Tywithay

Spoke with a good friend of mine tonight. He used to be the merchandising manager for Bass Pro, he still has a lot of connections in the industry. Apparently, the Crucial will be offered in split and full cork configurations. They have Fuji Alconite guides as well. The Clarus is getting a facelift as well, with IM8+ blanks and full cork handles to go with it.

I don't understand the price point either. Very close to the LT, but with only a 15 year warranty. I'm intrigued, but not overly optimistic. If they had a full grip, I'd be more interested.

The correct number is the number you need to cast without having problems. The brakes have nothing to do with balance of the spool.

I noticed it occasionally, though not often. I would just close the bail, then open again, and all was fine. I removed the bail trip on my 4000, making it manual, because I use it for heave-ho casts all the time on my surf rod. It hasn't had the same issue.

It's slightly exposed. I like skeleton seats as well, but the Fuji sk is far from my favorite. I do like the ecs seat though. I have never noticed any enhanced sensitivity from any reel seat.

That's fuji's most comfortable seat. I love the new foregrip design too. The split grip is my deal breaker. So tired of them.

No.

Same system as the 13 Concept reels, and a few Banax reels. Definitely easy to adjust and seems to control the spool fairly well, in my experience.

The last model Compre is kind of a dark green too. GLX is green. I think they just like green.

Conquest is just screaming for an Adrena, or something like that.

Seems odd to make your most popular rod series green, right after changing the color of your most popular reel from green.

Nope. I don't think they'll even revamp it, to be honest. They'll probably phase it out and the Metanium will be the new Core. I don't know for sure, but it would make more sense from a business aspect.

The fine tuning is what I like about the new system. You can set it up to where you're using the bare minimum of braking necessary and really dial it in. The old system you might get too much braking with two on, but not enough with one. It had less versatility. With the Curado I and CI4+, I set one brake on and just use the dial to fine tune it based on weight and resistance. The xship doesn't change the feel until you have the reel under load.

For resistance lures, the xship on the Curado is a welcome addition. The new braking system is also a big improvement.

What reel is that? A ratio that high on a spinning reel would have no power. A 4.8:1 spinning reel has similar IPT to faster baitcasters and quite a bit of power.

What's the gear ratio on your spinning reel?

Line diameter has no bearing on IPT.

Looks like they did away with the carbon handles as well. I don't really see what sets these apart from a Lews, Abu, BPS, etc. They're probably made in one of the same factories.

Never seen a 6 foot worm. I did show up to a tournament once with a huge Rapala crankbait that was about 2.5 feet long tied on to my surf rod. Never tried to cast it, but it was good for a few laughs.

I buy nice condition used rods and reels almost every time I make a purchase anymore. My most recent used purchases have been all excellent condition, and saved me several hundred dollars. Bought an Orochi XX for $225, an Antares for $300, an Antares HG for $320, and a Steez 103SHA for $239 in the last couple months; all of them looked new. Saved well over $600 over buying new. No chance you'll find them new from a retailer for that price. Just be careful who you buy from, ask for pics, ask questions, make sure they take paypal unless they're reputable.

I'd look for a couple Stradic 2500FJ's.

You won't necessarily see digging in. A lot of it depends on the line itself, and your drag setting. I have used 20lb 832 and never had a problem with digging in. I don't really like braid for shakyheads or dropshotting though; much prefer fluoro.

I frog with micro-guide rods all the time. It has never caused me any issues. Tons of cottonwood trees in my area as well, don't recall ever having an issue with micro-guides from that either.

I've used 6lb mono/fluoro and I've used 15lb braid without problems. The lowest I typically go on a baitcaster is 8lb though. I use mostly Japanese lines, so 8lb is actually 8lb; unlike lines like yo-zuri or trilene, where 8lb is closer to 12lb diameter.

Nope. It would take you longer to make a revolution because your hand is traveling further, but the ratio will stay the same.