jj'sbassinforfun

$90 is about all I would spend on the e series citica. I prefer my e over the g series, But wouldn't spend any extra $$ for it.

I have done it and sometimes regreted it. Now that we have a Cabela's in CT. I usually take the ride and fondle them first. I strongly recommend touching if you can. But even then its not 100%. The real test is on the water and thats when you find all the dislikes of a reel.

Great advice! Smooth and easy. Even the pro's get em, But mostly when trying to get the last bit of extra distance. The more you try to over do it the worse it gets IMHO.

Keep at it and before you know it you'll be casting like a pro! On the backlash's, I don't pick that much since I found the thumb trick. Place your thumb on the spool and reel it a little. The disengage and try pulling the line. Much easier and there is a video on youtube on it.

Is it September yet?

I'm with "everyone has a right to their own opinion". What works for me isn't what may be good for anyone else. Take what is said here with a grain of salt and draw your own conclusion! Shimano lost me a bit when they started the back pedaling. IMHO the other brands are evolving and to keep up they should as well. Still like and own them, But have been tempted with some of the latest from the other brands. Latest being a T3 balistic I stole for $115. Some hate it, But I love it! And that is all that matters to me.

Another voter for too much grease in the spool bearings. Flush them and add a drop of the proper oil and it should be good to go. If not then Send it to DVT. Let him do the supertuning and you will be amazed.

My Quantum snapshot is well over 20 years old and I just retired it! I have some late 90's Abu's that I still use once in a while. A shimano Coriolis is also a late 90's. I also have my first Revo S since 2007 and its still original. I'm sure the other(Shimano Citica-Daiwa Aggrest and a new Ardent Edge) reels I have just purchased will be around for a good while. More in how they are cared for and when you decide to move on.

Yeah, But bill is paid to use it. And he gets it for free. I'll bet he's pluggin US reels with Jimmy and Rolland next! I'll stick with my old fav's that do well for me. Or come here to get the straight scope!

The spool bearings where packed with grease. To get the extra casting distance flush them and use a good oil. Other than that its been a rocket for me. That kamodo is a looker? If I see one on sale, I just might!

Palomar for mono and braid. And it does fine. For flouro I have had some issues with the Palomar knot! I may have to try the Zona's shark knot for FC.

I use green for stained and clear for clear. I also down size some in the clear water. This is when flouro gets spooled.

Do you have friends with any of these reels to do some actual time on the water with? I have the winch and its great for the big deep plugs. But it doesn't do as well with the lighter stuff and I have lost fish due to not enough gear(IPT) to catch up to the ones that make a run at the boat. Plus they are in process of upgrading them soon(late Aug-early Sept). I would wait to see what the upgrades are. Specially if you don't like blue! New ones are black.

Here's the quote from Daiwa's site: Notice it only says aluminum frame. I paid just under $100 for mine, It fish's fine. But glad I didn't pay full price. It does outcast the exceler so I suspect it has better bearings. Overall I'm OK with it and you should be happy too. I almost went with the Advantage, But the price was much more. The Tierra also seems like a good deal if you can do with the color blue and a bit more cash spent. Both have the stiffer aluminum side plate the Aggrest doesn't. Just FYI for others looking. After handling a Zillion, I plan on getting one. Yes its more but dang they are so smooth!

I have one and IMHO its not much better than the exceler. What got me is it doesn't have an aluminum side plate and the inards look very similar to the exceler. Save your money and get the exceler for under $80 as it performs darn close to the aggrest.

I would think the rod was the issue. Going from a graphite rod to glass might be the biggest loss in feel. IMHO the braid would give more feel due to lower stretch than the FC.

I started with a medium action spinning rod and it was all I fished until I got bit by the monkey. These days there are at least 6 rods in the boat! Stay away from the monkey if you can!!

10 to 12 LB mono for beginner. Move up to the more expensive stuff once your comfy you won't be pickin out over runs. Big spools of Sten at wallyworld for just a few bucks.

The lakes I fish have some lunkers over 10 LBS. and I would absolutely cry if I hooked into one and lost it due to too light of line. 10 LB flouro is just as invisable as the 4 LB IMHO! Why take the chance??

Dick's has the Abu max series combo's for about $100. I also saw the Hank Parker combo's(made by abu) at Wallymart.

Usually the low geared reels have deeper spools and hold more line. This might effect cast distance, But I assume it would be of very little noticable distance.

Or if you look around, You can still get last years Citica which is around $30 less and is the same reel inside. Good deal for $90 IMHO. I also like the Lews, Revo's and Chronarch's if you can spend a bit more(sub $200). Or if you have $300 to spend, The Zillions are pretty slick! All depends on what you can afford!

If its just the handle? Remove it and try to carefully straighten it(or order new). If it still turns hard, You probably bent the drive shaft. If your handy? you can order and replace it yourself. If not, send it to someone like DVT.

Yeah, I'm gonna run right out to buy an "S" reel. The ones that are actually a down grade but called an upgrade and charging more ta boot. Sounds like a bargin to me! From what I see Abu has at least tried to advance the line up, Not taken a step back!

I think the rod material depends on your hook set. If you drive it home with a stiffer rod you can pull the hooks out of the fish and would have better luck with a glass rod that is more forgiving. You'll feel the bite and bottom better with the composite rod, But you'll have to tone down the hookset some. Personal choice and style. I prefer the longer glass rod for 20+ cranks, With a low gear reel. But that's just me.