Canga

i recently picked up a ss692fs (6'9" ml/f) with the intent to use it for some drop-shotting, but mainly for jig/minnow and jig/plastics for walleyes and smallies in the rivers around me. initially i was pretty impressed with the rod, light weight, great balance with both the reels i put on it (daiwa exceler 2000 and a supreme xt 9035) and the "fast" action was similar to what i am used to with my st.croix extra fast actions (which i found to be a good thing), not to mention it is a very nice looking rod. once i got it on the water, however, i was severly unimpressed. i fished it side by side with my 6'3" m/xf st croix avid, and, to me, there was no comparison. the avid was FAR more sensitive, feeling every rock, stick or fish, while the savvy felt pretty much nothing. both rods had the same line (10lb sufix 832) and jig (1/8th oz norhtland fireball with a shiner). the avid has a pflueger arbor 7430 on it, and i had the supreme xt 9035 on the savvy, and the 2 reels weigh almost the smae. so all things pretty much equal, i will be returning the savvy and buying another st croix product (most likley and avid, but i have seen a few legend tournaments on clearance, for a similar price) i know sensitivity is different to every person, but fished side by side with another rod, i am disappointed in dobyns (at least the savvy series).

im curious if quatnum has made any changes to the anti-reverse on their spinning reels. i have heard a few other instances where they fail. i used my brother-in-laws catalyst 20 pti-b some last fall, and when the reel got cold, the anti reverse failed about 95% of the time, made it hard to catch anything on it. it had and still has no problems when its warm out, but in the cold it didnt perform at all. just a curiostiy of mine, the newer quantums look nice, and love that they made the exo and smoke much lighter than the previous models. just dont know if i would buy one if the anti-reverse wont work in the cold (btw i live in wisconsin so about half my fishing season is in colder weather)

while i have no experience with the ballistic, so cant compare the two. i have a 9530 patriarch, great little reel, very light, smooth, good drag. i have used it as my cranking/jerkbait reel (yes spinning for cranks, blasphemy, i know) since may and it has had absolutely no problems what so ever. i even kind of like the little sanding block they put on it for a handle. i think i have had one wind knot with it, and that was my fault for not paying attention (fishing at night for walleyes, not as easy to notice things like that!) i have mine spooled with 10lb sufix 832. on the other hand i do have a daiwa exceler, which is ALOT cheaper than the ballistic, and its a great little reel, and i did look into the ballistic...while i ended up buying a different reel it was more due to the ballistic not being available when i was looking, so i didnt get a chance to handle it. made form zaion (like the fuego) so it should be pretty light, and daiwa makes a good product, for sure. i dont think you can go wrong either way, really, both should be great reels! btw, let me know what you think of that rod, i recently lost (long story) my st croix legend extreme 6'9" mlfx, and am looking for a rod int he $100-180 price range to replace it. the recon is on my list, but i have no way of handling it in person before buying it, so not sure if i will choose that or one that i can get locally. thanks, and good luck on the reel

i too have been looking into the recon rods (tho spinning model) and they seem to have a pretty odd rating system for their powers, the 691s is listed on their site as a "light" (listed as a ML on tackle warehouse) but rated for 1/16-3/8oz baits, which would be a ML or even a M in some other line-ups. as for your question, i would assume the 5 is a heavy and the 6 is a little bit heavier heavy (ie. if it were a loomis rod, maybe listed as a "mag-heavy?) not heavy enough to be an extra heavy but a bit more than a standard heavy. on a guess on my part though, i dont own any of their stuff (yet?) or anything over a MH rod, sorry!

unless you like the reel seats on the 2012 LTB rods (or if NSI is that important), look around a bit, lots of places have the 2011 LTB on clearance to make room for the new ones. they did adjust the models some (length, action, etc) so there may be other things to consider, but for the price of a clearance LTB there isnt too much better!

forgot to add, if you prefer a full handle to the split handle in the LTB series, the legend tournament walleye series also has a 6'8" MXF, with the full handle, but they dont offer the 6'9" mlxf in the walleye series. good luck

the avid (or LTB) 6'8" MXF or 6'9" MLXF are awesome rods, they are both available in either series. look around a bit, if you are buying online, last years LTB rods are on clearance in places since st croix has "upgraded" them this year (they added NSI, and an ugly reel seat). as for reels, the supreme xt is an excellent reel, light weight, smooth, good drag, etc. in fact im picking one up for my 6'9" mlxf legend xtreme in the morning, as my local gander mountain has them for $119 and at that price its too hard to pass up.

around 50, can take a look at the gander mountain store brand rods as well (if you have one near you, that is) i have a guide series 6'6" ML, no action rating on it, but its a fast action in practice. while the rod isnt one of my st. croixs it is a nice back-up and what i give to the less experienced people i take with me to use. its pretty sensitive, enough so to feel walleyes notoriously light bite with no problems, and i have also used it for perch, which dont usually hit hard, so its not bad on the sensitivity front. decent components (fuji reel seat and guides) overall it is worth a look, imo. better than the berkleys, for sure, tho i cant compare it to a tec-spec as i have not used one. good luck, and nice choice on the reel, the president is a winner (especially if its one of the brand new ones without that d**n wood handle!)

so i took my rod sleeve off from my 6'8" mxf st croix legend elite recently to find the tip broken, so i warranty/upgraded it to a 6'9" MLXF legend xtreme. main use for the rod is vertical jigging and pitching jigs for walleyes (1/8-3/8th max) with either a grub, ringworm or live minnow, though i do some dropshotting for smallies as well. the old rod had a gold pflueger supreme xt 9030 on it, however it flew out of my boat going down the road and i think something internally got messed up. when it has no pressure on it it spins freely and seems ok, but even a little pressure makes it seem much rougher and i dont feel comfortable using it, and since i dont have much invested in the reel, i am going to get something else for the new rod. what im looking for is a very light reel, good drag, smooth, etc. i already have a pflueger patriarch and love the reel, but im wondering if there is something in that price range (about 200 or less) that is similar or better, but a little different. so far what im looking at is: Shimano Stradic CI4 (not sure if ill go 1000 or 2500) the new supreme XT (i like my 9035 and liked the 9030 till it flew out of the boat) the new supreme MG (seems like a great deal at $99, heard great things about the current version) another patriarch (like i said, i have one and love it) Abu Garcia Revo Premier (havent heard much about this reel, any input? seems like a solid reel with nice specs) Daiwa Ballistic (not out yet to my knowledge, but seems like it would fit the bill) and cabela's has their 50th anniversary Daiwa Fuego on sale for $188 or something like that. i have a $40 daiwa exceler on one of my back up rods and it is a very smooth and well built reel, and i woudl love to see some of their higher priced stuff based on my experience with that reel. im not sure if cabelas has the fuego in store any more, and if they do, that the price is the same as online. the other problem with it is that they only have the 2500, which seems around the smae size as the 35 size pfluegers, which is a little big for my taste. if they have a 2000 or 1500 size available i may have to pick one up. otherwise, im looking for input on experience with the reels listed or any others out there in the $200 price range and light weight?

for the 100 price, the 35 size pflueger supreme is about as good as it gets imo... comparatively light weight for its size, plenty of line capacity, i have not run into any gear problems, and it seems to cast smoothly (tho i havent cast a "propulsion" shimano, so cant compare there, but i havent had any problems getting the distance i need out of them) also, as for the exceler, i havent tried the HA, but i have the previous model and for the price i got it ($39) its a terrific reel, im actually keeping an eye out for gander to put them back on sale for that price to pick up at least one more! may also want to consider the abu soron or wait for the orra sx, about the same quality level and i have never heard anything bad about the sorons. good luck!

should also look at the Pflueger Supreme, i see on BPS site that they are updating it, so the older one should be even cheaper than they are now, and the new one is still $99...as for the rods i cant comment (im a st croix guy), possibly look into the elite techs, both walleye and smallmouth, i dont know what the smallie rods have as far as specs, but they walleye series has a couple that would make nice drop shot rods.

i called st croix in regards to the rage and all 3 new legend tournaments (bass, walleye and musky) about a week ago, they said that they had been delayed once, and possibly again, but should be available late spetember / early october. the new legend tournaments also are now made with NSI (like the legend elite/extreme, just with SCIV instead of SCV/SCVI) which is pretty cool, and i like the looks of the LTB, makes me wonder what they are doing to the walleye series, as i am more of a full grip fan. my legend tournament walleye "deep cranker" (7' mhm spinning rod) is by far my favorite rod, at least till i upgrade my legend elite to a legend extreme, then we shall see!

i use either my 6'8" mxf legend elite (which is soon to be a 6'9" mlxf legend extreme) or my 6'3" mxf avid... 6'3" is a little short for most of the bass guys i know, but the casting distance is almost equal to the 6'8" and i love that rod! (mostly use it for vertical jigging walleyes, though) have used a gander mountain GSX tournament 6'6" mlf in the past as well, worked pretty decent

for the cranking setup, i would get a BPS crankin stick paired with one of the many curado E5's that are on clearance. should cost around 170-180 total (not including line) for drop shot, st croix avid 6'8" MXF or 6'9" MLXF paired with a 9530 Pflueger Patriarch (or save 50 bucks, add an ounce and get a 9230 Pflueger Supreme XT) (about 380 with a patriarch, 330 with a supreme xt) for a total of 500 - 550, depending on reel, leaving a nice chunk for some tackle and line!

some gander mountains carry the elites, at least around me (central wi) but not all, some will only carry to the avid or legend tournaments. if all else fails, order direct from st croix.

so im driving home form the lake today, and, luckily, i happened to look in the rear view mirror to see one of my rods fly out the back of my boat (i usually leave them in the bottom as rod storage in my boat is pretty much non-existant) at about 60mph. it ended up being my 6'8" legend elite / pflueger supreme xt combo, which had a Slix rod sleeve from gander mountain and the pflueger neoprene reel bag that came with the reel on it. the great part is that there is no damage what-so-ever to either the rod or reel, the reel bag has som road rash, and there was some dust on the rod, but after cleaning it and inspecting, i was pleasently surprised by the protection offered by the covers (and by the durability of the rod and reel themselves to not have any damage at all). for $10 the Slix seems like a pretty solid investment at this point!

i found some cocoons on sale at a local store, they were like $25, and i was looking for some new sunglasses, no they are not the best, but they are pretty d**n good, especially for the price. i liked them so much i went back and got a pair with amber lenses so im covered all the time. they do let a little light in, but i wear a hat so it doesnt bother me too much. i dont even wear glasses and think they are pretty nice!

may want to just stick with the avid series, though, unless you love the new handle material, they have better guides than the rage series, and the smae blank at around the same price. im excited to see the rage series, i just wish they would have stayed with the alconites on them instead of pacbay, i dont think the alconites would raise the price of the rod that much =/

ive done well on white, white and chartruese and white and pink...limited success on like a pb&j or crawish colors, ocassionally will get them on all black, but i dont try it often, as i figure a leech type bait would work better in that instance

i have caught quite a few big smallies on 3" stick baits, bps stik-o is pretty good, i rig them on a jig head, and fish love them. a friend of mine catches most of his fish on them, everything from 10" gills, to nice smallies, to a 45" musky...everything eats stick baits!

finally, i havent fished with any ragetail products simply because i mainly use minnow style baits, or grubs/ringworms. been looking for rage grubs for a while, i know they made some small ones for crappies, but being a walleye guy i use 3-4" mostly, and smallies love em too!

i prefer cork to foam, but see cork coming to an end in the less than $150 market, and some above that. i agree with stasher1, the TaC material fenwick uses is pretty good stuff, i had a walleye elite tech and a scheels walleye series rod that both had the material and it was very nice, even when wet. the less manufacturers use cork, the more available it will become and will likely make a comeback, as with most things, its cyclical

6'8" avid is a great rod (i have the 6'8" in legend elite, but i like my 6'3" avid almost as well as that one), plus it has a lifetime warranty, and the ability to upgrade down the road if you so choose. to keep it under your $250 budget, the pflueger president (or president xt, if you hate the wood knob on the president) is a great reel. tho if you can find last years diawa exceler on sale its a good bargain, i got one for $40 at gander for a backup reel, and its been flawless so far.

i have 2 supreme xt's (last years, tho) an arbor and a patriarch. all are great reels, and i have not had a problem with them. i dont have any of the non-xt supremes, but i have to assume they are also a superb reel. at $100 there isnt much that can compete with the weight, and they are just as smooth as the other $100 around. on a side note, if you look around some, you can find some deals, i got my patriarch (by far my favorite reel) for $160 at gander when they had their fathers day sale.

i picked up a spool of the 8# about 10 days ago, it hasnt been on the reel i put it on for about 6 days now, if that says anything. i put it on a 9530 pflueger patriarch, and thought it was TERRIBLE, had way too much memory (looked like a slinky when it was limp), with the same lure, sufix 832 cast about 1/3 farther, and the white color is awful. it was quiet through the guides, and i didnt get a chance to do any bottom contact to see how sensitive it was (i was pitching flicker shads, yes crankbaits on spinning gear, with superline!) but from what i saw the cons of the line far outweigh the pros. i will stick with 832 on all my rods, a far superior line, imo.