Goose52

For those that like them...in addition to the BPS pistol grip options, St. Croix makes a 5'6" in the Premier series, Lew's has a 6', there may be others as well. FWIW.

A "niche" rod for close-quarters, sometimes the only way to get a casting rod 5'6" or shorter without going custom, otherwise - an antique...

I fish them weightless and weedless and toss them on a light-power spinning rod. Super numbers bait but a dink-magnet - occasionally a bigger girl will bite as well...

Yeah - like Diggy I never even gave it any thought. I palm the reel as well and have several fingers wrapped around the blank between the front and rear of the reel seat and never noticed any discomfort. My most used NRX is an 893C and after hours of use I don't have any comfort problems. Of course, it helps if you're catching fish...

Well, if you have a rod that will handle them, big honkin' swim baits come to mind...

Have fun with the reel and welcome to BR !

OR, Shimano thinks that there will be a smaller market for the 70 size as compared to the 200 size and thus feels the need to increase the price a bit to amortize the tooling/startup/support costs over a smaller production quantity (just as it did with the CU50E). OR, Shimano knows that it will be a popular model with a small number of anglers and charges more...because it can... Regardless, perhaps down the road there will be some deals to be had. At the end of the day, businesses are in business to make money...

One of the best deals going right now for a cranking rod is the St. Croix Rage rods that are in their bargain room here. These rods retailed in the $150-170 range but are being clearanced at $89, which includes shipping and some extra goodies. There are three cranking rods still available: RC72MM - a 7'2" medium power/moderate action rod. I have this rod in the Legend Elite series and if the Rage is the same, it is a very soft, practically parabolic, rod. OK for the lighter end of the weight range but not the most versatile rod. Weight range 1/4 to 5/8 oz. RC78MHM - a 7'8" medium-heavy power/moderate action rod. This rod is also a bit soft for an MH, but it will flat sling baits out there a ways. I have this rod in the Rage and it's probably the most versatile of these three rods. Weight range 3/8 to 1 oz. (but probably happiest at 3/4 oz. and under). RC76MHMF - a 7'6" medium-heavy power/moderate-fast action rod. This rod is the stoutest stick of the three due to the moderate-fast action. I also have this rod in the Rage. Weight range 3/8 to 1 1/4 oz. This rod likes the heavier end of it's weight range and I've gone up to 1.3 oz. on it with no problems. More options to consider...

Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night... (Got two LMB today for my "pre-Christmas" present ! )

Exactly the same deal I got on my Scorpion. If I was looking to buy that platform today...a USDM Curado I for $119 would be a no-brainer...

Great news for fans of the smaller capacity Shimanos! Although, my first thought was that instead of paying $200 for this new reel, I'd if at all possible kick in another $70 and get another JDM 2015 Aldebaran... For those that are patient, perhaps waiting for a while after release will yield some savings if that $200 retail prices ends up getting discounted eventually.

I seem to routinely perform the impossible...

Nope - one of the new ones. I guess the bass in the photo didn't feel that she needed to eat something that "hunted"...

At the shallow end of that depth range - my "go to" is the Wiggle Wart: Towards the ~10-12ft depth range - my go to is the Norman Deep Little N.

I have two 50XTs - the JDM, somewhat upgraded, versions of the CT50B. They have a measured IPT of about 17.5" - a bit faster than the book rating of 16" IPT for the CT-50B. Uses? I have one on a rod I use for chatterbaits, the other is on a cranking rod for slooooow cold-water cranking. That 16" IPT on the 50B would be good for chatterbaits and slow cranking as well... File photo:

SCORE !!!!

x2

Hey Kirby - normally I'm all for character, but in this case, I went NEW. The old vest is not only soiled, but the transparent plastic window in front of the gas cylinder came unglued and has been held in place with gorilla tape this past season and that window is what keeps moisture off the bobbin and prevents inadvertent firing. PLUS, at the 3 year point when I rearmed the unit - I fired off the old cylinder to see what would happen (see photo below) so the manual lanyard mechanism has already had a workout. So, after all of that, I thought I would go with the new solution... This particular Cabela's vest has 35lbs of buoyancy - a bit more than the 26-28lbs in other vests. It's been conformable to wear for those 1,800 hours in the boat so getting another one, at this great price ($95 shipped), was a no-brainer for me...

Indeed. I've been wearing that Cabela's 3500 model as my PFD for the past 6 years. I rearmed it once at the 3 year point. Was going rearm it again this coming spring but I looked at it and it's dirty, smelly, sweaty, etc. after being worn for about 1,800 hours on the water. So, I ordered another 3500 model to just replace the old one in lieu of re-arming. Out with the old - in with the new...

Good score on the Luna !

The boat is a Radisson - 12 ft (actual 11'6") with a 38" beam. A very thin aluminum hull gives it light weight (34 pounds stock, about 44 pounds when I lift it on top of the car). A good boat for open water - not a boat for white water or where there's lots of stuff underwater you could run into. The outriggers are from Spring Creek Outfitters. Not inexpensive. There are LOTS of ways to home-fabricate outriggers...but the quality, adjustability, and ease of rigging these Spring Creek outriggers made the expense worthwhile for me. From the time I pull up to a lake with the canoe on the roof of the car, until the boat is rigged as shown in the photo, takes about 12-15 minutes.

I'm a bit late to this party - been on the road... Anyway, the decision on whether or not to use outriggers/stabilizers can be based on a number of factors: Generally, the longer/heavier the canoe, the more stable it is, with less risk of rolling it. The lighter/shorter the canoe (like my 11'6", 34lb model), the greater the risk of capsizing. The more gear/weight you put in the boat generally adds to the stability and reduces the likelihood of capsizing, but then that means that you potentially risk losing a lot of stuff if the boat does roll. Age/experience of the user is a factor, as well as how many people in the boat. The activities being conducted in the boat come into play as well - are you just paddling, or are you also leaning over the gunwale to land fish etc.? Do you want to stand in the boat and have added assurance that you won't roll? Something else to think about. If you ARE paddling a lot, do you have a location to place outriggers that won't interfere with paddling? I don't believe that there is only ONE right answer to the question of whether or not to use outriggers. It all depends on the questions posed above, and probably others not stated. In my case, I have a short, light boat. While I do put quite a bit of gear in it to load it down, I still consider it prone to roll when conditions are right. So, in my case, the decision to use outriggers was a no-brainer because: I wanted to be able to stand, all day (see my avatar), without any concerns of capsizing, I wanted to be able to move around the boat, leaning every which way, to conduct the business of fishing, I wanted assurance that capsizing would be very unlikely, to safeguard the thousands of dollars of gear that could be in the boat. My particular outriggers are adjustable in span and also in the height of the floats. The floats are adjusted to be several inches above the water when the boat is trimmed laterally so they create no drag when motoring. The outriggers are placed behind me so that they do not interfere with fighting or landing fish. Of the 4,000+ fish that I have boated in this canoe, I can only recall TWO times when the outriggers interfered with boating a fish (and one of those times the fish also wrapped around the anchor line so that was already a situation ) Rigged boat: Photo showing both floats a couple of inches above the water when the boat is trimmed: Outriggers make it possible to pull stuff like this into the boat without capsizing

Happy Turkey Day to all... Leaving in the AM for Florida - with my non-resident fishing license in hand...

Hey RW - we talked about this back in January so I'll re-use some of that discussion: The CTE-100GT is the functional equivalent of a Conquest 100 (last generation - aka CQ00). The differences are: CQ has a forged handle / TE-GT has a stamped handle CQ has a forged drag star / TE-GT has a stamped star CQ has clicking spool tension knob and drag / TE-GT has no clicks CQ has a ported palm-side sideplate / TE-GT is plain/unported I have both the CTE-100GT and a CQ00-100 and they perform and feel the same to me. These photos show the external differences: NOW - to compare the CTE-100GT to the Conquest 2014/2015: Conquest 14/15 has the same differences as mentioned above (forged, ported, clicks, etc.) PLUS has all the latest Shimano features and gizmos - X-Ship, micro-module gears, and SVS Infinity braking system, etc. The CQ 14/15 has a smaller sideplate and palms noticeably smaller than the CTE-100GT, it MIGHT (or might not) cast a bit farther due to the braking system, and will probably feel smoother to most folks due to the micro-module gears and X-ship. All in all, just a nicer reel than the earlier generation. Is CQ 14/15 enough better than a CTE-100GT to warrant buying a new reel? That's up to each person to decide... Edit: I forgot to mention ONE more improvement in the new Conquest - the CQ15 "HG" geared model. Formerly, Shimano round reels were only available in a single gear ratio for each size. Now, Shimano is offering TWO ratios in the 100 and 200 size Conquests. The standard gear ratio gives about 23 IPT - approximately the same as the CTE-100GT. The new "HG" model, introduced this past summer, gives 30 IPT and really expands the envelope for the presentations that can be accommodated by the reel...

You can shop for the best price from a number of vendors...and I hear Digitaka mentioned quite a bit. In my case, I've bought a number of JDM reels from Japan Lure Shop.