northern basser

Helium, no contest.

Chronarch or Lews

40 or 50# (equiv. to 10 or 12# mono)

My advice also!! Gas these days is hard on injecters and even worse on carbs.

60/40, with the rod being 60 and the reel being 40.

The prodigy is a nice reel. A little big and a little heavy, but a good performer none the less.

A legend in boxing when the sport was huge.

I haven't used them, but the new helios w/ micros looks to be worth a try. When their new bc's come out I might spring for a complete okuma combo.

I've had that reel for about 2 months now and love it. I've posted more than a few posts stating the competition that exists in this price range. The optimus XLT is definitely towards the top of this.

Agree that Dobyns rods are not as sensitive as some make them out to be. I owned a champion 733c and got rid of it because I got a Cabelas XML for less than half the price of a champ. and the XML was more sensitive IMO.

I've messed around on ebay for a while now and its gets interesting sometimes. People will get so caught up in bidding that they will pass up a BIN item that is in better shape and cheaper than the one they're bidding on. Once in a while you can find some good deals, but sometimes used stuff goes for more than it should. G Loomis rods hold their value as good as anything out there.

I have a titanium L-bracket that runs through my knee joint and half way down my tibia with several screws in it. Also in the same leg I have a titanium rod that goes almost the full length of my femur. The bracket is from a tibia plateau fracture in a motocross crash and the rod is from the year after that were I snapped my femur right were the knee brace I was wearing from the 1st crash stopped. Anyway, the rod gives me no problem what so ever, but the bracket does from time to time. Mainly when there is an ubrupt change in temp. and or humidity. For some reason really humid weather seems to bug it. Cold will too if your out in the cold for a long period of time w/out longs jons or bibs. None of the above will set off a metal detector. All in all, I do much better than I was expecting to. I'm not quite as fast and nimble of a runner as I used to be though.

x2. great fish to eat. Especially when you can catch some decent sized ones.

If you list the gear ratios for each of the reels it might help members opinions.

I have 2 of the cayennes and love them too! Personally I'm wating for the new Okumas to come out. The Komodo in particular.

I don't have the rod, but I did pick up a Optimus XLT towards the end of the season. So far I'm really impressed with the reel. Its very smooth on the retrieve and the drag is super smooth. Its casts great also.

Most line break issues that I've had with InvisX and other flourocarbon lines is in the knot. If your not using the right knot or wetting the line enough when tying it.

I also have 2 micro guide rods. They are the way to go IMO. With mine I'm able to cast more accurately and the line doesn't get tangled in the tip area nearly as much. Also, they look nice and are easy to pull out of a clump of rods and reels.

It is for thumb friendly use. Unless of course its tightened with a screwdriver. I have a e7 and a pat. xt., variations of the brands you stated,but close I believe. IMO either reel would be better than good. The patriarch xt's can be had for cheap these days and are smaller & lighter than the standard pat. I have a pat. xt w/ orange seal abec 7's and it casts a long long way.

I have the 6'9"MH and I really like it. I like the tip action, the micros, balance and the sensitivity. Just like Powells, the "bang for buck" is excellent! I wouldn't hesitate to get another.

Just noticed I made a typo. Its $179, not $197.

I'm a couple minutes from a cabelas and was eyeballing one. I don't have much experience with daiwa reels except my cabelas prodigy. Is $197 for a zillion a no brainer? I could care less about the color.

pflueger president or shimano sahara

I've been fishing river smallies a ton this summer and agree with some points already mentioned and have some new ideas. 1) deeper water w/ rocks and or wood structure 2) finesse jig w/ a craw trailer or a t-rigged craw like the money craw by YUM. 3) rapala skitter pop (#7) pulled across the surface with short/fast motion... pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pause.....repeat. 4) take that jig/craw and work it at the bottom of a fast moving rapid, throwing it into the fast current and lifting it off the bottom every few seconds while its carried downstream to the pool at the end of the rapid. The river I have been fishing has been dropping also and has seemed to make fishing tougher. They seem spookier.

I also like to experiment with different brands of rods/reels. Recently I picked up a Pinnacle Optimus xlt baitcaster. So far I'm pretty impressed with it. Maybe I'll have to try a rod now.