SWMIBASSER

Wow from a quick view over, it almost seems like all that info shouldn't be free. Good site, thanks for posting!

I have been fishing weightless 3.5" senko's wacky style all summer on a 6'6MH Falcon rod, and a BPS Pro Lite Finesse baitcaster. The reel really is perfect for finesse applications or other light weight presentations.

Do you fish from shore? Me personally I would team up the fast reel with a 7ft rod. I think a 7ft MH rod is good for just about everything.

Do my test with musky lures. If you can't tell any difference I'll send you $100.

If you give em away I'll take em. I'm more than happy with my Pflueger Supreme reels.

The 7.1 reels have to give up quite a bit in torque to the 6.3 reels. Maybe not enough that it bothers everyone. I don't know I've never used a 7.1 reel with crankbaits. If you want a super graphic demonstration of reel torque, throw a deep diving musky crankbait with a high speed reel, and then a slow speed reel.

P-line did OK because they send 12-14lb line in a 10lb box. Compare their lb test rating to diameter vs other lines. Especially the cxx p-line compared to other lines.

You can swap gears between c4 and c3 models. You can also upgrade the C3 to C4 specs by adding an extra bearing. I would go with a newer reel if I were you. They have instant anti reverse, and I don't know if the bearing quality was improved but the newer reels feel smoother to me. Do you have to have the 5000 series reels or are the 4000 series an option?

That is with a strait pull. Impact strength will be much less. That's why people break the line on the hook set all the time. Add in abrasion, or other issues and strength will go down even more. The impact strength is an issue with most flourocarbons. Especially relative to mono or copolymer. Speaking of copolymer I'm convinced tying a copolymer knot is a sure fire way to have terrible knot strength with Flouro. The kink you put in the line, especially when threading through small hook/jig eyes becomes a breaking point. FWIW I did the same test with 8lb Viscous Flourcarbon and I came up with almost 10 lbs break strength and impact strength best I could tell was closer to 8lbs. I simply bounced the weight I was using vs just picking it up slowly. Everyone says this line is junk so Vanish must be really bad.

IMO just like R/W said that line isn't bad. I've always used the green line as that seems to be more invisible than even the clear line. You are giving up some abrasion resistance in both Trilene XL and XT. Both are pretty manageable though I've never used XT on a spinning real. It's not made for it either. Flourocarbon lines sink faster, and IMO is the only advantage I feel is most important. And IMO it is most important on spinning outfits. Unfortunately it also twists and holds lots of memory on spinning outfits.

Sounds like you are looking for the same type of jig rod I was looking for last year. Since I too can't justify spending like some of these other guys, I had to find ONE. that would handle all of my jig fishing. I don't know where you are from or where you fish, but for me, buying a flipping stick made no sense at all. When you consider all the jig fishing you can/will do, flipping is done just a small percentage of time. And where I'm from it might very from a few times/places a year to NEVER. I wanted a longer rod for making long casts with heavy football heads for dragging isolated rock piles, and deep points and humps. Also would help move more line on the hookset. Unfortunately I didn't want a long rod for pitching as I think the 7ft rod is more maneuverable while pitching. However if you buy a rod light enough the 7'6 rod isn't so bad. A handle balancing weight helps also. I went with a 7'6 MH with XF tip. While not a Carrot stix I really think this is the best all around jig rod. Light for flipping, yes, but who cares? (probably some ;D) Storage is a problem for me too. Doesn't fit in rod boxes of smaller boats, or in the inside of some vehicles. If this size won't fit in your rod box you could always carry it inside your vehicle while in transit, and then on the water strap it down to the deck.

If you put a small snap on to attach your cranks to, that should free them up enough the rod doesn't matter. IMO. But you hit the nail on the head. Soft rods absorb every thing you try to make the bait do. And since buying into the idea you need a softer rod to fish cranks my catches have suffered and I end up doing more work. I fish crankbaits less otherwise I would fix the situation. Jerkbaits on the other hand I'm sticking to my 6'6 MH rods

I don't remember seeing any....But you might be able to pull parts from a big reel and swap them to the smaller one. I think all the baitclicker components are in the palm plate.

IMO you still can't beat the traditional Round Abu. 5500C3. The 55OOC4 is OK for jerkbaits since they don't have the pull of cranks/bucktails. The C3 is the better all around reel. Abu reels are indestructible and the only reels I would trust Musky fishing. I've seen bass reels literally last a trip maybe two when throwing REAL musky lures. I've got some of the older 5500c3's that I musky fished with probably 180 days a year for about 10 years and they were as good as when I got em new. Maintain them, change the drag washers once in awhile along with the levelwind pawl and they will last forever. Only reason I quite using them is I got the newer reels with instant A/R

I'm with you in that I just don't have a use for the shorter rods. If it were a baitcasting rod it would be descent for a jerkbait rod, but even then I myself prefer a 6-1/2 ft rod.

I knew this would happen when this was moved here. This wasn't started looking for rod advice. Thank you though. I started a new thread hopefully worded clearly enough to not give the impression I'm looking for rod advice.

There is no voodoo or anything else with a fishing reel. It's probably just a matter of something came loose or to much grease or or some other simple solution. I've used an Extreme reel all year now with several big fish caught with zero problems. If you decide not to send it back and want to figure out the problem I could take mine apart to help you figure out your problem.

I don't generally fish tubes much. Around docks and that is about it. I intend to change that next season. Please chime in with any tips or techniques you care to share. I'll gladly take private messages if you don't care to share with the entire board. Any links to good web articles would also be appreciated.

impart..............lol no really. crankbait retrieve is all about sporadic action on the part of the bait. a rod with less backbone will let the bait bounce and deflect off the bottom and hang in grass, which triggers the strike. the heavier the rod, the more affected the bait will be - less action. this is just my opinion. id love to read more by other members. Well that's how I feel about it....Funny or not.

I have a Loomis rod and the JM elite rod. It's just a fact that at that price point there is more rod per $ with the elite rods than the Loomis rods. I can't figure out why everyone says GLX. Of course they should be good. They are double the price. If I'm looking at $200 rods I'm probably not looking at $400 rods. I like the warranty. Just like everyone else. But fact is you are PAYING for that warranty. Big time.

Well I started this topic not for rod advice, but for general tube fishing tips, techniques, links to articles etc. I see it got moved to rods/reels etc. So keep that in mind when posting. I'm not 'JUST' looking for rod recemendations. What tubes are your favorite? Size tube heads-in what depth/current? Rattles? Techniques? Links to articles?

Yet still in the Great Lakes. ;D

What are some of the fishing oriented charities? Not only would it be nice to support some worthy causes, it would be nice to dress out the boat just a little to bring attention to a worthy cause.

For you tube guys, is there a technical reason for using the shorter rods for tube fishing or is this a personal preference? The rod I had in mind is a 7'6 M, Fast. The Johnny Morris elite with recoil guides. I have a 7'6 casting MH/XF I use for jigs. VERY underrated rods. The other one I've been looking at is the Loomis Bronzeback 7'4 rod.

Like I said in my first post (I thought I did maybe not) the really soft rods absorb any action that YOU try to impart. Not only do the soft rods dull the action your trying to impart, but by absorbing most of the action are more tiresome. There may be a point where a softer rod allows more action from the bait than a stiffer rod. When on a strait retrieve. I like to use a small snap on crankbaits though. With all that freedom of movement I can't see the rod having much effect when using a strait retrieve