flechero

Feels good to be honest with yourself, doesn't it? ...lol We are all (most anyway) tackle or equipment junkies. But seriously, why the buyer's remorse? They could be sold for what you have in them- if you don't like them.

Good memory, Kent! Cliff, We do catch a lot of fish on Belton by c-rigging in 20'-35' of water... as you know some of those areas are shared by whites or within a good cast up a point or hump. I'd keep a c-rig close by with a "bad shad" smallie beaver on or a "blue Bling" or "Blue Bling / black laminate" from *** in the smallie size. (those are our 3 best c-rig producers, year round) One other thing- we also found that the lmb will often mirror schools of whites and pick off some of the spoils when there is schooling going on. A crankbait seems to work for us fairly consistently out there... cast beyone the whites and get below them. The lmb are small but they are usually there. The hybrid action can also be near some good lmb areas... across from the 1st water elevator (south) there is lots of good stuff. The worst thing that can happen is that you end up fishing for whites and hybrids... life could be worse!!

That's one of the best posts I've seen here, and that's why he's your partner and she's your wife!! ...lol Strictly from experience I have to say punctuality... matters a lot also. My partner is. When I say meet at boat storage at 5 am, we both pull in about 10-15 till to load. Never spoken of it, it just happens- every single time. We normally make it to the ramp at the time we were supposed to meet. Add to that, we both like similar techniques, lakes, conditions and beer... we get along almost as well as RW and his partner.

I don't think so but that's just one guy's opinion.

If you were REALLY a Daiwa guy, the Chronarchs wouldn't have caught your eye in the first place!

That blank was "charcoal" finish which is obviously dark gray but has micro gold and blue dust in it. Looks pretty cool in the sunlight. My favorites are the cobalt blue or the sanded natural matte. I like their "silver" in the pics but haven't seen it in person. The caused wasn't suggested, but I didn't ask for it either.

David, You know, it made the oddest sound.... a very light (barely audible) little ping almost like if you dropped a paper clip onto glass. Yes, it was a CTS... but the great news is that I sent an email with macro pics of the break to Robert at FishSticks4U (since they are now a dealer) and he fwd'd them to CTS for determination... within 40 minutes we had a return email approving warranty and with an estimated replacement arrival date of 1/24. It will be shipped out with their current order. How about that for a twist of fate!! Keep in mind that Robert is eastern time and CTS is in New Zealand and this all took place between 8pm and 9pm central time last night!! I call that premium service!!

It's a Tennessee handle. You just slide the collars over the reel's feel and they hold by tension. Some people wrap tape around them also. They hold pretty good. They are really comfortable. You can move the reel up and down the handle to achieve the desired balance point, if you choose.

What is the rod's model number? i.e. mbr844

Or you might compare the Citica 100DSV... it's basically the same reel as the CU100DSV and $80 cheaper and still qualifies for a rebate. Do a search on it in this section, you might be surprised at what you learn. that alone is huge, and IMO makes the 100DSV's worth having, regardless of the other features.

http://www.rod-crafting.com/for-sale.html

This s purely a guess on my part... the new reels were offered in the base models and then others were added as they were able to produce more. Remember how the DSV's came out later, etc. I think they just need some time to ramp up and also wanted to be sure there was demand (enough to satisfy production) before offering everything. I bet you'll see a Ci101D this year. In the meantime, enjoy the Revos & other brands and be glad this isn't 1980 or 1990 when there were (almost) no left hand retrieve BC reels!

If service is worth anything to you, Brent will actually be less expensive to buy from.

How true those words turned out to be!! First time out, first hookset. (I did land the fish) Warranty pending.

:-?

Thanks Scott and Russ for the recommendations, I appreciate it. (Russ- wipe off the cork once in a while!! ;D) I fall somewhere in between Alpster and ReelMech... I build a limited number of rods (the exact number is set by Mrs. Flechero, who bases it on how much time I spend with her. ...lol) That's an odd ball rod for sure... Any CTS blank can be ordered in a 2 pc., but there is no telling what the wait time will be for production. That's my only thought off hand.

You may want to clarify your intentions for this combo before dropping that kind of cash... your original post talked of light weight casting... the MBR844GLX does have a pretty delicate tip for a Hvy rod but all within reason. If you consider 4"-5"senkos and t-rigs light then you are going to love that combo but if you want to cast truely light baits you may step down a power. Detecting the bite isn't the trouble... in a GLX rod, you should feel everything nicely! I was just worried that you might want an 843 (loomis calls it MH) which has a lighter tip and will cast lighter baits. I'm not trying to be an alarmist, but want to be sure you don't say "oops" after dropping $375 on a rod. Best, keith

Exactly what I was going to say.

In your case, I think Yo-Zuri Hybrid could be a good line. As RW points out, it's tough and clear... a good blend of desirable traits. It is about like an "extra clear" XT. One possible drawback to it is that if you backlash, it will kink worse than other lines and create a visible weak spot that needs to be cut out. I still keep a couple spools of Y-Z at the house and use them when I go to gin clear waters, otherwise I prefer XT. (except in the cold weather)

Mr. Duckworth, Welcome!! Yours is a name I've heard for years... long before I ever caught a smallie. I hope you decide to become an active member of this forum.

Good stuff, glad to see it's just been a slow posting thing. I should have some stuff to post in a few weeks. I have one that's going to have some inlay work in the grip (he's still working on the design) but it's still 2 rods behind. Ronnie, That's the same seat I used on LBH's rod, I liked it a lot, the bump fit nicely in my hand... if i build myself another spinning rod, I'll probably use that seat. How was the casting seat to work with? David, I know what youmean ion the other finishes... the first SCV I built I learned that alcohol and light scrubbing will remove the finish! That was back before I used water on the gauze for seat clean up. ...lol

If you are buying the 100 size, I'd get the Citica. That was the recommendation of a Shimano employee when I asked the same question you did. He said if he was buying the 100's he would go with the Citica since there is VERY little difference, certainly not, in his opinion, worth the price difference.

Is it different than the SCIV & SCV finish? (I do fine with those) I think that CTS was clear coated, wet sanded and then double waxed & buffed to a high luster! ;D It was the slickest I had ever seen. (way worse than the other CTS blanks I have built) WCCT, Any pics of those builds?

PM sent.

I have no dog in this hunt but there are a couple things I want to address... Take one worm fishing and then see if you need to ask the question. If you still do, there is something wrong. There are certain materials, components and traits found in the higher dollar rods.... statements like yours are usually made by people who have $150 rods. Now, if you had said the best value is in the $150 range, I would respect that an intelligent argument can be made for that position. Really? :-? Why is your arbitrary number of $150 the correct cut off? With that statement you say that all of us that use higher costing gear are idiots and were swindled. There are a couple thousand members that own IMX, GLX or LT or LE, Kistler, dobyns, powell, sage, megabass, etc., that might take offense to your blanket statement. They might have some experience using rods on both sides of your $150 line... I'm willing to be that I'm not the only one that can tell a difference when blindfolded. IMO, no. I can't defend other brands because I don't know their history but do a search and look up pricing for loomis... example- when Loomis went to the no questions asked, lifetime warranty, they DID NOT RAISE PRICES. They only added the benefit. In 1994 I bought my first 3 IMX rods, mbr784imx, mbr785imx and mbr844imx I paid $225, $235 and $245, respectively. They have gone up only a couple times since then and not much each time... they are more stable than inflation. Sure you could argue that the prices were already too high but there was a long and stable price history and demand established long before I was there. Can we get back to carrot sticks now?