The Yankee Fist

Thanks again everyone for taking the time to respond and give your thoughts and advice. It is very much appreciated and has helped immeasurably. i am 99.9 percent settled on the 844 but they all seem to have their "thing" that sets them apart. If I had a boat I would LOAD that ***** with all kinds of Loomis rods, Shimano reels and then of course, lots of bass~! But I don't so...here I am trying to "one size fits all" ;D ;D ;D ;D At least I'm getting one hell of a good education here

AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH! All I know is the Housatonic River looks like the Mississippi River at flood stage. I doubt the fish can even see. Imagine swimming in coffee with alot of grounds. I'm catching but whew, lots of dough in tackle. Cast up river and watch bait fly by at 300mph ;D I have had some great luck much to the chagrin of the people I fish with.. ;D, by really fishing the WHOLE cast with tubes or grubs and finding I am getting hits as the bait goes way downstream, and I can bounce it off of big rock structure and then the current will push it below enough to tick of Mr. Bass' in their territory. It's a tough fight to get them back upstream but FUN. HULA GRUB BY YAMAMOTO! Weedless 1/8 oz jig.

This was a good thread for me to check out. I think I'm going to treat the old Falcon CB rod to a new "engine". That E7 looks like the ticket. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and views.

What, no love for the Trap? Must mention the trap...KILLAH smallie crank. Silver and Gold up here are the colorsd I catch on...more gold than silver.

For what I see, there seems to be a vote in favor of every one, but for what you stated you wanted it for, the MBR844C seems to be the way to go. I'd love to just buy them all ;D I do think you and the others are right though...seems the 844 is probably the most versatile for my needs. To complicate things more, I checked out a review of the BCR 803...seems more power than the mbr3 and may work as well. :

Another for the 844. Jeez...this is going to be easy ;D

Wow, all votes for the 844. Thanks guys, keep them coming.

Would the 4 be too much for an UL 781 IMX? I'd hate to overkill with the line's power. I just can't stand the TriStrenlene line on my reel now after using the YZ.

This is great help that is very much appreciated...thanks.

Thanks, okay, one for the 844. IMX isn't out as an option either...I love that stuff.

As said before...tubes, grubs small and large (ck the Yam Hula when the water is ugly) Whacky rigged 3-4"weightless Senkos...suprised me how well I can work these in a river let alone a lake. Inline spinners...Mepps, Rooster tails, Panther Martins and the like. 0-3, copper, gold, black and yellow...don't forget these oldies..they produce well.. ...there is another spinner company like "Uncle Joe's" or something like that that makes GREAT inline spinners in colors I would eat they look so good. CRANKS: chartreuse, crawfish, traps in gold are killer. The odd Rapala as well. SOFT PLASTIC JERK BAITS: Fin Nor...etc.... smaller, weightless, flats, shoreline areas. If all else fails and you can carry live bait...the black leech is supreme.

I really have been listening and researching ad nauseum and gotta make a move ;D Need to fish anything 1/4-1oz, able to cast long lengths, able to make accurate shorter casts and have plenty of power should I need it. MBR844C GLX...Good all around rod?......should do what a similar 3 power would do so with my GLX 2 power spinning rod I think this will be a good 1-2 mostly bass, some other species rig. BCR854 GLX....Good all around rod or am I dreaming? BCR855 GLX.....I GOTTA be crazy right? ;D

Another full cork guy here...G Loomis Bronzeback GLX Spin, IMX 781 UL and soon to be a GLX 844C or a BCR854 GLX( currently limping along with an old Berkely Hank Parker Carolina rig rod until i decide). These are my main go to rods. I take them all out when I go. Cork is just great in all weather, nice feel and wears well. I do have an older Falcon F-3-16 6' ML crankbait/jerkbait rod that is all cork and that I like too. That would now be part of the original series which I think are a great value.

I'll be the one in CT fishing submerged towns from an ark. ENOUGH with the rain already. > > > > Okay, I feel better. ;D

Cool! Thanks! How does that combo cast on both the light and heavy side of baits? General "review" if you don't mind. This is exactly the rig I'm decided on......I think. : ;D ;D

Thanks! I didn't know if maybe there was a huge aftermarket supply of parts one could draw on. Easier to buy new stuff now My old dogs' gotta stay on the porch now. Great memories, they will hang proudly.

;D ;D ;D I guess I did eh? Both fit nicely but I must admit, a grip at the store doesn't tell what a day of casting will be like. Kinda why I'm leaning toward the 100. What do you like for a longer casting line? I may like to get a little more range outta that 4 power if I downsize baits.

Size wise what do you guys think for mostly a shore bound guy? Lots of casting, multi-bait use on a Loomis 844(I think, still looking at the 784) and MAYBE, stripers...maybe. Will see pike duty but mostly largemouth and smallmouth. Will be spooled with Yo Zuri Hybrid 12#. I always like extra line but I can carry an extra spool fill in my vest or backpack. What do you guys think? 200, more power and line capacity, lower gear ratio. 100, little bit faster, lower line capacity and drag rating. Remember, I'm only buying ONE ;D ;D ;D

Thanks! That grub is a KILLER bait. If there was ever an abrasion, stretch, merciless onslaught of line, this fight was it. There was NO place other than rocks, trees and dead timber for that fish to go and that YZ 6lb stuff stood up and took it. Too funny! ALL of my fishing buds looked at me like I had three heads when I T-rig backwards in the river! Fish can't resist that bait head all lifelike in the current. Funny thing is, I learned that as a mistake when I first used a senko...I rigged it backwards whille yapping and said "the heck with it", next you know, fish on. Have you tried it in lakes? Same effect? Gotta grab more FAT IKA'S Good call.

Hey, something I can help with ;D ;D ;D ;D I wanted 3 rods/reels that would handle EVERYTHING I fish for here. I have ONE bass spinning rod. It's a GLX Bronzeback and it does EVERYTHING in it's range and is a GREAT multi-species rod to boot. Medium, 6'10", fast and light, sustain FE 2500. This rod just WORKS. I have one UL rod and reel, a 781-IMX Loomis with a Sahara 500 sized. Next up is a GLX, Calcutta TE casting combo. So, one brand? No, two that work VERY well together. I love the way Loomis rods feel and fish. Ditto for Shimano.

Thanks Jeff!

Yo fellow Yankee! Okay, the slower softer tip allows for the bait to get down really well and allows the bait to be "inhaled" from my understanding...acting like a shock absorber. Though I have never owned a dedicated CB rod, I favor lighter action moderate tapers when fishing them. I have also have luck with stiff big sticks and and mag-butt stiff rods with more gentle tip. My fav cranking rod is a 15 year old ML 6' 8-15 test Falcon caster, it does soft pastic jerkbaits well and also lighter jigs, worms in a pinch. Sadly though with my glx Bronzeback rod it's hard for the old bird to get as much time lately. That GLX will fish and catch just about anything landlocked here. If you've got enough free open water she'll take a big pike if you have the time ;D

The Yamamoto 4" hula grub. NOTHING produced yesterday in the Housatonic River but those did....I think a darker greenish brown pumpkinseed pattern. Got me a 3lb smallie in wicked current...great battle, fish and river vs me, GLX and Sustain FE. One the most rewarding battles I have been in. That fish new his territory. Sadly, I have no pics because my Iphone was dunked last weekend Thought I would share.

Hi there! I have some OLD Shimano reels, a Custom Magnumlie 1000gt spinning reel from the early 80's and a Bantam Magnumlite 200GT baitcaster. Can these be restored?...more for retirement and wall hanging but I'd like them to be brought back to snuff. Also, I have a Quantum IRC4 or 3..can't remember, that one I still use...serviceable? The other is...I have a new Sustain FE....Should that be serviced yearly if well taken care of? Whatever the case when the season ends I would like to send them all to you to go through them. Thanks, Scott

Well, my grandmother is 100% Sicilian and she says NEVER trust a Sicilian woman with a knife ;D ;D ;D ;D Friends Close/Enemies Closer...Now that's Sun-Tzu from "The Art War"...5,000 years ago. A Genius. Look man, I'm not saying "DON'T BUY ANYTHING NOT AMERICAN MADE" just look and shop a bit if time permits, I have no kids so I can putz around, much to the chagrin of my wife and look for that stuff...but a family trying to exist in these warp speed times? Fuhgeddaboutit. I worked in the auto industry for 20 years. Mechanic to start at 15 year old, apprentice engine builder by 21, finished as a service manager at Toyota. GUESS WHAT??? Both of my Toyota's are all Japanese build...I look for the ones with the J in the first letter of the VIN#. Why, it's built better than the ones built here. Why do I know? I saw warranty for 10 years and though an American built yota is a GREAT car, the homeland built ones are just darned near indestructible. These are life experiences. That's all. Who said we are a young country? GODD FOR YOU. That is a TOTALLY RELAVENT, LUCID statement. And as other said, we are still learning...sometimes REALLY bad and sometimes REALLY good. You can still buy a Swedish built ABU, a Japanese Shimano and a US built reel....if they are in your budget but some of the Chinese stuff is very good.....it's who oversees the factory in the end and when someone or some company is good to the employees and insists on quality I have ZERO problems with outsourcing. My shop is LOADED with Chinese guitars..in this economy it's hard to talk them into a 1k and up American piece when they are worried whether they will have a job in the next week or so. All in all, when you buy, COMPARE, TOUCH, FEEL and closely examine...sometimes, the Chinese and other mfr countries will suprise you. I have a Malaysian made new Sustain FE....Didn't quite like it at first...felt strange, clunky (more so to me because I haven't bought a spinning reall in 15 years"but after using it for a few months, I am starting to adore that reel. It's tough, overpriced, but just tough. Longevity, not sure...if it goes 25 years like my Custom Magnumlite 1000GT I'd be happy but I will get a Stella anyways. I love precision of the Japanese stuff. I fought a HELL of a battle in wicked current, a flood stage river that was brown mud with a 3lb smallie yesterday, pulling it against that current from about 100 feet downstream. The Bronzeback GLX and Sustain took that fish to task and he took them to task. Nothing gave...One of the more exciting catches I have had.