kickerfish1

If you are ok with the larger sized frame then go for it. I had one of the originals and sold it for about that used but in mint condition in favor of the CT that I bought for $70 from Academy.

To clarify your original post you are referring to a reel correct? Also what model Tatula? Any Tatula rod or reel that is new for $75 would be a great buy whether it be the standard TWS classic reel or Type R, CT or CT type R, SV or any other iteration. As far as better deals go it is always a crapshoot. You may see some reels go on closeout between now and early in 2018. You may find other deals on say $200 reels for $140 but I am not sure if you would find a discount as great as what you just mentioned. I am sure there will be plenty of reels around $100 marked down to $75 or less but they won't be quite on par with a Tat mainly because many will have a composite or graphite frame.

Looks like a whole lot of wind resistance when casting. Perhaps better served as a punch bait.

I would never spend another dime on a Rage Tail Swimmer. None of mine swim, thump, or have much side to side action when used as a jig or spinnerbait trailer. Don't get me wrong I love Rage and SK soft plastics and am a huge fan of all the other baits (probably have over a few hundred packs) but the Swimmer was a fail IMO. I would take a Keitech 3.8 or 4.8 any day as well as a RI dipper or little dipper and even a partial swim senko before a Rage swimmer.

I have zero desire to try these rods though I have a few NRX rods and a new GLX. For one the price is outrageous and for two I demand a sharper and sexier rod for that sort of money. For the same money I could buy a MB Destroyer or other high end JDM or even high end custom on a sweet blank that would probably be on par with it and crush it for looks. Give it a few years and these companies will have rods pushing 1k. The price of these Conquest rods are crazy. Even on sale or rep sample prices are still going to be $100 more than a NRX. If the sensitivity is at or under a NRX why get one? Do the slightly different lengths and actions matter that much? Could one not find about every length and action desired between the GLX and NRX lines? This was a poor move by Loomis and hope that their plan isn't to phase out the NRX rods and over time and have these as their replacements.

If smalljaw67 sees this post he could offer some expertise otherwise checkout his vids on YouTube. He does legit work!

Fish some of the Mata jigs with the living rubber when you need a different look. Perfect for clear water or cold water. They come to life at rest!

Boy, I sure hope there is more than one nice outfit waiting for me when I get to heaven! Nice pairing! Cream of the crop

NRX 872 CRR? To my knowledge no such for exists. The shorter rods obviously weigh less and a re good for skipping or close quarters combat. You may also consider a 852 in either the casting or sppinning version. Great rod and very sensitive. Great rod for anything up to 3/8

853, 893, or if you need a bit more muscle the 873. The 894 is overkill and the 895 is not even a rod I would consider ever for that matter.

Sounds like you need to find a slumpbuster

K2 or Point Blank if you want something less costly.

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdaiwaadvantage153hst.html

I think you dropped a lot when you finally sold off that old tube TV

Very cool and congrats on the finish and the effort and hard work to get there. Keep it up and maybe next year you can push another spot or two higher and show the young pups up!

Have you been brushing your teeth with Megastrike again?

What to use that is under 6 ounces? Daiwa Steez 100/103 Daiwa Pixy variant Shimano Core 50 Shimano Alde 50

Bruce at ReelEx? Don't you mean Dan?

Do you happen to have the space, materials, and tools on hand to build rods with? Even basic "starter kits" will still run you some decent coin. Like the custom bait/lure guys, if you plan on getting involved with it fairly heavily it would likely be worth the effort. If you barely do it or may only do it from time to time buying the supplies to make things yourself it will always be more costly. If you have the time, money, and desire to use the tools/supplies for rod building somewhat regularly I would say go for it. You are dead on. Custom rods are desired for those 2 reasons you noted primarily. With a "good" builder the workmanship, fit, finish, and desired outcome would be better than about any mass produced rod plus you are getting what you want to a "T" and not having to settle for things here or there. There are a handful of custom builders here on the forum that would probably be able to assist you with things along the way or offer ideas should you need them. So back to my original post...If you are the builder you can cross labor and shipping off the cost list. Just replace them with whatever materials, tools, and supplies you need get started and go from there. Best of luck either way.

I believe he was asking if one could have a custom rod built using the same components as the factory production rod for a cheaper price. The Answer to that is 100% no. As far as a high end rod and the factory vs custom vs price. You can buy a rep sample NRX for around or just under $400. The term high end is somewhat tough to define. There are probably only a few blanks that most builders would consider high end even if some mid tier stuff fishes better than its price point would suggest. Much more ambiguity in this realm...

You are sort of correct and sort of off base. Fact: it is more expensive to have a custom built using the same components as a factory rod rather than buying the factory rod from a retailer. The only exceptions is that if you can find blanks and components at a very deep discount or either know a guy that will build you something for dirt cheap or can do it yourself. Fiction: Rarely does one build a custom rod verbatim to what that of a factory rod is. Why go custom? Usually I would say the number one reason is pickiness. Someone may like a companies factory rod except they wish it had different guides, perhaps cork over a foam handle, maybe they prefer a full handle vs a split grip, or maybe they want something in a specific color scheme or length. Most people that are wanting custom rods are likely those folks that have fished a good amount of factory rods to know where the their personal preferences lie. I will start with this statement. Getting a custom rod is not like getting a rod from your favorite retailer where you might get free shipping with the purchase of x $ amount . You also are going to have to pay the builder for their time/labor/msc supplies. What does shipping, labor/time/msc supplies = ? That is up to the builder, but figure $25 for shipping, a good $75 - $100 for labor and a few more bucks for supplies. That takes you pretty north of $100 off the bat and you have not purchased a blank, guides, reel seat, handle grips, etc. You would hard pressed to get a "decent" custom built rod for under $200. I would say expect to pay $250 and up especially if you are wanting to build on a decent blank with decent guides. Another thing to consider is warranty. Factory rods usually have some sort of warranty. Maybe 3, 5 or 10 years and they also usually have a replacement cost associated with it assuming it was determined to be your fault for the mishap. Customs will have whatever warranty the blank carries. Break a custom, and you will be out a rod much longer than you would a factory rod as the builder will have to build another while salvaging what they can for components. There are good and bad aspects of custom rods. They aren't for everyone but are perfect for some. I fish a combination of customs and factory rods. I like both and can appreciate aspects of both. One last piece of advice to consider. Custom rods usually have various labels on them such as built by and built for. This sort of stuff doesn't seem to go over so well should you decide to sell the rod down the road for whatever reason. Would you want a rod with someone else's name on it? Just a few things to consider...

A day late and a dollar short. Oh well, the blank was ordered prior to the sale you posted as I had checked their prior to ordering directly from NFC when they had their 50% off sale. I have used a few Kistler rods that are built the IM blanks and it seems like they fish a bit better than the original IMX series so I should be pretty happy overall I would think.

Welcome, I would look for something very finesse oriented and spinning. Probably going to want 2-4 #line, a 500 sized or other micro reel, and certainly an ultra light rod. Something suited to smaller stream trout or panfish would be ideal.

Yep, there is pretty much him and then everyone else.

I am a huge fan of the former (green gen 1) blank Elite Tech rods designed for smallmouth. These rods were priced around $129 give or take. Many always ask about the best rod for $100ish. IMO this is the best rod I have ever fished that had a retail price tag of $150 or less. Now on the flipside I have zero experience with Gen 2 rods with the brown colored blanks but from what I gather they are not as good. Several years ago I was in a local retail store and was able to see they had a few of these older Gen 1 Elite Tech rods in stock. Talked to the floor manager and he said they were not selling so they had them marked down to $79. I bought the 6'9 ML Fast spinning rod. Went out and fished it and fell in love with it. Went back to the shop to see what other models were left. The only one left was the same model that I just grabbed but marked down to $69. I bought that one too. What do I use these rods for? Everything finesse...dropshots, ned rigs, hard jerkbaits, flickshakes, and small hair jigs. IMO it is hard to believe these were sold for what they were given how nice they seemed to fish. I would put them against most rods that are in the $200 - $250 range. The only downside is they are very tough to find now and they also only made a handful of models (probably due to the smallmouth designation the rod had).