Canga

my brother-in-law has a catalyst pti-b 20, pretty decent reel. very smooth, good drag, tho it is a little heavy. the thing that i HATE about it, and im not sure if its just this reel or a problem with all catalyst's, is that when i used the reel last fall, in like 40ish temps, the anti-reverse would not work about 50-60% of the time. in warmer weather it works fine and is a great reel, but would not recommend it for cold weather fishing!

x2 on the supreme xt. if you dont like the eva foam knob, look for last years (gold color) model. same basic reel, just missing hte carbon handle and weighs ~.2 oz more. great reels and can be found in the $80 range shipped (or if your local gander still has some in stock)

if it has to be a shimano product, i have heard good things about the symetre and sahara and both are right around 100 or less. tho i am a firm believer in pflueger, have 2 supreme xt's (older gold model, if you can find them on clearance, they are a steal...i got both of mine for less that 75 each) an arbor and 2 presidents. and have also heard great things about the normal supreme. many others in the $100 range and under as well. spinning reels give some pretty great options for that kind of money.

lots of good choices out there that work well. smithwick rogues rapala x-raps, husky jerks, clackin' minnows and max raps spro mcsticks and mcrips live target smelt and perch owner cultivas ima flits yo zuri crystal minnows sebile koolie minnows damiki striker and slim jack i have had pretty good luck with all of them, most have different actions, depth ranges, etc. tho most are as expensive if not more so than LC's. other than husky jerks and rogues, which work well.

check the date they were made, they show you how on the st croix webstie on the warranty page. its possible that one is a little older and before the "concept" spacing of the guides. otherwise i havent heard anything about it, kind of odd if its not that, imo

no experience with the lews reels short of picking one up briefly in cabelas... however, the PQ is a pretty solid reel for 100 (or less if you can get one on sale) on the rod side, the bps crankin stick is a pretty solid rod, tho it is a little on the heavy side (tho i have the 7'6" MH telescoping one, heh). even so its a good rod, it works great for the purpose i got it, deep cranking. might want to look into the st croix mojo bass cranking rods, they have 1 graphite (7" MH, 4.0oz) and 2 glass (7'4" M, 4.9oz, and 7'8" MH 6.3oz) the graphite is 100, glass 120. or since you said your a shimano fan, i have heard good things about the compre, which is also around your price range, at 100-110 not sure on the BPS rod warranty, but the st croix is 5 years (and st croix has a great warranty, imo) and the shimano is limited lifetime

personally, id go either pflueger supreme xt or patriarch (30 or 35 size) and the ST Croix Avid of your choice. spooled with sufix 832 with the fluoro leader of your choice!

i use a couple different kinds, mostly in some form of white or pearl, purple, and firetiger-ish...but many other colors have worked. yum walleye grubs 3 & 4" various colors (both the old LPT and new F2) Trigger X (both bass and walleye versions) various colors Big Bite Baits biobait 3" various colors Northland Slurpies 3 and 4" various colors all are scented to some extent, some are salted as well... never really had any better luck on any one specific, just depends on the color they want that day really.

i like the pflueger arbor 7430, nice long casts and at 25 ipt its about perfect for cranks on a spinning rig. also a pretty smooth reel with a terrific drag. sahara is nice as well, but if you go past the 1000 size your ipt is super high (2500 is 35", 1000 is 28") like in baitcasters, i like a slower ipt in spinning reels for cranks.

i havent owned a symetre, only played with a couple in store, and it seems like a very nice reel, smooth and a good price. im not a huge fan of the stumpy handle length, but not sure if it would be noticable in the real world. i do, however, own 2 supreme xt's (older gold colored model) and they are fantastic reels, very smooth, good drags, and if you find one of the gold ones, a great deal for the price. landed quite a few 5lb bass and many 20-25" walleye with the reel, and it has performed flawlessly. the new black supreme xt is pretty much the same reel as the gold one, just with a new spool and a carbon handle, saving a few tenths of an ounce, but the feel of the EVA knob is not for everyone.

the one i found locally is 130, about 20 more than a 7' HMG, none of the places around me have a comprable HMG in stock, but im making a trip to cabelas and BPS on sunday so hopefully one of them will have it. there are a few other rods im looking at (again, nobody around me has them in stock ><)

just curious if anyone has experience with this rod, i am looking for a spinning rod to throw jerkbaits and shallow/medium cranks with. i prefer a mod fast to moderate action for this purpose, and while its listed as a fast action, it feels almost mod. fast to me. i dont want a baitcaster for this purpose, mainly because it will be used alot at night and i just dont really like baitcasters (i know, blaspemy, right?) anyways, since it is out of production i havent been able to find any reviews online, so figured id ask here. will be paired with a Pflueger Arbor 7430, with sufix 832 10lb test (spare spool with yo-zuri ultra soft, probably 6lb) thanks in advance for any help!

i have 2 of the gold ones (1 30 and 1 35), and they are very nice reels, very smooth, light, good drags...a little on the ugly side, but i got over that quickly. i handled the new version at scheels today and they are nice, i do NOT like the new handle knob, but other wise they are nice, but they are the same as the older gold model with a different handle and spool design. for 80 bucks they will be pretty hard to beat IMO

im not sure if its the same on the older rogues, but the current types have "suspending" molded into the lip above where it says "Smithwick Rogue". the only ones that dont have anything on the lip is the super rogues, which i think are all suspending. the floaters just have "Smithwick Rogue" on the lip. hope this helps if you cant get the bathtub thing to work