Northern Strain

I knew someone would bring this up! I must have mislpaced them because i did look twice.

Today I was out fishing, and while i was adjusting the VBS on my Citica I popped one of the red brake collars (part # 3505)out and it floated into the strog current and away. I fished without the brake collar the rest of the day no problem. My question is do I need to get a new brake collar, and what is the best way to get the part, (just call shimano custumer service?)

Thinking about getting a Shimano Crucial from Tackle Warehouse (The 6'10" MH XF). I would be buying it for fishing jigs and worms. In the past have always used a fast action for throwing t-rigged plastics as well as jigs. How well would an XF rod work for throwing jigs and worms?

How much of a role do the guides play in sensitivity?

I was looking all over for the weights of these two rods, but did not have any success in finding them. However I did start reading the BassPro.com Reviews on both rods. The Veritas has okay reviews, but there are some people complaining about breakage. Then I read the Carrot Stix review. Every one was good, and no on complained about them breaking. I think people are skeptical of them because of the older models that E21 produced. All the people that are bashing them seem to have used the older models, and simply don't want to try the new models. I am even more convinced now that the Carrot Stix Wild is a very good rod.

I never read it like that, thanks for pointing that out.

I drove over to Gander Mountain today and went to look at the rods. I picked up a Veritas and wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be since they did have alot of hype. Then I did notice the Carrot Stix Wild and picked it up. It was night and day difference. The Carrot Stix rod felt much lighter and balanced, it also had a life time warranty.If you have the opprotunity, go compare both rods and you will feel a difference. I also felt like E21 paid a little more atention to detail on the Carrot Stix than Abu Garcia did on their Veritas. I was really impressed with the Carrot Stix and would deffinintly consider buying it. The only problem I have with both the Veritas and the Carrot Stix is their tiny split grip handles, aslo not a big fan of the EVA. You may want to look at the Shimano Compre also, it is right there at the same price range. It would be nice to hear from someone who has fished a Carrot Stix, and talk about sensitivity because I could not tell how sensitive it truely was in the store. I think the Carrot Stix is the better rod, just sayin'.

Any word on a new Citica? I noticed it was on sale also.

Yeah i would love to look at both at the same time, but the closest Bass Pro is about an hour and a half away. I did plan on driving up to Gander Mountain and seeing if I could find some Compres this weekend though.

I have been doing alot of looking around, gone through a bunch of threads on this site and on another, but I can't find any rock solid info on which is a more sensitive rod. I don't really want this to be based on the names put on the rod, just how they feel. From what I have found the Carbonlite is said to use IM9 graphite while the Compre uses IM8, how big of a difference does this make and does it make the Carbonlite more sensitive than the Shimano?

Never used one in freshwater for bass, however used one in Floridia and caught a couple of nice fish on it. It performed great and I was very impressed. That being said, it seems like the way to go.

Is this reel's 8lb drag to light for flipping in medium cover such as grass, and laydowns, or would it be wise to go with a reel that has an 11 or 12 lb drag?

I have done some more looking around, found a 7.1 curado on ebay for $140, right now I am thinking of putting a curado on a compre. Also saw an Abu Garcia SX for a reasonable price, how do those two reels compare. As for a rod to put the SX on I am leaning toward the HMG, I have heard good things about the Veritas but wonder if it is just another flashy split grip, made to sell on looks. Any more info?

Of those two I would go with the Mojo, you can't beat St. Croix.

I am planning on getting a new rod and reel for plastics. I am thinking about a rod in between the 6'6" and 7' range probably a medium, but would be open to a MH. I am interested in the Fenwick HMG and was wondering how that compres to other rods in its price range. I don't want to spend more than $120 on the rod. As far as reels go I was thinking about a Revo S. I don't want to spend more than $130 on the reel, and hopefully keep the entire combo under $250.

x2 The river is all dried up.

You are set perfectly for your situation. Don't worry about getting another rod what you have will be fine. You did well for not picking out junk for your gear. Your rod is good for fishing weightless and small weighted plastics. Jack

PM sent

When a new rod or reel gets it's first scar what are your reactions, are you mad or do you just let it go. Do you get the feeling that you need to get another new rod. Are there any ways to get the cosmetic problems fixed.

The truth is that you can't buy fishing success. Expensive rods are fun but you can still get quality rods for $80-$100. Compres and mojos are great rods, made by great companies and they won't let you down. Bass don't care how much your rod costs. You are better off spending time on learning techniecs than spending time worrying about how much money you will spend on a rod. Since you are on a budget and don't have a constant supply of money save up buy some decent lures and practice, after all the lure is what the bass wants. There will be plenty of time to buy expensive rods and reels in the future. You have to remember that companies are always coming out with the latest and greatest, and as soon as they do that will be what you want. Get a good rod then get some expierence.

Two days ago I my self picked up a snail crushed its shell and put it on a hook because I too was curious. The smell terrible, and the smell wouldn't come off my hands even after washing them 3 times, not even the bluegill or catfish messed with it. Don't know the science behind this one but I think that fish don't like them.

Get some berkely chigger craws, then use a jerkbait to find fish when you find the fish with your searchbait start throwing the chigger craw. I t-rig them, but I saw hank parker using them recently on a shaky head.

Those are great, and I have one question. How did you get the pictures to be full size right in a column and not one big one then 3 little horizontal ones at the bottom of the page?

I didn't have a scale, but the guy I was with, one of my dads good friends said it was ten, he compared it to a ten lber he had on the wall. My dad thinks it was eight, and my fish was definintally bigger than my dad's 7lber that he has on the wall. The only way to truely tell is to catch her again. 8-10lbs is how much she weighs.

The biggest bass I have ever caught, I caught her in an Indiana farm pond. We spent all day catching about 75 fish total, and just as a thunderstorm was rolling in, she bit. The other fish were mostly 2-4 lbs and the guy I was fishing with caught a 5lber. The bass gave me the best fight I have ever had with any fish, there were about 5 jumps and she made 3 runs when she was just about to the boat. This was the fish of a lifetime.