sarcazmo

Thanks for the quick reply! So far i've been really impressed with the maps on the navionics webpage. The one I was looking @ was the Hotmaps Platinum which I believe are the maps you were referring to. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

So I recently bought a boat that came with a couple of old Eagle 480 graphs. I started doing some research and am going to upgrade in the near future. Right now I'm leaning towards a Lowrance HDS-8 for the console, not sure if I can swing another one for the bow though. I've been looking at the bundle that includes the insight maps. Question is is there any way to make sure it has maps for the waters I regularly fish? Any first hand info on these maps? Do you think it would be better to just buy a navionics chip and load those instead? Thanks!

Just throwing this out there. I currently have a BPS Pro Qual, Lews Tourney pro and Okuma Helios. I really like the BPS PQ, the Lews is definitely an upgrade over it but very similar. I will be purchasing more Okuma reels in the near future. Amazing build quality, easy on the eyes, smooth retrieve, smooth drag, light!

I've got a bass pro carbonlite I use for texas rigged plastics and an Abu Garcia veritas for carolina rigging. I really like them both and theyre reasonably priced! Can also look @the Powell Diesel line of rods as they seem to be getting pretty decent reviews and the price is right! One other rod that looks interesting is the *** *** Black. Seems like a lot of rod for the money. Of course make sure to match your rod with the application you're going to use it for.

Yeah I was looking around and it seems the helios only comes in one gear ratio? Pretty good deals to be had on the komodo on fleabay as well it seems.

I agree! I'm trying to find the most glaring hole in my lineup (IE no specific spinning rod, pitching, crank rod) and hope to address that. Once I address that then I'll narrow it down to a few different manufacturers and hopefully go handle them before making my final decision. It seems that MH/Fast actions are pretty versatile the biggest difference being the length?

I've got zero experience fishing frogs TBH. If I got a frog stick could that double as a flippin/jig stick? What kind of rod would you recommend for topwater?

In regards to a cranking setup. My helios is a 6:x:x ratio. Would you recommend pairing it with a different (slower) reel? Also any advice on my current set ups (IE if Im using the wrong rods for wrong applications) would be fantastic. Love this website.

Well I'd be pairing my next rod with an okuma helios bc reel. I just bought a boat so def fishing from it! :-) I can see why so many rods is a must, it sucks retying!

So I'm in the market for a new rod and was hoping you guys could help me get closer to the kind that I need. Right now I have 7ft Medium Carbonlite with Pro Qualifier just spooled it with seaguar 15lb floro for t-rigs. Mostly fish 1/4oz with it. 7ft 3 MH Veritas with Lew's Tournament Pro. Spooled with the same line as the carbonlite. Made this my carolina rig stick. 6'6" Medium Compre with Stradic Ci4 8lb Pline copolymer for finesse applications though I usually leave it set up for drop shotting. I recently purchased an Okuma Helios reel that I really like and I'm trying to fill the gaps in my line up. Since I'm not super familiar I was hoping you guys could point me in the right direction. I've been looking pretty hard @ those Phenix Recon rods and would like to keep it under 200.

Ebay. I put the helios on my veritas and took it out this morning. I'll be buying another one for sure.

I can't comment on the other two, but I recently purchased a Lew's Tourney pro and can give some thoughts on it. Prior to the Lew's all my experience was with a BPS Pro Qualifier which I love. That being said there are a lot of similarities between the two. Similar dual braking system although the PQ has a couple more centrifugal brakes you can activate. The Lew's is definitely lighter and more 'solid' feeling if that makes sense. Its smaller profile also makes it easier to palm in my hand. Your results will vary based on your anatomy. Making adjustments is super easy with the lews. One thing I dont like is the click based spool tensioner. 1 click in either direction makes a HUGE difference. I dont know why but when I hear a click I keep thinking I need to go up or down a whole lcick to make an adjustment. Its very sensitive so 1/4 or even 1/8th of a 'click' can make a big difference. Casting the Lews is about as easy as any other baitcaster and the retrieve is nice and smooth. I can also comment that the drag on mine is REALLY nice. If I had to give it a rating I'd go 3.5/5. I purchased mine off that auction site for well under retail. If I was to purchase something for full price in that range I'm not sure it would have been quite worth it. I just picked up a Helios from the same site for less than I paid for the Lews. Havent fished with it yet but d**n so far i've been super impressed just messing around with it. Might want to look into one of those as well.