DaveT63

As a couple others have said, $200 is a darn good price for that reel. It really does make a great finesse reel, but can be more than that. It's lightweight, extremely easy to palm, and just "fits" on a good rod matched to it. Mine is on a St Croix Legend Extremen 7' MF casting rod and it's like they were made for each other.

St Croix LES70MHF with a Stradic CI4 2500 spooled with 12# Yozuri Hybrid Ultrasoft

I like to consider myself a polite and grateful fisherman. As I release each fish, I tell it "Thank you for playing the game!".

Not sure if I'm allowed to link to anotehr forum like this, and if I'm not, I apologoize in advance. But read this review. It should convince you of the quality of the Legend Extreme line. Yeah, they are reviewing a 7'MHF casting rod here, but the review basically applies across the entire line. The rods are top notch, and WELL worth the retail price, if you ask me. The discounted bargain room prices are just a bonus. The only reason I haven't jumped on one of those XS68MXF rods is because I have a Legend Elite 6'8" spinning rod on the same blank and can't justify a second right now. http://www.tackletour.com/reviewstcroixlegendelitextreme2010.html

Thanks for all the responses, everybody! Think I'll keep the better rod!

Most rods I see listed as drop shot rods seem to be ML, XF action. Is there a real need for the XF action vice Fast action? I have both a MLF rod and a MLXF rod, and want to downsize to just one rod since I seldom dropshot to begin with. The MLF rod is actually a higher quality rod than the MLXF. Will it work just as well or should I keep the MLXF and get rid of the higher quality rod? Thanks, Dave

I love fishing with UL gear. I often use it with Fireline braid to fish wacky for LMB. I know, the Fireline isn't UL, but I use it for some local office tournaments, and would hate to lose a winner when 4# line snaps if I don't play it right.

I have the 6'6" SJR781. I have fireline braid on it and love to use it to fish wacky.

I have a St Croix Extreme 7' MF with a Daiwa PX68L, and a Loomis MBR842 GLX with a Steez 103HLA on it. I had the 842/Steez first, and LOVE it, but find myself reaching for the Extreme/Pixy much more often. I think those rods are about as comparable as you will find in the 2 lines. The Extreme just seems like a much nicer rod all around to me. And at the prices they have in the Bargain room now at 30%, they are a much better value than the GLX or NRX if they have what you want. DAve

OK, thanks for the info! We were hoping to get into some nice smallmouth, but will catch anything that bites!

Going to be going up for a fishing trip with several other guys for a small inter-office informal tournament next weekend. Hoping to hook into some good smallies, but catching anything is good fishing. Can anyone give me some info on the latest hot spots and what they are hitting on? Good places to fish, anywhere to not btoher with, that sort of thing? Anything at all will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dave

Either my custom St Croix SCV 7' MH with micros and Core 101MG or my MBR842C GLX with a Core 51MG7. But I would love to try a Steez 100HLA on that custom.

Not sure if you are talking about a specific brand/model with this comment, but the 7ft MHM rod is a staple for a LOT of fishermen throwing crankbaits and treble hooks. If you are hearing something bad about one model, check others. There are fantastic rods out there in this length and action. Dave

If you got to this site, http://www.stcroixrods.com/shop/catalog/Freshwater-23-1.html St Croix has their Premier Glass Crankbait rods on clearance. $84 for the 6'6"MMF and $91 for the 7'MMF. But if you decide to check it out, CALL them instead of ordering online to verify availability. The other option is to buy used. There are plenty of great rods out there available for great prices. I just last week bought a Loomis CBR843 in great shape for just under $130 shipped. Dave

This is a great suggestion, if they have what you are looking for, even better than buying used, which I was going to recommend. But I would also recommend you CALL them to place your order if you decide to do that. I've read on another forum about the online ordering not being up to date with quantities, and having trouble getting a timely refund if it turns out they are out of what you want. If you call, they can actually check inventory while talking with you. Works much better that way. Talking from experience here. Dave

I'm with Red above. Right handed, but I cast right, reel left. It's the way I fished growing up with my old Mitchell 300 spinning reel, and I'm comfortable with that. I tried right handed reels but just can't make the switch. Try both and see which you prefer. It won't take long to figure it out. You've probably got friends who use RH and others who use LH. Ask if you can try one of theirs.

Norman would make sense. This guy had a LOT of Norman Deep and Middle N's. Thanks!!! Dave

I recently bought a huge lot of tackle from a guy getting out of fising for a while. I'm familiar with most of the stuff, but I don't know these two crankbaits. The one on the right makes me think Bagleys, but I'm not sure. I have no idea on the left one. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dave

Can you make longer handles? I would love to try a handle closer to the length of a spinning reel handle on one of my Curados.

I tried one of these today, weightless Texas rigged. Caught 2 pretty quickly, but talk about line twist! Has anyone tried these with a keel-weighted hook, or a bullet weight? Any other suggestions? Thanks, Dave

Ok, all, thanks for the replies! I've got a couple XF action rods I may end up trying as well as this L. Thanks again, Dave

Just curious what others use to fish wacky style. I'm using a 6'6" light fast rod. I love to catch fish on this rod, but I do miss and wonder if it's because of the light action. Thanks, Dave

I once saw a guy carrying 8 combos with him on a piece of plywood. He cut it with a carry handle at the top, and mounted a set of Berkley horizontal rod holders to each side. Carried it around almost like a briefcase.

I like the small Strike King crankbaits. They even make suspending ones. But I also like to use my ultralight to fish 3" and 4" worms wacky style. I've caught several nice bass (between 3 and 6 pounds) that way. Now THAT can be some fun!!!

Another reel to consider is the Mitchell Avocet Gold II 500 size. NOT the silver. It runs about $35 at BPS. Pretty smooth, and seems sturdy. I landed a 6lb LM on one last year no problem. Probably not up to the President standards, but if you're looking to stay under $40....