Delaware Valley Tackle

If the rubber piece is too tight of a fit for the butt, swap it with the correct size chair leg foot from a hardware store.

A reel should be cleaned and lubed at least once a year, more often for heavier use. You don't want WD40 anywhere near the internals of your reel. It and other spray lubes contain solvents that actually act as a degreaser. As stated there are several threads about DIY reel care and it is not out of the question but based on the basic nature of your inquiry, may I suggest having them serviced professionally? As a sponsor of the forum I extend a 10% discount to members. This makes the cost of a clean/lube service only $16.20 plus shipping and parts if needed. I also offer tuning and upgrades where appropriate to maximize reel performance. Let me know if I can help. If you decide to DIY and get stuck, post a question and me, Jfrancho or one of the other folks will try to help. Mike L

The schematic for your reel will show you how far it is dessigned to be taken down. Unless the drum is beat up I'd suggest cleaning it with denatured alcohol and then applying a very light coat of oil. This should be all it needs.

The Pflueger President that is one of the best bang for your buck spinning reels at $60 day in and day out. The Stradic is a good reel but not twice the reel. I have a Stradic but held out for the Ci4. The BPS line has some good reels and some throw aways. I can't say which category this particular one would fall into. If you have $50 to gamble with, try one out and you might be pleasantly surprised.

The lower gear ratio is most noticeable and beneficial when deep cranking but won't hinder the shallower cranks. Check IPT when comparing reels with different ratios since that is truest measure of line pick up speed.

Nice job, especially right out of the box. It came in pretty light even with the wood grips. Congrats!

Yup, zero stretch = poor shock resistance. It's a trade off like everything else.

Modern two piece blanks with built in ferrules make fine fishing tools

I agree completely. I'm surprised Thule or someone hasn't come up with a good enclosed roof rack/shell. If they have it's a well kept secret.

My concern with this setup is that the road grime will take a serious toll on the reels and to a slightly lesser extent the rods. The only way I'd go this route is with rod socks and reel covers. Alternately, reels could be taken off the rod and put in a tackle bag in the vehicle.

As to the OP, the SCIII (Rage/Avid) is a far better blank the SCII the MOJO is built on. As for other concerns with the Rage line there are other good rods at the price point but it comes down to preference more than anything. Warranty is way over rated and would be my last concern. Any good company (St Croix among them imo) will stand behind their product if it is truly defective in some way. Beyond that, proper handling and use will trump any warranty/replacement program.

$160 is is not a bad deal but I'd compare the deal to the $199 retail price of a Stradic Ci4 rather than the $280 sticker price of the Fuego. $200 for a spinning reel is at or fast approaching the point of diminishing returns.

The type of cover you fish should be considered, but the MF will handle that size jig nicely. MH/F if the cover is really heavy. HF is overkill here imo. St Croix power ratings tend to be slightly understated compared to other brands.

You're off to a good start. You see improvement over the first one already. It'll get easier and you'll develope your own techniques and preferences. As far as catching fish, baits don't don't need to be pretty. Good luck and enjoy!

My advice for this type of fishing is to scew the budget more toward the rod. St Croix Avid AVS 68MXF ($180 at BPS)is a good rod. Pflueger President one of the best bang for your buck spinning reels ($60 at BPS)

Unless the graphite fibers are compromised you're safe. Scratches in the finish are just cosmetic. A more likely scenario is broken fibers caused by a Carolina weight flopping around during transport. Damage can be hard to see until it's too late.

A low ratio reel is less important for other than deep cranking. If you've decided to definetely buy one of these two reels, take which ever you find the best deal on. They're both quality reels. The Curado E5 can still be found for cheap too and it's the same reel as the new Chronarch.

7' MH/F casting / 6.4:1 reel / 50# Power Pro w/17# fluoro leader where needed.

Is the Abrazx any lower stretch?

It's definetely worthwhile to have someone give you a lesson so you don't learn bad habits and then have to unlearn them. Here's a couple videos with some pointers. One is of me getting casting instruction and catching a few small ones. http://gardenstateadventures.com/video_episode22.html http://gardenstateadventures.com/video_episode1.html Remember the camera adds 10 pounds (more like 20)lol.

Yes, I'm a rod builder as well as reel tech. I've done several for members here. email me some details of what you're looking for in a rod and I'll shoot you some thoughts and we can go from there. As for micros helping to manage line twist, I don't see how that would be.

^^^^^ x2 An inexpensive must have

x3 on the painters tape. I use it in the rod shop all the time.

"Micro" guides are even more of an advantage on spinning rods due to their usual lighter power. In any application the smallest lightest guide that will get the job done will allow the blank to retain more of it's design characteristics. The more weight you can reduce, especially from the tip, the better the rod will perform. You are right that a spinning rod requires the line to be tamed but I accomplish that with 2-3 transition guides on a custom build. One factor to consider is passing knots and connections. 20# braid to 8# leader should pass through a size 3 or so guide. If you'll be fishing sub freezing where icing could be a problem micros might not be the best choice. Other than that I use them on 90% of my bass rod builds.

Any failure of a rod due to material defect would happen upon the initial flexing of the rod. After that, there is either a handling, care or mis-use issue (albiet possibly minor) contributing. Regardless of warranty policy I'd be surprised and disappointed if a rod manufacturer didn't replace a rod that failed first time out for free. After that anything less than full replacement cost by the user is good will.