jeb2

Wife got me a new Steez 103HA for Xmas (a Stella, too!). I got the Steez on the water for the first time today. Spooled it with Sequar Invisx 12lb, same as I have on most of my level winders. I put it on one of my BCR803 GLX rods. I have my Core 50 on the other. Figured it'd be a good way to compare them. It was very windy at times today and I realized pretty quickly the Steez was easily upset when throwing against the wind, more so than any of my other reels (curado, premiers, calais DC, JM Gold, etc). I was mostly casting 1/2 and 3/4 oz jigging spoons with it, which should cast like a bullet, even into the wind. I ended up having add a lot of spool tension (lure would not fall on it's own) and run the magnets at 8-9. All of that drastically cut into the casting distance, of course. If I was not casting against the wind, I could loosen up and it would cast quite well, but it was just an easy reel to upset. So a bit fussy. On my other reels, a little adjustment would take care of it. But the Steez takes a lot of adjustment. Does this sound normal for this reel? It is small and light. Feels a lot like my core 50, except the thumb bar is really close to the spool. And the knobs are a harder rubber which feels more like hard plastic. I am not a fan of their feel at this point, and I'm generally not too picky about handle knobs. Makes the reel feel cheap. The weakish drag showed up on my first fish, a 2.5lb spotted bass. I thought I had the drag cranked down pretty good but reeling didn't bring any line in for a few turns. So I had to really crank it down. And then it did fine for a 3lb smally I caught a little later. Not sure it'd have handled the 19lb big striper like my Premier did last winter, though. I kind of doubt it. Am I using this reel for the wrong thing? Is it just light bait, fair weather type reel? So far, I'm not very impressed. What am I missing? Maybe it'll grow on me over time.

I don't know what to make of the often shoddy worksmanship of many Loomis rods. Some of mine are fine, others have epoxy overrun, gaps in the cork, show gaps when the reels are tightened, etc. The NRX's I've seen show a lot of these same lack of craftsmanship. Is this the price we pay for having rods made in the USA, that they are rushed through production? Most $50 rods at Walmart seem to be made as well! Yeah, I know they're not the same, just saying. My Dobyn's Extreme rods are all prefect so far. Not a defect in site anywhere in fit and finish, FWIW.

It's also used on the Revo Premier, at least the 2010 version. Some of the early DBS didn't work great, but the newer ones like on the Premier are fantastic. Gives the reel so much versatility! I have a core 50, curado 200E7, 4 Premier's, as SX, a JM Gold, a Calais DC (Steez arriving today, according the FedEx site). The Premier's are just fantastic reels and I think the DBS is a big part of the reason for that. I prefer them over all the other reels, except the DC. The DC is a bigger, heavier reel, but it's hard to top it's casting performance on a windy day. Agreed. I think Abu's 2010 lineup has really boosted their credibility. Put a little more durable finish on the Premier and it would easily compete with other $400 reels out there.

That's a sad picture, right there. Dang. Parents will probably sue McDonalds, too. :-[ Wife got me a Steez103 for Christmas. It'll be interesting to see how it compares to my Core, Calais DC and Premier's. My first Daiwa baitcaster in many years. I'm not really expecting to be all that impressed, for some reason.

I agree. Seems like a trolling thread to me, too.

Actually, I'm pretty sure my Core 50MG7 is lighter, and has a stronger drag.

I lived over in Rochester for 30 years, so I knew that Cabela's store inventory really well, too! I was more into ring neck hunting when I lived up there than fishing, but it was still a store I spent a LOT of time in. If I lived in Owatonna like you do, I'd have had to get a job there just for the employee discount! ;D Anyway, the BPS store in Iowa is not THAT far from Owatonna. It's on the very north side of the Des Moines area. Should be under a 3 hour drive. It's a nice store. Even has a bowling alley, IIRC. I have one of the JM Gold's, but it's the only JM reel I have. It's a nice reel for the current price, IMO. The DBS system works very well on it and it seems very versatile. I've had it on a bunch of different rods, loaded with mono and FC. Seems to like mono better, but I think most reels do. No issues with it at all. I also own a Core 50, Calais DC, Curado 200E7 and several '10 Revo Premiers. The JM doesn't give up much to most of my other reels, but it is heavier, more like my DC that way. Not a great light bait throwing reel.

I've had better luck this year on the Strike King Caffeine Shad than the flukes, by far. They have a great action and are very soft, which is the downside to them. They tear up pretty easy. I get the most life out of them by using the cork screw type bait holder hooks.

I agree. I got my DX742 on one of TW's recent sales and it was well under $250 delivered. Great rod for throwing sub-1/4oz rigs and jigs. Nice backbone and great sensitivity. Much better than my Loomis GLX BCR852 for that work. It feels almost like a light 3 power rod really, which is perfect for the kind of fishing I do with it. So maybe more like a 2.5, at least compared to my Loomis 2 and 3 power rods.

The financial side of it seems to be well covered, but I'd ask what kind of fishing you're going to do with it? Deep water feel stuff? All purpose rod? I have two of the BCR804 GLX's and it's really not a great rod. I already had two the 803 GLX's, which are outstanding for jig/rig fishing, but the 804's are not nearly as impressive for some reason. They have failed to find a strong use in my boat and tend to not get a lot of fishing time because of it.

The faster action rod will be "stiffer", or have more backbone. So it would most likely throw the heavier bait further, everything else being equal. It's the opposite for the smaller bait. The medium rod will probably be more versatile, but you'll likely lose some bottom "feel" or sensitivity with it compared to the faster/stiffer one.

The braking system on my Calais DC is the best I've owned. It's noisy, but pretty cool. Pay a big premium for it though. The DBS system on my '10 Abu Premiers is for sure 2nd place. You can turn one on and the other off, combine them, etc. I have two other reels with DBS systems and they're not as good as the Premier. They really nailed DBS on the these. I have some newer Shimanos, but no Daiwa baitcasters to compare to.

Boy, have to disagree there. I hunted pheasants hard 3-5 days a week, 3 months of the year, for 25 years in MN and Iowa. Rain, sleet, snow, drizzle, mud, ice, the whole 9 yards. The Omni-tech is a poor, poor imitation for GoreTex. I used almost all of the products on the market, and nothing could run with GoreTex. Yeah, some knockoff stuff would work okay for the first month or maybe even a season. But year in and year out, GoreTex performs better, no comparison. Columbia used to be a brand I'd buy because they used GoreTex in a lot of their stuff. But I guess they decided at some point to charge the same money, use a cheaper product and pocket the difference. I no longer consider Columbia a top brand, personally.

I like these from Cabela's. If my fingers get too cold, I either slip a handwarmer into the glove on backside of my hand (old pheasant hunting tip I came up with when I lived in MN) and/or fire up the Mr. Heater for a few minutes. Full finger gloves just cut down too much on feel for me, so I need my fingers exposed.

I'd bet that was with the Generation 1 rods. They did have some issues with that, from what I read. The new "Gen 2" rods that are out now are much better. I talked to Gary Dobyn's about it a little and he said they stress test the heck out of every rod now before it leaves their facility. And I'm not reading any threads on the forums I check daily about issues with them breaking. I have only had my 2 Dobyn's Gen 2 Extremes for a couple of weeks now and caught a few fish with them. No issues at all. Beautiful, sensitive and well made rods. The "no questions" replacement policy is $60, but that's cheaper than anyone else I know of right now. Loomis just went up to $100, for example.

While I think they are overpriced, I don't think they're a waste of money. They make a decent lure. Just check those hooks! I was looking for an American Shad Gunfish yesterday and ran to all the local shops that carry LC. None had them, and they are out of stock at most online stores as well. The biggest local shop said they were getting away from LC because LC is having some finanical issues. Something about not paying the fed taxes or something. I've read some threads on forums the last few months saying the same thing. Owner said he figured LC would get bought out by someone else. Not sure if any of that is true, but I found it interesting. Academy H2O's hurting their sales?

True. But on the flip side, it can be better than one, also.

It happens...think of the amount of lures they manufacture and the number of hooks they use for one or two to be dull out of millions it can happen..I would email customer service and I bet they make it right with you.. Before griping on the net about it either take it back to the retailer or email their customer service and you might be surprised at what takes place ;D I will probably do that, but I wanted to see if this is the new norm before taking it up with LC. No sense bringing it up with them, if so. I'd just vote with my wallet at that point.

Agree with 0119. And I'd add that not all DBS's are the same. I have 3 brands of baitcasters with DBS, Browning, Johnny Morris Gold and the 2010 Premiers. On the Brownings, which are cheaper, older reels now, more gimmick than anything. Always hard to balance them out and you end up with poor consistency. On the JM Gold, it's pretty good. More forgiving, especially in the wind, than the Shimano's with centrifugal brakes that I have (curado, core) with at least the same distance of casts. AG really has it perfected on the new Premiers, IMO. The system works perfectly in concert, and you can turn either or both completely off, if you choose. What's not to love? They leave it up to YOU to pick the best way to control your casts with either or both types of brakes.

I agree on the split vs full. I have one split grip rod, a Kistler LTA. I liked it okay (it's gathering dust in a corner these days). I'm used to the full cork from all the Loomis rods I have, so will probably continue to go that way. But I'm also sure I'd be perfectly happy with the split grip, too. The nice thing about Dobyn's (and I'm sure others) is that they rebalance the rod by use of weights on the butt of the rod so that no matter which style of handle you choose, it's still balanced.

They are not fakes. All purchased locally from reputable, authorized dealers. I have plenty of other LC's and they all came with sharp hooks. But the last few have not. I wonder if quality control is down recently or something. As I said, very disappointing in a $15 lure.

I'm making the Loomis to Dobyns switch right now, too. I have my first 2 extremes, an 742 and an 784. Compared to the Loomis counterparts they're replacing, 752 and 804 BCR GLX's, they are superior. Not even close on the 742 to 752. I always felt the 752 was a little whippy for a med, and the 742 is just right. The 784 is a great rod, too. Maybe not head and shoulders above the 804, but slightly better feel for my bottom bouncing lures. I like the additional length, too. I'll start to figure out which of the xx3 Dobyn's to go to next. I'll fish these a little longer before pulling the trigger on those, though. Good luck in your search!

Man, am I disappointed. I've purchased 3 LC's in the last couple of weeks from 2 different places, some Gunfish and Sammy's. All have had very dull hooks on them. Won't even scratch my finger nail. I ended up replacing them with Daiichi Death Traps, but for $15 a pop, I sure do not expect to have to do this. Is anyone else seeing this trend?

I agree. I don't see how they can enforce it. It's like catching a bass out of season in states that have seasons. You can't get a ticket for it as long as you let it go. How can they tell you need a trout stamp in waters that are also frequented by bass fishermen? When I lived in MN, if you fished a designated trout stream, you were required to have a trout stamp, IIRC. But that's a different thing as that was, by far, the dominant species in that water.

LOL! I hear you. I always tell folks it was hard to justify spending the money on my first high end rod. But it was not difficult at all on all the ones that followed!