skeletor6

Whether your a braid or a fluoro guy this gentleman is describing the exact situation that fluorocarbon would call for. Sharp jagged material will wear heavy on braid as it possesses very poor abrasion resistance. For purchase follow the price hierarchy. InvizX < FC Sniper < shooter < tatsu. Do not buy cheaper than invizx. Your digging problems are a symptom of braided line. 15lb braid on a BC severely exaggerates that symptom and is a poor line choice.

Agree, tatsu is the best. Followed very closely by shooter, and FC sniper is a good mid-priced option with invizX being the cheapest I'd consider.

I use the same modified Albright knot. 5 up and 4 down is plenty for 12 or 8lb tatsu for me. Higher diameter I could see even going down to 4 and 3. Agree 9 and 9 is a bit much. However, I've never had the need for 20lb tatsu. Interesting analogy. I easily tugged a pontoon around with 8lb tatsu when hung up. Not something I would recommend, but the line is very strong. I would like to see its rated vs actual breaking strength. And also its diameter vs breaking strength compared to other lines. I find it reasonable to hypothesize that tatsu is the strongest FC per line diameter.

Great review...thanks

For the techniques you mentioned you should be spending at least as much on your rod as you did on your reel. Buy items at discount to improve your utility. I would look at a dobyns champion, Phenix m1 or recon... the Gen 1 cumaras or a used glx like a 844 or 843 I've seen go for around 200

Ill respond with more detail later, but within the weight savings is mass. A rod blank that is thinner lighter and has less mass such as an nrx 822syr compared to a beefier thicker rod blank like an nrx 873 or 854 requires less energy to cause energy to move throughout. Think of pushing a1000 pound car vs a 2000 pound. Less enerfy is required from the object exerting force to allow sufficient transfer energy to the object that the force is being exerted onto. Another example could be a large punching rods often called broomsticks. These are not very sensitive at all compare those vs a lighter less powerful rod in the series and the sensitivity increase is obvious.

I don't know that we need a proponent for any company. That just leads to extreme subjectivity. Objective honest comparisons with informative observations is helpful to those on the forum spending their hard earned money. Saying I bought this reel over that reel without explanation does not tell a user anything other than the history of someones purchases. Which to most is unhelpful.

You're going to hear alot of great reviews on the extreme. Frankly, the bsr 852 still stands as one of the best spinning rods made. I cannot compare the two with personal use, but St croix rods are a different animal. If you like that bsr852... think very hard about getting a glx 852s jwr... very similar rod maybe slightly less powerful at the tip. Or the NRX 852s... this would be my choice as you fish many weightless plastics and the rod is fantastic for the purpose and even smaller jigs. It won't be as stiff in the tip but will have the trademark NRX crispness and sensitivity. Logically, these Rep sample rods aren't much different in price. Both have great warranties. I think it comes down to your personal decision. Do you want a rod who's behavior is different from your broken gem? Or do you want a rod that's an upgrade built from the success of the rod that has served you so well? Using new equipment is fun. The fact that the extreme will fish different could be an easy motive to choose that route. Its nice having exposure to multiple high end equipment. I could see this being a tough decision. From everything I've read the extreme mentioned by iabass8 is one of St. Croixs finest. Sensitivity should be a wash with the GLX series. What I believe it ultimately comes down to is personal preference both will be fine rods. Last note would be to contact iabass8 about what year his rod was manufaxtured. Ive seen rods vary significantly in balance per year. From what I understand, the best extreme made in that model was made a couple years ago. Not easy to find, but worth the exploration. Please report back with detailed objective observations of the rod you choose. It will be an interesting review...cheers

It can be done. However, it would be like golfing with only a 7 iron. Even if you went with what most would consider the most versatile rod, a 7' MH/F with a 6.X:1 gear ratio reel you would have trouble casting the really light finesse stuff with consistency, distance and accuracy. Also, if you went fishing in the slop you may find yourself underpowered. Also, I prefer different length rods for different purposes. For deep dropshotting I prefer to use a 7'2'' rod, for the shallower stuff, I prefer my 6'10'' rod. Same goes for many other gear. I got some great advice when I first started acquiring gear and that was to never sell anything you have, because someday you will find a use for it. Now I haven't been in the game long enough where my equipment is severely outdated, but I came close to selling a couple rods/reels that are staples in my system that I am constantly building upon. To touch on the second part of the question, that revolves around if you could only have 1. I would choose my NRX 893c with a Curado 50e tuned and upgraded. In a pinch I can get this rod to do quite a bit and I am very familiar with it.

I agree...ease of casting resulting in increased accuracy is my largest benefit. Second would be being able to cast slightly lighter baits further and more consistent. Take note on the word slightly. Last would be distance. It's most noticeable on my 200e7 as opposed to the 50s...distance is gained nonetheless.

And here I thought we might be discussing the rods that Jeremy Wade uses. The guys got me on a river fed dam that is an old gravel put going down a few hundred feet tossing live bait hoping to say "Fish On" no luck, but the locals all tell me there's a creature unlike any other who feeds on the souls of young children.

I agree

A high speed reel for sure. The 200e7 is a great choice. Although the Tatula has got my eye at the moment. Abput shimano drags. Changing over to lews isnt justified just for the drags imho. Drags are cheap. I could pm you a reel tech that can fit shimano salt water reel drags in a 200e7. My drag strength is far above even a carbontex. Same price too

Gotcha, thanks for clarifying that. Nonetheless, I would wait for more reviews on the Ci4+. The 200e7's are time-tested reels. All the information I have at the moment points to the Ci4+ being a very nice reel, but without enough members being able to provide feedback i would proceed with caution. Even with Shimanos excellent QC.

X2....i would be devastated losing a $60 investment. I would be more worried about the line effecting the action of the swimbait. If not, I would go with a very thick diameter high quality fluorocarbon as they have the highest abrasion resistance and are really tough lines during any type of circumstance if you get a quality version. Just make sure you check your line often for knicks, kinks, etc. I also have heard good things about high pound test mono for the purpose. In most tests I have seen, fluorocarbon holds up much better under abrasion. Definitely do not go with braid, toothy critters slice through braid very easily. A heavily infested pike lake while fishing braid took that idea away.

if you are really looking to make a big investment I would go with the following. NRX 893c for jigs/t-rigs up to 1/2oz......paired with a curado 50e or chronarch 50e NRX 873crr or possibly the 894 or 895 for the heavier jigs/t-rigs...paired with a Daiwa Tatula (high speed version) or a 200e7 NRX 852S for your finesse spinning gear.....Go with a Stradic FJ 2500.....best reel for the money and all you will need IMHO Dobyns 705CB Glass for your crankbait rod.....very versatile and will do almost everything but deep cranks....you could also get a BPS carbonlite if you want to go cheaper.....i would put a nice crankbait reel. There are many do a search on it. That should about max out your $1500....you will not want to replace any of the rods/reels. All will have excellent warranties and they are the best in the business. Get the NRX's as repsamples to save money and get the reels on discount during TW's annual sales.

Great point brought up here by Bob. It is not as simple as Fast or XFast. Dedicated dropshot rods are like the one described by bob. The so called "hinged" action is the manufacturers deliberate intent to create a softer tip section with the properties of an XF line. So a medium powered blank ends up having a ML tip-section with XF properties if that makes any sense. If you have used such a rod, they are perfect for the technique. Plenty of give in the tip to work the dropshot correctly, but yet power in the blank to horse out what you need to. Many have different preferences for their rods which is understandable. Ideally, I prefer an XF action rod as mentioned above with that softer tip-section so you can shake the bait and not the wait applying the correct presentation throughout.

For one, this question cannot be answered with accuracy. Many have not had the time to test the Ci4+ and put it through abuse and use that it takes to accurately compare a reel. So many of these questions are purely speculative. I know of a few that are testers for the Ci4+ and great things have been said. Still, I would wait for more reviews for an accurate response. Zach, I believe the Ci4+ is more of a 100 sized Shimano and not a 50 size. Please correct me if I am wrong?

Agree that sunline sniper FC is the way to go with that deal. Honestly, without the deal you should go that route. As i mentioned, you will end up paying the price as your line damages from poor handling, poor knot strength, poor abrasion resistance, and many others. Furthermore, you can get 3 spoolings out of a 200 yard spool and that cuts the price into a third. Most who have gone the cheap route end up paying more in the end, or end up hating fluorocarbon all-together. I do not blame them, the cheap stuff is just that, cheap. Also, when you use FC as a leader, it is far less demanding on the line overall. FC as a mainline will really show off the strengths and weaknesses compared to a few foot section of line used as a leader. Still, as a leader, one would need the abrasion resistance and knot strength among other factors, but I feel you can get away with cheaper line as a leader compared to using a mainline. Personally, I use the good stuff for both.

I don't have any scientific information to back it up, but commonsense tells me a linewith less weaves would be more abrasive. Powerpro has 4 weaves I believe....half of many of the 8 weaved braids so perhaps powerpro? Also, it is a highly used line so the results would be interesting to many on the board. Second consideration is line diameter. The really thin diameter braids would do more damage than the wider diameters. So there are a few variables in play.

So wait, You have $1500 dollars to spend?. Some clarification on everything you are looking for would be great. 1.) Rods/reels you already own 2.) Do you want to spend all of that money 3.) How many outfits do you want 4.) What weight ranges are you looking to fish for you jig/t-rig/work rod 5.) What line do you use, braid, Fluorocarbon, mono, hybrid? 6.) What kind of cover do you fish in? 7.) Also, what length ranges are you comfortable with. Some can't deal with rods over 7 foot 8.) What size lakes are you fishing and out of what type of watercraft? The more information you give the better, What I would say is that you spend less on your cranking setups, the reel is more important in those setups. And for bottom contact setups, you go all out and get the best you can afford. The reel is less important in these setups. I would be happy to give you some information and guidance. Shoot me a PM if you need some philosophical advice.

Bout time I hear something about that Rod! Shoot me a message. And tread lightly getting an NRX. They are fairly addicting. I have some very nice rods, even some as light, but when it comes to sensitivity I feel I am missing something from every rod down the line. The NRX's, at least the models I own all give me more feedback than I could possibly need. I can distinguish everything from bottom composition to species, size, and how exactly the bass took the bait. I was surprised how many bass actually stalk their prey before they make their move. Among other things. With that said, I still appreciate my cumulus' cumara lower line loomis etc. A general trend anyone can use is strength to weight ratios of rods. It often is an indicator of a rods sensitivity and performance. Light guides, reel seats also help, but the blank is the heart of of most of these builds. The NRX lineup attempts to do what most custom rod manufacturers have been doing for quite some time now. If the NRX blank was offered for custom builds you could have one sick rod. A NFC HM, or k2 or SCV can all be built VERY light. I would be interested in doing side-by-side comparisons against comparable NRX's. I've seen rods below 3 ounces rated with well rated power. Price, and warranty is the only thing keeping me weary. Still, I am glad to see the trend of companies going lighter in all aspects. I am all for improving the equipment we use for our fishing. It keeps it fun and keeps my bank account low. All of the old equipment goes into storage once the lighter equipment came into play. My IMX 844 MBR feels heavy and insensitive, its my spinnerbait rod now. It is like playing with golf balls and clubs from the early 90's or 80's. Performance is certainly lost. Rods are getting lighter and stronger and reels are lighter than ever. Being a younger guy in great shape, I still can appreciate how the lighter equipment is less tiring. Out on the water for 8+ hours can be a wear, fishing with heavy gear is tiresome. Its just not the older members on here.

Actually the mettles I have owned are very nice reels for the money. None of them exhibited the symptoms that you are describing and were surprisingly smooth and simple. I would get yourself a new one.

Unfortunately, ignorance and arrogance does not go away with age. Sorry captain. Every time you make condescending posts you are going to offend people. Your history on this site speaks for itself.

I suggest a 50e. And get whatever one you think looks better. Unless there's a nice sale, I'd probably get a used curado 50 and have it cleaned, tuned and upgraded by a professional.