Dave T.

I've heard some great things about Delaware Valley Tackle, and would love to see some of his work, as I too am thinking about another custom rod for my son, and would be willing to give him a try. I can personally attest to the fine work that Matt Davis at Otterrods does. I have a sweet custom St. Croix 6'9" MLXF Legend Xtreme spinning rod that he built for me.

BC - St. Croix Avid, LTB, LE, or LX 7'MH with Shimano Curado Reel (pick one) or a Revo. Spin - St. Croix Avid, LTB, LE, or LX 6'9" MLXF with Shimano CI4 2500 or Diawa Fuego 200

You are asking a lot for a rod that is light enough for Bluegills, and still heavy enough for bass. With that said... It looks like you are looking at a "ML" rod at most for the Crappie, Bluegill rod , and a "M" for just the Crappie and Bass. With those size rods, you be wanting a small to medium size spinning reel to match up to the rod. In my opinion, if you want to fish cranks and spinnerbaits on those rod/reel combinations, you will need to keep the size of the cranks and spinner baits on the small size. Fishing big ones will put a lot of strain on a spinning reel, and rods that size are not ideal for lures with a lot of water resistance.

Yep, the Bite-me tube jigs are great... they come with "Gama" hooks! Plus, they are priced nice.

The Stradic series (including the CI4) are fine reels for sure. I can understand why you are pleased.

In that price range, as RW said, the Shimano Symetre or for even less, the Sahara. The Pflueger Supreme, or for less... the President would also be good choices.

Yea, a price range would be good. Wouldn't hurt to know what kind of rod you are putting it on either. BTW... 6lb mono for Bass, Pike and Walleye? You are certainly going "light".

Thanks, that's a reasonable weight for a rod that long in that price range. I'm liking it more all the time.

Thanks RW, I'm familiar with the St. Croix MXF rods. Excellent rods indeed, but a bit more "stout" for what we need. If we were fishing Erie, or someplace where we had to deal with smallies in some significant cover, they would be excellent choices. However, we need rods that can toss lighter stuff a long ways... accurately... and still be able to do the same thing with slightly heavier lures.

Hey Guys, Looking for a new spinning rod for my son. The rod will be used mainly for wading the river for smallmouths. So, it needs be a reasonably long, relatively light, and somewhat versatile rod. With that said, I've been reading up and looking at the specs on the Phenix Recon 723M... 7'2" MF rod. I really like the specs on the rod so far (except I can't find the weight), specifically the 1/8 to 1/2 oz lure rating. I've also read these Recon rods are nicely balanced, and seem to be well built with nice components and detailing. However, I've also read that some say they are a little "whippy", or lighter in action than the specs, which seems to contradict the 1/8 to 1/2 oz lure rating on the rod I'm thinking about. Anyhow, I'm looking for a bit more feedback from some users. The other rods I'm comparing it to, and considering are... The new Crucial 7'2" MF. The St. Croix Avid 7' MLF. An outside consideration is the St. Croix LTW 7' MLF... but that's a little more than I want to spend at this time.

Very nice! Marabou or Marabou mixed with flash tinsel works equally well.

Sounds like a "witch hunt" to me.

Depends on the clarity of the water, type of trout (stocked or native) and the size of the trout. 4 to 6 lb mono are good bets.

They are perfect for trout in rivers, or anywhere else for that matter. I prefer a fly rod for trout, but an ultra light, or light action spinning combo (depending on how big the trout are) is still a lot of fun for trout.

OO mod gave you some good advice. I would add some small mepps or similar spinners to your tackle bag. As far as structure... just about anywhere there is structure... wood, in front of and behind boulders, at the head and tail of pools, in deep runs, undercut banks, and most places in-between. Like bass, it depends on water conditions, temp, weather conditions, and whether they are actively feeding or not. You never know where you will find a brownie, but you have to work the obvious places first. As a matter of fact, I see you fish rivers for small mouths. You will find the browns in very similar types of water that the smallies like. I've caught them side by side in a couple of streams where they both inhabit.

Really need a third choice of "None of the above".

2011 Accomplishments... got out with my son a number of times and caught several 20" + smallies. 2012 Goals... get out MORE with my son and catch MORE 20" + smallies. Overall goal... get out and fish with my son.

Yep, the Reel Butter Bearing oil seems to work extremely nice on bearings. The regular Reel Butter oil works nice on pivot points, and non bearing surfaces. The Reel Butter grease on gears and shafts has smoothed out a couple of reels for me, and has held up well. Water seems to have little effect on it... good stuff.

River smallmouths are not that finicky, and the guys have given you great options... small plastics, inline spinners, jerk baits... etc. Just pick what you can afford, and go catch some.

LOL... I hate math! Anyhow, I can't believe that any vendor would sell the CI4's at cost, never mind below cost unless they are being reimbursed by Shimano (for whatever reason) or somebody just made a mistake. The CI4's are a pretty darn good selling reel from what I've heard.

I use the Shimano oil, their Permalube, and Drag Grease on all my Shimano reels. Seems to work fine. Plus, if I have a warranty issue, there won't be any questioned asked. On my non-Shimano reels, I like the Ardent Reel Butter products, and at some point will probably use it on the Shimano's when they are out of warranty.

Hmmm... I too am wondering if Shimano has something up their sleeve with the CI4. Maybe adding "X-Ship" to them? I was going to pick up another CI4, but I think I'll hold off for a while.

Yep, saw the different knob. I would probably like it, but the current one doesn't bother me. Thanks.

Thanks man... appreciate it! Not worth the extra $20 for me.

Anybody have both a 3000 and 2500 series CI4, or know if the 3000 series spool is just "wider" than the 2500 series spool, or is it simply thinner around the shaft to accommodate more line. I don't need the extra line capacity, but a wider spool has some advantages.