kickerfish1

Very true on the resell value of custom rods. Custom rods are great but what you never hear about is their cost. Start with a $150 blank, add in guides, a real seat, cork or Eva handles, thread wrap, any trim or accent parts and you could easily be up to $250-$300. Add in the cost of the builders time (probably a good $50+ and their cost to ship it (probably $25-35) as they aren't like TW where they can give you free shipping. When it is all said and done you could easily be at $350 - 450. The builder will probably put their name or company name on it and in return you may want your name on it or something to your liking. When selling it you would probably only get a fraction of what you paid for the rod. Sure you get exactly what YOU want when you ordered but the problem is that on the secondary market the number of potential buyers is also very small. I have seen custom rods that cost about $500 to create sell for about $225. I know this because I have one. You can build a custom rod for about $175-200 realistically however to get anything with high end feel and performance you will easily be close to $300+ even with a simplistic look. Deep I would say you are 100% right about the 893 and 894 being two pretty popular rod choices in the casting models. I would also add the 873 CRR to the list as well. If you have the storage room for one in your vehicle or on your boat they are great to use though some guys with space limitations opt for the shorter rods.

Welds, while I am a big Shimano fan I really don't think many of Shimanos rod lines will wow you for feel any more than your red Cumara. The Cumulus rods are the best rods Shimano has ever offered for feel and they are incredibly light. The downside is they fish lighter in power than their ratings suggest. For example the 6'10 MH casting rod fishes more like a true medium rod. I use mine for sort of a mag finesse rod. The only way to get your hands on a Cumulus would be buying one used more than likely and also keep in mind that they are lighter in power than their specs would indicate. Even if you could save some money and buy an Avid, a Zodias, a KLX, etc in the back of your mind you will always be wondering "what if". I would encourage you make this one count. Whether it be an Orichi XX, older classic GLX, Rep Sample NRX, Custom rod, Z-Bone, or some JDM rod you should treat yourself to something nice that has proven itself for feel. I would save up for the NRX rod and not look back. Rep sample and dealer demos can be had for under $400 and used rods are closer to $320-375. Good luck whatever route you go!

A Steeze is not worth the money if you want an ultra sensitive blank and on a lower scale neither is the Expride.

http://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Dredge-Brush-Rubber-451.htm http://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Dredge-Brush-Mata-443.htm The two above links will take you to jigs containing living rubber. One is 100% living rubber and the other is part living rubber and part silicone. I am a big fan of the brush heads for all around use even around light weeds.

Sure, for mono Suffix Elite has always treated me well for an inexpensive offering. For flourocarbon I almost extensively use Tatsu and Sniper. Invisix and Abrisix are solid bets as well though I don't use them much anymore.

Siebert offers some for a good price. Check out their Dredge series. Should find all silicone jigs, silicone and living rubber jigs, and jigs containing only living rubber. If you don't see what you like Mike could probably build you something.

That would keep a kid busy on a hot summers day!

Sure, the rods I listed would all offer exceptional feel. It seems like aside from price that is your main concern. Have had several other guys ask a similar question before. Watched them go from $100-$300 rods to mainly NRX rods. If they had to do it over again they said they would have gotten the NRX rods sooner. On the flipside there are always people that start higher with GLX and NRX rods before settling on less expensive offerings. I have owned probably 50 rods from $80-$550 NRX rods. I can tell you my next rods ordered will be custom, NRX, GLX, and Megabass rods when purchasing a rod for feel techniques.

If $300ish is your budget and after reading another post of yours I would not look at any of the rods you listed. Maybe the champion extreme but outside of being one the best looking USDM rods and we'll balanced with a great warranty it won't wow you with feel IMO (I have 2 Extremes and probably wouldn't add a third). The Megabass Orichi XX rods offer better feel in my hands and have pretty awesome blanks and build quality. I would also consider a custom build for that price point. (DVT maybe?) Older lightly used classic GLX rods not the new ones ($200-350 used) You may be able to find a used NRX for around $350 or less. It would blow the other rods away just on feel and IMO casting distance. With Black Friday and the closure of the fishing season a few months away for some folks, you will likely see an influx of rods for sale. Research your options extensively but also consider warranty and the "what if" should something happen to your big investment after one week, one year, 5 years, or 10 years...

The best way to stretch a budget is to buy quality and gently used pre-owned rods and reels. Generally I prefer to buy all my rods new but have ZERO problem buying reels lightly used from trusted individuals. If buying used check places like E-Bay or wait for holiday or other special sales to help cut the cost down. Generally you can find plenty of 10-25% sales coming up on Labor Day (less than a month away).

Did you order the Megastrike baits directly from Megastrike or somewhere else? I would love to get a few more packs of their baits to try but the color selection is somewhat lacking...

Hooks - I use a size 1 or 2 VMC spinshot Weights - 3/16 to a 1/4 oz cylinder style Baits (Roboworm)- straight tail roboworms FX sculpins, and alive shads Baits (Jackall) - I-shad and cross tail shad Pick colors that fit your taste and water clarity. If you can't get bit on these baits you probably won't get bit with anything else. Years of drop shot experimenting has led me to Jackall and Roboworm almost exclusively. That is not to say you couldn't pick any plastic bait and drop shot it, but these are my most consistent producers year round and on different lakes.

Spools and internals are nearly identical. The Scorpion has slightly better quality bearings and also the grey brake pins on the VBS system which emit less brake force. I would give the edge slightly to the Scorpion 1000XT for weightless or lighter baits.

I bought one on here for a good price. Just the standard model to try. Frankly I don't think there is a reel that can match it for under $100. Sounds like the size of the reel doesn't bother you which is a big plus. When you mention heavy cover and needing lots of power I think you will be quite pleased with what the reel has to offer. Nearly impossible to backlash and a capable casting reel for good distance. Haven't tried the Type-R version but outside of the cosmetic differences you really aren't getting much. Many online places are selling the standard version for $100+/-

Good choice! Swimbait/A-rig reel maybe?

The only Cabelas rod I have ever liked of theirs after owning about 5 or 6 rods is the their XMLti series. I bought one for $95 years back (1/2 price of retail). Looking at their website they seem to be discontinued or not made at this time. That is unfortunate because they were great rods. Didn't care for the XML rods, Fish Eagle rods, Magtouch, etc.

Sure! I haven't fished one yet as they were bought for a trip up north that never happened. Clear water and skiddish smallmouth were on the agenda. Sadly my local lakes offer neither of these items so I haven't felt the need to use them. If you try them and like them shoot me a PM. I will check my rigging supplies to see what might work best.

I have quite a few of those tube like craws in my collection. If you are looking for more shoot me a PM. At one point I had several dozen packs I bought for smallmouth grips up north. Haven't been able to go for a while. I can double check what I have left if you are interested?

Just think by the time this thread has had its fill there will be an actual TW sale!

Put some clothes on that kid! (only kidding) happy birthday!

Some nice looking pieces in that photo!

Both, I have probably 5 dozen packs of both brands combined.

They are far and away the most effective for me. Worth a look on your next order somewhere...

Same here when a smaller profile is needed!

Yes, they are highly effective!