Hooligan

Seaguar is the most consistent fluorocarbon on the US market right now. It's the second most on the international market, and the most is from the Parent company Kureha under a different name. Their line is accurate to nearly 1-millionth an inch. There's no one else in the industry that is approaching that, particularly not sunline. All of the testing I've seen, and been part of, actually shows that sunline is inconsistent in most diameters, ranging from .00039 to as much as .00099. The second thing is that Seaguar is the ONLY company that manufactures its lines from start to finish. They produce their own resin, extrude it, finish it, wind it, and package it. NOT ONE other company in the industry does that. Also, for the record, they don't sell their resin, or produce line for any other line company, and have only one private label. Thirdly, if you think that Toray isn't guilty of inconsistency, why do you think that Bass Pro XPS fluoro was unavailable for the ENTIRE summer?

Plastics, Cranks, Squarebills, Lipless, Weightless plastics, Jigs, Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, dropshot, shakey head, poppers, props, Texas Rigs, Mojo Rigs, Light C-Rigs, Small swimbaits, minnow baits, twitch baits... Pretty much everything.

That is not actually accurate. modulus rating isn't standard, and there is no industry standard. Using tonnage material to describe the graphite in rods is yet another ploy that manufacturers use. You can't talk about modulus without talking about strain rate, or hoop strength. There's not a rod out there that is 40 ton hoop strength, it's bunk... Here's Gary Loomis talking about rods: http://www.kistlerrods.com/fishing-rod/Gary-Loomis-talks-about-rod-breakage/subpage230.html Ever since the introduction of the first graphite rod by Fenwick in 1974, myths about this mysterious material have been growing and circulating the globe like wildfire. How many times have you been told that the difference between IM6, IM7 and IM8 is the difference in quality standard, or that the higher the modulus, the more graphite was used to produce the rod? With there being so many misconceptions surrounding this material, Gary Loomis – one of the world’s foremost authorities on graphite rod design and founder of the G.Loomis Corp. – agreed to lend his expertise to eliminate these myths. Loomis began by explaining that the identifiers IM6, IM7 and IM8 are the trade numbers used by the Hexcel Corp. to identify their product and is not an industry quality or material standard, although the Hercules Fibers produced by the Hexcel Corp. are the benchmark that most companies use to compare their materials. The confusion is compounded because a number of rod manufacturers use materials produced by companies other than Hexcel and yet identify their rods as being IM6, IM7 and IM8, which by itself means nothing. What an angler needs to understand is how the word “modulus” pertains to graphite rods. Modulus is not a thread count, as many would have you believe. Modulus basically equates to stiffness. The higher the modulus, the stiffer the material is by weight, meaning less material is needed to achieve the same stiffness of lower-modulus materials. This results in a lighter product. “You have to remember, weight is the deterrence to performance,” Loomis said. Stiffness also equates to responsiveness – that is, the rod’s ability to store and release energy. The higher the modulus, the faster and more consistent a rod is able to store and release its energy, which enables an angler to cast farther and more accurately. But you cannot talk about modulus without including strain rate, or the measured strength of the material. While modulus is reported in millions, strain rate is reported in thousands. An acceptable strain rate for a fishing rod is 680,000 or higher. A graphite rod made from IM6 Hercules Fibers will have a modulus of 36 million and a strain rate of 750,000. With the original materials used for graphite rods, as the modulus rate increased, the strain rate would decrease, resulting in the rods being more acceptable to failures because of brittleness. However, through the advancements of materials, technology and engineering design, companies are able to produce high-modulus, high-strain-rate rods. These new high-tech fishing rods are super-light, responsive, and extremely sensitive and strong. But the misconception of brittleness still plagues them, and the reason for this is because as the modulus gets higher, the less material is needed and therefore used. This means that the wall thickness in the blank, which is basically a hollow tube, is thinner. “Remember what I said before – weight is the deterrence to performance,” Loomis said, and went on to tell a story: “I had a gentleman come in with a fly rod that broke near the handle, and he was asking for a new rod. I examined his broken rod and knew from the break – it was splintered – that his rod broke from abuse. So I asked him how it broke, and the man, being sincere, told me it broke while fighting a fish. I explained that it would be nearly impossible for the rod to break this way. But to be fair, (I told him) if he could break another rod the same way, I would give him three brand-new rods of his choice, but if he couldn’t, that he would pay for the repairs, and the man agreed. “So I took him out in the back by the shipping docks and handed him an identical rod. With the rod in his hands, I grabbed the blank and asked him to apply the same pressure he was using when it broke. The man was applying a great deal of stress on the rod, and it wasn’t breaking. So I asked if he wanted to apply even more pressure, and the man responded that he didn’t think he could, but he insisted that is how his rod broke. “So then I told him, ‘We are going to break this rod, so that it breaks just like yours did.’ I then laid the blank on a rubber mat and I kneeled on it by the handle, and we tried it again but it didn’t break. Then I laid it on the concrete and kneeled on it. Examining the rod, you couldn’t see it was damaged, but this time the rod broke just like his did, and the man simply asked where he needed to pay to get his rod repaired.” The point of this story is that these high-modulus, high-strain-rate, thin-walled rods are extremely strong and are highly unlikely ever to break under normal use. Almost all rods are damaged by other means – an angler accidentally stepping on them, hitting them against a hard surface while casting, or storing them where a toolbox or some other heavy object can slide into them. Then, with the damage done, the rod collapses while under the stress of fighting a fish. So while high-modulus, high-strain-rate rods are not brittle, they do require more care in storage and transport. There is a graphite rod made for every angler and their lifestyle. Composite blends (a mix of graphite and fiberglass) can take a lot of abuse. Intermediate modulus rods (33 million to 42 million) with high strain rates (700,000 or higher) still offer a lot of sensitivity and responsiveness and are quite durable. The high-modulus, high-strain-rate, extremely light rods are usually a rod manufacturer’s high-end product. These rods are the ultimate in responsiveness and sensitivity, and they cost a lot more than the average fishing rod. As with anything that costs this type of money, you would want to take a lot better care of it, including using protective cases to store and transport them around. Hopefully, you now have a much better understanding of graphite as it pertains to fishing rods, and as a result, understand the care you need to employ with their use, storage and transport. Finally, armed with your newfound knowledge, you will be able to make a much more informed decision the next time you purchase your next graphite rod.

Northstar Jig w/ Rage craw trailer. Northstar Spinnerbait 3/4 New Gill Lucky Craft Pointer 100

Baluga has a great point. Establishing contact with Pinnacle in the past has been really not much fun. They've also not been very good about backing their product. I understand that, however, times have changed in regards to both those peeves. Someone else mentioned marketing, and that's a viable truth, as well. They've never had a large marketing campaign in the past, and have relied on what they got from... well, where ever it came from. They seem to still lag a bit there, but have been picking up the slack n that one, noticeably. You see their product more available than at just low end retailers now, for certain.

Year round. The part about fish not eating in winter and expending all their energy is total bunk. They eat all winter long. They also are a lot less likely to suffer delayed mortality in winter than any other time of year as a result of colder water temperatures: reduced chance of a buildup of lactic acid, there's reduced chance of having warmwater bacterium infection, their slime coats are in generally better condition. They have more than enough energy in winter, it's of no more harm than other times of the year, usually a lot less.

Clear water I'll often throw a T-Rigged Lake Fork Craw with great success. Not a Craw Tube, but a Craw.

Ya just can't resist, can ya? Neither can I! Pflueger doesn't make BPS reels. Hell, pflueger doesn't even maker pflueger's reels! They don't own a manufacturing facility. Truth be told, almost none of the BPS reels or the Pure Fishing reels are made in the same facility anymore. There are a couple instances in which they are, but those are rare.

They're available at BPS, I ordered and got them last week. (NOW- do that in the LOBSTER!!)

Big-O I inherited some of the Proto's from someone and am I wrong in seeing some subtle differences in the tail junction? I think the release version has a better...well...wiggle than the prototypes. I've been using them, almost exclusively, as a jig trailer and had very good luck. A couple weeks ago, I was swimming them on a 3/16 ball head on the river and the brownfish couldn't leave them alone. I've done well on both models, but definitely have caught more on the release.

Glad to hear it. I'm thoroughly impressed with them. At this point I'm still standing by my liking them better than my Pluton. I feel like they perform every bit as well, without the price tag.

Dollar for dollar the best bait I've ever owned is the Northstar. I've caught a lot of fish on them, won a lot of money on them, too. They're durable, have the right components and the right blades. They're incredibly well built, and they just flat catch fish. Color can really depend on your forage base, here in the Midwest and Near South, the best colors for me have been New Gill, Bull Bream, and Olive Shiner. Typically, the lightest bait I throw is 3/4, but spend a lot of time slow rolling them, fishing structure. I will use a 1/4 or 1/2 from time to time, but it isn't often.

Tungsten is a pretty major increase in feel, there's no doubt about it. That's in comparison to lead mind you. I can feel a lot more with tungsten in terms of bottom composition, weed cover, and what my bait is doing. Is it worth it? I feel it is, but I'm not everyone, and many will disagree. I'm ok with that, too. What it is not, unfortunately, is as environmentally friendly as companies would like to have us believe. Pollution from the mining and refining, smelting, and production of tungsten are pretty massive. Considering the energy it takes to melt it, (It's the second highest melting point of any element- only carbon is higher) it's not an efficient process. If you picture it like this- the amount of heat it takes to boil tungsten is roughly equivalent to the temperature of the sun's surface. That's a tremendous amount of energy; you see where this is going...

Northstar Green Pumpkin Candy in the vast majority of situations, MO Craw is a second. Swim jig- Northstar New Gill and Bluegrass.

Yeah, the RM is a lot softer rod, imo. It's a great rod for straight deep cranking, but not my cup of tea for most of what I do in the Midwest.

Sorry, you're right. They did make the C400 in the collegiates- anything remaining would be a closeout. I was thinking current production.

No, you didn't get the wrong one. That's a very good rod for the purpose. The XF is a super rod, too. I use it a lot for swimbaits and swimjigs, I do use it for bombing and stroking spinnerbaits, too. It's probably the most versatile rod in the lineup. The fast, though, is a pure crank stick. It's more than powerful enough to rip baits in weedlines, and it's a superb deep crank stick all around. It does well with almost all deep crank techniques.

Check again, the NCAA reel are Evercast product. They're not made by Ardent. They're made in China. They're a decent reel, but bulky, and not as smoothe as the genuine product. They're a pretty good buy for $69, however.

I'll be doggoned.

None taken, but, uhh....yeah. You do that.

Yours are pink? Mine's yellow... Go figure.

Blah, blah, blah. They're the exact same reel as the Curado E series, minus a double anodized spool and handle. It's been discussed a thousand times, regardless of what you think you know. Kenichi Iida has confirmed it, Dan Thorburn has confirmed it, far too many people out there that DO know have confirmed it. I've seen no difference other than the gear ratio, either. They perform as well as, but no better than, my E series Curado reels. I've had them down to bare bones and there's zero difference.

I don't think I've fished the production model of this, but I've fished a rubber/silicone jig that Christ had sent me a while back. It's a jig I did really well on at T-Rock last fall, and have won a couple on this year. It concerns me a little bit, because I"m down to just two! I'm sure it'll be a winner, I've done well with all the other Northstar's, can't hurt to have another tool in the shed.

Yeh, that's a drawback, but pretty minor really. I don't really ever change them on my Calcutta reels.

It's an OEM line made to Cabela's specifications by Seaguar. As I stated it's entirely different than Seaguar's own lines. That's what you asked in your original post. You didn't ask HOW it differed. It differs by having much lower abrasion resistance, and higher knot strength than even Invizx. It's more supple and has more stretch. It's based, albeit in a totally different manner, on the theory behind Tatsu and having a dual extrusion. This isn't turly a dual extrusion, it's a coated extrusion, much like a copoly line.