Tywithay

It has titanium guides frames, so I'd call 13 and ask if they can send a replacement, then have someone fix it for you. Titanium doesn't bend, so it will snap if pushed too far. It's likely cheap scrapyard titanium with a lot of other metals to water it down, so it may have more give than pure titanium, but I wouldn't push it too far.

I had 12lb XL fluoro on my Chronarch CI4+ and found it to be 'ok.' It's much softer than 100%, that stuff is garbage. It reminds me a lot of Invizx. It handled quite well, but stretch and abrasion resistance were average; same as Invizx. If you want fluoro, but don't like how fluoro handles, it's a good choice. I prefer a much stiffer line for better sensitivity and abrasion resistance, personally.

Blue and Red sounds good to me. Rock Chalk

I have the medium and use it for 3/8oz jigs, but with a heavy trailer it's pushing it a bit; though not to the point I feel uncomfortable. It has quite a bit of backbone. If you use 1/2+trailer, I'd probably use the medium-heavy, to be safe.

Are you fishing cover at all?

You can find a Metanium HG for under $300 pretty easily. Put the white brakes in and let it fly.

If you like the Steez, look into the SS SV. Similar performance with much better casting, and a lower price.

For $10, you can get a pair of septon knobs. Pretty simple fix. I love the FJ, but the CI4+ is no question a better reel.

If you can find a previous model Daiwa Exceler with MagZ and free floating spool, it's far and away the best in that range. I've seen them around $50 on sale.

It's still 100 degrees here. Been deep cranking, drop shots, jigs, and pitching plastics mainly.

In higher test, the terrible stretch of Invizx isn't as pronounced. It's also one of the more manageable fluoros at higher breaking strengths.

Abrazx has better abrasion resistance, though both are much better than Invizx in these categories. Sniper handles better and holds much better knots than Abrazx. Both lines have much less stretch than Invizx. I much prefer Sniper, personally. I don't care for Abrazx at all.

More miles have been put on Toyota Corolla than a Mercedes S-class...which is the better car? That's a very flawed argument.

*** is far and away the best blank in the price range. I would suggest getting your hands on a couple to make sure you like the feel though. The reel seats are kind of funky and the handles are very short, big turn off for me personally. The *** Green has a much more comfortable handle, but more limited specs. I wasn't impressed by the Carbonlite rods. Ghost would be ok if it had better guides, even though I hate a white rod.

Setting the hook ends up being the problem with Ugly Stiks in most cases. The tips aren't very stout, so it's very difficult to drive the hook home when you're using soft plastics. You can use light wire hooks, which helps some, but a stiffer graphite rod is a better choice; regardless of sensitivity.

I love the aesthetics of the Expride, but the performance is underwhelming. I much prefer my Orochi XX's, so I'll probably stick with those from now on.

I held a couple and they feel alright. The longer rods are tip heavy. I think it's because the handle is far too short to even be functional. I won't be buying one.

I am pretty sure they only gave away 24 and they were all right hand.

Find a deal on a Zillion Type R.

If you put the screws to him a little, the rod will be fine. I've turned 40lb flatheads using bass gear. Just let the drag do its job when the fish is making runs, but if you need to keep him away from brush or something, you can pull back. You risk breaking the line, but the rod will be fine.

Polyamide is one of my favorite lines. I have it spooled on a few reels.

I always just go for it. I have some $1000+ combos, and I have no more problem wading a river using those, than I do using my $200 rigs.

If you're paying an extra $50 for the Type R, you're getting ripped off.

I like the Type R over the regular. If you upgrade the bearings, you can get even more performance out of the lighter spool. The extra speed of the 8.1 is useful for frogs and jigs.

It's worth the extra in certain applications. I wouldn't use it in a zebco 33 though. The stiffness may prevent it from properly catching the pin and it won't sit tightly on the spool.