elkriverangler

Junkyard, I can;t speak about the Pearl Model SC but I can tell You the Avid is a much better Rod than the Premier. I Fished Premiers for Years and they are a nice Rod but the Avids are a lot more sensitive with better components. Darren, You will love that 6'3 MLXF. I have one as well as a 6'3 MXF. I use the MLXF primarily for Weightless Senkos and the MXF for Weighted Tubes, Craws and other Plastics. Paired with a Shimano Stradic FI 1000 it don't get much better for River Smallmouth Outfits. I picked up a Fenwick Smallmouth 6'3 M awhile back and paired with a Stradic 1000 it is a very close second to the Avids. Eli

I asked this question on another Forum so I am looking for opinions here too. Does anyone Fish the Bandit 100 Cranks around Standing Timber and Laydown? Do they have the same characteristics as a standard Square Bill like the SK KVD's and other similar SB's as far as Deflection and less tendency to hang up in Wood? What is different between the Bandit's and the Standard SB's?

gall, I mentioned in my previous post that I have a Pair of the Visionary Lenses in my Oakley Half Jackets. I have the Slate gray Color. They don't seem to be mirrored to me but they are definitely Polarized. I had the Factory Oakleys in them but they got scratched and I didn't want to pay the price for Oakley replacements so I went with the Visionary Lenses. I am very pleased with them for the Price.

gall, If You decide to stick with the Oakley's you can get a Pair of Visionary Lenses off ebay for the Straight Jackets. They go for around $20. They aren't Oakley Lenses but they are still a good Lens for the Price. I have a Pair of Gray ones in my everyday Oakley Half Jackets and I like then real well. For Fishing though I wear a Pair of Costa Fathoms 580 P with Copper lens. I really like the Copper Lens for Fishing

My Favorite Craw Rigs for River Smallmouth Fishing are a Winco's Predator Craw in MudPie Color or a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw in Green Pumpkin Magic. I Fish them Rigged on a Mister Twister Weighted Keeper Hook 1/8 OZ with a 2/0 Hook.

I can't speak for the Compre but I used SC Premiers for Years and they are very good Rods for their Price Point. I agree with DarrenM, the ML's are actually closer to a Medium in the Premier Series. The Premiers are available from Cabelas with a Split Grip Eli

I like that Recon and SX. I tend to like the Darker colors better than the bright colors. My Favorite Outfit based on Color is my SX on a Falcon Bucoo Rod.

I have a Stradic FJ 1000 that I use for River Smallmouth Fishing. It is the finest Spinning Reel I have ever used. Smooth as Silk and a lot of nice features for the price.You should be able to pick one up on Ebay for a little less than $150 I wasn't crazy about the White color at first but it has grown on me. I have a couple of Stradic FI's too and they are nice Reels but the FJ is a cut above.

I agree with Raul's advice. I fish almost exclusively for River SM. I use an SC Avid in ML Fast for Cranks and Topwater and a couple of SC Avids in M and ML for Senkos, Craws and all other Plastics. The ML Fast works much better for the Trebles but I love the X fast action for Plastics. BTW, That Fenwick SM Rod is nice. I don't own one but I have handled them and they are a nice Rod.

I have the Gen 2 Revo S and the Gen 2 Revo SX 2012 Model. I have never had any issues with either one and like them both real well. The Revo SX does have the Dual Braking system and the S only has Centrifugal. The SX is maybe a little smoother but outside of that IMO the S is just as good for less Money. I was looking at the Gen 3 S at Cabelas today and they are very nice. That white color is growing on me.

I have 3 Stradics 1000's that I use for RIver Smallmouth. 2 are FI's and 1 is an FJ. All are fine Reels but the FJ is a cut above the FI's. There may be better Reels out there but the FJ is the smoothest Reel I have ever used.

For my River Smallmouth Fishing I fish mostly Finesse style with various Plastics. Practically all of my Fishing is done out of a Kayak Senko's or Dingers in 3-4" Size rigged Wacky or TX Rigged. 4" Worms and WInco's 3.25" Predator Craw as well as Kalins and Berkley 3 & 4" Grubs. Like Darren I love the Shimano 1000 Stradics for this style of Fishing. Mine are mounted on Shorter 6'-6'3" ML and MLXF Avids. I use Power Pro 20 in Hi Vis Yellow with a 6-8" 3-4' Mono Leader

I will jump on the Stradic FJ Bandwagon. i have had a 1000 Size that I use for RIver Smallmouth for a couple of Months and it is an outstanding Reel. I also have a couple of Stradic 1000 FI's that are fine Reels but the new FJ is a notch above with a few more features than the FI. The new Saros with the X ship and the new material does sound interesting but at about the same price point as the Stradic FJ I would have to go with the Stradic.

I have done real well this Year with the 3.25" Predator Craw made by Winco's Custom Baits in PA. The color I use is called Mud Pie which is a Green Pumpkin with Copper and Purple Flakes. Zoom's Ultra Vibe Craw is pretty similar in shape and the Green Pumpkin Magic color is close to the Mud Pie color. He also sell's a "Flutter Head" Weighted Hook for rigging the Craw that helps reduce the snags on Rocks. They are a bit pricy though. I have been using the Mr Twister weighted hook in 1/8 Oz and it works a lot better than a normal Jighead for snags.

I have the old Model Vengeance in 6'3 M and it is a very decent Rod for the price. I have only used mine for Spinnerbaits but it could handle Worms and other Plastics alright even though the action on the 6'3 leans more to the Moderate side of Medium. I had a Vendetta 6'3 M and they are a well made Rod but just a little too stiff for my liking. I have not fished with a Sellus but I have handled them and they are a nice Rod if you like Rods on the Stiffer side. The Shimano Convergence is another nice Rod for around $60

That should make a fine setup. I have Shimano 1000's on all my Avids.

I have slowly upgraded all my Spinning Rods to SC Avids with Shimano Stradics. I have been fortunate enough to get some great deals on both the Rods and Reels the last couple of Years. There may be better outfits out there but these work great for me and I don't really need anything different.

I am a diehard SC Avid Fan. I own 3 Avid Spinning Rods and use a 6'3 MLXF for my River Smallmouth Senko Rod. I did own a 2011 Full Cork Handle Crucial in 6'3 MXF. I sold it to finance my 6'3 MXF Avid. The Crucial was a fine Rod and almost on par with the Avids. In my opinion you can't go wrong with either of these Rods. They are both excellent Rods. I like the XF action for all my Plastics Fishing.

I have a Bucoo 6'6 Medium that I use for Cranks and Smaller Spinnerbaits. I like it a lot and think it is well worth the Money. I do agree with BASSclary that the action, at least for this Model, is a little on the slower side. It's rated for up to 1/2 OZ but it struggles a little with 3/8 OZ Spinnerbaits. Works great for Crankbaits and 1/4 OZ Spinnerbaits though.

The 5/6 should work fine for you but it will handle the Size 2 & 4 Flies better than it will anything bigger. You might also add some Black and/or White Wooley Buggers and some Murrays Marauders. Those along with a few colors of Clousers Minnows like Silver Shiner, Golden Shiner and Chartruese/White should catch you some Smallies.

I think the 1000 Reel will work well for you for the Lure Size and average Fish Size you are talking about. I use all 1000 Shimano Reels for my Smallmouth Fishing. 2 are on ML Avids and 1 is on a M Avid. The ML's and 1000's have handled Smallies up to 21" The President Reels recommended are a good Reel. You can also check out Ebay for a Shimano Sahara or Symetre. You can usually pick them up a lot less than Retail.

I don't own one but have handled the Redington Pursuit and it is a nice Rod. Another one I do own and really like is the newer model St Croix Imperial. They run around $200. If you have a Flyshop anywhere near You, I would recommend that you go and try a few out. Good Luck in the search

I agree that the Symetre looks pretty good. It also has the X ship feature added and is still under $100. The Saros looks really nice.Not sure what the new XGT7 material on it is, it also has the X Ship feature added but @ $139 is getting close to the price of the Stradic. I am looking forward to doing a Touchy/Feely on these Reels when they hit the Market.

I had the Radius 1.5 at one time. It's a pretty nice Reel. Ihave a couple of Lamson Konics now .Lamson makes great Reels. The 1.5 sIze is best suited for a 3-5 Weight Rod. If it were me I would get an 8 1/2-9 ' 5 Weight Rod. The 5 Wt would serve well for Trout or Panfish and would do O.K. for Smallmouth even though a 6 or 7 would be preferable for Smallies.

I grew up Wading Small Creeks and had good luck on some of the Lures you mention. The Rebel Teeny Craw, Plastic Craws and Tiny Torpedoes. I caught a lot of Smallmouth on those 3 Lures. I probably caught more on 3" Grubs, Kalins and Berkley than anything else.The best colors for me were generally Smoke/Pepper and Brown/Amber with Black Flakes. That mix of Lures you have should catch a lot of Creek Smallmouth but you also might want to add some 3-4" Senkos, Yum DIngers or other Brand and some 2 1/2-3" Tubes in the mix. I fish a Medium Size River but do more Fishing out of my Kayak than Wading and for the most part Senkos are my best producing Lure.