skeletor6

Exactly why I don't cheap out on my line. This applies to all lines, but is more noticeable with fluorocarbon. I spend way too much on my rods, reels, and lures to cheap out on something as important as fishing line. I understand there were availability issues with the OP, but having some extra line on hand is never a bad idea.

I'm not sure if abu has x-ship, propulsion line management or many of the other features that the stradic FJ employs, but I believe that the FJ, for the price, is probably the best deal out there. It has many features that the stella has and I haven't personally read anyone having bad experiences with this reel. I have not owned an abu spinning reel so I can't shed light on that issue. Daiwa would be my next choice for spinning reels though.

Braid for frogging. Mono for topwater and some jerkbaits and crankbaits Fluorocarbon for everything else

Like kickerfish said. That kind of money gets you at the top of the list both rod and reel. Choose wisely as this most likely will be your favorite setup and most used.

Word. Don't have a lews TP, but with a tricked out curado 50e and some tatsu....the nrx893 just keeps getting better. Fantastic rod for what it does.

If you are using the rod to throw spinnerbaits the added length offers a large advantage in casting distance. I prefer a 7' rod for spinnerbaits.

I have the ci4 and the stradic fj. I sincerely believe the FJ is the way to go unless you need the weight savings. Maybe the new improvements made to the ci4 will change that. But how it stands the FJ is a really good buy and best value in the lineup imho.

Shouldn't this be under the fishing tackle section? To add to what others said colors can vary by lake, time of day, water clarity, etc. There is no best everybody has their favorites, I fish mainly clear water so natural colors work best for me.

^^^ what he said. Braid catches wind very easy also 30lb has a fairly small diameter which doesn't help. Maybe after all of those backlashed casts you should let a lot of line out and get it neatly organized on the reel. As kickerfish said, it could also just be standard problems with not having the reel breaks tuned in correctly.

No thanks the pics I appreciate it. I was told to get the regular and rod gloves chart is somewhat unclear. Ill pull the trigger now, thanks!

Anybody put a rod glove on one of these? I was wondering if you went with the standard or XL and how it fits? Also, if the standard spinning rod glove is long enough for a 7'2'' spinning cumara rod. From the charts on the Rod Glove site it seems like I am at that in-between length. I still want to be able to use the hookeeper and such. Thanks for the help.

The H20 is actually a fine little reel. It is not as tricked out as the PQ, but both the ones I own (1 sold now) worked very well for me. They actually are great casters and easy to dial in. The centrifugal breaking system is visibly similar to my Shimano Curado's....it has 10 bearings like the Lew's SS, an aluminum frame and it just gets the job done for its price. Sure it is not a $100 reel, but seriously they have lifetime warranties on these so if anything goes wrong, you get a brand new one. Its really tough to beat these little guys for the price. You can find many posts on them around the net. I'll take centrifugal breaks any day over standard mag breaks. Having both in the PQ is nice as well, but that is my knock on the standard Lew's SS, it is tough to go back after centrifugal breaking. The Lew's Tournament takes care of this problem as well as many upgrades, but that is at a cost. Out of all the ones you mentioned....I would go with the PQ if you can afford it. If not the Mettle would be my next choice. When I was low on funds I got 2 mettle's and they served me well until I upgraded to sub $200 reels.

Have not used this specific rod but you should contact Gary at TTT. He can give you great detail of all the characteristics of this rod and also possible alternatives in the GLX lineup. He has personally fished everyone of them intensely. It is certainly something I would do before I bought any high end cranking stick. If you need more info PM me.

Dobyns 705cb Glass Fast.

Glad it got handled for ya. +1 for the warehouse. For future purposes you can ask about possible upcoming sales and most of us can give you an idea about what to expect.

I have had similar issues with the tournament series from St. Croix. Some have a tendency to be tip heavy. A heavier reel will help but did not cure the problem in mine. There also are folks that add weight in a number of different ways to the butt to balance it out. Any extra weight below the fulcrum (your hand placement) will help to balance it out. From a personal standpoint I do not like adding any unnecessary weight to my rods as I feel it negatively effects performance. That is subjective as others get by with it fine. I have heard good things about the mlxf rofdsfrom St. Croix. I hope you can get it to feel right to you.

You got the right idea. The lower gear ratios have more torque and so are less tiring. The only thing you are going to have to do is slow down as you mentioned, but you will get the hang of it. I have deep cranked on a similar ratio reel and I was fine. I do not get into deep cranking much though so it was not that large of an issue for me.

Much of it depends on the reel. You can fish small diameter lines on reels equipped for it. Lighter, shallower spools with easier start up are better equipped than those that are heavier, deeper, etc.

Nice try, Fishing Rods, Reels Line and Knots is a Subcategory of "Bass Boats and Fishing Equipment"....subcategories encompass the main category. Since the main category clearly states Bass, then the subcategory is for bass as well.

Let's use something called common sense. Bob is not going to listen to anything anybody has to say. He has yet to acknowledge how iabass8 is a liar, yet to back up how everyone is twisting facts. Has not read Sam's posting about G.Loomis' warranty program, but is quick to make assumptions about it. Also, if a company only targets the bass fishing community then they are now incompetent/inferior products in their targeted range. This forum is called BASSresource, I would find it safe to claim that most people are looking for information about Bass rods/reels/lines. Is it okay to talk about it? Sure why not, but don't shoot down a BASS rod manufacturers at a BASS forum for making BASS equipment Bob keeps bouncing arguments around as other members offer suggestions to the contrary of what he claims and believes. Most people have rods made from multiple manufacturers, because they are open to the idea that not one company makes the best rod for every technique, person, condition, boat, etc. St. Croix makes some good stuff, but they do not have the best rod for everything. They may attempt to make a rod for everything, but if someone is looking for NRX sensitivity from a St. Croix....sorry they don't have it. If someone is looking for the ingenuity, rarity, and aesthetics that Megabass offers, then Sorry St. Croix does not offer it. St. Croix is not the kings of everything and that is not a knock at their company it is a characteristic of every company. Not one company dominates the Bass market and that what makes evaluating options between different manufacturers so interesting. To Bob St. Croix is the best at everything....okay we get it already. The only useful information you contributed to the community is your experience with St. Croix's customer service. People can take from that and learn something. The rest is just bloated rants often targeted at other individuals who are offering valid points and opinions. Notice how others can get their ideas across without gigantic font, all caps, bolded and a copious amount of question marks?

Yes it can be supertuned and gains from supertuning said reel will be consistent with the gains that one gets from supertuning most reels. There are many threads on supertuning which may help you in your decision. Contacting Mike at DVT would not be a bad idea. It is hard to say whether or not it is worth the upgrade, but know that the process is irreversible and not always beneficial depending on your ability.

Mr. Snooks, please defer to the captain's opening post. and the MULTIPLE claims made. Captains Claims in OP 1.) Customer service superiority with an example 2.) Make the VERY BEST RODS ON THE PLANET!!!!!! 3.) 100% made in the USA.....(this "fact" of the captains has already been knocked down as the Fuji components on their rods are not manufactured by them) 4.) None better than elite, extreme, and tournament. I hope this clears up that the captain was not only speaking of his good customer service experience with St. Croix. There were multiple intents to his post. Boasting about St. Croix's customer service was only 1 of these intentions.

What facts did I twist Captain? I wish I could respond to what you are saying, but it is really difficult to understand your grammar. I don't believe I mentioned buying a ford or toyota, but perhaps I did. What I attempted to do was point out that for every rod in St. Croix's price ranges there are many other offerings. I am sorry, but every rod that St. Croix makes is not the best rod in its category. I appreciate a smaller company like Phenix giving it a go at the Avid's price range and putting out a couple very fine and LIGHT products. I don't know if you have ever called them, but you can get a hold of the owner Vince Borges fairly easily. Pretty good customer service and he won't even push his own rods on you. Gotta love objectivity. St Croix is diverse, they put out many products. Unfortunately, they have not put out a lineup that competes with the NRX lineup from Loomis. Something I wish they did as competition is great for consumers. I gladly welcome all competitors to the market as it makes the products that much better. Explore a little, you might find out there's actually some pretty nice rods being made.. From the custom rod building standpoint their top end blank is pretty much equivalent to a NFC HM, or Phenix K2 depending on what you are trying to build. Echoing what others have said, St. Croix's customer service is good, the best? Debatable....St. Croix produces some very fine rods....the best? Debatable....no absolutes here Captain

I bolded and increased the font size from 24pt to 12pt on the statements that I would like to comment on. First off, I would like to say that I am happy that St. Croix honored their warranty and it made you so blatantly happy. From all accounts I have heard of, this is common from their company and is a reason why people choose St. Croix. I personally would feel uncomfortable fishing with an unwarranted $300 rod. From my knowledge, most rods in that price range come with pretty decent warranties. Some better than others, but warranties nonetheless. Who has the best "backing" of their rods is a matter of opinion. I am also in favor of having American made products. Conversely, it is not weighed heavily on my purchase decisions. Thus, if a higher performing rod is offered in the same price range, I will get the one that performs better. This brings up my question, are you... 1.) Claiming that St. Croix makes the "very best rods on the planet" because they were made in the USA?. 2.) Claiming they are the best rods in the planet? If statement 1, then there are far less competitors. If statement 2, then I just feel that you do not have the exposure to the other rods on the market. For instance, Avid MSRP $190-$240...Dobyns Champion, Cumara, new Crucials, Phenix Recon/M1...etc. Tournament MSRP $250-$280.....Gen2 Cumara (not even in the same ballpark imho), even an Orochi XX is close enough to consider. Plus you are approaching on a Dobyns Extreme (not in the same ballpark) Legend Elite/Xtreme MSRP $340-$420.....where to start. Dobyns Extreme is cheaper, and is on par or even better IMHO. Certainly in the longer rods as mentioned by others they balance very well.. Not too bad of a warranty either. Craftsmanship on them are great too. Rep Sample NRX is here too...Kistler Z-Bones. Megabass has some rods priced here if you can find them. GLX's are close enough and the new split grips are great by all accounts. Cumulus' are here too. My point is there are very strong competitors for every rod all the way down to the Mojo and Premier. The market is full of rod manufacturers with warranties and customer service that are certainly worth noting. There are no absolutes by saying X company is the best at everything. When you get a St. Croix, there is comfort in knowing you have a good warranty and your money help paid U.S. laborers. This does not necessitate that you got the best rod for your money. Personally, I keep EVERY option open when buying a rod. When the bargain room gets deals is when I find it worthwhile to check out St. Croix, otherwise there are many other options to consider and should be consider by those who have worked for their money and want to get the most out of it. So how can you even know how good other rod manufacturers are at Customer Service and honoring their warranties if all you have is St. Croix? Even then, the IMX had a very strong following with its performance back in the day Hate to burst your bubble, but many rods compare to the Legend Elite. The avid is a nice rod, but fishes right along with its competitors and there are rods much lighter and sensitive than an avid and a legend elite.

Biggest advantage is they weigh less. A blank is at its greatest efficiency when bare. Components obviously need added in order to fish. The lighter the components on the rod the more efficient the rod is. Thus, microguides should aid in rod efficiency. Claims of more accuracte and longer casting have not been observed in my experience. Aaron Martens does mention in the promo for the Orochi DropShot rod that the smaller guides allow the line to stay in contact with the guides better aiding in sensitivity. Take that FWIW