jeb2

Roadwarrior is correct. I was just snagging a lot of shad with it a couple of days ago, so thought I'd snap a picture. I bet I caught at least 50 shad with it at that spot that day, often 2 at a time. Hard not to catch them as it was a massive bait ball. In the 2nd picture with the fish in it, the boat was in at least 80' of water, even though I was that close to a gravel bar. Water temp is right at 40 degrees right now here on Beaver Lake, so shad are starting to die off, I think.

They will bend, they just won't deform or break. Pretty cool, really. First time I saw one at my local shop, the store owner bent the guide down flat against the rod with his thumb and it popped right back to normal! I have 4 or 5 GLX's with recoils and have no complaints about them at all. I understand they can be noisy if you use braid, but all I use is FC and they are no noisier with that than any other rod I have.

That's a very good point. I've always thought the price point on the SX was a little high, but never thought of it in comparison to the rest of the line. Looking at compared to the STX, it'd be a no brainer for me to spend the extra $30 or so. I got my 09 SX on a closeout from Dick's Sporting goods for like $70 around Xmas/09.

Depends on the lake, I'd guess. If they match the bait on your lake as well as they do on mine, they seem to work pretty well, at least in colder water. 2 pictures from yesterday: They catch fish, too.

The knot I use for my Invisix is similar to 16-20 knot above, just with a few more wraps and the tag end goes through the loop before going back up through the top loop. It's called the San Diego knot. I like it because it's strong and super fast to tie with any lure that has any weight to it at all. Learned the technique from an Omega Jigs video.

I think the STX is a Premier clone, just built on the heavier frame. So the Premier is at least 2 ounces lighter is the biggest difference, AFAIK. For some folks, weight is a critical part of the decision, but not for others.

Just a note and you are probably already aware of it, but the Premier has both mag and centrifgual brakes. You can use both, or either. You have to be a little patient on the auction sites, but I've gotten 2 brand new ones to my door for under $200 now. I paid a little more than that at my local dealers for one, but he had them on sale at the time. These are all the 6.4:1, not the newer 7:1 version. Same reels otherwise, as far as I know. I just prefer the 6.4 for its versatility.

Yeah, I didn't do my research well enough on this one, it seems. Seemed like a lot of folks swore by it, so I popped it onto the Xmas list along with a Stella. Wife got me both of them. So hard to take it back, you know? But there does seem to be a bit of the "emporer has no clothes" with the Steez, at least in the 103 version for a casting reel. I'm also buying a 100 spool for it, which has a different mag system on it. Supposedly, that will help a lot for making it behave in all conditions. Going to be one very expensive reel by the time I get it setup, and really for no good reason that I can see at this point. My core is lighter and just as small, but much better behaved out of the box. Steez has a weak drag too, but I knew that before I put it on the list. At this point, I just don't get the hype over the Steez.

The hard part when reading online reviews of the Revo's is that it's hard to tell if folks are talking about the older models or the current ones. As I mentioned in the post right above this one, it would've been nice if Abu had put a different designator with the model name to help with that issue. The older versions were not quite as good as the newer stuff in some of the reels, like the SX and the Premier. I had an older SX and I guess it was one of a batch of bad ones they put out. Some guys had great luck with the older SX, but mine was tough to control, which you read a lot about on the forums. I sent it to Abu recently and they sent me a current version for free. It's a great reel so far. I've not owned any of the older Premier's, but the new ones are really great all around reels. Very smooth, light and versatile. Can't recommend them enough. And you can get them brand new for about $200 delivered to your door, if you look around enough.

I'm assuming you're joking as that was certainly not the only changes to the reel from the 09 to the current model. Sure would've been nice if they'd have given then a different model name, like Shimano does when they update their reels. Like Premier X or something.

Must have been the older versions, not the 2010, 10 bearing models. Abu really hit one out of park with the new version.

Current baitcasters in my boat are: Calais 200 DC Core 50MG7 Curado 200E7 2010 Revo Premier (4) 2010 Revo SX Daiwa Steez 103HA BPS Johnny Morris Gold The 2010 Premier's are the standouts. Smooth as glass in every way, super strong drag, extremely versatile and easy to dial in for any conditions or lures. They are an ounce heavier than my core or steez, but I personally don't notice it while fishing. And they do show boat rash a little quicker than some. These are a much different reel than the older versions, which did not get the stellar reviews of these 2010, 10 bearing models. The Calais is 2nd, and 1st when it comes to casting distance in any condtions. The only reason it's not #1 is it's very heavy and it's not as smooth when retrieving big cranks or big fish. Price is quite high, too. I did catch a 15lb striper with it the other day while fishing for black bass, and it did a great job. But you could hear it working, although the drag was very smooth and very adequate for the job. I caught a 19lber last winter on one of my Premier's and it was unreal how smooth and quiet it was. It blows me away that Shimano has not come out with a lighter version of the Calais with the full DC system it has yet. The Steez, quite honestly, is at the bottom of the list. I've only had it a couple of weeks, but what a fussy reel. Forget about fishing it on a windy day. It's getting customized right now by a reputable tuner, so hopefully that will bring it around, but it's very, very disappointing, especially at its price point. The rest are all nice reels, but nothing special. Core is okay, small and light like the Steez, but much less fussy. Does not like small lures when loaded with #12 flouro. I understand it's a much better small bait reel with mono on it.

Yes it is an 09. I have some revos as well and I prefer the sx for casting and the s for pitching. As you're probably aware, the 09 is not the same reel as the 2010 version which everyone is raving about. The 09 version had a weaker drag and only one braking system, for example. The drag can be updated, from what I understand, so might be worth looking into for a flipping/pitching reel. Should work fine for you and all, just might need a little work.

Very good reel, and well worth the $130 price they are at now. Would probably be worth more if it were a lighter reel. I've been using one since last spring, I guess. I don't throw much light stuff with it, less than 1/4oz, so not sure how it works for lighter baits. But I've had no problems with it all. Works great for casting and pitching. The DBS system on it works pretty well, but does need a little more fiddling between lures and on windy days than my Revo Premiers. Not a major thing, just thought I'd mention it.

Yeah, I think this is the reality of it. Hard to believe a $500 reel is so limited in it's ability, but it is what it is. I'll have to fish with it for a while and see if it has a place in my boat. Thanks for all the input.

I just looked on the Daiwa website, and it says all the Steez 100 and 103 reels have the Magforce V. Is their website wrong?

Thanks for the info. I wish Daiwa would put that in their advertisements. All the research I did, it seemed like most preferred the 103. So that's what I put on the xmas list. Seems they'd be able to make the reel do both well at that price. I don't really want or need a dedicated pitching reel. I almost always sidearm cast all my rigs. And I did notice even in more ideal conditions that I needed to stay fluid. If I tried to muscle a cast to get a little more distance, it would fluff up sometimes and get minor nests. Wasn't really happy about that, either. None of my other reels have this problem. That's not what will always be on there. That's just what they're biting on right now, and I wanted to catch some fish with it! I was hoping it was going to be an all around reel. Seems that may not be the case.

Id prefer both, therefore its Revo reels for me. +1. I own several Revo's now that have drag ratings of about 20lbs. They are super smooth right out of the box, too. First time I had a fish pulling drag on my first 2010 Premier, I had to look at the reel to confirm it was pulling line out as it was just as smooth as glass so I didn't feel it. When I hooked into a 19lb striper with that reel, it was sure nice to have the overkill drag to fight it with. So, bottom line, I'll take both in the same reel, when given the choice.

Yes. Jigs, too. I use several for those as I fish a lot of those bottom contact/feel type baits. I have Loomis BCR803 and BCR804 GLX's and Dobyn's Extreme DX784 for most of that kind of fishing. If I'm going to lighter baits, I like my Dobyn's Extreme DX742.

I've had a lot of success with those ultra vibes. I use them on rubber skirted jigs, C and T rigs and on shakey heads. Awesome bait that has caught me a LOT of fish.

Was the drag modified? I've had it suggested to me that I should upgrade the drag to carbontex. Perhaps the reel you were using had that upgrade? But anyway, yes, the Steez is acknowledged to have a weaker drag than most other reels in its class. I knew that before I put it on my Xmas list, though. Hey, could be. I've been fishing with baitcasters for over 30 years and all my other ones work well in the wind with minor adjustments. I was throwing the same lures yesterday with my core on the same rod using the same line. Very minor tweak of the tension knob was all that was required, for example. Even Steezy admits it's not a great reel for windy days. But it could just be me. Time will tell, I guess.

Thanks for the input. From your input and input of others, it seems this reel is just not a good one for windy days. My other un-modded baitcasters listed above all will throw great into the wind with minor adjustments. So this reel is for sure a notch below them in overall usability/performance. I took to it really quickly when the winds were light yesterday. I've owned magnet only baitcasters before. Still own them. Older Shimano's, bantams and the like. With light winds, I was throwing lures really well with it under ideal conditions. No issues with thumb control with very little magnet and "correct" spool tension settings. But when the winds came up, it got a lot more dicey. Seems this is just going to be a fair weather reel, unfortunately. Is it? No offense to anyone, and I'm sure the haters will jump on me for it, but why is it worth it? It's $100 more than my Core 50, is no lighter, has a weaker drag, cheap feeling knobs, does not cast into the wind nearly as well. What makes this reel worth the effort? I didn't think I was going to be blown away by it, but holy cow, kind of a big let down. I figured it would at least be a tie with my core, you know? Yeah, me too. And I have not given up on it yet. I'm going to work hard at making it one of my everyday reels, and not a rod locker queen. Thanks for the honest input on it. I appreciate it.

Depends on the body of water. Here on Beaver Lake in NW Ark, we have about the same water temps as you saw. The major food source is shad and they are between the shallow coves and main lake right now. Fishing all kinds of spoons and flukes/caffeine shad have been killing them the last few days for me. 25 keeper sized yesterday, 12 today (short day). Wind velocity and direction as well as sun vs cloudy moves them around some, but they want quick access to 30-40' deep water off steep breaks.

Depends on the body of water. Here on Beaver Lake in NW Ark, we have about the same water temps as you saw. The major food source is shad and they are between the shallow coves and main lake right now. Fishing all kinds of spoons and flukes/caffeine shad have been killing them the last few days for me. 25 keeper sized yesterday, 12 today (short day). Wind velocity and direction as well as sun vs cloudy moves them around some, but they want quick access to 30-40' deep water off steep breaks.

Depends on the body of water. Here on Beaver Lake in NW Ark, we have about the same water temps as you saw. The major food source is shad and they are between the shallow coves and main lake right now. Fishing all kinds of spoons and flukes/caffeine shad have been killing them the last few days for me. 25 keeper sized yesterday, 12 today (short day). Wind velocity and direction as well as sun vs cloudy moves them around some, but they want quick access to 30-40' deep water off steep breaks.