War Eagle 44

Well I have to say I'm a little different here, I guess I'm OCD about it but my trailers have to match. I'll go so far as say a black and blue jig with a green pumpkin blue flake trailer but that's about as wild as get. Maybe I'm limiting myself here as well but that's just the way I do it.

I realize everyone's taste in tackle is different but I've had much more success with Paca Craws than the Rage Craw. Don't take this wrong though, I still really like the Rage plastics (especially the Menace) and have a whole storage box full. Just for some reason Paca's seem to work better in the lakes I fish.

20-25# CXX or 20# P-Line 100% fluorocarbon. 20# Halo would also work just fine.

While I don't have any hands on experience with the Crucial version I do own the Cumara model. I've used it very successfully with, of course, A-Rigs but it's also very good for 1/2 oz and up swim jigs and swimbaits. I don't really have that many swimbaits as of right now but I'm more than confident in saying if I did this rod would handle them beautifully. I wouldn't have the slightest worry about picking up the Crucial, it's basically the same thing as what I have and I've been very happy with my rod.

CXX is all I use when it comes to mono/copoly. Yes it does have a little memory but it's never been the problem for me that it seems to be for other guys. I can cast this stuff just as far as any other mono/copoly that I've tried. There aren't many lines out there that are as tough or as strong as CXX. These are the main reasons I use this line exclusively, I never break fish off, period. Of course I check it often and retie as needed throughout a days fishing because as we all know, no line is magic. Works great as a leader for braid as well.

I just switched to 65# from 50# about a year ago. I made the jump just for the peace of mind that it gives me knowing I'm fishing 65# braid. Thing is, I never had a single fish break me off while using 50#. I used 50# for years and it always got the job done so I know you don't need 65# to fish frogs effectively but as I said it's just the knowledge that the "extra strength" is there with the 65#. Right now I'm fishing P-Line Spectrex braid and am really liking it. It's very similar to Power Pro except it doesn't have as much of a coating. I'm also fishing PP on 3 or 4 rods and, as most of the others already pointed out, it's really good stuff as well. These two would be my recommendation but there are certainly other quality braids out there. Sufix Performance braid is good stuff. Don't get the 832 though because it sinks and kills the action of your frog. SunLine braid is good as well as Spiderwire Ultracast Ultimate braid.

I used to own one some years back and if my memory serves it's 6.2:1.

Yes that's the one, I could be mistaken then because I really thought there was C in there. Nevertheless that is one nice rod for the money, it'll do what you're wanting it to and it will do it very well.

Personally I don't like to go below 10# on my leaders, not saying you can't it's just a confidence thing with me. 12# would be my most used of the three you have as it's a nice compromise of strength to diameter. As the other guys pointed out I'd use the 17# anytime your going to be fishing fairly thick cover, trees, grass, or boat docks. I have 20# braid on a couple of my rods and 99% of the time I use a 15# leader. I only use three pound tests as leaders myself, 10, 15, and 20. I have my Curado 51E spooled with 20# PP and every once in a while I'll go to the 20# on the leader because I know I'm going to be fishing wood with a jig and don't want to take any chances.

I 100% agree.

1. GLoomis 2. Shimano 3. Powell Max

I'm more or less in step with the other guys here, Owners are by far better than VMC. Owner would be my pick if forced to only use one brand of hooks for everything. That said I have an assortment of hooks from Mustad, Owner, and Gamakatsu that I use on a regular basis and am happy with all of them for the specific techniques I use them for. I feel confident when using a hook from any of these three brands, however in my mind they rank overall in this order; 1 Owner, 2 Gamakatsu, 3 Mustad. I've only tried one package of VMC hooks and they were the Ike approved straight shank. The quality was terrible IMO when compared to any of the other three I've already mentioned. I'd certainly stick with Owner, no doubt.

First off you haven't looked to hard because the first place checked, Tackle Warehouse, has them. Secondly yes I have used this rod to flip with and it does an excellent job. On the blank it lists 4 techniques that the rod is good for; flipping, frogs, swimbaits, and wakebaits. I've also had very good results pitching jigs into grass and wood using this rod. It's a mag-heavy power rod so I always use at least 50# braid, these days I'm using 65#.

I used my Cumara umbrella rig rod last year with a Curado 301E spooled with 20# CXX. I plan to try it with some lighter line this summer but I haven't decided on the rod yet. I haven't caught anything on mine yet but to be fair I really haven't given it enough of a chance to be effective. I'm not a really big deep cranker, I prefer to fish squarebills but I know there are plenty of guys fishing the 10XD with great results I just have to make myself fish it for more than 5 minutes at a time.

A Powell Max 735C would be my suggestion as it will cover everything you've asked about. It's my frog rod and quite possibly my favorite rod period. Out of the Daiwa rods I'd go with the 7'4".

Just a suggestion for you here, try the Owner oversized worm hooks on the 10 & 13 inch baits. It's made so that the hook point rides farther back in the bait while not making you go to a hook that's to big.

I had a friend 5 or 6 years back that was breaking braid in the very same fashion as you. His was the same problem that the other posters have already pointed out, casting to hard. I was in his boat on more than one occasion where he broke 50# braid in this manner with 1/2 oz buzzbaits. He tried LOTS of different brands of braid; Power Pro, P-Line Spectrex, Spiderwire Original, Spiderwire Stealth, Stren Super Braid and maybe a few more that I don't recall. If I'm remembering correctly he liked Stren and Stealth best but he broke all of them at some point. I'll freely admit that he isn't easy on his gear and he also isn't very diligent about making sure it's spooled tight, checking for abrasions, or re tying when he knows he should.

I think there are definitely times that technique specific gear is by far the best approach but at the same time I do feel that the TS thing is getting a little "over used". As many other guys have already pointed out a good 7' MH fast rod can cover a lot of different things. IMO there's no need for a specific rod for every single bait category. The techniques that are at both ends of the spectrum are to me where TS rods come into play. Frogs, punching, swimbaits, and umbrella rigs need specific rods in order to fish them the most efficiently. Same goes for techniques at the low end, drop shots, ultra light, etc. As fishindad pointed out, a good ole Loomis mag bass MH in 6'6" or 7' can really fish a lot of different baits well. These are the very rods I feel eliminate the need for TS rods for all lure categories.

I agree with the actual fishing experiences of most of the other guys, I've never once had a baitcaster fail or perform poorly just because it had graphite side plates. I think it's a perception thing because one of the most popular low profile baitcasters ever, the Bantam Curado, had graphite side plates but you never hear anyone knocking those reels. The E series is another good example of this, I have 4 Citica 201E's that I fish with more than any of my other reels (with the exception of one) and they are some of my all time favorites. I've never even considered getting rid of or replacing them. I fish 3 of the 4 of them with the drags buttoned and 50 to 65# braid every trip and I can't recall ever feeling them flex or seeming to be difficult to reel. It's all about perception, just look at how excited everyone is over the new Curado, it too has graphite side plates. I agree with the poster above who said to look at the reel as a whole and not to focus to much on any single aspect.

I'm a big fan of CXX, I've used it for just about any technique imaginable. It's my "go to" line on any rod I don't use braid on. I will say though that I don't think it's going to be quite as sensitive as fluoro. However I'd bet money that it doesn't stretch any more than fluoro, that's one of the biggest upsides to this line, low stretch. If the rod you plan on spooling this on is a dedicated jig rod then I'd go back to fluoro. Fluoro is more sensitive than copoly due to it's density not because it has less stretch. If you think I'm full of it just look at Tackle Tour's fluoro shootout from a few years back, it's very enlightening.

I know lots of guys think this is just "marketing hype" but the newer Shimano reels with the Line Propulsion Spool Lip design really are head and shoulders better than reels without it with regards to wind knots. I have an older Sahara that was a great reel with mono or fluoro but a nightmare with braid. If I tried to get any distance on my casts using braid on that reel wind knot city. I picked up a Sedona FD 2500 to use on the rod I'd been using the Sahara on and I've not had another wind knot since. I have a Stella, Stradic, Symetre, and the Sedona all with the Propulsion Lip design and I can't remember a single wind knot using them. I know some guys don't particularly like Shimano gear and that's fine, I'm not trying to say they're superior to all the other brands in every way I'm simply saying in this one instance they definitely got it right.

I don't understand how you can say you didn't "imply anything about the older generation reels" when you clearly did. Also my statement you have taken offense to is correct, you did post and know nothing about what you were saying. If you're a man of certain principles and will be the first to acknowledge you're wrong then it seems to me this is the time. I'd also like to take this time to say that maybe I worded my first reply to strongly and that's the reason I immediately edited it. I didn't want to seem as if I were attacking you specifically, I just see so many "inaccuracies" on these boards regarding Shimano equipment that it gets to me sometimes. I mean I just don't know where people come up with some of it. A little common sense and thought would go a long way in these matters usually. Consider this matter settled on my end and I'm sorry for coming on so strong in the beginning.

I did indeed read your post that's why I responded. In particular the part where you state the SVS system works so well there isn't a need for lighter blocks is purely speculation on your part. Just because you may not need them doesn't mean others won't. Then you state that this was the case with previous generations. Well then if this is an accurate statement you could have saved Shimano all that time and money wasted on testing, development, and distribution of their multiple weight brake blocks. I did almost immediately edit my first post but it sure won't happen again.

Thank you!!

No, not even close. The Metanium for example comes with the red blocks installed from Shimano, in the box there is a set of white replacement blocks. The white blocks are lighter, it's actually very easy to tell there's a size difference between them just by holding them side by side in your hand. Why would Shimano go to the trouble of making different colors if they're all the same?? Unbelievable.