5' colored black) Power Pro braid. This is my frog & buzzbait setup but works quite well w/ bigger lures too. Caught another bass using this setup w/ a frog later on the day.

Finally some good weather after all the rains from last week. The lake that I frequent on my pontoon (kickboat) boat is quite high from all the rain. I went to the same area that a few weeks ago I hooked into a pretty big bass on a prop lure. Got the bass close to me & it pops off....total bummer! Used the Heddon Wounded Spook this time, big prop lure w/ size 2 Owner treble hooks. If I was going to hook into something, I know that that the bass isn't going to be coming off! Casted it a few times for nothing, then another cast, worked the Wounded Spook &....SPLASH....Fish On!!! I could feel that this bass was had some gusto to it, it pulled on the drag. Got it close to me & loosened the drag just a bit so the bass tires some. Finally landed the bass, put it on my digital scale; it was 3 1/2 lbs at 19". Not bad using an older style lure & it still can catch fish! Caught bass using a shallow crankbait, wacky rigged worm on a weighted jig, frog lure & spinnerbait. I do enjoy catching bass w/ different style lures! Ended up catching 7 bass, a couple of them smallmouth bass. The 3 1/2 pounder made my day, that made up for all the crappy weather we've been having. My time on the pontoon boat is limited w/ colder weather approaching. I think I have just a couple more times to use it till I have to stow it for the winter. So I'm thinking that I don't need expensive Japanese lures to catch bass, older lures that aren't as expensive works just as well.

Red, can you post a pic how you rig the Lake Fork swimbait, please?

Just thought about this, you think that the parabolic bend will work for drop shotting? I notice w/ drop shot rods either spinning or baitcast, they are more like a medium light power, so makes me think if I can use my 6'9" parabolic b/c rod for drop shotting. And the medium power, light action action of the Carrot Stix Parabolic rod seems to be similar to a drop shot rod. I'll probably give it a shot tomorrow...just wondering before then.

I've put a hula grub on a chatterbait & have had success. I like it better that way than how the chatterbaits come in. The hula grub works much better.

http://www.daiwa.com/images/iaconelli_signature_main.jpg http://www.***.com/descpageRDSDAIWA-DMISR.html Local fishing store has the new Daiwa Ike rods in. They had 1 6'4" baitcast rod that I really wanted but someone beat me to it. But the 6'8" medium spinning rod was available, so I put lay-away for a couple months. Last year this store had a 20% off sale right after Thanksgiving, so I'm hoping that they'll do it again. They also have the new Zillion rods in. They have the 6'9" & 7'2" baitcast rods. I'm holding off buying one to match my 7.1:1 Zillion b/c reel till that time. I'm hoping that the store will get more in along w/ the Ike b/c rods. I really like the look of the Ike sig rods. Cork on the grip & eva something or another on the butt. The coloring is sweet, I like the red! It's priced right at $120, but it's IM6 though....but the Light & Tough series are also IM6 & those are pretty good rods.

Just wondering what you guys are using for b/c rods for this size of swimbaits. It would be like the Strike King Shadalicious, Bass Magic, Reaction Strike & Poor Boy's Silly Bunny. I'm guessing that this size swimbait w/ 1/8 oz weighted wide gap hook, the total weight is close to an ounce or more. So what length rod & weight rating would I need to use? I have an Okuma Guide Series 7'6" swimbait rod rated at 1-5 oz lures. I think that this is just too much for the smaller swimbaits I want to use.

Hemmed & Hawed for a couple weeks on ordering these 2 reels, sight unseen & un-tried. From what I've seen & read online, these 2 reels are top notch Shimano products! Soooo, now it's sit & wait till I get a call from Cabelas to pick up the Citica 201 & for BPS to ship out the Curado E7 201 (7.1:1). My Shimano Chronarch CH51 & Curado 101D will have new neighbors on the shelf! I just wish I was able to buy both these reels from ***.com instead of the 2 mentioned. Shipping & tax would have been free from TW, but I have gift cards from both mentioned that I used. Just really HATE when big retail stores like BPS & Cabelas RIP you hard for shipping fees & include a handling charge. I wouldn't have mind waiting for the reels to show up & not to have to pay any extra charges to get the product to me. I'm hearing that these reels will be available by early October....I could wait that long.....I got other reels to use.....why am I so "antsy" getting new baitcast reels?????

Just got the answer from another site that has a Shimano rep. He said that the Symetre, Sahara, Sedona, & Sonora will NOT have a spare spool. So the price of the 2009 reels goes up $10 & you don't get a spare spool.....THAT SUCKS! >

That's not a 2009 Shimano spinning reel.

I read somewheres that the 2009 Symetre doesn't come w/ a spare spool. I don't know if this is true for this reel & for the Sahara, Sedona & Sonora. So if Shimano is not including a spare spool w/ the new reels, why? I can understand that the new 2009 spinning reels are improved w/ what the newer Stradic & Saros have, but those come w/ spare spools. So the spinning reels under $100 don't come w/ a spare spool....that makes no sense. I like having one spool w/ braid & the other w/ mono. I don't feel like spending extra cash to buy another spool from Shimano when in the past they always included a spare spool. Can anyone confirm this?

Rain held off all day....till I get to the lake earlier this evening & it started raining real good...Murphy's Law. It really felt like a Fall day today & Fall isn't here for another month! Brought along my 7' Carrot Stix spinning rod w/ a Cabelas 2008 Prodigy 2000 spinning reel w/ 15 lb braid. Tried using a Rebel Pop'r first for no love. So I switched out to a firetiger Mann's Minus 1. Good call on my part cuz on the second cast, I felt a real big bump. The line takes off for deeper water while I set the hook. The Prodigy reels drag starts screaming. Horsed in this bass, I'm guessing around 3 lbs: No other hits on the Minus 1, so I switched out to an evening spinnerbait from Persuader. This thing THUMPS big time in the water & w/ braided line; you can feel it. I ran the spinnerbait on top of some weeds & felt a nice big hit, thinking that I ran into some weeds. Not so, weeds don't try to run for deeper water! I had the drag tighted down just a bit more so I can get a better hook set using the night spinnerbait. This was another fun fight in hand & all bass were released unharmed: Caught a 3rd bass on a lizard & it happened to be the smallest, so no pics. BUt, I don't have much confidence w/ lizards but have used it lately & have caught some bass. So the confidence using lizards is getting better. I've added the new swimbait add-on (1/8 oz) weights from BPS on a Gamakatsu 4/0 worm hook. I prefer using a weight hook this way than using a bullet weight & hook. Here's a pic from last week. I used a Snagproof Bobby's Perfect Frog, I haven't used a Snagproof frog in some time since I have more confidence in Spro frogs. This was a classic bass hitting a frog lure w/ the bass flying out of the water to nail the frog. It was awesome to watch & feel the line tighten in mere seconds. Working the frog on top of lily pads & feeling a positive hit from the bass is one of the best things to witness while bass fishing. The bass was around 2 lbs but seeing how it lunged out of the water to get the frog sure looked like it was a much bigger fish. For me, catching any bass in any size is better than not catching anything all day. Yeah, I would love to get a bass over 5 lbs all day, but that happens every so often. I was using my pontoon boat (kickboat) fishing in the shallows. This is my 1 man mean feeshing macheen!!! The pic of the boat is right under the bass pic: