northern basser

Yes, here I go again guys. CABELA'S XML. They are great at reg. price and a barn burner at $69. I'm close to cab. (3 mi. maybe) so i can see and use their products a lot. I would put them against any rod in the $200 range (give or take). I've owned several higher $ rods now and in the past. They are running out of them fast!

I have a kistler helium 2 ltx mh casting in the flea market. It's a 6'6" fast action. Retail is just under $300 and this rod is in mint cond. I also have a like new shimano curado 200e7 spooled w/ 50# Power Pro. If your interested, I'll sell you the combo for $260 shipped.

Kids are fun! (most of the time). My son will be 2 in sept. also. Picked him up a miniature ugly stick set-up. All he wants to do is use the rod as a club and smack everything on the waters egde.

nice fish!!!!!!!

I have 2 symetre's and a stradic. I ended up selling the stradic because I knew it would bring more $ that I could spend on my BC arsenal. The stradic is better, but the syme. is not far off. To me it's like comparing the curado to the citica.

I really screwed that quote up! I was pretty much agreeing w/ South Flo Bass Addict.

I agree w/ S.F.B.A. Harder to cause b.l. easier to get out. As far as the size I found out 1st hand. Put 30# PP on a couple of my BC's. It's pretty thin and does "dig in". Ended up putting that on a couple of my spinning reels and switching to 50.I don't necessarily agree with that. I find that braid backlashes far less than mono. If it does, it is far easier to pick out backlashes easier. Mono is all but ruined after a single good backlash. It kinks very easily and makes a weak spot in the line. I do agree about the size you picked though. 20 is really small. I've got 30 on one of my baitcasters, it digs in a little. I wouldn't go less than 40 myself for anything else though.

Unless a person is well off you gotta be. I have some high end equipment, but didn't pay retail for any of it. I also probably shouldn't have bought some of it. You only live once, right?

Personally, I would get the symetre from reeds and a XML form cabelas. Everyone is probably sick of me talking about these rods being on sale for $69.99, but It is a outstanding bargain. I have three of them, 2 spinning and one casting. The rest of my rods are high end brand name(Kistler, Dobyns). IMO the XML's aren't that far off of them in quality at all. Like already stated, the $ you save can go towards lures. When it comes to bass fishing you'll need it.

Some more pics. Darryl had the camera, so this is one of the only pics of him w/ one of his smaller catches of the day.

Frogginstein and I finally hit the lake. It was our first outing and my boat's first outing too. I picked up a 1970 larson fiberglass tri-hull w/ a 60hp evinrude for $150. The interior had to be gutted and redone, but it didn't leak and the motor ran. The motor needs a little help, but the guy didn't use it for 8 years prior to selling it to me. I think the carbs are a little gummed up. Anyway, we hit 2 different lakes in the Elysian area. The first produced a bunch of dinkers, but the second provided us with some heavier fish. Darryl caught the most fish and I got the big one of the day. His scale weighed it at 4.89lb. A tenth of a lb shy of 5. We threw a variety of baits. A weightless 6" senko ended up catching most of my fish while Darryls success came form a tube and a weightless creature bait(not sure what brand it was). Minus the sunburn I got we had a awesome day( he was smart enough to put sunblock on before the trip not during like me). I'm going to make my first attempt to post pics on this site. If I don't succeed I'll have to add them later.

Cabelas XML rods are still on sale for $69.99. One of them and a curado or revo sx. Tough to beat.

Wow Vinny, I'd say your having a good year so far! I've been getting out once or so a week in the Faribault area. Fishing has been OK. A lot of the lakes around here are really slimy to say the least. Been averaging 3-6 fish per outing. Nothing to write home about. I landed one 4lb bass and lost one a little bigger than that in the same outing. However, I just got a boat so I don't have to rely on friends for my outings. I plan on hitting the water more. The maiden voyage in the tub I just fixed up is this weds. Froggenstein and I are going fishing for the first time. Hopefully we'll have some good pics.

The little guy was hungry!

Do you prefer shorter rods? The loomis you broke is a 6 footer if I'm not mistaken. I have a 6'6" Kistler helium 2 ltx I'd be willing to part. It's my favorite rod, but I'm addicted to 7 footers now. If I was able to sell it to someone I'd be replacing it w/ the exact same rod, but in 7'. Mint cond. $160 shipped.

Got a good deal on a old boat w/ a 60hp evinrude out board. I went and got new gas and plugs, put the muffs on and she fired right up. Awesome, except I could not figure out where the water pump should be pumping water out. It doesn't seem to be in the normal spot. Thanks.

That's a good setup. Wish I would have known that earlier than now.

I've been running 12# invisX on my crankbait rod(chr. 50mg/ kistler mag. ts med. mf) this year and I don't have any complaints. Casts very well IMO.

It was recommended to me by a salesperson at Simmons sporting goods in Alabama when I ordered my mg7. Softer and quieter than other braids apparently. I was new to braid at the time and complaining about how noisy PP was. When my PP gets wore out I'm going to give the sam. a try.

I have 2 xml spinning rods and 1 casting. My other rods are a dobyns champion, kistler mag. ts, kistler hel. ltx. I paid a lot more for the dobyns and kistlers. At there reg. price of $139.99 I think the xml's are a good value. At $69.99 I wouldn't buy anything else if I was in need of a rod right now. Also, like said earlier, the prodigy is on sale for $59.99 from $99.99. IMO cosmetically they look cooler than the xml's, but I would go for performance 1st if it was me.

If your really interested in one I would go somewhere that has a good return policy and get one. Then take it out a couple,three times right away and decide whether to keep it or bring it back. Or just get a shimano and never look back.

I own a curado e7 and a citica e. I personally wouldn't own anything much slower than what gear ratio the citica is. Thats just me. If your going to cast more finesse/light lures and don't mind the speed I'd go w/ the e7. If the speed concerns you and you'll be casting average weighted lures(1/4-1oz.) I'd get the citica. Yes the curado is a better reel, but not "tons" better by any means. The citica is newer to me and I must admit I was impressed by its overall performance. Especially since I got it for 20% off.

I read on another site that their durability was in question.

I have 2 symetre's and they work great for me. I've been really wanting one of those CI4's though I've spent too much on my BC set-ups so $'s just not there for one right now.

Bass fishing in MN usually means more than a few northerns and muskies! Last monday I was out by faribault with my cousin. We caught about 10 bass and I caught a northern with a crankbait. Then I switched to a senko for some dock fishing. Hooked a fish that stopped my rod and started swimming(something nice) then, snap. Definitely bite off by a pike. It does keep everything interesting up here!