coak

Thanks slone, I really do feel that I like the rod in hand. I'm heading out for the first time this season and will take this rod with tomorrow. I don't know about all Fenwick models, but this one feels like it definitely has a strong, solid backbone for being a medium power. I usually never go above M power as I fish a lot of open water and mostly streams/creeks/rivers chasing 'Footballs' instead of LMB. Thanks for the post and the encouragement, I usually fish Shimano rods for the warranty, but there was no way that I was passing on Alconite guides for less than $70

Yeah as for me, unless the braid is completely shot, I will do this. Braid has nowhere near the amount of memory that mono or flouro has. Again though, I should also say that you may want to wait on others to weigh in on the subject. I only fish braid on my frog rod since I fish mostly open water; therefore someone perhaps that uses braid exclusively would be better suited to offer advice.

Bassclary---it is an ACS seat. I guess I should've caught that in my earlier post.......sorry for any confusion Yeah I had to basically tell my wife that I'm done with buying rods/reels until at least Black Friday

You may run into complications if not using a casting rod. I think primarily the guides would be massive and allow quite a bit of play in the line as you would cast. If money is tight........like real tight..........and a Dicks store is near you, I would seriously consider looking into a Berkley Amp rod. IMO for just learning and the off chance you may not stick with casting equipment, the $30 for one of these isn't a huge loss. As for the braid and reel, hopefully he may have strung the braid through the drilled holes in the spool. I believe......but may also be wrong.....when I say that there may be some slippage or line digging, but not like there would be for a smooth spool. The good thing with braid though is that you can walk the line out and re-spool using the end that you took out. This way you can ensure that backing will be applied (if need be) and have the peace of mind that your braid is as fresh as possible w/o having to buy a fresh spool.

I just picked one of these up at a Cabelas here in Columbus that just opened. Got the 6'6" M/F for wade fishing in a local river. The rod feels great with the Quantum PT reel I mounted in store, so I figured I would take a chance. I was keen to take a look at the Elite Tech Smallmouth rods but felt that they're were out of my price range. These are on sale currently for $59.......a STEAL for that price!!!!! Fuji ESC reel seat, Alconite guides and a 30 ton blank.......for less than $100 are you kidding me! I will be sure to post some sort of review after I actually get to the river once it warms up.

You must also remember that not all brand names are the same. By this I simply mean that they have a 'name', however they may be owned and operated by a larger corp. such as PureFishing and what not.

Man I so wish that there were Academy stores up here in Ohio

Another for the Cavitrons..........in both 1/4 and 3/8. Also have heard some good things, but have no experience Warrior Baits Warpath buzzbait. I may pick one up to see for myself what all the hype is about.

I too agree with the above mentioned spinnerbaits as I'm always either wading or fishing from a bank. However I will warn you that if you do not have a long attention span spinnerbaits could be a hindrance for learning slower presentations like a worm. I have the attention span of a gnat and started on spinners. With that said and I know I will catch flak for this; I have NEVER taken the time to learn soft plastics simply because I got into spinners and eventually any other fishing style that required a steady retrieve. Now I catch my fair share of fish, don't get me wrong; however at the same time I realize that I also miss out on many fish for not knowing how to or having the patience to fish a T-rigged worm/creature, wacky or any other slow presentation. Just don't have the patience. Like Nitrofreak stated, first thing would be to gain patience and avoid gaining a mindset like mine where you don't want to learn because your confident with just one 'method' of presentation.

The main advantage I believe is a reduction in overall weight of the rod due to the micro guides.

Hooligan that is a crisp setup you have there!!!!!

Depends on what you're planning on using the spinning reel for. You could get a ml or m for dropshotting and other finesse techniques, or you could power up and go mh for bigger jigs, spinners and soft plastics t-rigged. I'm sure that many others will offer advice, but for anyone to give you adequate information we must first know what you plan on using the setup for. I agree with RW on the line choice btw fwiw.

Retired, are you by any chance a left retrieve guy? I haven't found any that low, but then again I'm a right retrieve guy

Do you live near a tackle shop or store like BPS or Cabelas? The reason I ask is that if you take the rod you plan on throwing the reel on into the store with you, most stores will let you take a reel out of the box and mount it. This way you can get a better feel for the reel in your palm and see if you like the weight as well as the size, feel, etc.

So far I've picked up a BPS Extreme casting reel in the 5:1 ratio. I'm waiting for the rod trade in next week......it's either going to be a carrot stix ml or st. croix premier ml casting rod. Still haven't made the decision......will wait to throw a reel on'em in store and see how they both feel in hand.

I agree.....my fave rod is my convergence 6'6 ML. I don't really know how I'd feel about them now, since I love cork instead of the EVA grips. I def feel that Shimano rods load a little better than what I've felt in store with the M action Vendetta and Veritas fwiw.

I wouldn't be too concerned with it. If it casts decent and reels fine, I don't see how you can go wrong. I personally don't care if something has been discontinued. As long as it fishes and does what it has to it'll work just fine. Also, perhaps later on if you feel you do not like it, you could either hang onto it for a kid you may take fishing, or possibly use it for a trade for tackle or another rod/reel later on.

OK I bought a spool of this today in 65lb. Haven't opened it yet and am starting to have a little buyers remorse, thinking maybe I should have gotten another brand. Thought I'd give it a try, as I am a fan of the trilene. Just wanted to hear from anyone that either knows anything about the line overall and how it performs. Thanks, Coak

How about a Chronarch thrown onto one of those new white micro guide Bionic Blade rods?

I'm into them......as previously stated, I hope the bills don't have durability issues. I fish a river most of the time, and the smallies will smash these as long as the bill holds up.

For used G. Loomis rods you can check out American legacy fishing's used rod section as well if you don't want to deal with auction sites or forum hopping

x2.........I also recall some of the members saying something about Yo-Zuri Ultrasoft being a good line for spinning outfits, due to its ability to reduce memory. Either way you can get spools of both for about the same price as the usual Trilene lines.

I appreciate all of the information given. I do have a ML Convergence but like I said it just needs a reel. I'm going to keep a lookout for one of the ProLites that Goose has talked of, and will also probably give either the Lexa 100 or a Curado 50e a good hard look as well. Thanks, Coak