Fishing Doug

GMAN, Excellent stuff. the jig is on my "what to learn in 2007 list"........this is info I need! LBH, looking forward to reading about your techniques as well.

I have the CBR843 crankbait rod and love it. Great action and power and light weight. I am not sure on the blank quality compared to GL3, IMX, etc but I have a feeling someone will be here shortly to answer that part.

I bought my last Loomis like that....I posted a topic about the SJR843 and received an overwhelming "you are gonna like it" so I ordered it. On the other end of the spectrum-if there is a rod that I am not familiar with, I would want to hold it first. FD

Avid, Does the TD-Z have a longer handle or just higher quality? I like the idea of that...one reason I am going with the SOL or Alphas is to get a feel similar to my TD-Z (the Chronarch 50 MG is still in the running too).

I have been comparing the 2 as well. It appears that with a little internet searching, you can find both of them new for around $190 (give or take a few either way). I do like the fact that the Alphas is lighter and more line capacity....but.... I am worried about the fact that I wouldn't be able to send it to ReelMech for cleaning or maintenance :-? call me crazy, but I may go with the Sol....

I wanna know too!!! These seem to be a popular item on this board...I have finally broken down....I gotta have one. I recall a BassResource.com member saying they found them for $185 and free shipping....if any has this website, let us know.

Raul, What is the weight of the Alphas type F? Import version of the Sol, correct? FD

Whittler, I agree with what you are saying. Let's say you have some massive wood/cover to punch through. Would you be at an advantage by downsizing the trebles one size (particuarly the Bomber Square A)? Or, would this cause a signifcant decline in hookup ratio? FD

I use Bomber Square A's for shallow cover. The only thing I have to compare it to is lipless cb's.....they do go through the cover much better than them, however, I went through a lot of them this year. Luckily they are cheap. FD

MBR 843 TD-Z 12 lb Yo-Zuri my favorite set up, and my favorite bait.

Cabelas.com sale....about 10 bucks/1,000 yards. gotta love that. http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0003201115422a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=yo+zuri&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=yo+zuri&noImage=0

I gotta say, I am with the natural on this one. I have never fished either, but held both side by side earlier in the week at BPS. Now, from all of the input I have gathered from this board and other sources, it is unanimous that the Stella is the best in the biz....however, how do we know if it is better than the Steez until we fish the Steez in order to get a true comparison?? I am risk taker...and I like the lighter weight.....if I were in the market for one or the other, I would bring home the Steez.

GMAN, thanks for the info. jigs and soft plastics are on my '07 list to improve on....info like this will give me a head start.

Gman, can you give me an example of when you need to go smaller? Or, on the flipside of that, when a larger presentation is better? FD

Fellas, Looking for your input on when you use one over the other. My thought is that a jig and craw, grub, etc. would have a similar profile and action in the water compared to a jig head and craw, grub, beaver, etc. Am I off base here? Are these interchangeable or do you have certain conditions that you will chose one over the other. FD

Agreed. I also have this reel in the smaller (750) version on my ultralight for crappie/bluegill. I have caught well over 500 fish on this reel and not a single problem.

wow. now this is weird.....I was just standing in my dining room, pitchin' into my living room aiming at my latest edition of Field and Stream laying on the floor until the lady told me to stop 'cause she was tired of seeing a baby brush hog on a jig head fly by her while she was on the couch trying work from her laptop. so there you have it. that is how I practice (until someone tells me to stop).

dink, glad to hear you have your heat back...I was lucky enough to not lose power at my place, but our office did for a while...barely set us back though. Doug

I have a feeling that my next spinning rod is going to be a Kistler. the only reason I have not bought one yet is the fact that no shops around my area handle them. However, the Cabela's will be open in the spring and I assume they will stock them since they are on their website. My question is this: has anyone had experience with their warranty service? If it can match, or at least come close to St. Croix or Loomis, I am likely to own one.... any experiences? FD

I have the exact rod that riskkid suggested. great rod for the $$$. I would suggest that as well. However, some other guys may think that the moderate action is too slow for spinnerbaits, but if you are fishing cranks as well, I don't see any way around that.

I have one but have not used it yet. I was drawn to it simply due to the no fore grip, split rear grip design without having to have a custom rod made. I have tossed a few jigs with it to get a feel for the rod and it appears to be very sensitive and it is comparable in weight to my IMX MBR743. one drawback is you do not have the lifetime warranty that you will find with rods just above that price point. FD

Welcome to the board! You will get a lot of good feedback on this board, however, one of the first questions the experts here are going to ask is: what is your primary use going to be for this setup? one of the next questions is: what is your budget for the rod? Post the answers to those 2 questions and you will get more and more accurate responses. FD

Ok, let me start this post by saying this: I own 3 Sammy's but have not used them yet (instore BPS special of $6.99 each). I still feel that I should become a better fisherman by using 'more common' lures before stepping up to the plate with LC's due to the fact that I am just now getting into largemouth. However, knowing me, it is only a matter of time before I take the plunge. One reservation I have is this: Stemming from posts specific to lipless crankbaits, I have read many posts that claim that members feel that the increased success of the Yo-Zuri's, LC, etc lipless baits is simply due to the fact that it is something (slightly different color, sound, shape, etc) new to bass as opposed to everybody and their brother throwing the standard issue Rat-L-Trap. Now, I firmly agree that there is a higher level of quality with the LC baits, however, how much LC success do you guys feel is attributed to the fact that not everyone is throwing them? Maybe I am off base here, but I think it is safe to say that even on highly pressured waters, only a small percentage of anglers are throwing LC baits. thoughts? FD

I have a Stradic and love it. However, using My TD-Z's has spoiled me and I love the lighter weight. I have a Stradic MGFA coming Monday or Tuesday for my SJR843. I have obviously not used it yet, but I did play around with one that was spooled up at a local tackle shop-feels as smooth as the original. i think both of them are a great value. I felt the Fuego as well and couldn't justify the extra $$$....plus, I am a certified member of the Shimano (spinning reel) posse! ;D Also, watch the flea market forum and you may not even have to go to ebay to get a good value on one! FD

just got my CBR843 and SJR843 (yep, he can get those too) today and they are perfect. Between my fishing partner and I, this makes 5 rods we have purchased from him...They appear to be perfect cosmetically...if they are some type of "B" run, I think it would have to be internally in the quality of the blank somehow.