baluga

What they said.. I also love the DC but the down side is the low capacity. Other than that its an awesome reel. If you are going for inshore fishing I would got with the GTE for the capacity and also no worries of any electronic circuit getting exposed to too much saltwater. Although I use mine for saltwater.

What DVT said. If that does not work it could be that the 'Anti Reverse Ratchet' or part no. BNT 3483 is flipped the other way, making it missing the Clutch Pawl when you try to engage the gears. I have that issue when I disassemble it for lubing and mistakenly put the Anti Reverse Ratchet the other way. It had diffculty in engaging the gears and would make that clicking sound when trying to engaged it. I just flipped it back and it works great. I would send it to shimano if you are not the DIY guy type.

I got the 50e. It does seems tight right out of the box so I open it up for re-lube. The Drags were a bit dry. Started greasing the inside wall and gears and oiling all bearings. Now it's ready for some action. Here's what I feel after using it a couple of days.. Casting this thing is like a dream and the retrieve is very smooth. If you like the CU100B, this is your mini CU100B but smoother and cast 3" BH on 1/4oz a lot easier and further. I'm able to cast the super spook and Duel side popper by 100ft and the Zara spook Jr by 80ft. It was a great deal getting it for $97.88, I'm glad I stock up a bit..

Samurai was the smoothest no question about it. I probably had a bad batch, but I would not try that again. I don't think I would ever gain anything if said it sucks big time. But I actually put a simple load test by tying it on a scale and it keeps breaking way below its rating. Thus, I decided it's not worth keeping it on my reel and better to dump it. It's going to cost me some of my favorite lures plus fish if I keep using it. The Sufix performance braid is also good. I still have some reels loaded with them, but slowly replacing them with 832. The 832 is smooth and quiet on the retrieve. For now I will stick with 832 until something better comes out.

I used both on 20# rating... Ended up stripping the samurai and putting in trash. I rarely trash a braid line but this one sucks big time. Breaks too easy, colors bleeds too much.. I've also use 10# Fireline, it's good but too thick for a braid. 832 is best among the three. It can be stiffed on the first day of use but just let it break-in and use it a couple of days and it will be smooth.

yep, the DC will really spoil anyone. You would not settled for anything less when you start using the DC.

Kansen is made by Seaguar.

Hmmmn Kanzen.. interesting although the diameter is much thicker compared to Sufix and PP. Kanzen has 20# rating with 10# dia. mono equivalent compared to Sufix and PP w/ only #6 dia mono equivalent for the same 20# rating. I use braid to get the max line capacity out of a small reel size.

the 8 strand improvement is not really for knot joining advantages it is more for smoother casting and retrieving. Just use Alberto knot for joining leader with braid and you don't have to worry about knot slipping or bulky joint regardless of braid brands.

Power Pro Super Slick Line 20lb 300yd Aqua Green $39.99 Sufix 832 Braid Lo-Vis Green 20lb 300yd $34.99 Hmmmnn..Both are 8 strands and claim they are rounded and smooth but the other one is $5 more. I think i have to wait till someone have used both and concludes that PP Slick is worth the extra $5, cause i'm pretty much satisfied with the smoothness of 832.

good thing I took advantage of the 50e sale for $97.88..

what he said.. the new Crucial got the IM-10 upgrade, so it's basically a cumara rod for less $$$.

Buy another one at $97.89 shipped to average down.

Try calling them to cancel and re-order. It's $97.94 delivered. I just placed 2 for me this morning on two separate coupons. Got the tip from webertime.

2x blood knot!

noisy baitcaster during casting is usually due to rust in the spool bearings. Add a couple of drops of oil in the side plate/spool bearing and the bearing in the cast control. But you really need to take out the bearings and clean with solvent to remove dirt and rust. Then put a couple of drops of reel oil before putting it back.

Very good info J. Ive always use braid with long flouro leader for dropshooting. I'll keep that in mind when drop shooting again. Thanks.

try to loosen up your cast control cap. It puts pressure to the access plate when turned tight, making it difficult to turn.

With shimano, you normally get what you paid for. The higher level you go the smoother the reel goes. More bearings and less plastic parts.

max size in CI4 is 4000. STCI44000F - 9.3Oz with 10#mono/200 yards. It cost $20.00 more.

Shimano CI4 is on sale on GanderMountain, $149 after $20 off coupon. gmg20 - 20 dollar off 100 CI4 is light weight and has a drag of 15#s on size 2500 and up. Saltwater approved. size 3000 has capacity of 8mono/170 yards and weights 7.2 oz But I would go for size 2500, should be good enough for saltwater bay/harbor and surf fishing and not too big for freshwater species. Use braid is you are worried about getting spooled.

You only need to the scale measurement the first time to get a good basis of how some pounds would feel. The rest of the time would be just by feel to adjust drag poundage. One would need some basis before one can make a good guesstimate how much pounds the drags are set and that's where you need the scale to confirm the 'feel'. Otherwise someone else 5 pounds feel could be only 2 pounds feel to others.

You can have a good guesstimate on how much pound you set your drags by: 1. With the reel set up on the rod. Set the drag to near max. 2. Pull the line straight from the reel, just get the feel how heavy is your reel near max before it stop releasing lines. 3. Now get a scale and tie it down to a post in one end and the other end to your mainline line as you would tie a sinker. 4. With the drag set to near max, start lifting the rod to put pressure on the scale until the spool slowly starts releasing lines. 5. Check the scale how much pressure it took to release lines. Take note on how much pounds were registered in the scale. 6. Now start releasing the drag and do step 4 and Step 5 until you get let say 2 pounds. 7. Then do Step 2. 8. At this point you already have a good idea on how much pounds your reel near max drag and also how a two pounds drags feels when you pull the line straight from the reel. Now you can guesstimate how much pounds you are setting your drags next time you are out in the water. I hope this makes sense to you, but this is how I know how much drags my reels are set.

Shock is better, it's Graphite with Glass tip. Looks better also with the split rear grip. IMHO

Have anyone had a chance to use the new Fuji Finepix X100 ? The pix is so amazingly clear: Try clicking to magnify the fix .. http://a.img-dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmx100/samples/flash/f56.jpg