trevor

Rinse. Wash quickly with handsoap. Rinse. DRY WELL. On some (especially expensive rods), water drops will leave ugly water marks thats are super hard to remove.

Plus it sound awe inspiring. "Advanced Injected molded carbon fiber composite technology" ;D

No bananas. Never say you are gonna catch alot of fish. Palomar loops always around the back of the hook.

I know for saltwater, you fill them with grease, but that is for corrosion protection.

I didn't say a Symetre drag would handle a tuna - the symetre would probably explode! ;D I meant that Shimano's drags are extremely high quality and handle tuna, marlin, shark, sailfish, ect.

No, an established charter boat captain, who actually runs a lot of trips a year, with lots of customers, doesn't pay that kind of money on a spinning reel when a Stradic FI works every bit as good. You dont need 13 bearings or whatever in a reel. Doesn't catch any more fish. An established charter boat captain, if he were using Shimano equipment would probably use nothing less than a stella. A guide may use a lesser product but most people bring their own equipment with a guide anyway. The supreme is lighter, smoother and has a better drag than the symetre, I prefer the handle on the supreme too. 3 supremes, 2 fresh and 1 salt, yes saltwater and no damage ( shimano says their mg reel is approved for saltwater)over 1 year of service on all and each like new. I'm going to put an 8040 on an 8'6 rod for a mock surfcasting outfit. Pure fishing is about the best in the business for customer service, Quantum also is very good 48 hour turn around fresh, 24 hour salt. Shimano was 4-5 weeks for me and negated my warranty on top of it. Now a stradic fi for 119 is a great deal, I logged in but they wanted 159 from me.

Shimano has a better drag than Pflueger. And big deal its made of magnesium. All that means is it will corrode easier. Shimano drags are some of the few drags that wil handle offshore fish (like tuna) for 3 hr fights, 100 days a year. Shimanos hold up to charters who have no experience (square cranking, messing with them, dropping them, reeling against the drag, ect). For toughness and reliability, shimano can't be beat. And as far as customer service, Shimano rebuilt 5 of my dad's tiagras that were 10 years old and developed frame cracks for free, no questions asked.

Yeah, Citica or Curado, or maybe a Daiwa Advantage.

anybody have any thoughts on them? I know they are easy to make aftermarket upgrades on.

So far 2 1/2 for Pflueger, 41/2 for Shimano. Id like for the Supreme fans to tell us just what is so "superior" on a supreme, besides shiny paint and mirrors.

Symetre. Better components, better drag, stronger. Ask any charter captain.

Yeah, they have them listed, but there's not much about them. But I won't be buying them: FORIEGN MADE! The Falcon guy answered my question and said that they are not USA made. Dissapointed in Falcon.

Anybody know anything about Falcon"s new HD rods? 100 percent graphite, all Fuji components, cork grips, $80! Is something too good to be true? Are they American made like other Falcons?

Yeah I meant carbontex or original smoothies? And ill put them in a shimano bantam baitcaster.

I think I would like to install some carbontex. Should I use Carbontex or Smoothies? Also, any step by step pictures on how to install them on a baitcaster would be awesome! But I know that is probably alot to ask, but maybe you could submit it for an article on the main website, or something, so it does not get lost on this thread and others can view and learn from it.

What are some quality, affordable aftermarket upgrades that will actually improve the performance of a baitcaster (not cosmetic)?

are daiwa bradias good?

MY DAD IS GETTING TWO DAIWA BRADIAS!!! I am so excited!

You freshwater guys would be surprised what some REAL fish can do. Im talkin hundred yard runs on 80s.

Yeah I have a few nice rods and reels, but mostly cheaper stuff.

Yeah for all around 12 -14 lb flouro or mono.

any drag that has problems from a four lb trout is one very sad reel. ;D

I was just looking around at Cabelas today and thought it might be a nice reel for crappie fishing. You usually cant go wrong with Shimano or Daiwa, Ive discovered.

Anyone have any thoughts on the Daiwa Crossfire?

You should go check out "Lakeside reels". Great discount prices on good reels.