upnorthbassin

Yeah, I'm going to save a few bucks for one of their TW exclusive rods (probably the squarebill rod) either way. Gift cards burn a hole in my pocket though....epsecially if it's for a place that doesn't have the exact item I want to buy next....and right now I have more gift cards to places than I do cash. I have some to Walmart too but they don't have too many rods I want....although I wouldn't mind a Veritas I guess.

I agree on the Powell rods. I have a diesel and I'm impressed with it for the money. If I were just spending money I'd like to buy one or 2 more of those...but in this case I have a gift card to Cabelas to use up. The Daiwa is $75. For $25 more I could get a Veritas or a Mojo. For $25 less I could get a Sellus. I'm wondering how they all stack up. I have a vendetta that is pretty close to the same specs as the Daiwa I was looking at too. I don't use the Vendetta much so this might just take up more space if it's not any better. This will be a second worm/jig bc rod....a MH/H F/XF rod mainly for jigs (w/ trailers total weight up to around 1oz give or take a little depending on the jig). I'd like a split grip w/ eva grips. I'll probably put the pinnacle optimus xlt on it that I got recently. The selection on Cabelas.com isn't bad but it's lacking all of my top choices in that price range.

They remind me of a blue colored vendetta looks-wise. I heard a few people say they were pretty decent for $75. Anyone try one out?

I had an exceler. I wouldn't say it was bad but I wouldn't really praise it either. It felt a little rough on the retreive. I don't know how else to describe it but definitely not very smooth overall. I tried other brand new models in the store and they felt that way too. I won't really knock it for that because most reels around that price feel that way when compared to $150 reels. Obviously people are paying the extra money for something. It might have been better if I had taken it home, broke it down and cleaned/relubricated it (I normally do that but I did not on this reel). The good thing about it is that it's well built, has a metal frame, and you can find them on sale for a bit over $60 sometimes. No centerfugal brake but you usually don't get that on reels at that price point anyways. People tend to either love or hate the knobs on them.

I recenty got a 600yd spool of green 12# off Ebay. It was around $10 shipped.

I'll go to cabelas and check. If they're 20 bucks I'm getting a few.

Bringing this one back from the dead because I'm curious how it's worked out so far. Those Sellus rods do seem pretty darned good for the $ but I don't own one myself.

I got the reel and gave it a look over. It feels smooth and well put together. It does have a couple of very minor cosmetic issues with the finish and plastic parts but nothing too bad. I haven't had the opportunity to fish it yet so we'll see how it does. It seems like it will be a good reel. There's no adjustment on the centrifugal brake but it doesn't seem like it's a heavy brake so there shouldn't be a problem with it. I also picked up a Shimano Symetre 2500FJ too. It's been a while since I've had a Shimano reel but it seems pretty decent. I'm debating what to spool them up with now. Probably Yozuri Hybrid for both but I may try some Invizx on the Pinnacle.

Just pulled the trigger on one tonight so I guess I'll find out for myself huh? Thanks for the input guys!

I have a Diesel and it's good...especially considering you can get them for $70 and on sale for 60 sometimes. Great value.

I'm going to have to go with the St Croix Avid. I have also bought a Dobyns Champion new in that price range that's really nice too but it's not fair to compare them since it normally lists for more money. I am happy with both for what I use them for.

Those reviews are pretty much the only thing I have found online (along with reviews from a few customers on tw, etc). Those posts from RW are basically what got me thinking it might not be a bad choice. When a Shimano guy is willing to say a Pinnacle product is good...that's gotta be worth something right there.

I've read a few favorable reviews on this reel but not that much info overall. I haven't really read anything negative about them though. I haven't seen one in person yet but it seems like it might be pretty decent for the money. What do you think? How does it compare to other reels in that price range like the Curado G series and the Lews Tourney Pro? I own/have tried those so that would give me something to compare them to. I am thinking of trying something new and different. I also saw one of those Omuma Komodo reels for around that price too but I've had mixed results with their stuff in the past.

I have one lews reel. It's the tourney pro model. I haven't had the chance to use it much but I can attest to the build quality and smoothness being excellent. It's super light too.

I vote for 6# on spinning gear and 12# on baitcasting. Anything higher than the 6# on spinning gear and I don't care for it. I've only been using it maybe 6 months but I like it so far. I'm going to spool up almost all my reels with only hybrid when spring comes around because I think it's a good all around line for most applications and it's inexpensive too.

Pflueger supreme xt. The stradic fj would be the next one in line for me. I'd be happy with any of them but I am sold on those. There's stuff I don't care for on any reel....nothing is perfect. Stick a Supreme XT or Stradic FJ under the tree at Christmas and I'm a happy guy. The stradic is heavier and has a much smaller diameter bail wire if that matters to you. I don't think that matters much in the end though....especially if you manually flip the bail which is a better method anyways. Can't go wrong with either.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have a rainforest 2 blank here...I think 2 of them actually but not that specific one. I won't use it to throw any live bait with.

I've been slowly moving some of the heavier plastics over to baitcasting setups. This past summer I caught my biggest smallie of the year on a weightless plastic from a baitcaster. 8 out of 10 times though the weightless and smaller/lighter stuff is still on spinning gear.

I should clarify....by the spinning part of it I mean blanks that are maxing out at or just below the lure weight and have listed line lb below what you would generally use on a casting setup. Also they seem to be a lighter power too. I want something with more power like a MH and a faster action than what I see. I really prefer 1 piece rods but it seems there's not much out there for 2 piece ones when it comes to blanks.

Ok. Looking for a somewhat specific blank. This rod will be used as a striper rod. Mainly river shore fishing. It has to be a 2 piece casting rod (to fit in the trunk). I'd like it to be somewhere 7'-7'6". I'd go 8' if I had enough room which is doubtful though. This is going to be used to throw things like large sluggos and similar so basically needs to throw stuff up to around 1.5oz or so. Since it's going to be a trunk rod I'd like to keep it inexpensive as it's bound to be abused a bit. Just going to use it here and there to do a quick stop on the way home from work next season. When striper fishing I am pretty much 100% surfcasting right (fishing a lot of bait with 4+ ounces and 10'+ rods) now so I'm not sure what is the best way to go for this type of rod. Should I go with e glass for the toughness? Should I go IM6? I see a lot of blanks that seem to fit the bill but they are all 1 piece or they are spinning blanks. Any ideas?

Right now if I had to get 2 reels new for around $150 each Spinning - Pflueger Supreme XT (or Patriarch if you can get a deal on one). I'd take a Stradic FJ too though as a second pick. Baitcasting - Lews Tournament Pro. Although I would be happy with some of the curado series or maybe a revo s too. Those are all pretty good reels and it's more of a personal preference. You won't know what you really like until you try them.

This exactly.

I have ordered from that site in the past. It says processing but I actually got the items in the mail in about a week and it still said processing on their site. They have some pretty good deals on there.

I wonder that too....but then again I paid $28 for that black max 2 new and I say what the heck I can't pass that up. For cheap money it seems like it will last long enough. I bought it as sort of a beater reel to begin with. Something to keep in the car and I won't be that mad if someone steals it or I slam that rod it's on in the car door or something. I actually think for the $40-$50 they want for those black maxes....those things are a good deal. I'm surprised how mine casts (casts far and fairly smooth on the cast) and how quick it was to dial in. This thing just refuses to backlash. I've done stupid things with it and it just won't backlash. I think the thing is posessed or something. I'm gonna go cast a dumbell into a fence just to see if I can get the thing to do it. hehehe. The retrieve is definitely so/so. You can feel the play in it. It feels like a cheap reel with that play in it. I think it's still money well spent though since the price is so low. I still don't use it that much since it's sort of a backup/keep in the car sorta deal so I don't think I'll burn it up that quick. Almost makes me want to get a revo s to see...but I think I'm gonna get a lews tourney pro next instead. I'll get a revo after that to compare maybe.

Maybe there should be a deals forum where people can post to it. Cabelas has Shimano Sahara 2500s for $44.99 right now online. That's a pretty darn good deal. They also have plano softsider tackle bags for half price right now too.