Canga

just got back from the first fishing trip i got a chance to use nanofil, lets just say, its been stripped off the ree and the Sufix 832 i had on it before has been put back on. the stiffness i mentioned translated into the line looking like a slinky when it was cast and the was no pressure on it (no memory I disagree) . the casting distance was terrible, nowhere near as far as 832. and the white color stands out far more than even the lime green i am back to using. ill not buy another spool of nanofil for any reason, very very disappointed.

i picked up a spool of the 8lb earlier this week, and while i havent been on the water with it yet, my first impressions are mixed. i have been using both the 6 and 10 lb Sufix 832 this year, and like the line alot. but saw this and figured what the hell, same price as 832 so ill give it a shot. spooled it up on my 9530 pflueger patriarch, first thing i noticed was how stiff it was, WAY more stiff than 832, and i overfilled the spool a bit, and it springs off the reel like fluoro on a spinning reel seems to always do. so i stripped some line off, and the problem was fixed. so i tied on a 3/16oz bell sinker (all i had laying around in the house and didnt feel like digging through the boat, heh), and the casting distance was pretty impressive and it was just as quiet through the guides as 832. hoping that it will loosen up some with use, and be less stiff. depending on the situation i switch this reel between my legend elite 6'8" MXF and legend tournament walleye 7' MHM, so it will see plenty of action between cranks, jerkbaits and jig/grub, jig/other soft platics. will post what i think when i get some use on it.

they were running an in-store reel sale as well, spend a certain amount and get some off, i picked up a pflueger patriarch spinning for 160...with a spool of 832 and a clearanced american shad pointer 100, i still only spent $202. was pretty happy with that!

i love my st croix's

i had to go with other. my only baitcaster is a BPS PQ (only use it for deep cranking) as for spinning, all Pflueger...i have 2 presidents, an arbor, 2 supreme xt's and i just picked up a patriarch, which i have only used once, but im liking it alot.

i too have the tws70mhm, and it is exactly what i was looking for in a cranking spinning rod (i do alot of night fishing, and prefer spinning to casting reels anyways) i have a pflueger arbor on mine, and its very light and balances well, will not tire you out for hours of fishing... great rod.

an alternative, if you like both the LTB and full grips, the legend tournament walleye series has a 6'8" mxf with the same blank as the LTB and a full grip... i use my les68mxf (legend elite) for that purpose and it works great. i also have an avid avs63mxf and its a very nice rod (especially at $160). i think either way you go would be a great choice, and keep in mind, if you buy the avid and dont find it exactly what you want, you can upgrade through st croix!

for the price, i like my 7'6" mh BPS crankin stick with a 5.2:1 pro qualifier. although it is a little on the heavy side, it handles the bigger baits i throw from time to time. for smaller baits and night fishing i have a st. croix legend tournament walleye "deep cranker" (7' MH/M) spinning rod with a pflueger arbor. its great for night fishing, more forgiving (less backlashes) and can throw some pretty big baits, as well as small baits very well.

i havent tried the trick sticks yet (at least the big bite version, i do have some gander mountain branded ones) but i did pick up a couple bags of the cane thumpers to try out and compare to the berkley grass pigs, the cane thumpers have a little scent (not overpowering, like some others) and 1 more in the package for the same price, and they are pretty similar otherwise, a little different design for a similar purpose. i have also done pretty well with the bio-bait grubs and fathead minnows, for both walleye and smallies. these do have an overpowering scent, and are a little more expensive, but still a good product.

i have (well its my brother-in-laws, but he doesnt use it as much as i do) a catalyst ptib 20, very smooth reel with a pretty nice drag, the only problem i have had with it is in cold weather the anti-reverse works about 20% of the time, otherwise it spins backwards on a hookset about a turn and a half before it catches. the reel works fantastic in warmer weather, but based on that, and the fact that about half the fishing in wisconsin is in cold weather, i wouldnt get another. also, for the price of an energy (retail, anyways) take a look at the new supreme xt pflueger, couple ounces lighter, just as smooth, and a great drag as well.

go to the st croix warranty website, near the bottom there is a small section on aging the rods, the first 2 letters of the serial number, if i recall correctly. take that info to the store and figure out how old they are, that will give you the depreciation (yes, it is $10 a year). would be a great way to get yourself into an extreme/elite for cheaper. i happened to find the last model (pre-nsi) legend elite, in exactly the length and action i was looking for in the avid or walleye series, for $180 at gander mountain...when st croix comes out with a new version of a rod series you can find some great deals on the previous models. and as much as i love the elite, i have been thinking about trading it in on an extreme (the 6'8" mxf is one of few that have one in both the elite and extreme, great rod for jigging walleye and dropshot/shaky heads!) but i digress, good luck with whatever you decide, buy/sell, trade-in and just using should all be excellent options!

i would spend an extra $5 (if there is a gander mountain locally) as they have last years gold pflueger supreme xt for $80 in store. if not, pflueger arbor, president, president xt (but only if you hate the wood handle on the normal president) are all solid options as far as size, im pretty sure the 30 size pfluegers would be the size of a 2500, 25 size is a bit small unless vertical jigging, in my opinion on a side note, if there is a gander locally, take a look at the $40 diawa exceler, i picked one up even though im a die hard pflueger guy, and its a pretty nice reel for the money, hell you can get 2 for your budget!

i like the slix rod covers, the are far superior to stick jackets imo. the bottom is sewn out, instead of folded in like on stick jackets, and the top doesnt have the stupid metal eyelet that has gaps on the side. the gander mountains near me have them, otherwise i think they can be had on tackle warehouse.

i replace most of my stock trebles, and i use either owner st-36 or st-41, 36's on smaller or lighter baits, 41's on bigger stuff. and on shorter baits (like smaller shad raps or flicker shads) or baits that come with small hooks (like sebile koolie minnows) i use mustad kvd elites. both oiwners are super sharp, and i love the inline type eye on them. the 41's are a bit beefier which i like on bigger baits as i get alot of pike on them and they dont bend like some other hooks. the mustads are very sharp as well, and the 1x short 1x strong is awesome.

i have an avid (though its a 6'3" mxf spinning rod for vertical jigging walleye) and it is an very very nice rod, sensitive, light weight, comfortable in hand, good balance with the reel i have on it, and i love the lifetime warranty st croix has, as well as the ability to upgrade to a legend series later is awesome.

right now, i like dt-10's mainly in hot mustard and silver. i also like to use jerkbaits on a straight retrieve, they produce lots of bass while im walleye fishing on weed edges, favorites include the LC pointer 78 and 100, american shad, slender pointer 112 american shad and maxrap in red head flake and green flake. all time favorite is a fat rap (forget the size off hand, larger one) in hot mustard, but they are impossible to find other than ebay and i dont have an account on there heh.

x2 on the exceler on sale, ive only had mine for about 2 weeks (used it twice so far) but it is a nice reel for 40. the trion is also a pretty nice reel, and you might be able to find a pflueger president on sale if you look around a bit, i have seen them around locally a couple times for 40

i have a gander mountain guide series that isnt too bad for the money (if i remember correctly it was 60ish) fuji guides, reel seat, im8 graphite, reasonably light. worth a look, imo.

i have 10# 832 on 4 of my spinning reels and 6# on one other... it works great. even the 20#test/6# diameter would work well on spinning gear. its extremely sensitive, quiet through the guides, tough, just awesome line...plus i love the lime green for visibility

there is only about an ounce difference between the 6730 president/president xt and the exceler 2500. not really enough to worry about. as far as if they would balance well on a 6'6" medium premier. i think they would be pretty well balanced, the 6735 being 11.4 ounces is a little too heavy for that rod. i would hit up a store that sells both, and maybe an arbor 7430. if you can mount them on your rod (or one off the shelf) and see which one feels the best to you. all 3 of those are quality reels that should last a long time (especially if cared for!) and will balance your rod quite well.

i am a pflueger guy, as all my reels other than a bps pq baitcaster are pfluegers, but i just picked up a daiwa exceler (last years model?) at gander mountain for $40 bucks... hard to beat it at that price. otherwise look at a president or, if you cant get past the dumb wooden knob, a president xt.

i used stealth for a long time, with no problems at all (all on spinning gear), dont recall even 1 wind knot, or any fraying. that being said, i have switched over to sufix 832 10lb this year on all my spinning stuff, its just so quiet through the guides and casts a mile (it sinking is a nice bonus). only been out a couple times for 'eyes thus far, but loving 832

i had a bag leak as well, what i did was buy a bottle of the trigger-x spray, and put it in my gulp alive tray thing, works really well. i have used the 3" walleye grubs with pretty good success, with both walleye and smallies. got a couple packs of tubes but havent had a chance to use them. the bass series doesnt have the liquid that the walleye series does and they dont smell nearly as bad. on the walleye site i post on i have heard pretty good things about trigger-x baits, here it seems different. not sure where you guys were seeing them for 7.99, they are usually around $5.50-6.

i also like the LC pointer, among others, tho i prefer the slender pointer 112. then the 78. another i really like that hasnt been mentioned is the sebile koolie minnow, i throw the 90 medium lip floater alot for walleye, but the bass hit them just as well. at around $12-13 they are a pretty solid deal (and come with stock owner st-36's, a nice bonus)

the president is an awesome reel, and especially for the price...only thing that sucks is the wooden handle =/